Ok so why do you advocate for clean eating when you have said "a calorie is a calorie"??
Alright, so. A calorie is a calorie. A calorie is a unit of energy, regardless of where that energy comes from. If you ate 1200 calories a day of only candy bars, you would still very likely lose weight. If you ate 5000 calories a day of brown rice, you would still very likely gain weight. That is how energy works. When you take in more energy than your body uses, your body stores it.
However, nutrients is where the business really is. Traditionally “clean” foods are nutrient-dense, and this is what you want. A lot of junk food has a lot of calories packed into it, but with little nutrients. Imagine you ate a bag of chips that was 200 calories. You probably do not feel full at all from eating those chips. Those chips had barely any nutrients that will help fuel and sustain your body. Those 200 calories are still calories, but you’re going to have to eat even more to provide yourself with nutrients and to feel satiated. Generally, this is why people with “unhealthy” diets are oftentimes very overweight. They’re eating a lot of calories, but not enough actual nutrients, so their bodies keep wanting more.
Now imagine you ate a huge bowl of vegetables that was also 200 calories. That’s a lot of vegetables. That’s a lot of micronutrients. You probably feel kind of full. That’s good. Your body is happy! You still ate 200 calories, but you have fueled your body in a much better way.
Even though “a calorie is a calorie,” things like refined sugars and too much saturated fat are not good for the body for other reasons aside from weight or fat gain. A diet high in saturated fat increases your risk of heart disease. A diet in high refined sugar increases your risk for Type II Diabetes, can cause inflammation in the liver, etc. If all you eat is junk food–even if you’re eating the correct amount of calories for you and you’re not overweight at all–your body will not be happy. You also won’t perform and function at your best because your body will be deficient of important nutrients.
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