Fat calorie vs. other calorie

Please help me to understand, I'm confused. I know a fat gram has 9 calories per gram, and that we should limit our fat intke, but isn't a calorie a calorie? If you lose orr gain weight based on 3500 calories, how does your body burn a "fat" calorie differently?

I binged on cereal one night and said "Well, at least its not potato chips". But then I thought "A calorie is a calorie!"

Sun. Oct 30, 6:32am

What is a calorie?

I got this from the university at calorieking.com

A calorie is basically a unit of energy measurement – we all need energy to survive. All of the energy you get from food and all of the energy you expend through exercise can be measured in terms of calories. For example, a small apple provides you with 55 calories of energy, and you can burn 55 calories of energy by walking at a moderate pace for around 15 minutes.

Calories are also the basic tool for weight control. The fact is that if you take in more calories than you need to sustain your current weight, you will gain weight. If you take in fewer calories than you need, you will lose weight. However, if you eat too few calories, your metabolism may actually slow down and burn those calories at a slower rate. You may also miss out on vital nutrients.

Here are some facts about calories:

A gram of carbohydrates has four calories, a gram of protein has four calories and a gram of fat has nine calories. Fat is twice as dense in calories than either protein or carbohydrates.

3500 calories equals one pound. For every 3500 excess calories you consume, you will gain a pound; for every 3500 less calories than your body requires you will lose a pound.

*Here's the key thing:
All calories are not created exactly equal, especially when we talk about excess calories. A calorie from a fat source is stored as fat more easily than carbohydrates or protein.

I'll try to do more research and post again on this.

Sunday, October 30, 2005, 8:03 AM

How Fat is Stored in Your Body

Here's some more info from howstuffworks.com

How Fat is Stored in Your Body
Chylomicrons do not last long in the bloodstream -- only about eight minutes -- because enzymes called lipoprotein lipases break the fats into fatty acids. Lipoprotein lipases are found in the walls of blood vessels in fat tissue, muscle tissue and heart muscle. The activity of lipoprotein lipases depends upon the levels of insulin in the body. If insulin is high, then the lipases are highly active; if insulin is low, the lipases are inactive.

The fatty acids are then absorbed from the blood into fat cells, muscle cells and liver cells. In these cells, under stimulation by insulin, fatty acids are made into fat molecules and stored as fat droplets.

It is also possible for fat cells to take up glucose and amino acids, which have been absorbed into the bloodstream after a meal, and convert those into fat molecules. The conversion of carbohydrates or protein into fat is 10 times less efficient than simply storing fat in a fat cell, but the body can do it. If you have 100 extra calories in fat (about 11 grams) floating in your bloodstream, fat cells can store it using only 2.5 calories of energy. On the other hand, if you have 100 extra calories in glucose (about 25 grams) floating in your bloodstream, it takes 23 calories of energy to convert the glucose into fat and then store it. Given a choice, a fat cell will grab the fat and store it rather than the carbohydrates because fat is so much easier to store.

It is important to note that as your body stores more fat, the number of fat cells remains the same; each fat cell simply gets bigger.

Link

Sunday, October 30, 2005, 8:24 AM

Wow! Very informative posts. Thanks to the original poster, and to those who posted info. I learned a lot.

Sunday, October 30, 2005, 2:25 PM

Just a side note - I'm not sure why on the science side, but, proteins and fats keep you full for longer than carbohydrates do. I find that if I eat a meal with no fat, that I'm hungry again way sooner than if I ate a meal with exactly the same number of calories but some of the calories were from fat. If I'm hungry sooner, I'm more likely to eat again, and the calories begin to add up... More calories does equal less weight loss or more weight gain.

Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:34 AM

Proteins and fats keep you full longer because they take longer to break down than a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates, especially simple ones like sugar and white flour, break down the fastest.

Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:46 AM

calories are no longer just calories according to ww. they seem to have changed a great deal since the introduction of weight watchers momentum...

Link

Sunday, January 4, 2009, 9:22 PM

you get more carbs and protein for your calorie. if you compared a pound of donuts and a pound of carrots, think about how many calories would be in each.. plus all the other stuff the PPs have posted lol

Monday, January 5, 2009, 12:12 AM

Also, alcohol has 7 calories per gram.
Fiber and protein are a great combo to make you feel full. Its not just that it is harder to break down, but evens out your blood glucose to even out those cravings.

Friday, January 16, 2009, 1:24 AM

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