Food tracking revelations - Share your ZOMG moments
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When I started this (this is my second time here) my biggest shockers were around weighing portion sizes. My idea of what a 'portion' looked like was clearly not in line with the general consensus on what a portion is... LOL Especially for things like muesli or spaghetti I would easily have 3x as much...
Other shockers were.... rice.... white potatoes... full-fat milk... nuts...0 -
Shockingly though pizza isn't that bad. I used to eat 2 pieces and still pretty much eat 2 pieces, although I don't get the very meaty kind anymore obviously.
Aside from free beer my employer often gives us free pizza and salad. I too discovered that my two slices weren't all that bad macro/calorie-wise, so I still indulge. I just try to eat a huge helping of the free salad first. Filling my belly with veggies before I have something fatty and yummy helps a lot.0 -
When I started this (this is my second time here) my biggest shockers were around weighing portion sizes. My idea of what a 'portion' looked like was clearly not in line with the general consensus on what a portion is... LOL Especially for things like muesli or spaghetti I would easily have 3x as much...
...I am so not looking forward to strictly measuring my portions.
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I still mismeasure pasta, rice and couscous all the time, because we make some for 4 people and I can't be bothered measuring the whole thing dry then the whole thing cooked to calculate exactly how much I had. That's the only time I use measuring cups, even if I know they're not accurate... I typically don't eat as many calories as I should anyway so it's no big deal (plus it's maybe 3 times a week that I eat those). But still, I'll have a cup of pasta instead of the 3 I used to have...0
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Another revelation: I did not think that unsweetened black coffee had any calories.
Guess who was wrong!
Yep.
Weird thing is that unsweetened straight-up tea doesn't have calories.
My theory is the different brewing methods and volatile compounds extracted and stuff. Yep. I'll stick to that.0 -
I still mismeasure pasta, rice and couscous all the time, because we make some for 4 people and I can't be bothered measuring the whole thing dry then the whole thing cooked to calculate exactly how much I had. That's the only time I use measuring cups, even if I know they're not accurate... I typically don't eat as many calories as I should anyway so it's no big deal (plus it's maybe 3 times a week that I eat those). But still, I'll have a cup of pasta instead of the 3 I used to have...
I know I do. I'm forever confused about which measure matters when calculating calories, dry or cooked. Same with popcorn.0 -
Another revelation: I did not think that unsweetened black coffee had any calories.
Guess who was wrong!
Yep.
Weird thing is that unsweetened straight-up tea doesn't have calories.
My theory is the different brewing methods and volatile compounds extracted and stuff. Yep. I'll stick to that.
I must in total denial here because I do not log coffee. I drink it black and unsweetened. The calories have gotta be negligible... right?0 -
I must in total denial here because I do not log coffee. I drink it black and unsweetened. The calories have gotta be negligible... right?
Errrm....well 32oz of black coffee (four 8oz cups) is, like, 16 calories. So sorta negligible. Ish. 0 -
Tonight's zomg moment: Spices and herbs have calories. Craaaaaaaap.0
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All salads are not created equal. One fast food salad can be under 300 calories but at another chain it can have more calories than a double a bacon cheeseburger. So not worth it.0
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The biggest shocker for me was that my "big indulgent treat" of a chocolate bar was SO much better (ok, SO less horrible) than a small milkshake from Sonic, which I never even liked that much anyway. My jaw seriously dropped the night I realized the small shake was over 700 calories and my beloved Snickers bars (which I now have only about once a month) are under 300!0
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My Zomg moment is how much sugar everything has, it so depressing. Oh and portion sizes, a cup of pasta is nothing my gosh!0
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Pasta portions - didn't realise this until I got a scale
Cereal - had no idea that 3/4 cup was a serving size
Bread - Wonder bread sandwich rolls are 200 calories... whoa.
On the up side:
Chicken - until I weighed it, I was totally overestimating how much I had been eating - win!
