What Has Surprised You The Most?
joeneely71
Posts: 49 Member
What has surprised you the most along your journey? For me it has been just how little margin for error exists. By way of example, I had been doing well for a couple of weeks and so decided to reward myself. A small Dairy Queen Blizzard - cookie dough, of course - would be the perfect reward. Just one. I used to eat one-per-week during the summer; what harm could it do me now. Wrong! The calorie count is 750+ calories, or about 50% of my daily goal. Even on a day when I'm willing to ignore the limits, I can't possibly let one item - an unhealthy item - constitute 50% of a day's caloric intake.
A more specific surprise is that a York Peppermint Patty has 100 calories. I figured 40 or 50 calories, and looked at a peppermint patty as a reasonable substitute for the 248-calorie Milky Way (or sometimes Peanut Butter M & M's, also 248 calories) I indulged in most days before beginning this journey in earnest. A peppermint patty simply isn't worth spending 100 calories on at this stage of my life, and I'm still looking for that perfect 40-calorie sweet snack.
A more specific surprise is that a York Peppermint Patty has 100 calories. I figured 40 or 50 calories, and looked at a peppermint patty as a reasonable substitute for the 248-calorie Milky Way (or sometimes Peanut Butter M & M's, also 248 calories) I indulged in most days before beginning this journey in earnest. A peppermint patty simply isn't worth spending 100 calories on at this stage of my life, and I'm still looking for that perfect 40-calorie sweet snack.
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Restricting foods I love = disaster. And I found I can eat a very healthy diet to include my nightly Klondike bar!0
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I don't know that it was a surprise so much as accepting reality, but drinking a couple of gallons a milk a week wasn't consistent with my losing weight at my then-TDEE.0
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Just how out of control restaurant portions are. Especially with Italian food. You have got to be mindful when you dine out.0
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I'm surprised that I don't have to ignore the foods that I love. I can have them everyday and still get to my goals.0
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That the bread in my bacon sarnie had more calories than the bacon itself. Also that I can still have said bacon sarnie!0
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OP, not sure if you know this but there is a mini size DQ Blizzard that you can order. It's 440 cals, so still more than your 440 but you could save up calories for it if you really want one.0
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I used to believe what I read on the food packages. For example, the bagel thins I eat say 110 calories EACH in huge letters on the front of the package. But when you weigh them, they are always 140 or more calories. So many products don't weigh what the serving size is supposed to be. I would be hundreds of calories off each day if I believed the labels. Weighing everything has been eye opening.0
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Restaurant and fast food was a shocker. I still don't understand why people don't gain more than they do. I have a friend who should, by rights, gain over a pound a day. Why doesn't she? I don't know.
Frosting, too. Holy God on the frosting! I guess I never thought that much about it.
Mostly, what has surprised me is how well I've done. If some had told me five years ago that I'd go a year without a single Blizzard, donut or candy bar and that I'd have a diet that included lots of healthy food, I'd have thought they were nuts. But I'm closing in on it, lol.
I surprised me.
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crystalewhite wrote: »Just how out of control restaurant portions are. Especially with Italian food. You have got to be mindful when you dine out.
I agree, restaurant sizes are out of control. I find myself eating half a plate or less when I go out to eat now. It annoys me how the server sometimes takes that as an affront--"Was it not cooked right? Did it not taste good? Do you need a box so you can eat more later?" I guess they're trained to make sure customers are happy with their food, but geez, you served me way more food than I need! Please don't shove it down my throat, I am trying to be healthy. They get mad if you decline freebies like unlimited bread or chips, too. I don't need those endless baskets of calories!0 -
I used to believe what I read on the food packages. For example, the bagel thins I eat say 110 calories EACH in huge letters on the front of the package. But when you weigh them, they are always 140 or more calories. So many products don't weigh what the serving size is supposed to be. I would be hundreds of calories off each day if I believed the labels. Weighing everything has been eye opening.
