Calories Declassified
We broke into the CIA (Calorie Intelligence Agency) and retrieved this file. We hope you find it helpful.
In order to lose weight, you need to understand calories. We don’t mean the scientific aspect of it. We are talking about where they come from and how it affects your goals. If you’re trying to lose weight or maintain your current weight, you are probably watching what you eat. But the problem is, a lot of people don’t know what they are watching at all.
I was on a flight yesterday and I was talking to the lady sitting next to me. She was from Puerto Rico, she had an average body type, slightly overweight and in her early 40’s. By all accounts, she appeared happy and healthy. We were talking about coffee and how in Puerto Rico they add whipped cream to their coffee to replace sugar or milk. She said she preferred this style of coffee because of flavor … and less calories. Less calories. But she ate chips and other snacks during the flight. I bring this up because I think calories are being misunderstood by people. This lady probably doesn’t care about calories very much. She’s probably happy where she is at. She probably looks at coffee as a way to not add extra calories to her day. All that is probably true.
But just in case it’s not.
All calories are equal. They are simply a unit of energy. Calories measure how much energy are in a chemical bond of a food. All calories aren’t the same is like saying all pennies aren’t the same. A penny is a unit of currency like a calorie is a unit of energy. All calories are the same, but they do not have the same effect on your body.
Look at the world in macronutrients. Everything you eat is either a protein, a carb or fat. One gram of protein has four calories. Protein helps repair muscles, build muscle, build bone, create enzymes, etc. One gram of carbohydrates has four calories. Carbs give us the energy to perform physical activities. One gram of fat has nine calories per gram. Fat helps cell functions, protects organs, provides energy, etc. Alcohol is not a macro nutrient, but it has seven calories per gram (good to know if you are “watching” what you eat).
Everything you eat has a certain amount of calories. These calories can come from any of the macronutrients listed above. In order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat.
Going back to our flight lady and many like her.
My assumption is that she deems milk or sugar as “unhealthy” so she prefers whipped cream over them. “Unhealthy” or “healthy” is a subjective term. In other words, do you think it’s healthy or not … it’s your opinion. But if you’re trying to lose weight, healthy or unhealthy doesn’t matter. It comes down to the caloric content in the food. If your goal is to nourish your body with plenty vitamins and minerals, then by all means, look for healthier food options that give you more nutritional value per calorie (i.e., apple over bread for carbs because the apple has a better nutritional profile for its calories and therefore “healthier”). But if your goal is to lose weight or maintain your weight, then it’s all about the calories.
Our flight lady won’t put sugar or milk in her coffee, but she’ll eat chips on the plane. The chips she ate most certainly hit 100 calories. Those calories consisted of mainly carbs and fat (so she ate energy macros). The milk and sugar she refuses to put in her coffee (out of fear of added calories) consists of roughly 30 calories combined … and that’s the high end. If you use a no-calorie sweetener, you’re looking at 10 total calories. It doesn’t matter if you save calories when you drink coffee if you overeat on chips and other snacks throughout the day. At that point you are just eating “healthier” and will not lose weight because you consumed too many calories during the day.
Let’s look at those who eat sweet potatoes over white potatoes. The “healthy” people will choose a sweet potato over a white potato. But the calories and macronutrients are almost the exact same. You are consuming 100 calories worth of food that consists of 20 plus grams of carbs and under 3 grams of protein in either one. The benefit of the sweet potato is a much larger amount of vitamin A and calcium. But again, if you are just focusing on calories consumed for weight loss, it does not matter. Eat the one you enjoy more and make sure you are in a caloric deficit at the end of the day and week and you’ll lose weight.
The examples we listed above can be done over and over again. Oatmeal is “healthy” because it’s a good source of carbs and has some protein. But one packet of oatmeal is about 130 calories that comes mostly from 28 grams of carbs (the energy macro). That’s similar to one slice of bread that is 110 calories from 20 grams of carbs. Oatmeal has a better nutrient profile (calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B, etc.) so it’s “healthy” and more bang for your buck … or calories. You will feel fuller with the oatmeal, it provides more fiber and it’s more enjoyable, but the macros are similar. You will still need to make sure these calories aren’t consumed in a surplus or you will not lose weight.
If you are trying to lose weight, you need to cut calories and be in a caloric deficit at the end of the week. That’s the bottom line. Whether you put milk, sugar or whipped cream in your coffee doesn’t matter. What matters is if the calories you eat put you in a caloric surplus (weight gain) or caloric deficit (weight loss). In other words, if you skip the milk but eat chips later, you’re still eating the calories. If you love a certain food or drink, you don’t have to stop consuming it. Just be sure that you are offsetting your diet by burning extra calories through exercise or creating a caloric deficit during the day that will allow you to eat your favorite food.
