Food tracking revelations - Share your ZOMG moments

Raevyns

We think we have a good idea what kind of food we eat every day. At least I did. I thought that I was eating somewhat well, with the occasional indulgent day.

Then I started tracking my average noms for a while without really changing my diet. 'Cause I was eating somewhat okay, right?

Holy gods was I ever wrong.

The first thing that struck me was the sheer, ridiculous amount of sodium I ate. 4000mgs of sodium was not weird for me on an average day. The main culprit? Eating out. Grabbing a bite on the way home after a busy work day,. Calling for delivery. Snagging a free packet of ramen at work.

Eating out was the second zomg bit of information for me. I thought that I got delivery or ate out one or twice in a work week, and once on the weekends. Um. More like every other day, with snacks on the go to fill in when I was commuting and starving. Then a giant calorie bomb of a foodielicious meal out with drinks on the weekend.

Speaking of drinks. I discovered that I like to tipple. A lot more than I thought. I split a bottle of wine with my boyfriend almost every night at dinner, which isn't bad. But when I started tracking the shots of bourbon after a hard day, the three fingers of scotch had while relaxing on the weekend, and the couple of free beers at work...Yeah, Wow.

Now I'm rectifying all of this, as best I can with my hectic schedule. I'm getting weekly produce deliveries that I'm eating up, I've started actually drinking water (now that I have my TARDIS mug), and I've sworn off of ramen and Subway (seriously, Subway sammiches have more sodium than fast food burgers and fries combined).

Did you have any startling revelations when you started tracking? What have you done to change things up?

Pearsquared

I started out by just writing down my food without tracking calories. When I did start tracking calorie, I found out I wasn't eating enough. I went a little too far when it came to a deficit.

If I had logged what I used to eat when I didn't care about my diet though, the cheese would have put my sodium and fat intake through the roof.

Raevyns

You were consistently below in calories? You must have a different palate than mine. I've had friends who were genuinely into (and had always been into) lots of green veggies and lean seafood to the exclusion of other stuff.

I tended to rack up calories with fatty, salty things that were in actual volume quite small and not very satisfying. So I ate more. And, um, this may be why I'm fat.

Learning experiences. I have had them. Am having them.

tigerlily_

My biggest shocker was a Caffe Nero Coconut Frappe - 516 calories! That's more than half a pizza!

bobwest185

Zaxby's Chicken Finger Plate - over 1200 calories and 2800 mg of sodium in one meal, wow. Used to eat there 3 or 4 times a month, not anymore.

I don't check noms that much but am trying to reduce sodium.

yaseyuku

Dates. I've never been a huge date person as they are to sweet for me usually, but I'd use them if I wanted to bake something and never realized just how high in calories they are.

Also peanut butter.

TheRealParisLove

I was shocked to discover how much fat I had been eating. Like 60% of my daily calories were coming from fat. I also was shocked to discover how small a teaspoon of olive oil actually is, once I started measuring all my food. Prior to that I had been guesstimating, and was not losing any weight. A teaspoon is tiny! How can so many calories sneak into such a tiny package?

A serving of salad dressing is 2 tablespoons. I was using more like 1/3 of a cup on my salads, and it was the really bad dressings, too, like blue cheese and ranch. :grumble: So much for making a "healthy" choice by having a salad. Now I make my own dressings or use a light vinaigrette.

fjrandol

I was shocked this morning by my two eggs at breakfast - cholesterol of 424 when my cap for the day is 300. Yowza!:grumble: I guess maybe I should start eating just the whites?

suziepoo1984

yeah..been there..after having my baby..i started eating constantly(excuse saying to keep up the milk supply )..but i thought i ate healthy...healthy breakfast..then huge salad..then coffee..juice..protien shakes..lunch..coffee..on and on..and my weight kept piling on - 20 pounds in 3 months...i kept feeling why am i putting on so much weight..i am not eating as much..i got my blood work done to check for thyroid and it came back normal..thats when i got into MFP and realised what i had been eating :blushing:

lindustum

Wheat

anna_conkers

Breakfast cereal. I've realised I've been eating roughly twice the recommended portion for years. Now I weigh it out the correct serving size and it's a pathetically tiny amount, LOL.

