4 ms·

I eat 5000 calories worth of sawdust a day and can't gain weight.

by tekproxy 6y ago

ceejayoz 6y ago
Insoluble fiber is not included in calorie counts on nutritional labels.
- makomk 6y ago
  As I understand it, what's actually subtracted from the calorie counts on nutritional labels is a very rough estimate of the number of calories that aren't actually available because they're stuff like insoluble fiber, based mostly on the type of food. So it's not necessarily that accurate.
sk0g 6y ago
What a lame strawman. First off, that's not even food that would be digestible by a human. Secondly, reasonable people don't say all calories are equal, but that estimating TDEE + calories eaten is the best calculation to make for many people, in terms of accuracy vs effort required.
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  > that's not even food that would be digestible by a human Well that's the point. Obviously not all calories are equal. Nobody ever meant that literally. There are calories in diamonds, but you aren't likely to be able to digest them are you?
  - ceejayoz 6y ago
    > There are calories in diamonds Not in this context. A nutrition label for a 50 pound diamond would indicate zero calories.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      But again... that's the point. Everyone already knew 'a calorie is a calorie' was not literally true - for example diamonds which you agree about.
      - ceejayoz 6y ago
        People who say “a calorie is a calorie” clearly mean “calories from fats, carbs, and protein are interchangeable”, not “you can survive on a diet of diamonds”.
  - watwut 6y ago
    There are no calories in diamonds and I dont understand why you assume there are some. The old method of calorie counting involved burning food and measuring temperature. You wont burn diamonds by same methods they used. The one one involves counting carbs, protein and what not inside and then adding assumed calories from that. Again, diamonds return 0.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > There are no calories in diamonds I'm afraid you're mistaken! > I dont understand why you assume there are some That's fine I'll explain for you. What happens when you burn a diamond? It releases energy exothermically. We can measure that energy in joules, or equivalently in calories, but it means exactly the same thing. Diamonds contain calories.
      - watwut 6y ago
        That would be old way of determining calories which is not used anymore. Also, the method of burning food in that specific test wont burn diamonds.
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        That doesn't mean they aren't in there, just that you don't get them out using your experiment. Which... is the whole point. Not all calories are equally accessible to digestion. That's the point in the first place. Of course a calorie is not just a calorie for the purposes of digestion. We know that, because we can't digest, for example, diamonds.
        watwut 6y ago
        So, how do you address the other calorie counting method, the one that is actually used?
        chrisseaton 6y ago

I eat 5000 calories worth of sawdust a day and can't gain weight.

ceejayoz 6y ago

Insoluble fiber is not included in calorie counts on nutritional labels.

makomk 6y ago
As I understand it, what's actually subtracted from the calorie counts on nutritional labels is a very rough estimate of the number of calories that aren't actually available because they're stuff like insoluble fiber, based mostly on the type of food. So it's not necessarily that accurate.

sk0g 6y ago

What a lame strawman. First off, that's not even food that would be digestible by a human. Secondly, reasonable people don't say all calories are equal, but that estimating TDEE + calories eaten is the best calculation to make for many people, in terms of accuracy vs effort required.

chrisseaton 6y ago
> that's not even food that would be digestible by a human Well that's the point. Obviously not all calories are equal. Nobody ever meant that literally. There are calories in diamonds, but you aren't likely to be able to digest them are you?
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  > There are calories in diamonds Not in this context. A nutrition label for a 50 pound diamond would indicate zero calories.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    But again... that's the point. Everyone already knew 'a calorie is a calorie' was not literally true - for example diamonds which you agree about.
    - ceejayoz 6y ago
      People who say “a calorie is a calorie” clearly mean “calories from fats, carbs, and protein are interchangeable”, not “you can survive on a diet of diamonds”.
- watwut 6y ago
  There are no calories in diamonds and I dont understand why you assume there are some. The old method of calorie counting involved burning food and measuring temperature. You wont burn diamonds by same methods they used. The one one involves counting carbs, protein and what not inside and then adding assumed calories from that. Again, diamonds return 0.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    > There are no calories in diamonds I'm afraid you're mistaken! > I dont understand why you assume there are some That's fine I'll explain for you. What happens when you burn a diamond? It releases energy exothermically. We can measure that energy in joules, or equivalently in calories, but it means exactly the same thing. Diamonds contain calories.
    - watwut 6y ago
      That would be old way of determining calories which is not used anymore. Also, the method of burning food in that specific test wont burn diamonds.
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        That doesn't mean they aren't in there, just that you don't get them out using your experiment. Which... is the whole point. Not all calories are equally accessible to digestion. That's the point in the first place. Of course a calorie is not just a calorie for the purposes of digestion. We know that, because we can't digest, for example, diamonds.
        watwut 6y ago
        So, how do you address the other calorie counting method, the one that is actually used?
        chrisseaton 6y ago