Eli5: If 1000 cal equals half a pound of fat, how can a food that has 1000 cal weight less then a pound?

Question

where does the body find the extra weight?

In: 0

Answer 1

Fat is living tissue. Our cells require water inside them to let things move around, but if you take that fat out of the body and dehydrate it you will end up with a lighter result.

Answer 2

It’s not exact. In fact, I’ve heard that it’s 3500 calories/ lb of fat. Putting the 1/2 lb figure at 1750 calories, so it’d be easy for 1000 calories to be less than half a pound.

But yes, your body can’t gain more weight than the weight of the food it ingests.

Answer 3

Butter is about 3250 calories per pound, and it’s only 80% fat (the rest is water and milk solids). The traditional figure is 3500-3600 calories per pound of fat.