76-year-old bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has continued his pattern of giving shocking revelations to the fitness world through his newsletter. In the most recent edition of his newsletter, Arnie showcased a study that revealed some startling results about calories. The study compared almonds, a natural health food, with French fries. You’d think the French fries would fare worse than almonds because the latter is considered healthy. However, you’d be wrong because there was barely any difference between them.

So, does that mean French fries are just as healthy as almonds? Not by a long shot. Arnold Schwarzenegger explained the study’s particulars and why you shouldn’t replace almonds with French fries in your regular diet. “Researchers found that eating French Fries doesn’t make you gain more weight than eating almonds,” Arnie wrote in his newsletter. However, there was a catch.

Arnold Schwarzenegger explained that as long as the calories remained the same, scientists found they had similar effects. The study divided participants into three groups. One group ate 300 calories of almonds, the second group ate 300 calories of French fries, and the final group ate French fries with a spice/herb mix. Scientists looked at the results after 30 days.

They found “no difference in body fat, fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, or insulin resistance between the almond and French fries groups,” Arnie wrote. The only difference between the groups was the lower post-meal glucose response from the almond group. “Three hundred calories are three hundred calories,” added Arnold Schwarzenegger, but there are other factors at play.

The researchers didn’t change anything in the controlled study. The participants made no lifestyle changes and ate 300 calories of almonds or fries. They also didn’t make it to long-term study. Arnie said that some foods, like French fries, affect hunger differently and might lead to overeating and weight gain.

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Instead, the Austrian Oak highlighted the study to show that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating your comfort foods once in a while. That being said, there are new-age fitness influencers who beg to differ. Sam Sulek is one of them. Earlier, the 21-year-old had ignited the junk food vs. clean eating debate.

Sam Sulek’s junk food bulking diet

During his winter bulk, 21-year-old fitness sensation Sam Sulek ate tons of sugar-rich junk foods like “two liters of chocolate milk,” cereal, fries, and more. This drew the attention of fitness influencers like Greg Doucette, who argued that such a diet was detrimental to health. Doucette insinuated that Sulek could get away with it because he worked out so hard and was on PEDs.

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Sulek later acknowledged that you shouldn’t eat junk all the time. The 21-year-old makes sure to control the calories even when he eats junk food. This is similar to what Arnold Schwarzenegger said about the 30-day study.

While the study’s findings might be startling, Arnold Schwarzenegger simply wants you not to feel guilty about cheat days. What do you think about the fact that French fries aren’t as unhealthy as we thought they were? Let us know in the comments below.