so whats the deal with carbs vs sodium vs fat vs calories?

[LongCoolMother]

so what are the REAL life differences? which ones make you fat? different people are always avoiding different ones. personally, i eat high carbs, with concern to calories and fat, but not so much to sodium. other people avoid carbohydrates at all cost, but freely eat high calorie foods.

really, what's the effect of each? it seems that all foods are high in at least one of those areas, unless its water of course.

 

[Gurck]

Consistently eating more calories than you burn makes you fat. The current carb craze (say that three times fast) is merely an example of widespread hysteria and idiocy (much like organized religion) (sorry, couldn't help myself ). Sodium has no calories but can lead to higher weight as your body will crave more water and release less to your bladder to regulate its salinity.

 

[LongCoolMother]

so how about those low fat subway sandwhiches? i just checked the nutritional facts online, and they all look good, with decent amounts of protein. but the sodium levels are outrageous.

 

[Gurck]

I'll take sodium over calories, especially since I drink a lot of water which helps flush it out.

 

[Eli]

Huh? Sodium contains no calories, and it doesen't make you fat.. lol

Calories. Calories are the only thing that matter.

You could eat 2000 calories worth of fat or 2000 calories worth of carbs. If you're using over 2,000 calories in a day, you will loose weight.

The problem is that 2000 calories worth of carbs is a lot more food volume than 2000 calories of fat. Most people eat by feeling, so you can understand where they run into problems when ignoring raw calories.

 

[Gurck]

Carb calories may contain a higher volume, but for many they can spike the blood-sugar level, which causes a chain reaction leading to a feeling of hunger much sooner than if they'd eaten a more balanced meal. The low-carb thing works on a principle known as ketosis, which is a seperate issue. If you eat few enough carbs (which is to say, virtually none) your body will stop getting its source for glycogen, its primary & preferred fuel, which is a form of sugar - and use ketones (hence ketosis) instead. They're protein breakdown products, and they stink - being in ketosis is known to cause bad breath, among other things (weight loss being one of them - but glycogen binds to water and so when you don't have it, a lot of the weight loss is really just water loss. This is why people going on Atkins can lose 10+ pounds the first week). As for sodium, while it's true it doesn't have calories, it causes water retention. As I understand it, proper cycling of water (drinking, utilizing, urinating) is an important factor in weight loss & health, so it can have less than ideal effects.. however if you drink a lot of water, it should minimize them.

 

[Deeko]

Well, fat has 9 calories/gram. Carbs only have 4.

Calories is the most important number to look at. You lose weight when you are burning more calories than you take in.

Most people lose a lot of weight in the beginning of Atkins because they are just losing waterweight. Water binds with glycogen on your liver, it stores something like a day or two's worth of energy, you will burn that before you burn any fat. So in the beginning, you are burning that glycogen and losing the water that binded it.

 

[jagec]

if you're seriously worried about which one will "make you fat", it's too late. You'll be a 500 pound NASCAR fan living in a trailer by the time you're 30.

 

[LongCoolMother]

thnx for the info. makes a lot more sense now. about the calories of fats vs carbs and such. im not really concerned about getting fat, ive always been skinny my entire life and am only now starting to bulk up. i went from 125 lbs to 130+ lbs from the beginning of summer to now solely on biking and sometimes pushing weights. no, im not concerned about getting fat, just trying to maintain a healthy diet to improve my cycling performance.

i have been eating healthy for almost a year, especially for track season, but its disgusting (bland, no diversity, etc.) and i want to eat better tasting stuff, and thats why im asking to see what wont sabotage my diet.