What foods surprised you?

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  • pahock
    pahock Posts: 27 Member
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    Nuts! I know they are good for you, but very high in calories.
  • pahock
    pahock Posts: 27 Member
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    Oh and salad too. Salads are supposed to be healthy right?
  • missdrizz
    missdrizz Posts: 17 Member
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    Oh and salad too. Salads are supposed to be healthy right?

    ^this for me too. I eat salads most days, and it adds up.
  • CharChary
    CharChary Posts: 220 Member
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    Granola was a big shocker for me initially.

    Things like pasta also. I knew they were higher calories and I'd try to pre-plan my pasta nights with 1 serving of pasta only to discover one serving was NOTHING at all haha..
  • Efflictim
    Efflictim Posts: 147 Member
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    Bananas. I was shocked when I saw how high the calories were in this. I guess it was that mind set that if it's a fruit/veggie it must be little to no calories because it's good for you. Granted it's still good for you but I didn't expect over 100 calories.


    Agreed!! And the sugar content is high. I was shocked lol.
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
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    I never realized just how many calories are in nut butters. I had to do away with my nightly apple and peanut butter snack. :(

    Raw medjool dates are delicious. They taste like extra large honey/caramel gummy bears but they are 60 calories a piece and 12.5 grams of sugar. :( I still eat about three a day!
  • bikerist
    bikerist Posts: 13
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    I'm not easily shocked, I've been calorie aware etc since I was about 12yrs old. I remember houmous surprising me, especially as it has more of a health stigma attached to it. I can also remember raising an eyebrow at granola, 1 portion of my favourite brand is 250kcal without milk and I can easily pack down double that amount in one sitting. I have to avoid buying it, I can eat a box of granola in 4 days.
  • Nate0047
    Nate0047 Posts: 105
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    On the high end, beans and tortillas as far as calories were concerned. Meat always shocks me by being lower in calories than I think. Nuts were a shock for their fat content, but I eventually worked out that they're a healthy source of fat, and you need fat in your diet. Speaking of which, I have a bowl of pistachios for dessert that are waiting to be eaten.
  • LipglossandLunges
    LipglossandLunges Posts: 32 Member
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    Olives surprised me!! Holy batman they're high…however they make olive oil so go figure lol
  • zaellany
    zaellany Posts: 57 Member
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    Was going to start this thread and then saw one was already going :-)

    - Peanut butter. I knew it wasn't great for you but whoa, nelly. When I saw what a tablespoon 1/2 serving really looked like, I realized I had been probably eating 4 tablespoons at a go, previously. That's a LOTTA calories.
    - Blue Diamond Nut-Thins Rice Crackers - this killed me. I ate these almost as like a throwaway food, then come to find out, 16 crackers (which had NO filling effect for me, whatsoever) has, like, 130 calories. I could eat half a box a day of those things without even really thinking about it.
    - Rice itself was a shock. Not the calorie content so much as what a real 1-cup serving looks like, as compared to what my "serving" was previously
    - Pistachios. They aren't oily, so I figured they couldn't be that bad. Noooooope.
    Once I started tracking, it became obvious to me pretty fast why I couldn't lose weight "just eating whole foods" without measuring portion size and tracking calories...maybe some people can do that, and more power to them, but I think my pre-MFP daily caloric intake had to be around 3000 calories. Easy.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
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    4 oz. of 2% milk is 65 calories. That kind of threw me for a loop!

    Kroger carbmaster skim milk is lactose free, has 11 g of protein, tastes like 2% and is only. 60 cals for 8oz!!!
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
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    "No calorie" cooking spray!

    Actual calories:
    Pam Original Canola oil spray for each 1/8 tsp....0.5g contains

    4 calories
    1% fat

    "Zero calorie" spray butter. Each spray is actually 0.8 calories, with something like 800+ calories per bottle and 90 grams of fat. The serving size listed is five sprays but who uses that few?

    If a conspiracy to make the US obese is true, the FDA is behind it. Any food product with < 5 calories/serving (the food company is allowed to designate servings, that's why they're all different) is encouraged to call the product "zero" calories.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    I was surprised at the carbs in homemade split pea soup too!
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
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    The salt in cottage cheese. How reasonable the calories are in bacon for the flavor impact.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Bunny PeepS- 4 = 110 calories WTF
    Chick Peeps = 5 for 140

    HOLY GRAIL OF ALL EASTER FOODS_ I"M IN HEAVEN!!!!

    such a shock. Happy shock- but a shock!
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    The average package meal at Carl's Jr.

    One of those burger/onion rings/soft drink meals is about 1500 calories.
  • angel_of_harmony
    angel_of_harmony Posts: 188 Member
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    I knew that chicken wings were not good for me, but when I looked them up for the first time it was a game changer. Now I will not order them when I go out; a single wing is nearly 100 calories and 7 grams of fat. O_O;

    When I went out to eat at Applebees I ordered the Chicken Oriental Salad (grilled) as a healthy option; anyone who dares look it up will see that is is no where near healthy. I had to input it on one of my first days this year and honestly this experience made me scared to eat out while a member of this website.

    I once ordered a cupcake from Panera (vanilla) and understood that it was unhealthy, but was even more shocked when I found out that little cupcake was 450 calories!

    Also, when I first started my diet I was afraid to eat eggs because they had 5 grams of fat; I have learned that is low considering the amount of protein they contain.

    What have I learned? First and foremost, always look things up on MFP before ordering. I have greatly considered making a "safe" list to take out to eat with me to save me some time and stress. Also, not everything that appears unhealthy is; moderation is key.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Texas Roadhouse rolls. Unfortunately Internet was down so I couldn't check before eating it, I was expecting 150 calories maybe... 227. Yikes.
  • 1pandabear
    1pandabear Posts: 336 Member
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    I always assumed rice was lower calorie than it actually is. I know a lot of skinny people that eat a lot of rice.

    The reason rice is healthier than bread, is probably because it has a lower GI index, especially brown rice. Also it is gluten free. High GI food tend to jump start your insulin level, which is a fat storing hormone, and after the insulin surge, the sudden drop of insulin makes you crave for more sugar.

    Me too! I was surprised, disappointed actually, that a cup of brown rice is 218 calories. I love it and now I don't eat it as often.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    zaellany wrote: »
    - Peanut butter. I knew it wasn't great for you but whoa, nelly. When I saw what a tablespoon 1/2 serving really looked like, I realized I had been probably eating 4 tablespoons at a go, previously. That's a LOTTA calories.

    Same here. I eat peanut butter quite a bit. I figured, hey, healthy protein and fat source, right? But I always assumed that a serving size of 15g or 1tbsp was an average knife's-spread. When I bothered to measure it in grams, I saw I was generally consuming DOUBLE the amount I thought I was. That's an extra 80 calories right there. Whoa!

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