Not All Foods are Created Equal

The logic in the minds of most people is that there is no difference between eating 500 calories of cake and 500 calories of steak or 500 calories of vegetables. However the body will break these foods down in different ways, thus producing a different rate of satiety. In short, the cake will fill you up less and for the least amount of time, the steak will fill you up more and for a longer period of time, and most people would likely find it challenging to eat 500 calories of vegetables in one sitting.

To begin I’ll start with the thermogenic effect of food. When food is consumed it takes the body a certain amount of time to break it down to utilize its nutrients. The time it takes is different for every kind of food and the longer it takes, the longer you will feel full.  This is not even taking into consideration insulin spikes from sugary foods.

Eating complex carbohydrates and fibrous carbs, your body can burn between 10-25% of the calories consumed just breaking it down. For lean protein it can actually be up to 30%, so if you ate 500 calories of lean meat, up to 150 of those calories could be burned off just during digestion!  Then the digestion of fat only burns off about 5% of calories but healthy fats can actually have a huge effect on good satiety ( this is a little harder to explain because it is controversial.) 

Sugary and simple carbs, and unhealthy fats will fill you up less and can leave you feeling hungry very soon after consumption, which I why I suggest lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy EFA’s ( essential fatty acids.)

So now that we know how different foods are broken down and how our bodies digest them lets look at the satiety effect of foods..... Next time you go for a croissant for breakfast remember this, the satiety effect of it is only 47 where oatmeal is 209!  White bread has a rating of 100 while white potatoes have a rating of 323.  Bananas are at 118 while apples are 197. Simply put by choosing different foods you can eat the same amount of calories but stay fuller for much longer and eat less which will lead to weight loss. 

For an entire list of these foods please visit http://www.mendosa.com/satiety.htm.

Tony's Tip:  Try making at least one conscious healthy choice change per meal and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to make the switch.

Tony isn't a licensed nutritionist yet, so he can't give anyone advice on what  to do.  Please consult your doctor for his professional opinion on a diet/nutrition program that will work for you.

Tony's blog is a journal of his experiences and what has worked for him.   He lists general guidelines and suggestions only.  He is NOT a professional.