CALORIES - who gets them and can explain them to me?

[Astrophe]

ok, I'm an ignoramus I know, but I've never realy got the relationship betwen fat, sugar, and calories.

I get that calories are a measure of energy, so fat has the most, followed by sugar (?), followed by...?

But if there are 2 cakes, one with more fat but fewer calories, and one with less fat but more calories, which one should I eat?

(don't say 'the yummiest one' )

Are you going for a calorie controlled diet?

calories represent the energy content of food. Different diets will emphasise one form of calorie as better than another. Fat / protein and carbs are the 3 main groups. Sugar being the simplest i.e. quickest absorbed form of carb.

Atkins- loads of fat and protein allowed, but no carbs.

Weightwatchers- low fat, high carb and protein.

GI- carbs allowed but no simple ones- ie everything you eat must take a while to process and give you sustained energy.

Basically they work because they restrict one type of food- you could have a steak and baked potato in one sitting but would be unlikely to have 2 steaks. (IMHO)

If i feel really hungry, i will go for something low fat/ sugar because then i can have lots of it. If not too hungry, i will allow myself something more naughty, but be more strict with portion control.

I would go for fewer calories cake. The other cake will have loads of sugar which is just as bad as fat for putting weight on IME

Fat helps you feel full (as does fibre), so if you have two cakes with the same number of calories, I'd have the higher-fat one tbh. You're less likely to be craving something else half an hour later.

Oh, and by weight, protein and carbs (sugar, starch), have the same number of calories. Fat has more.

Calories are how the energy from fat, sugar and carbs are measured.

The basics of losing weight is consume less calories and burn off more calories with exercise.

Weightwatchers concentrate more on the fat content use a point system but do take sugars into account when working out points.

Counting calories can be easier as most foods have the amount of calories per 100g on the pack and sometimes per portion too. You can get little books with list of basic and brand foods and there caloire content.

Depending on your weight and how much to lose you will be told how many calories to have in 1 day.

Info here

Thanks everyone. I'm not on any particula type of diet, just losing weight slowly with healthy eating and excersize.

I'm still not sure I get it.

Are yu saying 100 calories of sugar is easier /faster to burn than 100 calories of fat? I thought the calorie measurement already took this into acount - eg 10g of fat would provide say, 100 calories, but 10g of sugar would provide 50 calories?

I was coming down on the side of the lower calorie cake. I figured it doesn't matter where the calories come from, just the total amount?

Although I do understand the point about fat being more filling and so preventing cravings.

Sugar isn't easier to burn, it's easier to absorb though. High-sugar food makes your blood sugar spike. Then your pancreas makes a lot of insulin, your blood sugar falls, and you crave more sugar. Sugar = evil, imo.

Measuring calories takes into account how much energy there is in a food, but it doesn't take into account the effect of the food on your mood, cravings, appetite, etc.

E.g.: prunes and plums have the same calories, right? But if you eat six plums, you will be much more full than if you eat six prunes. The water in plums, the time it takes to eat them, and all the chewing, ends up with you feeling more full, even though you've ingested the same number of calories.

ok, I'm getting there. I see there are more issues at hand than I thought!

2 cakes. same calories. One has calories from fat rather than sugar.
With the sugary cake the calories will be released quickly and you will be hungry again very quickly. With the fat, you will be fuller for longer and won't have the 'sugar rush'.