A calorie is not always a calorie...

Say what?!?!? A calorie isn't always a calorie? What you talkin' 'bout Willis?

One of the things that I struggle with is that all calories are not created equal. If you are counting calories or using an app to lose weight, you know that we are given a certain amount of calories we can eat each day and should still lose weight. But sometimes our weight stagnates or we are ravenous by 2 p.m. and have no more calories left that we can eat. This brings us back to today's blog post: All calories are NOT created equal.

If we break down fat, protein, and carbohydrates, we find that for each gram of protein or carbohydrate that we consume, they will stack up to 4 calories. For a gram of fat, the total is 9 calories. However, the way in which our bodies digest the three is different. If we exceed our caloric requirements each day, fat is readily and easily stored as fat. Carbs are also easily broken down into sugars in our bodies; whereas, protein takes the longest for our bodies to digest as it is more complex and not as easily turned into sugar.

For more information, visit: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=are_all_calories_created_equal

All of this begs the question, how much of each should we be eating. Ideally, our diets will include 10-35% protein, 45-60% carbs, and 20-35% fat. For more in-depth info: http://www.livestrong.com/article/413441-percentage-of-protein-in-diet/. What this means is that we need a good balance of each to have enough energy, meet our bodies' needs, and not become ravenous at any point during the day.

Contrary to previous diets and marketing campaigns, our bodies need fat to survive and function. The first link will also drive home the reasoning why low fat diets and low fat foods can lead to weight gain and more inches on our bodies. Fats, protein, and fiber also help us feel full longer. Reading the dailyspark article will explain a study that better illustrates how all calories are not created equal.

So if you are hungry, try to incorporate carbs, protein, and fat into a healthy and calorie conscious snack that won't leave you starving in an hour.

Also for a list of items that take more calories to digest than those you consume (AKA - FREE foods), please see the following:

Finally, today is the day to step on the ol' scale and chart your progress. How is everyone doing?