Food before MFP....

jsecret

I thought it might be interesting for some of us to post what a normal days food consisted of BEFORE we got onto MFP to show ourselves how much we've changed! Post yours next, the amount of calories may amaze you like it did me!!!!

Breakfast:
(This was my breakfast at LEAST 2 times a week)
McDonalds Bacon Cheese Bagel - 430
McDonalds Sausage Cheese McGriddle - 470
Hashbrown - 150
Large Vanilla Iced Coffee - 270

Lunch:
(Very average lunch for me back then)
McDonalds Chicken Club Sandwich - 630
Large Fries - 460
Large Diet Coke - 0

Snack:
(If you can even call it that!!!)
Large Midnight Truffle Blizzard (Dairy Queen) - 1320

Supper:
Hamburger Helper - 630
Bread (2 pcs) - 140
Butter - 120
Mountain Dew - 170

That was an EASY day for me!
Totalling 4,780 calories!!!
Looking back I'm amazed that I ONLY weighed 206 and not much much more!

What did you food intake used to consist of?

RaeN81

It's been awhile, but I'm guessing that my intake was close to 3500 calories a day, much of it carbohydrate and fat heavy foods like bread, pasta and french fries. It's why I lost 4.75 pounds during my second week at a reduced calorie diet of about 1600 calories!

daryls

No breakfast (just coffee)....

Chiptole Burrito Bowl for lunch (or other fast food)....

Chips and salsa (until I was stuffed) for snack....

White rice and some sort of chicken or a mexican style dinner....

frankbo25

I was just thinking about this earlier. One of the things I did when I first started on here was to log a day that was pretty recent to then, when I did I was blown away....over 4500 calories before dinner!!! Just from breakfast, lunch, cokes, and snacking. My diary is public just go to April 23, 2010 and you can see it. I didnt log dinner because It was food my mom cooked and I have no idea the calories not that it matters though, and I wondered why I was 270 plus pounds!

edorice

On a bad lunch day I would go to Jack In The Box and have a Sourdough Jack - 680 calories.
On a good lunch day I would go to Subway and have a footlong Meatball Marinara....drumroll.....1,120 calories!!!!:mad:

LindaSueBakk

Common snack - a handful of chocolate chips

Common breakfast - 2 or three cookies and a cup of tea

Common lunch - whatever I could stick in my mouth, chips, leftovers, ice cream, cake, just about anything

Common dinner - usually pretty healthy meal, but twice as much as I needed!

Yasmine91

It's amazing when we look back isn't it!

For me it would be

Breakfast: Nothing

Lunch: Nothing

Dinner: Huge portions of my mums cooking (and seconds) or take away food like a chicken burger, large chips, apple tango or any other sugary fizzy drink.

Snacks: chocolate or heap loads of bread.

I guess I didn't know what starvation mode was years ago :P

eillamarie

Oh god...I've always eat a variety of foods, even when I was eating horribly. I'd say on an average day I was eating 3,000-4,500 calories! Gross.

Ding724

Okay...so I just added this all into a day to see what an average day was like for me!!!

Breakfast
1 plain bagel = 260
Jiff Creamy PB = 190
Coffee with cream & sugar = 150
TOTAL of 600

Lunch
Subway - Chicken Bacon Ranch Sub 6 = 570
Baked Cheddar Chips = 210
Mountain Dew = 170
TOTAL OF 950

Dinner
Chicken and Rice Casserole, 2 cups = 628
100% Whole Wheat Bread, 1 slice = 100
Banana = 105
Water = 0
TOTAL OF 833

Snacks for the day
Hot Tamales: Cinnamon Candy, 40 pieces = 300

DAILY TOTAL OF::::
CALORIES = 2,683
FAT = 62grams
Carbs = 386!!!
Protein = 111
Sodium = 4,274!!!

YIKES! YIKES! YIKES!!! I was more than double my recommended calories & WAY over on everything else too :frown: No wonder I was gaining so much weight! Thank God that I found MFP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SyreetaJayne1

I was just thinking about this a few days ago and decided to add some average calories on a day prior to me joining myfitnesspal. it was amazing! if you look at oct. 18 on my diary (sorry, friends only!) you'll see that i was eating an average of 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day! so just for fun i clicked "complete this diary", and it said "If every day were like today... You'd weigh 229.2 lbs in 5 weeks"!! Wow i'm so glad i woke up when i did!!!

CarterGrt

I usually had:

Breakfast: granola cereal with 2% milk. ~450 calories
Lunch: Fast food with large fries and large coke ~1,500 calories
Dinner: Varied, but heavy... ~1,000 calories
Snacks: A half a sleeve of fig newtons, cookies, or other treats... ~who knows?

If you add beer and wine to this, I think I was ~3,500 - 4,500 calories a day. The funny part is that I thought I was eating "pretty well" with having chicken sandwiches rather than hamburgers at fast food restaurants and eating a sleeve of fig newtons rather than cookies. But, the numbers were terrible just the same once I started to look at them.

