Hi calorie foods and Calorie counting

VegjoyP

There are foods I love and avoid because of the high calorie content. I know I could measure and fit them in, however I am just not satisfied all the time with them because I like them in larger quantities. I have had times when I did allow the amount and stayed in my goal. It is not the best method though because 800 to 1000 calories (peanut butter, nut and seed butters and other foods) taking entire day of calories is not exactly helping in the long run.
Does anyone else go through this? Lol

ddavenport6962

Hi vegjoyp, yes its hard at times. Chocolate and cheese are my weakness so i have the same problem because they are calorie bombs! I even got no sugar chocolate and although its actually nice, its still high calorie - the good thing with it is that its a laxative if you eat more than a couple of squares, so that stops me wanting to eat more !!!
What i do is have a treat on days that ive managed to keep calories low and if you have maybe one day a week that you go over your calorie allowance then dont stress over it, enjoy it and get back on track the next day.Evan with one cheat day a week ,you will still lose weight if you stay on track the rest of the week. Good luck ☺

wilson10102018

I have chocolate most days. Just not very much. 150 calories maybe with ice cream 250. There is always tomorrow. Something to look forward to.

cmriverside

Yeah, peanut butter is a problem! Especially since I started buying the huge jar back when Covid first started and it was all they had at the store. Now it seems normal to go through a jar a month.








I live alone.


I do log it, though, to just remind me that I can't eat 1,000 calories over every day and expect to stay at weight. Eventually those numbers just don't work.

NovusDies

VegjoyP wrote: »

There are foods I love and avoid because of the high calorie content. I know I could measure and fit them in, however I am just not satisfied all the time with them because I like them in larger quantities. I have had times when I did allow the amount and stayed in my goal. It is not the best method though because 800 to 1000 calories (peanut butter, nut and seed butters and other foods) taking entire day of calories is not exactly helping in the long run.
Does anyone else go through this? Lol

I am assuming that when you say that 800-1000 calories is taking the entire day's budget you mean that it is taking so much of the budget that it might as well be the entire day. If not, my experience if that if I eat below what is optimal for me then moderation is substantially harder. When I eat the correct number of calories for myself I seldom have trouble.

So if you are eating enough then the issue is quantity satisfaction. The first thing to understand is that the quantity you believe you need to be satisfied is arbitrary. What you are actually satisfying is a habit. If it is normal for you to eat 1k of peanut butter than your brain is wired to want to repeat that action and it feels "off" if you don't. To battle this you have to stay in control and keep telling yourself that if what fits in your day is 200 calories of pb then there is no point in eating anything more. The 201st calorie of pb will taste like the 200 you have already eaten. If you eat the 200 calories too fast and you don't enjoy it that is another habit to correct.

We have a million food habits (or at least that is the way it seems). Some are helpful. Some are neutral. Some can be ignored. Many have to be reset. The ones I ignore are the ones that may be bad but they happen in such rare situations that I decide to spend my energy on ones that matter more. I am, after all, not trying to be perfect.

sardelsa

If I want a larger portion of something I wait until the weekend when calories don't count .... but really I bank calories so I have more and can enjoy what and how much I like

VegjoyP

NovusDies wrote: »

VegjoyP wrote: »

There are foods I love and avoid because of the high calorie content. I know I could measure and fit them in, however I am just not satisfied all the time with them because I like them in larger quantities. I have had times when I did allow the amount and stayed in my goal. It is not the best method though because 800 to 1000 calories (peanut butter, nut and seed butters and other foods) taking entire day of calories is not exactly helping in the long run.
Does anyone else go through this? Lol

I am assuming that when you say that 800-1000 calories is taking the entire day's budget you mean that it is taking so much of the budget that it might as well be the entire day. If not, my experience if that if I eat below what is optimal for me then moderation is substantially harder. When I eat the correct number of calories for myself I seldom have trouble.

So if you are eating enough then the issue is quantity satisfaction. The first thing to understand is that the quantity you believe you need to be satisfied is arbitrary. What you are actually satisfying is a habit. If it is normal for you to eat 1k of peanut butter than your brain is wired to want to repeat that action and it feels "off" if you don't. To battle this you have to stay in control and keep telling yourself that if what fits in your day is 200 calories of pb then there is no point in eating anything more. The 201st calorie of pb will taste like the 200 you have already eaten. If you eat the 200 calories too fast and you don't enjoy it that is another habit to correct.

We have a million food habits (or at least that is the way it seems). Some are helpful. Some are neutral. Some can be ignored. Many have to be reset. The ones I ignore are the ones that may be bad but they happen in such rare situations that I decide to spend my energy on ones that matter more. I am, after all, not trying to be perfect.

Very true and well said
This IS truths that I inherently know and a reminder from another person helps remember. 😚

VegjoyP

I honestly do very well compared to my younger years. I have things in portions and weigh and have added things that I swore off. That alone mitigates the urgency. When you/ I realize you CA have ANYTHING you want to eat it lessens the intensity.
Thanks for all the feedback and more sharing is welcome!

Peanut butter is a work in progress. Lol

nanastaci2020

I do pretty well at having a limited amount of foods I enjoy, whether it be cheese, candy, etc. There are a few exceptions and those: I typically do not buy.

Occasionally I do plan for a higher calorie meal. There are some that just cannot be abbreviated. An example: I like Arby's Beef & Cheddar sandwich. I don't care for their fries, so get mozzarella sticks as a side. I'm going from memory, but I believe that is 860-900 calories. I eat around 1400-1600 most days, so one meal taking over 50% of my calories for the day does not work. But every now and then, I want to have it. So I'll choose a day where I know I'm going to be super active, get in more than usual exercise/activity/calorie burn - and I'll have it then. In addition to being extra active that day, I'll aim for lower than usual calorie content for my other meals.

Raegold

I know what you mean... Personally, I'm able to weigh out very specific amounts of nut butters and be fine with that (8-16 grams). But I do have other foods that I just can't incorporate regularly because it's so hard to restrict the serving size (ice cream!). I don't have a lot of very fattening cheeses for that reason also, but I do like goat cheese which has a strong flavor, so I can use just a half an ounce and be fine with it