Came back from college for break and...
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Ice creams vary a lot, even without going for a specialist low-cal type.
I utterly love ice cream and can have 50g vanilla on soft fruit or bananas or stewed fruit for 113cal for the ice cream part of that. That is a nice creamy vanilla, not a diet version. I could get a low-cal one that was considerably lower, if I needed to be super-careful, but it wouldn't be as nice.
The B&J, Haagen Dazs types are so high, not because of the ice cream component, but because of the dense chunks of sweeties they contain. I do like them, but avoid them while losing weight.0 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
A serving or two, not a gallon
. Just like with breakfast, if you were eating eight at once, maybe don't do that anymore. Theyll have calorie information somewhere. Definitely pay attention to it and incorporate that information in meeting your goals... perhaps that could actually help you eat the s'mores and icecream even when you're not stressed 
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SingRunTing wrote: »What ice cream are you eating that's 270 calories for a half a cup?
Ummm.... well:
And that's just plain vanilla not even one with "sweeties"...ShammersPink wrote: »Haagen Dazs types are so high, not because of the ice cream component, but because of the dense chunks of sweeties they contain.
Wrong.0 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
Adulthood is full of stress and hard choices. It doesn't end when you graduate from college. Have a s'more or some ice cream but realize that overindulging comes with consequences. Only you can decide if it is worth the worry that the consequence (weight gain) seems to be causing you.2 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
One of the most vital things you can learn as an adult is how to deal with stress. Some people exercise, some people meditate, some people talk it out, etc. You have to find what works for you, but I wouldn't recommend eating to make yourself feel better or to deal with stress because it will turn into a lifetime of doing that and a lifetime of obesity.
The best advice I can give you about keeping stress low in college is managing your time well and being organized. I kept a calendar where I would input all my exams, homework assignments, papers, etc. for every class in different colors that corresponded to that class. I never waited to the last minute to begin an assignment or finish an assignment especially if it was an assignment I had due on the same day as another assignment or exam. Papers I did weeks in advance. I found I didn't like sitting and working on anything continuously for hours and hours so I would do some research here, do some research there, write a page here, write a page there. If an exam was coming up, I set certain days and times to study. I usually would begin reviewing a week in advance.
College, I found, was only as stressful as I made it out to be. If you know you've done the work and you know the material, there is no need to stress. I found myself stressed when I knew I hadn't reviewed enough and had waited to the last minute to do what I should have done weeks before.3 -
Maaann, in one day my weight will vary by 10lbs...get on my level. Kidding but really don't stress, bet money it's mostly just water retention.0
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courtneyfabulous wrote: »SingRunTing wrote: »What ice cream are you eating that's 270 calories for a half a cup?
Ummm.... well:
And that's just plain vanilla not even one with "sweeties"...ShammersPink wrote: »Haagen Dazs types are so high, not because of the ice cream component, but because of the dense chunks of sweeties they contain.
Wrong.
I stand corrected!
Looking at their labels, they are much denser than the more ordinary vanillas I use on fruit, which must have more air whipped in.
I always weigh my ice cream, so I use calorie counts per gram, but the one I use is about 50g/100ml, whereas the Haagen Dazs is 86g/100ml (which here in the UK is assumed to be a standard portion of two scoops). The Haagen Dazs is also higher per gram in fats and calories, so overall, if you were using a volume measure, such as a scoop or cup, you'd end up eating almost double the calories from the Haagen Dazs. Always assuming your measurements were accurate, which is not easy with volume measurements.
The lowest calorie one I can find at my Supermarket is not much more than half of the one I use, per scoop - even more air, even less fat. It is cited as 45g/100ml, and about 70 cal per 50g. I've had that one before, and it's ok, but less nice than my mid-range one at 113 cals.
The point being, that it's not that hard to satisfy an ice cream habit without spending a large proportion of your calories on it. It just shouldn't be half a tub of B&J or HD every day.2 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
One of the most vital things you can learn as an adult is how to deal with stress. Some people exercise, some people meditate, some people talk it out, etc. You have to find what works for you, but I wouldn't recommend eating to make yourself feel better or to deal with stress because it will turn into a lifetime of doing that and a lifetime of obesity.