I like healthier cereal these days but the amount of the sugary/chocolatey stuff I must have been eating .... shudder.

aalicia88

I was shocked when I logged my green beans one day on mfp. I thought I had a good day then I realized I went wayyy over my sodium. When I found out it was the green beans, I quickly switched to the no salt added kind.

Juniper3411

Portion sizes! Guestimating = bad

And yeah, a teaspoon is ridiculous. Pretty sure I am still using more of the non dairy creamer then I say I am on MFP but hoping that doesn't screw me too bad.

I always ate twice the portion of cereal as well, and you should see the size of the bowls my husband eats! Holy crap!

Raevyns

Oh geez, I'm going to have another zomg moment. I've totally been guesstimating my portion sizes too.

o.o

nikamar

ZOMG the portions- I had no frickin' idea!
Now I know I pretty much used to eat like 3x recommended portion of spaghetti in one meal, and I thought it was "just a plate of spaghetti, no biggie". :sick:

Oh and muesli was another thing I probably ate 3x more than a normal portion. Even the "healthiest" ones have like 200 calories per serving.

peanutbutterrunna

Haha yeah tracking my food made me realize that eating an entire box of shells Mac and cheese isn't normal bhaha xD

Michellelynn04

Yes! My bologna sandwich I ate yesterday had me screwing the pooch on my sodium for the day. Whoops.

dawniirogue

Oh gosh definitely portion sizes, I can't not weigh stuff or I just creep up with my guestimations!

After dieting on and off for years I thought I knew what I was doing - normally get skinny latte from costa... decided today to get a 'skinny' chai latte (cause chai is just spices, right?) apparently not - over 300 cal! I can think of endless things i'd have rather had for that! I hate 'drinking' calories - unless we're talking booze.

Raevyns

I hate 'drinking' calories - unless we're talking booze.

I am with you here, 100%. I drink my coffee with VERY little sweetener and sip water all day instead of flavored beverages. Then I make up for it with my evening wine.

Worth every drop.

Raevyns

Yes! My bologna sandwich I ate yesterday had me screwing the pooch on my sodium for the day. Whoops.

Deli meats are crazypants with the sodium! I thought that eating a Subway sammich would be balanced until I logged it. To this day the only thing that beats Subway sammiches for sodium is Cup Noodle ramen. And that's barely.

Raevyns

Wheat

Oh no, did you find out that you are celiac? Boo.

daddy1319877

Nuts... mixed nuts, to be exact. I had a lot of other moments, but realizing nuts were so high in calories was a punch in the gut. I had always thought they were good for you. Which... technically they are, but not for what i'm trying to do. I would eat a can at a time and think nothing of it, but you could pack away 1000 calories easy eating nuts, and not realize it.

snazzyjazzy21

Wheat

Oh no, did you find out that you are celiac? Boo.

Yes, come to the dark side! We have cardboard bread and tasteless biscuits!

Bootjockey

I can't say it surprises me, because I KNOW how many calories and fat it is, but, peanut butter. Oh, I lovez me some peanut butter. I still eat it, and often. But, I really really do try to keep it in moderation, because, wow. That adds up fast.

The flip side to that, one of those things I just eat guilt-free when I want it, is beef jerky. Yeah, it's high in sodium, but I don't have to worry about that (I flush it right through with 150-200 ounces of water a day easily), but, it's pure protein, and cures the hungers. Tastes good, portable, and if I'm out somewhere without a snack, every convenience store in America carries it. Is it the BEST snack? No. But, it's better than walking into the same store to find SOMETHING, and coming out with a Snickers bar or Little Debbie's.

