Negative calories... true or false?

John6 · 07-21-2005, 10:19 PM

I've heard that some foods require more calories to be digested than they themselves provide--resulting in "negative calores." Is this true?

Specifically I'd like to know about green beans, apples, and strawberries--as I could eat these things all day long.

**EEmain** · 07-21-2005, 11:48 PM

I think it means things like... lettuce... celery.. there is a lot of sugar in fruit

**BigVrunga** · 07-22-2005, 12:23 AM

Complex Carbohydrate, foods with a lot of fiber and lean protiens burn more calories during digestion. The thermogenic effect of certain foods is very real, and incorporating lean protien, complex carbs and fibrous vegetables into your meals is essential to lean mass gain and/or fat loss.

Quote:

I think it means things like... lettuce... celery.. there is a lot of sugar in fruit

Fruit does have a lot of sugar - but its sugar in its most natural form. Completely unrefined. Most fruit has less sugar than you might think, and you should eat fruit every day to get the nutrients and anti-oxidants they provide. For instance, 1 cup of blueberries (that's a big scoop) only has about 15g of sugar, that's about 10-20g less than an 8oz glass of fruit juice or 30g less than a glass of soda.

BV

Matthew D · 07-22-2005, 12:48 AM

Any food that is high in fiber is made mostly from cellose, which your body is not able to digest, so you will only get about 35 calories from 2 cups of lettuce but it is not "negative" calories in the true sense of the word

**TheCrownedOne** · 07-22-2005, 12:57 AM

The only food I have found in my reading to have negative calories is celery. Celery is something like 98% water and the rest is fiber with some meager carbs and electrolytes.

John6 · 07-22-2005, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew D

Any food that is high in fiber is made mostly from cellose, which your body is not able to digest, so you will only get about 35 calories from 2 cups of lettuce but it is not "negative" calories in the true sense of the word

Surely though the body must expend energy to digest those 35 calories, right? Would it be correct then to say that they have zero net calories?

Matthew D · 07-22-2005, 01:30 AM

Well if you could digest the lettuce it would have more calories that 35 but because you have to expend some energy to breakdown the water and extract the minerals, then you only get 35 calories from it.. okay I looked it up.. it is only 14 calories for 2 cups of iceberg lettuce
Hell 2 cups of lettuce is a bunch of lettuce.. think extra large salad

John6 · 07-22-2005, 01:51 AM

Oh okay, so 14 is the actual net calories. Where are you looking these up at? Can you do green beans, strawberries, and apples?

**BigVrunga** · 07-22-2005, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Oh okay, so 14 is the actual net calories. Where are you looking these up at? Can you do green beans, strawberries, and apples?

You shouldnt really look at it as trying to achieve a negative calorie balance through food alone...rather, design your meals to increase metabolic activity/promote muscle growth/reduce fat accrual and achieve the caloric defecit through aerobic and resistence training.

BV

John6 · 07-22-2005, 02:12 AM

I know, it would have just been gravy though if the food I ate could have added to my daily calorie deficit.

**BigVrunga** · 07-22-2005, 02:30 AM

If it did, it would be negligible at best...better to just space your meals out throughout the day to keep your metabolism churning.

Matthew D · 07-22-2005, 09:58 AM

1 cup of green beans ~35 calories
1 cup strawberries sliced 50 calories
1 cup apples raw with skin 65 calories

and to answer you question, I have a program called protrack that is a combination of a food database, meal tracker, and exercise tracker... like www.fitday.com without the net attachment

**milwood** · 07-22-2005, 12:31 PM

...I'm cutting right now with M1T and a celery/lettuce stack. Do you think if I bump it up to 10 stalks a day, I'll see my abs soon? I can't see any muscles anymore. Is that a problem?

...kidding. Not flaming, your questions are valid and legit. I'm just in a stupid mood...
maybe I'll swing by BB.com...

BigSwede · 07-22-2005, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrownedOne

The only food I have found in my reading to have negative calories is celery. Celery is something like 98% water and the rest is fiber with some meager carbs and electrolytes.

I though cabbage was another one?