A calorie is a calorie, is a calorie...or is it?

Quick question. And this is relative to weight loss issues ONLY and has nothing to do with health, nutrition, etc. So, as it pertains to weight loss/gain it has always been my understanding that a calorie is, indeed, a calorie regardless of its source or health benefits/liabilities. Thus, you will lose or gain the same amount of weight by consuming x# of calories regardless of whether those calories are in the form of crispy cream donuts or lean fish and chicken. CLEARLY, we all know what the better choices are from a nutritional standpoint, but this question is directed only towards whether calorie A differs from calorie B in its impact on weight loss/gain.

I'd be interested in hearing from others on this topic.

Thank you.

This reminds me of Weigh****chers meetings were before the meeting, I'd overhear conversations between friends about donuts having the same amount of points as "blah blah blah", so they were going to have the donut instead!

yes - I do suppose that if you're just looking at calories, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. But nutrition aside, two items that have exactly the same amount of calories can have very different effects on me that may have an impact on weight loss/gain. For example, a 300-calorie item that is mostly sugar is going to have me eating more later, because it causes my blood sugar to spike and plunge - so I'll be hungrier sooner. A 300-calorie item that is mostly healthy fat, fiber, or protein won't have that effect - I'll stay satisfied a lot longer (for me personally, something with a lot of healthy fat lasts me a L-O-N-G time...)

My personal experience with this question is ABSOLUTELY NOT.

For instance... I can choose a five hundred calorie meal of salad ... fat free dressing... fat free feta cheese ... tzaziki or salsa or a couple of stuffed grape leaves ... an egg beaters omelet w fat free cheese some freeze dried butter seasoning for taste and fat free half n half , ketchup , hot sauce and ( for me not most folks here ) some fresh bread or French toast .

A big meal like this will literally get me through the day . ( and help me exercise the next morning) ( and I can still eat dinner because I have eight hundred calories left over ) . I?m full ( stuffed ) all day and all nite ... never hungry.

Or I can eat junk ... and then half an hour later crave more junk .

There are a million tasty healthy meals you can choose to eat .

First , in a lot of cases we need to learn how to cook ... not order out ... restaurant meals provenly contain far more fat ( and meat ) than we would normally eat at home .

I think you may have missed the entire point of my post. This has nothing to do with which foods are "better choices" or keep you feeling full longer. I completely understand those points. But, at the end of the day, a calorie will always be a calorie and that is, ultimately, what causes us to either gain or lose weight.

You also Did ask m about real personal experience. I?m telling it to you ... my experience over a decade .
You can argue but the bottom line is this is what happened to me .

I also do find that if you eat fat free ( at least at home ) you get SO much more leeway calorie wise without weight gain .

There are a lot of foods you have to stay away from ... however you pretty much get to eat what you like and ( I at least ) don?t have to weigh and measure or stop eating after twenty minutes or only eat three times a day .

Do you Actually feel like you?ll die if you don?t eat fast foods or gross mostly fake cheese pizzas ? these things are so DISGUSTING!

I literally look at food *****n the TV and want to barf ... I can?t imagine being a victim of it or ( God forbid ) wanting the horrible offerings.

This is the REAL Halloween lol ... chick -f -l chasing you around with a gross double- fried 2000 calorie sandwich lol! If you paid me fifty bux I wouldn't bite that thang .

I?m pretty relaxed about food at all .... I never thought I could enjoy real gourmet meals and even restaurants regularly post op .

I?ll just choose the most lowfat delicious option.... like a shrimp ****tail or a light soup to fill me up ... usually an appetizer sized portion of a main meal if I can get it which ( usually) comes home with me .

If i really want something fatty and exciting ( like stuffed clams ) I?ll try to split them with my partner... and usually two ( out of six or eight ) is plenty for me . I get to enjoy the taste without making myself gain or feel sick .

Now I personally love complex carbs like ( super filling) yucca ... rice n peas ... even fresh made ( not oiled or buttered ) breads in small quantities but most folks here find carbs make them gain .

I?m not sure why my body?s different but I?m glad it is .

I have however stayed away from ( most ) fats since years BEFORE my surgery... . Yes I eat fat occasionally when I crave it ... mayonnaise based commercial seafood salads , mozzarella, avocado, a restaurant meal . But very rarely.

A calorie is a unit of energy and the body burns them equally whether they are from brown rice or chocolate brownies. A woman needs about 10 calories a day to maintain one pound of weight. So 1200 calories to maintain 120. 2000 calories to maintain 200. So a calorie is a calorie, when you are only looking at calories.