So, my go-to-when-I'm-without guilt-free food is beef jerky. (NOT Slim Jim's.)

-David / BootJockey
257 Pounds Lost

Raevyns

I was shocked this morning by my two eggs at breakfast - cholesterol of 424 when my cap for the day is 300. Yowza!:grumble: I guess maybe I should start eating just the whites?

I had the same thing happen after logging a home cooked brunch recently. I don't usually care about cholesterol, but when I saw the number suddenly in the red after one meal I was shocked!

I still love my eggywegs. I'll just have them hard boiled more often than fried. For some reason hard boiled eggs tend to show up as less cholesterol rich.

daddy1319877

I was shocked this morning by my two eggs at breakfast - cholesterol of 424 when my cap for the day is 300. Yowza!:grumble: I guess maybe I should start eating just the whites?

I eat Egg Beaters. You can find them at Walmart or Meijer in the midwest. I believe Sam's Club, too. Texture is just off from eggs, but the calories are excellent, and the beaters come in different flavors besides original. I've seen Southwest and Four Cheese flavors.

Michellelynn04

Yes! My bologna sandwich I ate yesterday had me screwing the pooch on my sodium for the day. Whoops.

Deli meats are crazypants with the sodium! I thought that eating a Subway sammich would be balanced until I logged it. To this day the only thing that beats Subway sammiches for sodium is Cup Noodle ramen. And that's barely.

Aww man. I love Cup O' Noodle Ramen too. I think I'm more surprised by how much sugar is in food that isn't inherently sweet.

Raevyns

I was shocked to discover how much fat I had been eating. Like 60% of my daily calories were coming from fat. I also was shocked to discover how small a teaspoon of olive oil actually is, once I started measuring all my food. Prior to that I had been guesstimating, and was not losing any weight. A teaspoon is tiny! How can so many calories sneak into such a tiny package?

A serving of salad dressing is 2 tablespoons. I was using more like 1/3 of a cup on my salads, and it was the really bad dressings, too, like blue cheese and ranch. :grumble: So much for making a "healthy" choice by having a salad. Now I make my own dressings or use a light vinaigrette.

I'm going to be stunned when I start measuring, I'm sure. I cook a lot ( I was going to go to CIA to become a chef) so I can eyeball amounts with some accuracy, but I must be off at least some of the time.

I was so surprised that I ate so much fat and salt. I thought I was a sweet tooth! Nope.

Raevyns

Aww man. I love Cup O' Noodle Ramen too. I think I'm more surprised by how much sugar is in food that isn't inherently sweet.

I stopped watching sugars when I realized that eating one apple and a pear would rocket me over my limits. I keep an eye on fiber now instead.

Avoiding added and refined sugar I can understand, but nobody takes Raevynses fruits!

*Clings to fruits*

RubyRunner14

I found out my carb count was pretty high (I mean, it came from oats and veggies and fruits (no rice or other grains), but it was still in the 200-ish range). I also found out I tended to overestimate (can you believe it?!). If it were not for MFP, I miscounted by 300 cals too much... and wondered why I was so hungry! I had a tendency to round up "just in case". (I.E., if a food was 235 cals, I'd up to 250 in case I'd miscalculated something earlier in the day)... it turns out that I was usually overestimating by at least 100 cals on a daily basis!

Raevyns

I found out my carb count was pretty high (I mean, it came from oats and veggies and fruits (no rice or other grains), but it was still in the 200-ish range). I also found out I tended to overestimate (can you believe it?!). If it were not for MFP, I miscounted by 300 cals too much... and wondered why I was so hungry! I had a tendency to round up "just in case". (I.E., if a food was 235 cals, I'd up to 250 in case I'd miscalculated something earlier in the day)... it turns out that I was usually overestimating by at least 100 cals on a daily basis!

I have totally done that rounding up thing. Totally. I do it with my monetary budget too, but when I save money, I don't end up hungry!