Carter
SW: 225 / CW: 194
Goal: 180

frankbo25

to add to the sadness I posted earlier I looked up my favorite drive through breakfast and here it is:

Burger King Double Croissan'wich(saus, egg, cheese, bacon)
550 cals, 37g fat, 28g carbs, 1360mg sodium

Cinna Minis 4pk with icing(ate it all)
510 cals, 21g fat, 73g carbs, 420mg sodium

Med hash browns
430 cals, 28g fat, 42g carbs, 830mg sodium

large coke
390 cals, 104g carbs, 10mg sodium

grand total= 1880 calories, 86 g fat, 247g carbs, and 2620mg sodium

again I wondered how I got to 270 plus pounds

Cytherea

I don't even want to know what mine was. I really didn't eat the same things every day, so I can't say for sure, especially since we ate out a lot. But I did just go back to my first day here. I only logged dinner that day, and I tried to make healthy choices without sacrificing too much of what I wanted. We went to Friday's.

I split an appetizer with my husband. Got a cup of soup and a salad for me (no big meal) and had a little bit of his dessert.

HALF of the appetizer, pot stickers, was almost a day's worth of food and fat- 1500 cals, 30g of fat
French Onion soup- 219, 10
House salad- 240 (for some reason, I didn't log the dressing)
Quarter of the Brownie Sundae- 375 (which also does not have any other amounts listed for some strange reason)

Grand total for the meal? 2334 cals. Which is literally two day's worth of food! And that was just for dinner! AND that was me thinking I was eating HEALTHY! Normally, we'd get fried mac and cheese or mozzarella sticks (or something cheesy and fatty and fried) for an appetizer, I'd get a whole meal of my own and eat the whole thing, and eat at least half of the dessert, plus, sometimes, get a drink (or at least steal some of my husband's soda)... eeeeek!!!!

I just hit the "complete" button to see what it said... it said that if I ate like that every day, in 5 weeks, I would have gained over 5 pounds!... and that was just dinner one day!! I can't get over it. Like you said, I'm surprised I didn't weigh MORE than I did to start out with!

JLeeAlton

Well every morning I would eat some type of cereal bar.. for lunch I went to the GetGo across the street from my work and I would get an Italian wrap.. lays potato chips and a milk chug 2%

As for after work and dinner anything from a box of pasta with butter and parm cheese. Yes.. a box lol.. or any other type of pasta.. a big bacon cheese burger from where every.. maybe pizza.. steak.. a loaded baked potato.. or some nachos.. just tortilla chips and usually a bag of shredded cheese.. YES A BAG... with some sour cream and salsa. Everyday was different but everyday was fat fat fat carbs carbs carbs. i really don't eat alot of fast food or drink pop.. if I did get fast food maybe mcdonalds burger and fries or a chipotle burrtio bowl or something. I have no idea how many calories I would eat.. but I am sure it was over 3000 a day.


I do have to say however.. my weight gain was due to me not working while i lived in Virginia and everyday I played a computer game and ate and ate and ate. I didn't go anywhere and did nothing... this lasted 6 months.. then one day while I was shaving.. I couldn't reach a certain spot.. and thought.. oh ****.. and thats when I began the weight loss in February of 2008.

catrinpersephone

Ugh god:

Hot Chocolate- 50
250ml full fat milk- 165
Wheatabix Minis Chocolate 100g- 369
Slice of white bread- 90

2 slices of white bread- 180
Ham slice- 46
Butter, 1/2 tbsp- 51
Cheddar Cheese, 50g- 202
Hula Hoops- 141
Tunnocks biscuit- 106

Dinner- At least 400- 500 calories
Desert- 100-250
Hot Chocolate- 50

TOTAL: 2,150

OMG! No wonder I was gaining like crazy!

kennedar

This is not exact because there was not the exact calorie counts on website!

Breakfast was
Lemon scone from Starbucks (Scones there are around 500 calories)
Venti Chai Latte - 300 calories

Dinner was usually
a full chicken breast/ 8 - 12 oz of beef/ 8 - 12 oz of pork - 400 calories - 750 calories depending on the meat
1 cup of white pasta or white rice - 221 calories

Lunch was usually
a half serving of whatever I ate the night before so about 450 calories
piece of fruit - 50 calories
chocolate bar/bag of chips - 300 calories

All told, I was eating, on a good day, 2220 calories. I might have burned, maybe 300 calories at the gym on a good day, so I was eating slightly more than 1900 calories on a good day. HOWEVER, there were also the weekend days where I would easily eat in excess of 3000 calories and not work out at all. Its no wonder I got so fat!

EmpressB

I can't even begin to imagine, especially since earlier this year I was in college and I felt like I ate 24/7. The cafeteria was buffet style and had several stations (home cooked/classic section, sandwich bar, pasta bar, stir fry bar, international bar, pizza bar, a grill that had burgers, hot dogs, fries etc). I would eat there at least 2 meals a day and since I socialized there as well, my friends and I would sit in there for hours talking and going back for 2nds, 3rds, 5ths including dessert buffet and ice cream machine.

