![\"calories-in-vs-calories-out\"](\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/calories-in-vs-calories-out.jpg\")
This question opens up a can of worms. This is probably one of the most debated questions in the industry today. Researchers weigh in on both sides of this issue. It\u2019s an easy question with a complex answer, I\u2019m afraid.<\/p>\nThis question opens up a can of worms. This is probably one of the most debated questions in the industry today. Researchers weigh in on both sides of this issue. It\u2019s an easy question with a complex answer, I\u2019m afraid.<\/p>\n
Take that for what it\u2019s worth. All carbs and proteins have 4 calories per gram. All fats have 9 calories per gram. In a calorie war, there is no difference between the sources. However, most would agree that an apple is more nutritious than a candy bar. But, what if they had the same calorie and nutrient profiles?<\/p>\n
Food<\/u><\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Calories<\/u> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Protein<\/u> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Carbs<\/u> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Fat<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Apple (100g) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 52 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 0.3 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 14 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 0.2<\/p>\n Lemonheads<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a050 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a00 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 14 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a00<\/p>\n (10 pieces)<\/p>\n Didn\u2019t think that was a real life scenario, did you? Well it is. I would be laughed off the planet if I told people to eat Lemonheads instead of apples; yet, they have the same macronutrient (check this article \u201cHow to Calculate Your Macros & Calories<\/a>.\u201d) profile. Where they differ is on the micronutrient level.<\/p>\n Micronutrients are nutrients needed in small quantities like vitamins and minerals.<\/p>\n If you choose the Lemonheads, you will be missing out on nutrients such as Potassium, Vitamin C, & Quercetin that the apple offers. I\u2019m not saying that Lemonheads don\u2019t have their place. I\u2019m also not saying that you should always<\/em>\u00a0choose fruit over other carb sources.<\/p>\n One important aspect about fruit to point out is that it has a higher percentage of fructose (i.e. fruit sugar). Fructose is primarily used to replenish liver glycogen. Fructose does not help in the replenishment of muscle glycogen. So, the better post-workout snack<\/a> out of the two may perhaps be Lemonheads. Just keep in mind that you\u2019re missing out on those other nutrients so be sure to get them from other sources of the diet.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying that you should do this and by no means am I saying it\u2019s ideal.<\/em>\u00a0I\u2019m simply trying to illustrate a point.<\/p>\n Rather than dividing foods into \u201cgood food\u201d and \u201cbad food,\u201d it would be more beneficial to consider the timing. What makes a good carb good and what makes a bad carb bad?<\/p>\n Timing.<\/em><\/p>\n Take the example above. A good time for the Lemonheads would be post workout because they\u2019ll get into the system quickly and act like a simple sugar to replenish muscle glycogen. (It should go without saying that protein<\/a> should accompany your Lemonheads.) A bad time for Lemonheads would probably be right before bed, as a spike in blood sugar may not prove to be ideal.<\/p>\n Everything written to this point should spring forth many more questions. The fact that there are many more questions and issues to address should give you the answer to the question in the title of this article. I think that saying weight gain is as simple as eating more than you expend and that making weight loss as easy as burning more calories than you consume is a bit of a cop-out.<\/p>\n The mechanisms of determining true caloric expenditure are estimations at best. Even the wearable devices such as Fitbit aren\u2019t 100% accurate. I think they are great tools but shouldn\u2019t be used for precise measurements. Even tracking the calories you consume is difficult because it\u2019s not the calories you eat; it\u2019s what your body digests. You never get 100% of the calories you consume.<\/p>\n As I stated at the beginning of this article, this question can bring up many other topics and questions. It\u2019s a difficult subject and I\u2019m afraid there is no simple answer. I believe this article will give you a clue, as it\u2019s not as simple as it may sound. But don\u2019t let this get you down. You don\u2019t have to make it this difficult. Leave it to us\u00a0here at Nutritionly.com<\/a> to sort through the muck and give you the information you need to live your best life.<\/p>\n [hcshort id=”5″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This question opens up a can of worms. This is probably one of the most debated questions in the industry today. Researchers weigh in on both sides of this issue. It\u2019s an easy question with a complex answer, I\u2019m afraid. A carb\u2019s a carb. A fat\u2019s a fat. A protein\u2019s a protein. Take that for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[21,98],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}