Bungler on Nostr: Reminder that the "calorie" doesn't exist as most ppl conceive of it. Looking at the ...
Reminder that the "calorie" doesn't exist as most ppl conceive of it. Looking at the kcals listed on a package don't tell you much about caloric availability, or how much energy your body will get out of the food.
Protein is a great example of this, bc the body uses up ~30% of the "calories" of protein in digesting it. This is unrealistic, but as an example, if one were to eat 2000 cal of pure sugar a day, he'd be getting ~2000 calories, whereas if he were to eat 2000 cal of protein a day, he'd be getting closer to ~1400 calories.
Also, how food is prepared makes a great deal of difference. Cooking high fiber vegetables like celery causes the fiber to breakdown, leading to higher amounts of digestible carbs. Grinding up or powdering plant products, including nuts & vegetables, tends to increase available "calories" as well. (Process foods tend to have lots of ground up/powdered ingredients).
Also, the FDA allows leeway in the nutritional information printed on packages, to the tune of 20%. It means one could be counting calories according to labels & think he's getting 2500 kcals a day, but he could actually be getting up to 3000. Calorie counting is even harder with whole foods bc you have to weigh everything for it to be accurate.
All of these factors means what ppl think "calories" are & what they're actually getting are different, & are a large part of why calorie counting doesn't work long term for weightloss. Ppl would be better off eating more protein, eschewing processed foods for whole foods, & eating fewer carbs (a whole other issue tbh).
Protein is a great example of this, bc the body uses up ~30% of the "calories" of protein in digesting it. This is unrealistic, but as an example, if one were to eat 2000 cal of pure sugar a day, he'd be getting ~2000 calories, whereas if he were to eat 2000 cal of protein a day, he'd be getting closer to ~1400 calories.
Also, how food is prepared makes a great deal of difference. Cooking high fiber vegetables like celery causes the fiber to breakdown, leading to higher amounts of digestible carbs. Grinding up or powdering plant products, including nuts & vegetables, tends to increase available "calories" as well. (Process foods tend to have lots of ground up/powdered ingredients).
Also, the FDA allows leeway in the nutritional information printed on packages, to the tune of 20%. It means one could be counting calories according to labels & think he's getting 2500 kcals a day, but he could actually be getting up to 3000. Calorie counting is even harder with whole foods bc you have to weigh everything for it to be accurate.
All of these factors means what ppl think "calories" are & what they're actually getting are different, & are a large part of why calorie counting doesn't work long term for weightloss. Ppl would be better off eating more protein, eschewing processed foods for whole foods, & eating fewer carbs (a whole other issue tbh).