Originally Posted by
FBinNY
Yes, and no.
On a purely calorie or weight basis, yes, calories are calories. However diet is about more than calories. There are all sorts of other nutrients in that food, all of which are important. There's also a question of what I call the satisfaction index. Some foods offer high satisfaction as you eat them, and can stay in the stomach longer, so you're likely to be more satisfied longer, and eat less than you might with low SI foods.
So, calories are what matters, but how you get them is also important in subtle ways.
You are so right. When I was sticking to my diet I found that certain caloric tradeoffs made sense in the long run....a few extra calories now so I wouldn't want to eat later on vs a low calorie food that either didn't last or triggered a craving. Trail mix was a biggie, that satisfied my body and my mind even though it's higher calories than a lot of suggested foods for losing weight. Cheese was another one, I would put grated cheddar or colby jack on a lot of foods.