Calories from chocolate

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else find that they gain weight super easily from calories from chocolate and candy as opposed to regular food?

What I mean by that is suppose hypothetically that you ate 1000 calories of chocolate versus 1000 calories of health foods - the weight gain should be the same a you are taking in the same amount of calories (obviously you are getting no nutrition from the chocolate calories and more likely to binge later but that's besides the point).

So is it not true that 1000 calories is the same no matter the source?

[Anonymous]

The calories from chocolate are from added sugar which is a super efficient source of fuel. When you don’t use that fuel, you gain weight. Eat chocolate with no sugar added and you won’t have the same issue

[Anonymous]

it has nothing to do with the calories being from chocolate and while it is weight gain it is not necessarily fat gain.

When you eat more carbs than normal you will retain more water. This is why you may "gain" weight if you eat chocolate with sugar vs chocolate without sugar even if calories are the same. This is also why if you eat the same number of calories but cut carbs for a few days you will "lose" weight quickly, but as soon as you eat more carbs you will "gain" weight. This weight is really just shifts in water retention.

[Anonymous]

Oh I see - so it's all about sugar?!

If it's not actual fat gain then perhaps I will lose those extra 2 pounds as quickly as I gained them?

Hopefully. I'm going to be more careful about sugar.

I don't want to start going in the wrong direction.

[Anonymous]

lower cocoa content chocolate is higher in fat - so if you eat a higher content - say 70% cocoa, your chocolate craving is sated sooner and you're not eating so much of the added ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The calories from chocolate are from added sugar which is a super efficient source of fuel. When you don’t use that fuel, you gain weight. Eat chocolate with no sugar added and you won’t have the same issue

Not really. Calories from chocolate is more so from cocoa butter or cream/milk depending on the type. I eat dark chocolate and there is only 5 or 6 grams of sugar for a whole once- which is a big serving and twice what I eat

[Anonymous]

You would have to eat a good amount of chocolate on a day to day basis to gain weight. If your diet is balanced and nutrient rich then eating a small piece of chocolate or even two pieces, it will not affect you negatively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh I see - so it's all about sugar?!

If it's not actual fat gain then perhaps I will lose those extra 2 pounds as quickly as I gained them?

Hopefully. I'm going to be more careful about sugar.

I don't want to start going in the wrong direction.

I think the main thing to keep in mind is that weight fluctuates on a daily basis for all sorts of reasons; more carbs, fewer carbs, more salt, hydration level, bowel movements, hormones.... Even if you ate the same things every single day your weight would still fluctuate. If you eat too much chocolate or veggies one day you will not gain pounds of fat overnight but may retain water differently. Still really nothing worth overthinking unless you are stuffing yourself with to much food/calories then sure you will eventually gain fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The calories from chocolate are from added sugar which is a super efficient source of fuel. When you don’t use that fuel, you gain weight. Eat chocolate with no sugar added and you won’t have the same issue

Not really. Calories from chocolate is more so from cocoa butter or cream/milk depending on the type. I eat dark chocolate and there is only 5 or 6 grams of sugar for a whole once- which is a big serving and twice what I eat

You're talking about high end chocolate. Sugar is the first ingredient in most mass produced chocolate.

[Anonymous]

In a Hershey bar (39 g)
there is 17 g sugar and 14 g fat

so it's sugar AND fat in low cocoa / crappie chocolate