I am cutting down my calories at the moment to lose a bit of weight. I had an apple last night for a snack and when I tracked it on my calorie tracker app I realised it was pretty much the same amount of calories as a small chocolate bar. Does this mean that if I’m trying to lose weight I might as well be having the chocolate bar instead?
Obviously there is more fat in a chocolate bar but when I Googled it it said you should focus on calories more than fat
In: Other
TLDR you’ll lose weight either way, but what you eat can affect overall health and body composition.
Micronutrients are important for health. Fruits and vegetables have tons of these in general and they will help keep you healthier than a chocolate bar. Micronutrients cannot be used for energy, so more micros does not mean more calories.
Fiber is also important. Sugar (found both in chocolate bars and fruits) causes your blood sugar to spike which encourages your body to store fat and leads to diabetes. But fiber (found in fruit but not chocolate bars) causes you to digest the food slower which means your blood sugar won’t spike as much. If you’re eating at a calorie deficit no amount of blood sugar spiking will cause you to store enough fat to gain weight, but it might affect body composition (muscle versus fat).
Macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs) matter for body composition. If you eat more protein it will help maintain more muscle while you’re eating a calorie deficit. But genetics play a big role here too so no guarantee it’ll make a significant difference. Keto people will tell you that eating more fat and no carbs will encourage your body to burn fat as opposed to muscle; not sure whether this is scientifically supported.
Latest Answers