Forums >Health and Nutrition>The physics of chocolate
Dave
I need some medical advice on this one.
Our office received an unbelievably delicous 5 pound box of chocolates for the holidays. I've been snacking a little.
I'm just wondering, if I eat the entire 5 pound box of chocolates, would I expect to gain only 5 pounds of fat, less than that, or are those 5 pounds of chocolate some how magically transformed into more than 5 pounds of fat.
This chocolate is so good that I'm thinking the 5 pounds might be worth it.
I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it. dgb2n@yahoo.com
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It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
1983
You need to give us the % cocoa fat.
I looked at the box and there is no nutrition information.
Can you use some assumptions based on "smooth, creamy, and yummy"?
I'd really like to make an informed decision about how much of this box to eat.
Imminent Catastrophe
I don't like chocolate.
what the hell is wrong with you?
"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"
"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain
"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.
√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015
Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016
Western States 100 June 2016
You just need to wrap that dark chocolate around an almond!
The box is OK - just go easy on the chocolates.
2013
3000 miles
Sub 19:00 for 5K 05-03-13 Clee Prom 5K - 19:00:66 that was bloody close!
Sub-40:00 for 10K 17-03-13 Gainsborough 10K - 39:43
Sub 88:00 for HM
pounds of fat = 5 cals / g * 454 g/lb * 5 lb choc * 1 lb fat / 3500 cal = 3.2 lbs of fat
Eat away!
blog, training log
Not liking chocolate is way down on the list of things wrong with me. Too many to list.
To clarify, I like chocolate when paired with something else. I just don't like chocolate by itself.
Chocolate bar - bad
Snickers - good
Brownies - bad
Brownies with Icecream - good
pounds of fat = 5 cals / g * 454 g/lb * 5 lb choc * 1 lb fat / 3500 cal = 3.2 lbs of fat Eat away!
Excellent.
So I only have to imagine about 3/5's of every delicous chocolate strapped to my gut.
It may very well be worth it. Or, conversely, I guess I could just run:
3.2 pounds *3500 calories/pound / 140 calories per mile = 80 miles.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Eggnog is high in fat. Fat has more calories/gram than carbs or alcohol. So I liberally diluted my eggnog with dark rum. You know, so it was DIET eggnog. It was good.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
5 cals per gram is carbohydrate.
Fat is 9 cals per gram.
The reason to know the % fat is to be able to figure out how many calories the chocolate contains. Once you know that, you still have to make assumptions about how much eaten is absorbed and about how much absorbed is stored.
Discussed elsewhere
From that thread:
Caloric contents: 1 gram fat = 9 calories; 1 lb = 4086 calories 1 gram carb = 4 calories; 1 lb = 1816 calories 1 gram protein = 4 calories; 1 lb = 1816 calories Weight gained is equal to the number of calories consumed in excess to calories expended, divided by the way the body stores it. There is no magic number, such as eat 3600 cal and gain one pound. So, if you eat 100 calories in excess of what you expend, AND your body absorbs it all (another big big factor), you will gain 11 grams if it is stored as fat or 25 grams if it is stored as protien or carbs (such as glycogen). You body also uses water molecules as it processes these calories into storage forms, which increase your weight further. Lets say you eat one pound of chocolate. Chocolate contains fats, carbs and some undigestable solids that you do not absorb. If you are eating bitersweet chocolate, you will get about 2400 calories. If it is milk chocolate, that is about 4500 calories. (Sorry for that news folks. Also, the reason the milk chocolate is more calories than if it were fat alone is that there are sugars dissolved in, I believe.) If you eat the pound of milk chocolate and your body absorbs, say, 4086 calories, then go sit on the couch, stop breathing and using any energy at all, you will store all those calories. If your body stores them as fat, you will gain one pound. If your body stores them as carbs AND the process of converting fat to carbs required NO energy expenditure (it does), you would gain 2.25 lbs. The reason why you are able to gain more weight than the physical weight of the chocolate is because...drum roll here... you store the calories by binding it with water molecules, which bring weight. Thread officially unhijacked. You are welcome.