My sister just raised a question which is lingering in my mind.
I installed an app on my phone called Myfitnesspal, and according to my results, I should be consuming 1450 calories.
She then asked whether eating 1450 calories worth of chocolates is the same as 1450 calories of peas for example? Or if you would still put on weight that way, cause you wouldn't be going over your intake?
I don't intend to ofc, I'm just wondering how it works.
We all need to educate ourselves when it comes to taking things seriously and changing old habits. That education will come from you and not just someone answering a question on calorie comparison. I don't mean to sound hard, but the changes and answers we seek really do come from within. If we seek it out then we will learn more and become wiser.
Not all calories are equal. Have a look at something called Glycemic Index - this is the speed in which carbs are released by food when we eat it. Slow release means we have energy delivered for a longer time and we can avoid a bit of the insulin spike that our bodies use to manage the sugar in our bodies. Chocolate is the perfect blend of Fat and Sugar - just like Ice Cream and Milk Shakes. Apparently they hit something in flavour terms called the 'Bliss Point.' The fat and Sugar goes straight into the blood stream and wreak havoc. The fat trundles around in our blood and clogs up our arteries and the sugar gets stored as fat on our bodies. We then release Insulin to manage the sugar in our bodies - it gets the sugar out of the bloodstream then - - - we get the sugar craving!
Eat 1400 cals of peas and you'll struggle to eat the lot. You'll feel full. You blood sugar appetite and hunger will feel better managed. And you'll have a load of peas you couldn't eat.
Eat 1400 cals of chocolate and you'll get a sugar high then a sugar low, feel lousy, hungry and probably end up eating something else to feel better.
If you want to lose weight you might want to look at having more healthy fats, more protein and plenty of vegetables. (Spuds don't count!) You need to get your body to get off the constant highs & Lows of constant sugar intake - in all its forms, let it stabilise and you'll feel so much better, get in control of your appetite and start losing weight.
Chocolate is for fat folk!
Oh wow! Thanks for that response, really insightful and makes sense.
My goal is to stop consuming chocolates and crisps from now on, it's the main cause of my weight gain!
Hanna, don't TRY, just do it. I stopped the consuming the BIG 3 six weeks ago, as well as staying to the 1900 cal limit. and bingo! AVOID: Cheese: Crisps: Chocolate. unless of course you mark it down as part of your calorie limit.
try cheese after a fortnights abstinence and you soon realise how much salt is in there. good luck.
Haha well done you!
Yeah omg cheese is a bad one for me, I go through a block of cheddar a week..
I've been told that as soon as your body gets used to natural foods, that going back to processed food makes you realise just how nasty it is and you don't even get cravings for them anymore!! Sounds so good.
its strange but true. same for chocolate digestives. and mars bars. and chunky kitkats. and licky allsorts..mores the pity: its the only one I miss. and salted peanuts- but they can wait until xmas.
haha yeah, ima on a strict diet for the next 9 months to consume only fruit and veg.
I was watching my bro eating chocolate biscuits for breakfast but i think i've come to an age now or mindstate(?) where i can just easily ignore sugar cravings (its only been 2 days tho haha)
Make sure you have some protein with your veg! I wouldn't avoid cheese, I'd just cut down a bit. If you make very big changes all at once to your diet, it can make life very hard.
Some people cut down sugar gradually before cutting it out, it depends on what you can handle. You could try something like a few dried fruit occasionally to help you get over the craving.
Good luck.
May I ask why? I really don't want to eat cheese. How come it can make my life hard to make major changes?
I ate 2 apples today, i might have another later, is that ok?
Different foods have different effects on the body and brain. For some people, cutting out all sugary foods may lead to strong cravings for the stuff. Cutting out carbohydrates can make some people feel as though they have flu.
If you want to cut out cheese, it shouldn't have any particular effect, but it is a good source of protein. If you can handle major changes, that's great.
I don't think 3 apples a day is any problem, as long as you are eating other things too.
Perhaps Google "nutrient dense foods" to make sure you are eating all the good stuff.
Do or Not Do - There is no Try !
Hmm, thanks for sharing the video.
I think i will still continue to keep a diary of what i eat and count their calories aswell as watch my fat intake to monitor myself. But I'm glad to hear him say that we can eat natural foods and listen to our body; I didn't like the idea of minimising portions of peas and sweetcorns haha!
Hanna I am also a MyFitnessPal (MFP) guy - I LOVE it! Being able to just import a recipe or scan a barcode? Awesome.
As everyone else has said not all calories are equal BUT MFP already works this out for you.
It doesn't just have calorie goals it also keeps track of carbs, sodium, protein - a whole pile of stuff - and it tells you when you have exceed these so 1400 calories of chocolate would be ring alarm bells all over that thing!
Once you have logged a meal if you turn your phone to landscape it will show columns for protein carbs etc. and if you scroll to the bottom it will tell you what you SHOULD be having of these different thinks like sodium, sugar, protein etc and what you have remaining for the day.
Hope this helps - we should MFP buddies!
You can also go to the Nutrients section and this will break things down even further.
As everyone has said the body processes food differently.
So if you consume 2000 calories a day and also use 2000 calories a day your weight in theory should remain stable.
However if you neglect any exercise that you may do the type of food you eat can alter your body shape.
Consume it in protein and it should add muscle.
Consume it in beer and you will get a beer belly.
Consume it in fat and it tends to go to the fatty areas.
Consume it at a Michelin 5 star restaurant and it reduces the size of your wallet.
Hmm wasn't aware that it affected body shape, makes sense though. I will have to do more research it seems. At the moment I'm just improvising and trying to eat only fruit n veg
Stupid pointless snack!
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