The best advice I can give you about keeping stress low in college is managing your time well and being organized. I kept a calendar where I would input all my exams, homework assignments, papers, etc. for every class in different colors that corresponded to that class. I never waited to the last minute to begin an assignment or finish an assignment especially if it was an assignment I had due on the same day as another assignment or exam. Papers I did weeks in advance. I found I didn't like sitting and working on anything continuously for hours and hours so I would do some research here, do some research there, write a page here, write a page there. If an exam was coming up, I set certain days and times to study. I usually would begin reviewing a week in advance.
College, I found, was only as stressful as I made it out to be. If you know you've done the work and you know the material, there is no need to stress. I found myself stressed when I knew I hadn't reviewed enough and had waited to the last minute to do what I should have done weeks before.
Best advice in this whole thread! Yes!0 -
ShammersPink wrote: »Ice creams vary a lot, even without going for a specialist low-cal type.
I utterly love ice cream and can have 50g vanilla on soft fruit or bananas or stewed fruit for 113cal for the ice cream part of that. That is a nice creamy vanilla, not a diet version. I could get a low-cal one that was considerably lower, if I needed to be super-careful, but it wouldn't be as nice.
The B&J, Haagen Dazs types are so high, not because of the ice cream component, but because of the dense chunks of sweeties they contain. I do like them, but avoid them while losing weight.
I usually eat Friendly's, Hood, or Breyers. None of those that I've bought have ever been more than 190 calories.
Ben & Jerry's is delicious, but from my perspective, it counts as ice cream and a candy bar.
Also, most campus cafeterias where I've seen ice cream, they've tended to be soft serve. Very different ball game with calories.0 -
That diet pretty much illustrates my point from earlier:
1) University dining halls are offering "restaurant food" to kids because they're "consumers" now and not just students.
I wonder if that's the norm or not.
I went to a rather large university and the choices in the dining hall were "healthy". There weren't any fried foods, a pasta option maybe once every two weeks, there wasn't any dessert options - unless you can count a fruit salad as dessert, and though there was a pizza option daily at lunch it was thin crust and on whole grain bread.
Lunch and dinner were always made up of baked chicken or fish with an array of vegetables. There was also always a salad bar, a few choices of soup, and a stir fry station. Breakfast choices were grits, cereal, oatmeal, sausage, and fruit. There never were pastries or donuts.
Also, I graduated within the last five years so this wasn't eons ago.
I can't speak to the dining halls, but I work at a large state university and trust me, there are few healthy options. The cafeteria to which I have access does have salads, all of which contain quite a lot of cheese or cold cuts. They're fresh on Monday and they don't replenish them. There's a taco bar, pizza, some sad looking fruit which costs 4x as much as it would at a supermarket, lots of pastries, doughnuts, brownies. They do have wraps that can be made to order, but everything is just kind of gross looking. There is also a Tim Hortons' franchise, a fauxbucks (food courtesy of the university campus dining service), and a food truck (again food courtesy of the campus dining service) which usually has 3 kinds of mac and cheese, panini, grilled cheese etc. I have asked repeatedly for nutritional information, but they've never released that data if they have it.
It's a food desert.
Most of the time I bring my lunch.
OP: I think other people have said it best, try to pick one option and not 3 or 4. I would suggest logging what you eat which will give you a general sense of the calorie load. Do you have access to gym facilities on your campus? If there are options like fruits or veggies, try to go for those. Can you get off campus at all? You may be able to get healthier food elsewhere even if it's just for snacking.1 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
On the plus side I think we can all agree that you've grasped the problem.
On the down side it doesn't sound as of yet that you're ready to commit to doing something about it.
Why do I say this?
Because as long as you are feeling that this is somewhat of a right that is being taken away from you there is little point in going on a "diet".
If you do, you will inevitably fail.
Either you truly and deep down want to not gain weight or you don't.
The process is dead simple. Eat the same as you burn to maintain, or less to lose, or more to gain.
Implementing it in the middle of the night with a brownie inches from your mouth... is not.
Your inner beliefs as to what you "deserve" will either help you or sink you at that point.
All of this, but especially that last sentence. OP, we're all on your side here and want to help you, but none of the advice you're being given will work long term if you're not ready and you don't stick to it.
(You've been given some good advice on how to deal with stress, too... please don't fall into a lifetime of eating for comfort or stress-relief. Adulting sucks a lot of the time, so finding other ways of dealing with the stresses of life in general is important!)1 -
Packerjohn wrote: »SingRunTing wrote: »courtneyfabulous wrote: »Yeah ice cream is 270 calories per 1/2 cup and I bet the serving you're getting is more like 3/4 or 1 cup so betweeen 400 and 540 calories. To put that in perspective that's probably 1/3 to 1/4 of the calories you should be eating in an entire day.
