Surprises when logging ??

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  • MadameLAL
    MadameLAL Posts: 108
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    I've been shocked at how hard it is to make my macros for iron and calcium when I'm eating homemade whole plant foods (I'm vegetarian). It's made me aware of the need for supplements.
  • TheBrolympus
    TheBrolympus Posts: 586 Member
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    Breakfast cereals surprised me. I used to grab the biggest bowl on the house and dump what I thought was 1 or 2 servings. Turned out to be 5 or 6 servings. AHHHHHH!
  • JayDavila
    JayDavila Posts: 146 Member
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    I've been surprised all over the place, but mostly that I can have ANYTHING as long as I scale it down to a small portion. I can use ANY condiments, have ANY desert, as long as I log it in MFP *before* I serve it so I know how much I want to have in my portion before my eyes even look at it and find I've eaten a whole package. Then I'm surprised by how I enjoy those small portions more than the large portions I used to largely wolf down. It's a win all the way around.

    Very true! Its just so hard getting used to those small/correct portions LOL But definitely true!
  • JayDavila
    JayDavila Posts: 146 Member
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    Breakfast cereals surprised me. I used to grab the biggest bowl on the house and dump what I thought was 1 or 2 servings. Turned out to be 5 or 6 servings. AHHHHHH!

    HA HA been there!
  • RUNNING_AMOK_1958
    RUNNING_AMOK_1958 Posts: 268 Member
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    I was shocked at the amount of sodium in cheese. You are smart to pay attention to more than just the calories.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I also noticed that i dont get much potassium or iron :(

    Potassium isn't a required micronutrient on food labels, so it's not in the database for moods foods. That's a stupid but significant detail, IMO, because most people's obsession with sodium may not be grounded in any sort of complete knowledge about its relationship with potassium.

    Yes, sodium is easy to go high on, but a lot of people, once they start eating a little more healthy, get far more potassium than they think, and the balance between the two is the really important part. At the end of the day, it's a wise move to do a bit of research on foods that are high in potassium, and try to incorporate those into your diet as much as possible, and don't beat yourself up over sodium.
  • Zekela
    Zekela Posts: 634 Member
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    Applebee's surprised the crap out of me (well almost) with over 1,200 cals for the soup and grilled cheese sandwich combo... no meat either.

    I've also been surprised with cereal and porridge which has a significant amount of iron in them...
  • JayDavila
    JayDavila Posts: 146 Member
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    I was shocked at the amount of sodium in cheese. You are smart to pay attention to more than just the calories.

    It's always the little things we're not paying attention to that get ya LOL
  • JayDavila
    JayDavila Posts: 146 Member
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    I also noticed that i dont get much potassium or iron :(

    Potassium isn't a required micronutrient on food labels, so it's not in the database for moods foods. That's a stupid but significant detail, IMO, because most people's obsession with sodium may not be grounded in any sort of complete knowledge about its relationship with potassium.

    Yes, sodium is easy to go high on, but a lot of people, once they start eating a little more healthy, get far more potassium than they think, and the balance between the two is the really important part. At the end of the day, it's a wise move to do a bit of research on foods that are high in potassium, and try to incorporate those into your diet as much as possible, and don't beat yourself up over sodium.

    Good to know!
  • JayDavila
    JayDavila Posts: 146 Member
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    Applebee's surprised the crap out of me (well almost) with over 1,200 cals for the soup and grilled cheese sandwich combo... no meat either.

    I've also been surprised with cereal and porridge which has a significant amount of iron in them...

    I could just imagine what my calories were when I used to pig out at applebee's LOL
  • Johnny_Marr
    Johnny_Marr Posts: 1
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    Dried figs and dates. 360 cals for eight little dried figs!
  • funderbadass
    funderbadass Posts: 2 Member
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    I really thought this was going to be a thread about lumberjacks.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Sodium in frozen chicken. 410mg per 4oz serving.
  • chickenpie
    chickenpie Posts: 64 Member
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    Pesto ! argh just two tablespoons in huge pan of pasta for the whole family with half fat creme fraiche was a horrible amount of calories. Gah, was such an easy dish to prepare when working but will have to be scrapped !

    I am all for logging in advance too, sometimes i log & get surprises - good and bad !


    x
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    My biggest surprises have come in the form of how little of something there is:

    -Years ago when I joined to get healthier and started logging food, I was shocked to find that I was only consuming 700-900 calories on an average day. (I should have ~1400 w/o any exercise.) I knew my no-breakfast way of life wasn't healthy, but jeez!

    -A while later, I discovered the 'reports' section and discovered how little calcium I was getting, despite my new habit of eating yogurt every morning.

    -About a week ago (in reports again), I discovered that there is barely any potassium in my diet at all, despite taking a multi every day and eating fairly healthy.

    I have resolved to check the reports regularly instead of as a novelty to make sure my nutrition is on track.

    Actually, the FDA does not require potassium to be reported on food labeling, so you are likely getting a lot more than you think.

    +1 i was just about to say the same thing.
  • jammallnyte
    jammallnyte Posts: 26 Member
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    At a business lunch at PF Chang's, got the appetizer lettuce wraps thinking, no bread should be low carb. I left my iPhone in the car and boy was I upset after. There is NOTHING worth eating at PF Chang's anymore.

    Flip side,this weekend my son was at a birthday party so my Wife, and I took our 7 year daughter out for lunch. She wanted Panda Express... which made me concerned after PF. SURPRISE!! There are things there that aren't bad. Oh the sodium is high but I worked it in to my daily and was good. I endorse their bowls and replacing noodles or rice with mixed veggies. Panda will be a healthier choice for a treat in the future.

    Also, Papa John's THIN crust pizza. If you go with a medium and stick to 2 slices and a good size salad on the side and work within your daily numbers you won't be sorry either (40 carbs for the day but hell it's pizza). MFP has really opened my eyes.
  • golgoroo
    golgoroo Posts: 69 Member
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    That my favorite restaurant salad, which I'd choose over a burger to be "healthy", actually had MORE calories than the burger AND fries! Yikes!

    I've become a pre-logger. Only way to make sure I stay on track.
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
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    The amount of sodium in oyster sauce. We used to cook with it twice a week, now it's a once a month thing at most.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    Not so much calories as proper portion sizes. I typically ate 3-4 times the recommended serving size of pretty much everything.

    Portion sizes are terrible LOL

    I have been really surprised and irritated especially in cooking when it comes to portion sizes. So I'm baking chocolate-chocolate chip zucchini cake for our small group meeting yesterday. It calls for 2.75c flour. Well a "serving" of flour is just 1/4 cup or 30g by weight. HOWEVER! 1/4 cup of flour measured out weighs more like 44g, which means a difference of 154g, which equals over 500 calories MORE if you measure it out by cups vs weighing it! When you weigh ingredients for a recipe like that you get a much smaller finished product than when you make it by measuring cups, too.
  • Always_Smiling_D
    Always_Smiling_D Posts: 118 Member
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    I am more surprised at how quickly the sodium adds up...

    Also I will suggest everyone when logging something for the very first time on their diary check the nutrition facts before choosing - sorta annoying when I find the right serving with all the wrong information as calories, sodium, carbs, simply not all the correct info.

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