Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
my first issue with any discussion like this is the normal way of determining "calories" in food has little to do with the ability of that food to transfer usable metabolic energy to the human body

food is dried, burned and heat creation monitored - modern science could do much better, but so far this marginally useful system is still accepted as valid

not only does the available energy vs combustion energy of foods vary widely, different bodies and the same body at different times will vary on the ability to extract energy from the same food

my answer to the questions raised by the OP is there are no valid answers to be had - way too many uncontrolled variables for any info to to considered "scientific"

my advice: quit worrying about it - eat, hike, rinse, repeat

if it seems that you are getting to thin/ feeling crappy ---- than just eat more

This is somewhat in line what I was sharing. I want: 1) to be consuming nutrient dense foods in as close to a whole foods state as possible avoiding highly refined highly processed nutrient dismal food like products 2) create as best possible a state in the body that facilitates the optimal assimilation of those nutrients. A key to achieving this is having a healthy digestive system including microbiome.