Just thought of proof that calories aren't what matter page

[SteakNchop]

Well, I was thinking a little and I feel I have came up with complete proof as to why it is not calories that make the difference. Here goes:

According to common wisdom, a pound of bodyfat is 3,500 calories. Olive oil in that same amount is 4,200 calories. If one was to consume an extra 4,200 calories from olive oil weighing approximately 16 ounces, they could theoretically not gain more than one pound of weight. But if they just had 4,200 extra calories and a pound of bodyfat is 3,500 according to the calorie theory they would gain more than one pound.

I think I just stumped common wisdom.

[IvyBlue]

Not all calories are the same. If you drank a glass of olive oil I dare say a good bit of it would come out the other end unprocessed. Nuts can also pass through somewhat intact which might explain why more weight is lost than might be indicated by total nut calories consumed in regular nut eaters.

[peril]

I think you just confused yourself with a number of unproven hypotheses:

1) That the conservation of mass applies simply (mass of food in = mass of food stored as fat) rather than considering that some of the food is stored otherwise, some is converted to other bodily materials and some is excreted

2) Body fat (ie triglycerides) and olive oil (mostly oleic acid but also containing other fatty acids) are different, so obviously there are metabolic processes providing conversion. Indeed there must be such processes to convert carbohydrates to triglycerides otherwise you'd not be able to argue that carbs can increase body fat

3) You've ignored the fact that what you eat influences your metabolism, particularly your ability to use freely available and stored fats

Try walking first

[MikeEnRegalia]

This notion of 1 pound of bodyfat = 3500 calories is really useless when you want to lose fat. It ties in with the calories in/out approach, which is simply flawed.

Let's say that you eat 1 pound of fat. Difficult, but it can be done. It's obvious, as others have pointed out, that this will affect what else you eat on that day. Even it didn't, your body would ramp up metabolism and NEAT - so not all of that fat would end up as bodyfat.

As for 3500 vs. 4200: Fat tissue contains some water, too - and our body needs to expend some (very little, but still) energy to store fat.

[Sue]

Calories are not the major factor in fat loss BUT they are important. If you have everything dialled in but are not losing fat then perhaps you need to take a look at your calories.

[SteakNchop]

Calories are not the major factor in fat loss BUT they are important. If you have everything dialled in but are not losing fat then perhaps you need to take a look at your calories.

It is not calories, but the amout of food consumed. If I stuffed myself past the point of fullness, I would certainly not lose weight. It has nothing to do with how many calories have been eaten.

[MIstressKiki]

And type of food of course .......

[Christina*]

I do think that calories matter when it comes to fat loss but I don't think that a calorie = a calorie = a calorie.

[Dualhammers]

SteakNChop, please take some biology classes before you say you've stumped anything.

In reality, a calorie, is merely a unit of energy, particularly a unit of heat. To figure out the number of calories in a substance they burn the substance and figure out how high it raises the temperature of 1Kilogram of water. 1degree Celsius change in the temperature of the water = 1 calorie. It has nothing to do with the weight of the object.

So if 16oz of olive oil has 4,200 calories and 16oz of body fat has 3,500 calories, it just means that olive oil contains more burnable energy per oz than body fat. It doesn't mean it will weigh the same when your body metabolizes it.

Honestly, it was a good attempt but that basic type of reasoning doesn't take into account the very nature of the terms you are discussing.

[iniQuity]

It is not calories, but the amout of food consumed. If I stuffed myself past the point of fullness, I would certainly not lose weight. It has nothing to do with how many calories have been eaten.

Stuffing yourself is consuming more calories though ...

I agree with Sue.