I had a meal plan and basically with one card swipe you could get food from any food place on campus, and there was a food court, restaurants, a restaurant in my apartment complex that the school owned, and our card even worked at Dominos (which delivered to the campus until 3am!!) and some other outside restaurants. Needless to say, because it was so convenient and was prepaid (so you weren't spending your own money, so it felt free) I was always ordering chicken wings late at night, chinese, cheesy bread.

I did cook sometimes, but for sheer convenience I would just order in, or grab something from the grill (fries and chicken fingers or a bacon cheeseburger were my usuals) and soda, and it came with a cookie. The library was 24/7 and had a coffee shop inside it, during late night studying, I'd get pastries and coffee drinks or run to some other late-night place on campus and get food. Most events and meetings also gave away food to lure us, and if I went to that, more food.

Literally, it was food 24/7!! Not to mention going out on the weekends involved food, coming back from clubbing involved IHOP or McDonalds visits and celebrating someone's birthday, break up, whatever the cause food was involved as well as those alcohol calories.

Even saying this just sounds insane...I can't even begin to imagine the amount of calories I ate daily or weekly. :embarassed: The ONLY saving grace why I am surprisingly not waaay waay more, is that you had to walk on campus and walk to classes etc so that perhaps gave me exercise and sometimes I did go to the gym.

MzBug

Oh my....
Breakfast:
2 cups coffee with cream 100 cals
Lunch:
2 cups coffee with cream 100 cals if I had time to sit down and drink it
Dinner:
Chicken or roast beef sandwich on oat bread maybe 600-700 cals if I wasn't exhausted when I got home
Snacks:
Apple 80 cals if I had time to stop and eat it during work
Trail mix 200 cals if I had time to buy it and eat it at work

I was working 10-16 hours a day, 6-7 days a week and would often not get a chance to sit down or stop all day. I didn't drink much at work because I never had time to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I would just go home and go to bed without eatting anything. I was sleeping 4-5 hours a night. No I don't work there anymore!

Lyadeia

Without looking at the calorie content...here's some of what I used to eat.

Back when I was in high school (my getting faaaaat days) I started the day with at least 2 pop-tarts covered in cheese and butter (sounds gross, but it was good, lol). Then I had school lunch...then came home and made at least (usually more) 3 cheese filled hotdogs, some Cheetos, and Mello Yello. Then mom would could dinner, which I always had to plates of...then there was some dessert afterwards, usually some pudding (not the fat free/sugar free kind!), pie, or cake. We ALWAYS had something for dessert. And if I was still hungry, I had more chips or Cheetos before bed. No wonder I was 191 pounds at 5'2" tall before leaving high school!!! Not to mention all the times a week I ate out, either with my family or friends...and I am NOT a "order the salad" kind of person...

I really ought to find out just how many calories I was eating back then. Or even later when I was "trying" to lose weight...cause I didn't change my diet that much, I just exercised my brains out and couldn't understand why I wasn't changing. Sure, my cardio was improving, but I was still a size 18. :embarassed:

I bet once I add up everything it will be at least 2500 calories if not more on average. And goodness, when my family ordered pizza, they ordered 2 large...1 for THEM (mom, dad, brother), 1 for ME. OUCH!!!

themostbeautifullies

Breakfast
- Nothing -

Lunch
-Beans;
- Rice;
- Chicken breast or red meat.

Dinner
- Junk food if anything at all.

Snacks
-Chips or cookies. Mostly anything that was salty, I'm not a big fan of sweet food.
-Oh! And Coffee! Totally addicted.

Lyadeia

Breakfast
- Nothing -

Yeah, I remember going YEARS without touching breakfast. Going to IHOP was special for me cause I never ate breakfast. That was in college, and I seriously thought going without food was going to help me lose weight. Gosh was I ever a dumb college kid!

But yet even though I skipped meals, I still managed to scarf down 2500+ calories a day. Sheesh!

themostbeautifullies

Breakfast
- Nothing -

Yeah, I remember going YEARS without touching breakfast. Going to IHOP was special for me cause I never ate breakfast. That was in college, and I seriously thought going without food was going to help me lose weight. Gosh was I ever a dumb college kid!

But yet even though I skipped meals, I still managed to scarf down 2500+ calories a day. Sheesh!

Yeah, I was exactly like that too. Always skipping meals and eating high cal junk. Before MFP I don't even remember the last time I had breakfast or ate 6 times a day. Or even if I ever had it.

FireRox21

Oh man, that little "if every day were like today" button was the alarm clock!!!

Breakfast was coffee, loads of creamer, and whatever sweet roll, honey bun, etc. laying around.

A fast food lunch.

Dinner was two or three helpings of whatever was cooked. It was usually a very heavy casserole, pizza, or spaghetti. OR, it was a fast food dinner.

Snacks were candy, half a jar of peanut butter, a row of chocolate chip cookies AND some sort of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.

Never drank water but I think I had more Diet Coke than blood in my body. Then, I would sit and watch The Biggest Loser and make up excuses as to why I couldn't lose any weight.

cbirdso

All I can think about after reading all these posts is, "We've come a long way, baby!!!