What ice cream are you eating that's 270 calories for a half a cup? I buy just about every brand available in the grocery store and they're usually 140-170 calories per half cup.
I agree that she's probably eating multiple servings, but your calorie estimates are really high...
.5 cup Ben and Jerry's The Tonight Dough, 310 calories as an example:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/ben-and-jerrys-ice-cream-the-tonight-dough-376635766?v2=false
I was going to chime in on this. The Ben & Jerry's brownie core that I get is around that, if not more.0 -
As mentioned before, I tend to eat the most during stressful times. College is very stressful with constant tests and projects. Sometimes after a harsh day I need a pick me up. So why not the smores or some ice cream? Is it really so bad
Is it bad? Most things in life are neither good nor bad. They just are.
Over-eating is not bad. Certainly it is not bad if you want to gain weight.
But if you don't want to gain weight, yes, over-eating is bad in terms of allowing you to meet your goal of not gaining weight.
Eating in response to stress = emotional eating.
Eating to reward yourself = emotional eating.
Eating to punish yourself = emotional eating.
Eating to celebrate when not hungry or eating because it tastes so damn good when not hungry = not eating to hunger cues.
Generally the result of all the above = ending up overweight or ending up obese.
I mean some peoples' hunger cues are **kittened** and even if they were to eat to them they would still have a problem. But, for most people, eating to true hunger cues will lead to weight stability.
Try it. It is the famous: am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Am I still hungry after I drink a glass of water? I just had food. If I wait 15 minutes will I still be hungry and wanting to eat more?
as @JaneiR36 said grab an extra piece of fruit or yogurt to have later; but only have it if you are TRULY hungry. Being bored, relieved, happy, stressed, or anything in between... doesn't count.
Instead of smores or ice cream try a walk, run, swim, or weight lifting session. It will be just as stress relieving and it will allow you to eat more calories without gaining weight. AND it will make you healthier.
On the plus side I think we can all agree that you've grasped the problem.
On the down side it doesn't sound as of yet that you're ready to commit to doing something about it.
Why do I say this?
Because as long as you are feeling that this is somewhat of a right that is being taken away from you there is little point in going on a "diet".
If you do, you will inevitably fail.
Either you truly and deep down want to not gain weight or you don't.
The process is dead simple. Eat the same as you burn to maintain, or less to lose, or more to gain.
Implementing it in the middle of the night with a brownie inches from your mouth... is not.
Your inner beliefs as to what you "deserve" will either help you or sink you at that point.
Emotional eating isn't necessarily a problem for losing or maintaining weight, as long as it's done in moderation. There's more to food than simply meeting our energy and nutritional needs. If there weren't, we'd be satisfied eating essentially the same meal every day, as long as it was balanced. Maybe we'd all be eating bags of "human food" right next to the bags of pet food.
Most of us would find that prospect very unappealing. Food is more than just about meeting your physical needs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating for pleasure, we all do it. That doesn't mean you can't eat for pleasure and still do so within calorie goals, too.
If ice cream helps after a hard day... have ice cream. But either plan to do so in advance and save calories for this, or make a thoughtful decision to exceed your normal calories for the day. There are a lot of brands of ice cream that are fairly low in calories.1 -
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Hmmm so I'm back again. My most recent weigh in has me at 182 lbs. I tried to cut back and eat healthier, but it doesn't seem to have helped any.0
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Hmmm so I'm back again. My most recent weigh in has me at 182 lbs. I tried to cut back and eat healthier, but it doesn't seem to have helped any.
But have you cut back enough? That was always my issue with maintenance. I knew to cut back and eat less I just didn't know how much less:).
Did you plug your numbers into mfp and stick to your calorie allotment?0 -
I'm not sure how to plug dinning hall food into mfp cause it is all made differently. I'm not sure if I cut back enough. I will try again when I go back. I stress eat a lot of food so that could be it.0
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Can you pick something similar in the database?
When I go out to eat I usually pick something similar in mfp database and add 1/4 portion to it. It hasn't stalled my weight loss, perhaps slowed it buy not being accurate but certainly hasn't stalled it.
Yes stress eating can ruin a deficit.
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