Jumpstart Your Fitness: Know when calories do (and don't) count

by Rigel Celeste (Subscribe to Rigel Celeste's posts)
Jan 14th 2008 6:00AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

First off lets just be clear: calories are calories and they all count. Period. But in the world of weight loss and healthy living different calories do have different traits, and so they also have different impacts on your body. Understanding why you should eat the way experts recommend will go a long way towards helping you not only do it successfully -- but to keep doing it successfully on down the line. Here some experts help straighten us out on some of the most common misconceptions and myths about calories:

When calories do (and don't) count(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Should women ever eat less than 1200 calories a day?

Do most people underestimate or overestimate the calories they consume each day?

Do calories from fat make you fat faster than calories from carbs?

Do calories eaten in the evening make you fat faster than calorie eaten during the day?

Should women ever eat less than 1200 calories a day when trying to lose weight? No, 1200 calories is considered to be the lowest safe calorie total per day in order to lose weight without sacrificing health. Dip much lower than that and you can throw your body chemistry off and risk issues like heart problems and gallstones.

Do most people underestimate or overestimate the calories they consume each day?Generally people underestimate how much they eat in a day -- usually by as much as 1/3. One idea to help keep an accurate count is to keep a food journal.

Do "extra" calories go right to your hips? Well, they might, but it's really just a genetics game and they go where ever your genes tell them to go. For some it is the hips or midsection, but for others it's the thighs, or the upper arms, or a double chin...or any other number of places.

Do calories from fat make you fat faster than calories from carbs do? Actually yes, they certainly can. Assuming the calories are extra (i.e. more than your body needs) then fat calories will add more pounds than carb calories because they're easier for your body to convert into fat. It only burns about 3% of fat calories for them to be stored as fat, but it takes 23% of carb calories to be converted and stored.

Do calories eaten in the evening make you fat faster than calorie eaten during the day? Not necessarily: if the calories are completely equal, then the time of day makes no difference. But it is worth noting that because of things like being tired, stressed, and looking to relax calories at night are often harder to resist. Low resistance leads to overeating which means higher calorie totals, plus the calories are often eaten in the form of unhealthy snack and comfort foods which do nothing for the body nutritionally. So in some cases evening calories are worse.

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Herb 1-15-2008 @ 6:37AM

http://www.health4wealth.com/4yourhealth

This is one thing I try and get across to people who diet and count calories. A piece of Chocolate with 250 Calories is not as good for you vs baked chicken with the same amount of calories. And they will sit their and argue with me, I always believe stay away from empty calories as much as possible.

Millie 1-15-2008 @ 7:14AM

What this article failed to recongize is that there are also Good And Bad calories. Good calories are from wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low fat dairy. Bad calories are the enty calories from deserts, high sugar processed foods and junk food. What most tend to forget is that it is NOT ok to eat the high calorie foods to maintain energy levels while on the run. Think of the good calories as Hi Performance gasoline for your car and the emty calories as cheap watered down gas. the watered down gas will start to get you somewhere before conking out and the high performance will get you where you are going as smooth as can be. Feed your body as well as a well maintained automobile. Supplements also help with the maintenecnce of the body to replace or add to the body the nutrients we do not get . The Better Health collection gives me energy, Anti Oxidants, Resveratrol (cancer fighting agents)and many other incredible benefits. http://www.betterhealthcollection.com

Paula 1-15-2008 @ 8:58AM

Honestly, what helped me more than anything was going to www.howstuffworks.com and searching "Nutrition". It tells you how your body breaks down and uses different types of food, and knowing how that works helped me make better food decisions. It really comes down to common sense when it's put that way.

Bob 1-15-2008 @ 9:33AM

I went from 289 lbs to 160 lbs in 2 years and have maintained. Stop eating all the processed food. The chemicals in there were probably never meant for human consumption. Your body will digest 3 apples at 300 calories a lot quicker than the 270 calorie Snickers Bar.
You dont have to go organic, but stick to the basics..lean meat, fish, lots of veggies, and limit a healthy carb veggie like brown rice, sweet potato, regular potato to one meal per day. A half an hour stroll daily is also a good way to enhance weight loss. I was borderline diabetic, lived off fast food, had high blood pressure and had a cholestrol level about 263. Now my bp runs 112/78 and my cholestrol level is at 128.
Use good fat like olive oil for salads, veggies. And I know its hard to resist the processed crap, but just try to eliminate the majority of it. Start shopping the parimeters of most stores. Usually dairy, eggs, meats, veggies are on the parimeter. Inside the isles is where you find all the processed stuff for the most part.