Is a Calorie "Just" a Calorie?

We are now into calorie counting, or at least we should be! One vital step to moving forward on your fitness journey is to know roughly how many calories you are consuming per day. Knowing the amount of calories you are intaking on a daily basis will help you do anything from fat loss to muscle building. This raises a question though. Is a calorie "just" a calorie? Are all calories created equal? The short answer is no, calories are definitely different in quality. Let's hit this topic for a minute.

What is a calorie? Well, calories are the nutritional factors, such as protein, carbohydrates, and fats, that are counted together to create a total calorie number. For example, for every 1 gram of protein in a food that equates to 4 calories. So if you have 20 grams of Protein in a piece of chicken breast, that is 80 calories. The same goes for Fats, which for every 1 gram of Fat it is 9 calories. Again, if you have 20 grams of Fat in a food then you have 180 calories. Carbohydrates are 4 calories for every 1 gram. Every food has a certain amount of Fats, Carbohydrates, and Protein content in them. This is what makes up calories. So how are they different? If a carb is a carb, a protein a protein, and a fat just a fat then how can any of them work differently? Here's how!

1. Nutrients - Every food has different nutrients than another food. For example, a donut will have far less nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, water, ect) than let's say a blueberry. The blueberry will have Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese, and Potassium. A donut on the other hand has virtually none of those and will be made up of sugars mainly, holding virtually no vitamins. So if you have 1 donut for 195 calories you get almost no vitamins and 11g sugar and 6g saturated fat (bad fat). If you had 195 calories of blueberries however you get far more Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Calcium. See how there is a big difference already?

2. Recovery - When you eat the right foods your body will get the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs to properly recover. Eating fruits that are nutrient dense will be far more beneficial for muscle recovery than eating another cookie from the cookie jar that has almost no nutritional value! The same goes for proteins. Yes, a typical slice of pizza may have 8 grams of protein but that is not the same as 8 grams of protein from a lean meat like chicken or turkey. Even beef is a great alternative to eating pizza rolls, hot dogs, or other processed foods that may contain a decent amount of protein.

3. Energy - We all know that energy is important! Where does energy come from? It comes from our food! For the most part, but that's another conversation for another blog. Getting back to it, think of food like fuel for your car. You have the cheap unleaded gas and the premium gas. Yes, they both can go into your car and your car will function as needed. However, the premium gas is far more efficiently used in the car and is "healthier" for your engine than the cheaper gas. The same goes for food. The higher quality food you eat, the more efficient your body will function.

4. Saturated vs Poly/Monosaturated Fats - Okay, I'm not going to get into the technical workings of Saturated vs Polysaturated vs Monosaturated fats and how they all work together in this blog. That's a whole subject in itself. What I will tell you that there is a HUGE difference in how these fats function in your body. Poly/Monosaturated fats are healthy fats that improve brain function, heart health, and general good maintenance for the bodies functions. Saturated fats are the fats you want to stay away from. Saturated fats tend to make you feel sluggish, they provide low to no nutritional value, and typically likes to raise cholesterol. All in all, go for the healthy fats such as avocados, unsalted nuts, whole eggs, and olive oil amongst other unhealthy alternatives.

These are the main points that express how a calorie is not just a simple calorie. You can eat a slice of pizza for your protein or go for a chicken breast. You could eat a donut or eat the alternative healthier choice of fruits. Most of these foods are pretty self explanatory in nature, most of you will be able to tell the difference between what is healthy and what isn't. That being said, don't be afraid to season your food! It's okay to have a little flavor with your healthy choices. Eating healthier foods will make take your fitness journey to a whole new level! You'll feel more energized, cleaner, motivated, and you'll have more clarity as well as muscle recovery. A calorie is NOT just a calorie, it's a choice! Your choice!