In response to one of the answers to an earlier question, I thought it only mattered how many calories you ate

Question

not where those calories came from. I always thought people cut out carbs because that's simply where people get most of their calories. And, if I start eating more food than I have been, won't I gain weight because I'm not used to that amount of food? I'm so confused!!!

Answer 1

From a thermodynamics standpoint, the amount of calories is all that matters. You can not store more energy in fat cells than what you have eaten. Eating a pound of lard will at most give you a pound of weight gain. It is the law of conversation of matter and the law of conversation of energy.

However, in the world of biochemistry, it is not that easy. Some diets work by tricking the body into tapping into fat reserves early. By focusing on more fat and protein, the blood chemistry works differently and the body will use fat reserves instead of adding to them. Also, you can still eat some pretty nice foods by reducing carbs. If you try to reduce fat, you still end up having to sacrifice because most of the good foods that are low in fat are also high in carbs. Even with reducing carbs, a person still needs to watch calories. It is possible to go no carb and still gain weight if you are still eating too much. Playing with blood chemistry is not always so easy. Many people suffer side effects from diets like these.

As for where the calories come from, here are some simple rules for calories. A gram of carbs has 4 calories. A gram of protein has 4 calories. A gram of fat has 9 calories. There is a reason why our bodies store energy in fat. It can store a lot of energy in a small amount of space. You can easily knock a lot of calories out of your diet by keeping the amount of fat intake low. Lets say you can reduce 85 grams (about 3 ounces) of fat from your diet. That would result in a calorie difference of 765. That is a big difference. Look and see how much working out you would have to do to match that.

A lot of people are pushing all sorts of different diets. In the end the best you can do is to reduce how much you eat and work out more. That is the only weight reduction plan that works in the long term.

Answer 2

You might gain weight at first, but your body will adjust. If you've starved your body, replenishing it with food is going to be an adjustment. Just be patient. Keep your weigh-ins to at most once a week. Don't worry too much in the beginning, as long as you eat healthy food and exercise, you'll get results.

As far as calorie content, I'm not one to think you can eat 1,500 calories a day in Snickers and still lose weight. You can certainly lose weight, but you're not giving your body the nutrients and vitamins it needs to stay healthy. Carbs are fine, just use them as everything else, within reason. Try to get a balance diet, and about a 50-30-20 ratio of Protein-Carbs-Fat. Your body breaks down certain foods differently and uses that energy in different ways. Carbs are broken down into sugars, so eating too many can cause you to gain weight.

Theoretically, eating fewer calories than you burn will cause you to lose weight, no matter where the calories come from. But your overall health will be better if you get a variety of nutrients and vitamins from your caloric intake.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit. It's confusing in the beginning, but you'll get there. Best of luck!

Answer 3

Calories are the key to weight loss but......

Your body will burn a certain amount of calories in a given day, if you consume more than you burn, the body will store the calories as fat in your body.

So to lose weight you need to A-consume less calories, and B-use more calories.

By eating more-lower calorie foods, not only will you be consuming less calories, but your body will keep working(burning calories) to process the calories that you consumed.

If you consume all your daily allowance of calories in one sitting, your body or your metabolism will slow down a few hours after eating. Once it realizes that you are not putting anything else in, it will stop burning those calories, it will start to store them because it doesn't know when it will get more. Thats why it is better to eat fewer calories every 2-3 hours, to keep your body working at burning those calories.

Also not all calories are equal. Some are easier for your body to turn into fat than others. Sugar for example, you might as well tape it right to your stomach. Whole grains require your body to work at it.

Answer 4

Fad diets and other BS always seem to make it so complicated.

Start by evaluating what you DO need. Vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, calories, fat, fiber, carbohydrates. Choose foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber that are RELATIVELY low in calories and fat. Forget about carbohydrates if you're eating the right ones. Skip refined flours, bleached rice, boxed cereal and Wonder bread. Eat whole grains, multi-grain bread, rolled or steel cut oats, long grain brown rice, fresh vegetables of every color. Get the bulk of your food from vegetables. Eat enough fruit and choose from every color you can think of every week. Satisfy hunger after your veggies with grains and beans. Eat a few spoonfuls of different nuts and seeds, and one or two 8 oz servings of soy or rice-based fortified milk substitute to fill in the gaps.

Eat that way and calories, fat and carbs are completely irrelevant. First, your calorie count will probably always be low enough. Your carb count will be through the roof, but they are highly complex healthy carbs that don't turn to sugar and a fat gut. Your protein levels will be NORMAL, not ridiculously high as prescribed in a low carb diet, and you will be meeting 100% of your nutrient counts every single day. You will be full, satisfied, energized and healthy as a horse, as they say.

Don't forget to exercise, including cardiovascular and resistance training 3-5 times per week. This can be formal, or informal. Go to the gym or start walking to work. Sneak some lunges or squats in when nobody is looking. Do some situps before you get in the shower. Join a sport team.

Forget about all that other crap. It just makes you neurotic and unhealthy.

Answer 5

Calories are the primary issue, but your body needs nourishment and uses different foods in different ways...you're not going to do as well on say 1500 cals of ice cream a day as if you eat 1500 cals of lean meats and fruits and veggies.

Some things the body burns more easily and quickly than other things, but bottom line is that you have to burn 3500 more calories than you consume, to lose 1 pound of fat.

IF however you have been restricting calories and thus caused your metabolism to slow down, it's likely your body will gain weight very easily because it will try to store calories in case you try to starve it again...so in that case you could still eat relatively low calories (what most people would eat to lose weight) but gain for a while until you got your metabolism back on track again.

Answer 6

Calories aren't as important as where those calories come from. Sugar and carbohydrates make you fat. Read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution for all the information you need.