Burger King - sometimes I have a Double Cheeseburger for dinner as a delightful in-calorie treat. It's way less than their salads, and feels 'naughty' so satisfies any urge to binge. (I either bake fries to go with it, or have a side of cauli, broccoli and carrots).
^ I feel so bad saying that on a weight loss site, but it's all about moderation to make something long term!0 -
All salads are not created equal. One fast food salad can be under 300 calories but at another chain it can have more calories than a double a bacon cheeseburger. So not worth it.
That is madness! O_o0 -
The biggest shocker for me was that my "big indulgent treat" of a chocolate bar was SO much better (ok, SO less horrible) than a small milkshake from Sonic, which I never even liked that much anyway. My jaw seriously dropped the night I realized the small shake was over 700 calories and my beloved Snickers bars (which I now have only about once a month) are under 300!
I kind of love this. Long live the snickers!0 -
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.
Dressing is definitely a big one for me, too. Turns out I was using way too much, and the standard 2 tbsp serving is actually plenty.0 -
Pine nuts were my biggest shocker. I nearly had a heart attack when I realised 30 g of them is200 calories!! So much for my healthy couscous salad...0
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Pine nuts were my biggest shocker. I nearly had a heart attack when I realised 30 g of them is200 calories!! So much for my healthy couscous salad...
o.o I love toasted pine nuts. Love them. 300 calories for 30g, though!?
*Sniffle!*0 -
first it was portion size. once i started to weigh/measure my food i couldn't believe how MUCH i was over eating
second was how bad kiebasa is for you - i love it until i logged it then said forget it
third was how much processed hidden sugar i was eating. i'm not talking about fruit i'm talking about yogurt and fruit juice and granola bars etc.0 -
I never realized how much sugar I was consuming until I started tracking on MFP.0
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What struck me was the sheer amount of calories that I ate.
KFC and TGIs were a real wake up moment.
I was also in the habit of having a hot chocolate (full fat) and cake from Pret in the afternoon. I was stunned to realise that was over 600 calories alone!!!
Chinese as well, I used to eat about 1500 calories of chinese but not only that, I'd have chinese for dinner in the evening and something like KFC or Burger King for lunch with snacks in between!!!!
Oh, takeaway pizza as well. I knew it was bad but didn't realise it was THAT bad. I don't eat it very much anymore
It's only when I think about things like this that I realise just how far I've come.
I think about what I want to eat now and whether it is worth the calories to me. I still snack a lot but I've made swaps. Instead of eating higher calorie crisps I'll eat popchips and I eat skinny topcorn too. Frozen yoghurt instead of ice cream has been a god-send to me. I really can't taste the difference between that and ice cream...
I've still got a long way to go but it is heartening when I consider just how far I've come in a year :-)0 -
Moment number one: how much just tracking changes my eating, even if I'm not making the concious decision to start eating less/healthier/cleaner. Simply the idea of having to figure out how to log an afternoon cinnamon bun from a random cafe makes me think twice.
Moment number two: serving sizes in general, especially pasta servings.
Moment number three: how many calories there are in orange juice. Most adults need coffee to wake up in the morning, I need orange juice. When I originally started logging (many years ago at a different website), I realized I was drinking up 250kcals daily. I've since cut down my juice intake so that now it's "only" 80kcals a day.
Moment number four: how many calories there are in cheese, and how much I was actually eating it. I thought I was eating healthy breakfasts when I started logging, eating wholegrain bread with cheese and the juice already mentioned. But it turned out, I would put a slice of cheese on a slice of bread, and then snack at least two slices of cheese while waiting for my next slice of bread to come out of the toaster. If I remember correctly, my "original" breakfast was more than 600kcals, and I've cut it down to 400 now. Then I'd repeat the two slices of bread with cheese - meal, complete with snacking, again after school in the afternoon (I was a senior in high school), and then at night before going to bed.0 -
Like a lot of you have said, portion sizes! I was "eating healthy" for a while and wondering why I wasn't losing weight - well I was eating healthy food but like 3 times the amount I eat now! Even my green smoothies had a ton of calories
. And wow portion sizes for nuts - I would eat handfuls of them! Now I count out 12 almonds and put them in baggies lol.
