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What is the purpose of calorie counting for humans exactly? Most people don't get fat/slim/strong/weak because they ate too much/too little [calories]. It's wha
by jakubp 14y ago
What is the purpose of calorie counting for humans exactly? Most people don't get fat/slim/strong/weak because they ate too much/too little [calories]. It's what you eat.
- Adirael 14y agoYou eat X calories, you use Y calories. If X > Y most of the difference is stored (as fat), if Y > X your body burn the energy stored (fat, at some point, but it depends). It's simple math and it's scientifically proven. 2000 kcal are 2000kcal, it doesn't matter if they come from a single burger or 10kg of lettuce. It's not what you eat, it is how much you eat.
- indiecore 14y agoTo be fair a lot of people are REALLY bad a measuring and estimating both how much they eat and how much they exercise.
- Adirael 14y agoTrue, but having calorie counters on the menu helps. People doesn't realize a frappuccino has 600 cals
- UnFleshedOne 14y agoI'd say it does matter, 10 kg of lettuce will take forever to digest and will require way more energy. Individual metabolism quirks will also affect how much of it comes out of the other end relatively intact.
- Adirael 14y agoIt doesn't matter, you are just burning more calories in the digestion process but it's still an in vs out operation. We are not perfect machines, but we are very efficient.
- johnward 14y agoCalories do matter. It just so happens that when we make bad choices of food we take in much larger amounts of calories. Sure you can say certain macronutrients are better for building muscle/losing fat but in the end a caloric deficit will cause you to lose weight. I'm eating much more volume of food right now but still losing weight. It's hard to pack on calories eating just chicken, brown rice, and veggies. I could get 1 big mac and take in more calories than my entire day of chicken/rice.
- rpsw 14y agoI can see your point, but I hope you are eating more than 550 calories a day (amount of calories in a Big Mac in the US).
- johnward 14y agoI should have said "big mac meal" which is more like 1350 calories, but still not too much for me to eat in 1 day. I can lose weight at < 2500 calories.
- legitsource 14y agoSome people can eat anything and naturally regulate their caloric intake. Other people can eat whole foods (meat, vegetables, fruits, etc.) and keep a stable weight. Others have an appetite that isn't well linked to their caloric intake and try to use external markers to guide what they should eat. As long as it works, go for it.