What foods surprised you?

neanderthin

I am just surprised as the food industry and how they can get away with poisoning us with our food. The fact that they are allowed to put all the salt / sugar and chemicals in our food is scary. I really wish they would just leave our food alone .. but then they want us to become addicted, cause that means money in their pockets. Fast food is the same way and a major reason why we are all here.

My franken food .. banana's, not so much the calories in them, but the carbs. I too thought they were healthy. There are way better low GI fruits.

lolwut?

Carnivor0us

Sweet potatoes. Wow.

Booksandbeaches

Avocados. I didn't realize how much fiber there is in them. There's something like 10 grams of fiber in an avocado. Now I try to eat an avocado at least once a week.

Cortelli

I am just surprised as the food industry and how they can get away with poisoning us with our food. The fact that they are allowed to put all the salt / sugar and chemicals in our food is scary. I really wish they would just leave our food alone .. but then they want us to become addicted, cause that means money in their pockets. Fast food is the same way and a major reason why we are all here.

Poisoning us? Just leave us alone? Just don't buy the stuff you don't think is healthy. And I am not here because of fast food, I am here because of delicious crossaints, philly cheese steaks, tortilla chips + salsa + guac, and oh so tasty craft and microbrews (lots of them).

What surprised me? Pizza and to a lesser degree Chinese food. Oh, I knew they were high calorie, but I really didn't get just how high some were.

ElizabethFuller

Definitely muffins for one, a nice, harmless blueberry muffin (one of my five a day you may think?), bought from the supermarket not a handmade artisan one (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=273369554) and it had 455 calories. Faints in shock!! What?? It was four bites, almost 114 calories a bite! Even so, I do like a coffee and a muffin when I'm out shopping, the calories are offset by all the walking

stefsc1

It's been non-stop surprises for me! All the foods I'm trying to eat more of to be healthy have shockingly high calorie counts, like fruits and nuts. Potatoes! 100 calories for one dinky potato, are you serious? Eggs, too. About 60 of a large egg's 78 calories are all in the yolk.

I was pleasantly surprised with tuna, however. 125 calories, with 35g of protein for a 5oz can. Lots of sodium, but right now it's looking like my lowest calorie option for a high protein intake.

acogg

I thought tonic water (I guess it was the water in the name) was zero calories until someone who knew I was trying lose weight informed me that it is 200 calories per 8 oz.:sad:

The other is bacon. I didn't eat bacon for months thinking I was saving massive calories. At only 45 calories per slice, I am sure I could have worked in a few slices. :laugh:

Fit_Fox88

Nutella you sweet calorific bomb you! 2 tbsp is 200 cals....

THIS. Coupled with my coffee, an english muffin and yogurt and it's like a 700 calorie breakfast!! :grumble: :sad:

Also, rice. I knew it was high in carbs but I was really surprised by how high the calories were for the serving size when I actually began measuring. Tortilla chips, cheese, milk (I measured out 8 oz the other night after a workout and was very sad at how small it was). And eggs. My normal breakfast consists of 2 at 170 calories but combined with the other things I eat/drink for breakfast it adds up fast!

Confuzzled4ever

flour.. wowza calories!!

beer- light beer is generally only 10 or so calories less then regular.. so what is the point?

Confuzzled4ever

, I am here because of delicious crossaints, philly cheese steaks, tortilla chips + salsa + guac, and oh so tasty craft and microbrews (lots of them).

What surprised me? Pizza and to a lesser degree Chinese food. Oh, I knew they were high calorie, but I really didn't get just how high some were.

Well hello there... that sound like an awesome night out.. LOL

newniepg

A lot surprised me, especially given that this is my first time counting calories so I didn't have preconceptions really.

Rice surprised me! I didn't realise how high drinks other than water are, either.

Thank goodness for eggs and oats!

WendyTerry420

Actually, I had never given calories a moment's thought before MFP. So nothing surprised me calorie-wise. My surprise came in when I found out you don't have to deprive yourself of sugar. Whoduthunkit?

judyde

The other is bacon. I didn't eat bacon for months thinking I was saving massive calories. At only 45 calories per slice, I am sure I could have worked in a few slices.

^^ Yes, THIS was my biggest surprise. I can fit 3 slices of bacon into a weekend breakfast, just need to reduce the toast.

Other than that, I already knew what things were high calories, like peanut butter, Nutella.

I don't find bananas to be too high in calories, considering how filling they are. I find a 100 calorie banana way more filling than 100 calories of grapes.

Rice was a bit of a surprise, since it doesn't fill me up.

MaryLaura83

Same here about flour tortillas.

edryer123

I totally agree with the tortillas. Sushi is suprisingly high to me because I love the spicy tuna and the sauce kills me. I remember that Chinese food shocked me to no end too. I wanted to cry the first time I went to add Chicken Lo Mein to my calorie count and had eliminated all the workout calories from two days.

elyelyse

Also the sodium in olives and pickles.

For things that come soaked in salty brine, I rinse and soak them for a bit before use. It doesn't cut out all the salt of course, but it significantly lessens it if you let em soak for a few minutes.

linuxdba

I was surprised that sweetened organic oatmeal had less sugars and carbs than Greek yogurt with Kashi Flax cerial.

elyelyse

If you like wraps, but find most tortillas to be too high calorie...
There's a brand called Joseph's, and they make a flat "lavash" bread that makes a great wrap. A "serving" is only a half of one, but it's definitely big enough for a wrap (and not a tiny one that leaves you hungry), and at 50 calories it won't blow your budget for the day. Relatively low carb and high protein too. (They also make a 60 calorie pita that I love)

echofm1

My biggest shock to the system was bread. Most breads have 100 calories or more in a single slice! I started getting the sandwich skinnies (100 calories for a bun type thing) because I wasn't into bread enough for that many calories. Now having real toast is kind of a treat for me. I even chose it over caramel rolls the other day.

Calories in regular yogurt. I used to only go for regular yogurt because it's thicker and creamier and doesn't have the artificial flavor tang to it. When it was 160 calories for that, vs 90 calories for non-fat yogurt? I made the switch. I eat yogurt every morning and I just couldn't afford that.

Peanut butter also surprised me. I never expected a condiment to have 100 calories a tablespoon XD

The good surprises were chicken, and oranges! I absolutely love oranges, so discovering that there's only like 60 calories in an orange absolutely made my year.

Edit: Right! I'd forgotten my surprise at bacon. It really isn't that calorific, despite this stigma of being awful for you. Yes, it's fatty, but it's also delicious and dang it, I can sneak in a piece or two here and there

jkowula

I am just surprised as the food industry and how they can get away with poisoning us with our food. The fact that they are allowed to put all the salt / sugar and chemicals in our food is scary. I really wish they would just leave our food alone .. but then they want us to become addicted, cause that means money in their pockets. Fast food is the same way and a major reason why we are all here.

This...
The more I educate myself on this topic, the more frightened I become, not only for me, but for my children. Interesting also that when they call it organic... so not true! The whole unnatural process of getting "organic" tuna to my plate blew me away.