One thing that specifically shocked me, and still does, is these stupid Thai lettuce wraps at Cheesecake Factory - soemthing like 1100 calories!! I don't go there much but when I did that's what I would get, thinking its healthy - grilled chicken tenderloins, some lettuce, couple fixing, can't be that bad. ZOMG.
And I hate to admit this, but I would get a Big Mac meal at McD's and 3 chocolate chips cookies - maybe once a week or so? Definitely after drinking/when I was hungover, anytime I took a road trip, had a bad day etc. I knew it wasn't good but OMG that 1 meal is more than my daily calorie limit now!0 -
Moment number one: how much just tracking changes my eating, even if I'm not making the concious decision to start eating less/healthier/cleaner. Simply the idea of having to figure out how to log an afternoon cinnamon bun from a random cafe makes
Good gods, THIS. I've created "recipes" for a lot of the things that I get from the cafe at work, stuff that I've seen them make so I know the ingredients. Everything else, I have to sweat bullets looking for an equivalent and even when I find one I'm always sure it's incorrect.
The stress and frustration totally makes me reconsider. 0 -
cereal portion size, fast food, esp pizzas, four star pizzas, I used to split large one plus gaelic bread, dip and fizz with my boyfriend once or twice a week.0
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Yesterday I weighed my greek yoghurt for the first time. I thought it was a healthy choice, but I had no idea how many calories it is! It's 160 calories for 4 ounces, which I thought wasn't bad at all, but when I weighed it I realized I was eating double the serving size. I pretty much undid my whole 30 minute work-out on the elliptical for a small bowl of yoghurt. UGH.
Also, I like to drink Lite Half and Half Lemonade/Sweet Tea. It's 50 calories for 8 ounces. I decided to weigh it and realized I was logging the 50 calories when I was really drinking 10 or more ounces, so I was underestimating the extra 40-50 calories a glass, which adds up if you drink this alot.
Most sadly is the pasta portions. I have to have less than half of what I used to eat if I want to stay within my calories. Now I eat pasta as a side with a lean protein like a piece of breast chicken, making the meal less calories as a whole.0 -
Frou-frou coffee drinks. Not that I believed they were healthy, but finding out taking advantage of the BOGO Caribou deals on large whipped-cream laden sugary coffees (of which I'd drink both) was devouring my daily calories? Yeah, total eye opener.
I switched to black coffee with a splash of creamer. 20 calories. And last time I tried to drink one of the Turtle Mochas I loved so much, I couldn't get over the overwhelming sugary taste in my mouth. It actually made me feel sick.0 -
Like most everyone else, portion sizes got me. Especially with coffee creamer (when I actually measured it in a large cup.... I was using almost a 1/4 cup!)
Sodium got me too. I still have some salami in the fridge... love salami, but it's going to eat up most of my sodium limit for the day!0 -
1.The first time I measured out 30g of my favourite muesli. I stared at it, thinking it couldn't be true. Barely enough for a mouse!
2. Recording my tipples of wine. Turns out, more than just tipples. Must have been bathing in the stuff.
3. Okay, on a smaller note, but 90 calories in a pear? Who knew!0 -
My ZOMG moments;
PORTIONS - I was eating 3x that with almost everything I put in mouth, truly unbelievable. :noway: No wonder why I'm overweight and not losing. DUH!!
SUGAR - It's in everything....IMO, it is impossible to control (Although, I am making small changes) I am always over. :sad:
SODIUM - Same as sugar, it's in everything. :grumble:
WATER - I don't drink enough of it. (Well, I do now) :bigsmile:
Crazy stuff! Thanks for posting, I have learned a great deal today. :flowerforyou:0
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