What do you mean? Nothing weighs in calories.0 -
How many calories are in restaurant meals. I mean, I kind of knew, but was willing to ignore.
No longer....
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I used to believe what I read on the food packages. For example, the bagel thins I eat say 110 calories EACH in huge letters on the front of the package. But when you weigh them, they are always 140 or more calories. So many products don't weigh what the serving size is supposed to be. I would be hundreds of calories off each day if I believed the labels. Weighing everything has been eye opening.
What do you mean? Nothing weighs in calories.
LOL - ok.
I was making the biggest rookie mistake by not weighing everything. The package said 110 PER bagel which is 46 grams. I just assumed the product would actually weigh 46 grams rather than the 53 or more grams that I get on the scale. Now I weigh everything.
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When I first started on MFP by just logging what I was eating (though I had some weight loss before joining MFP) I was shocked at how sneaky and deviously evil calories can be, they hide in massive numbers in areas you would never think of. I prefer to cook most of my meals and while it was easy to eliminate or lower amounts of certain things like cheese or butter, it was still crazy how fast calories would add up. Learning how to balance nutrition and calories (accepting the calories for things like nuts and oils) really helped even on days that I went over my calorie goals - usually because of some sweet treat
Sometimes you have to look at balancing things out for the week or over several days as opposed to day by day. Life happens and we can't always have control over what we eat. This past weekend was my birthday and I was treated to a visit at an amusement park, though none of the park food was of interest to me I did have an indulgent lunch with cocktails - I will admit, I am still feeling the ill effects of it but ultimately I had a great time.
I think as much as we hate to admit it, a good part of our social life surrounds food 0 -
How I am not hungry. I must've been eating out of habit or boredom before, because I have only been hungry days where my calories WERE too low because I was saving them (ie. because I knew I was eating out for dinner and needed to save 900/1800 for that)
And how out of shape I am/was(?). I chase my toddler around all day, but a 30 minute walk at a good pace had me ready to wiped 2 weeks ago, now I'm walking with some jogging to do a C25K app and I can totally make it.0 -
I used to believe what I read on the food packages. For example, the bagel thins I eat say 110 calories EACH in huge letters on the front of the package. But when you weigh them, they are always 140 or more calories. So many products don't weigh what the serving size is supposed to be. I would be hundreds of calories off each day if I believed the labels. Weighing everything has been eye opening.
What do you mean? Nothing weighs in calories.
LOL - ok.
I was making the biggest rookie mistake by not weighing everything. The package said 110 PER bagel which is 46 grams. I just assumed the product would actually weigh 46 grams rather than the 53 or more grams that I get on the scale. Now I weigh everything.
Ooh! This too. I started weighing (almost) everything to make sure it matches the serving size on the package. If it is within a gram above to, oh, maybe a few grams under I leave it as one serving. If it weighs more or significantly less, I log it as a percentage of a serving. My mom and I made quinoa and brown rice that comes in a steamer bag. A serving is 1 cup, we both decided we wanted .5 a cup. My .5 a cup weighed .62 of a serving when you compared grams. That's almost 25% more calories than I would've logged it as! Not everything is off by quite that much, but it was an eye opener!0 -
I was surprised when I used MFP to calculate my calorie goals. I knew I was short, but didn't realize just how few calories my body actually needs to maintain. For years the women's magazines said to eat 1600 to lose weight (with a lot of exercise) and 1800 to maintain. Nope, the math for my stats is much MUCH lower. I needed to know that to start moving forward.0
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So many products don't weigh what the serving size is supposed to be. I would be hundreds of calories off each day if I believed the labels. Weighing everything has been eye opening.
Yes!!! I notice that the serving size (ounces or cups) equivalent to grams is off or the weight of the good isn't reasonably close to the suggested serving size.
I can't always weigh so I try to overestimate on food with the expectation that calorie consumption is +/- 100-200 calories each day.
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