Surprise calorie bombs!

FitOldMomma

Walnuts and almonds! When I first started logging my food I was truly shocked at how calorie dense these two nuts are. I still eat them, just in moderation.

OyGeeBiv

Vlasic Zesty Bread and Butter Pickles - 35 calories/ounce
Kosher Dill Pickles - 3 calories/ounce

Found out about the bread and butter pickles *after* I ate 3 ounces of them, not realizing there would be such a difference between them and dills.

hgycta

Ice cream cake. One year my boyfriend got some for his birthday and I cut myself a very small slice expecting 500 calories at worse. It turned out to be more like 1,000... and it was small, mind you! I probably used to eat at least 5,000 calories worth of that stuff with the slices I used to cut, and then that second helping I went back for. Same thing holds true with pecan pie. Truly devastating.

I was also surprised how a "terrible" Cookies & Cream large milkshake from Chick-fil-A is 660 calories while a large Oreo Chocolate Shake from Sonic is 1,730 calories. Quite the difference!

I also noticed some others already mention fruit/dried fruit, but I'd like to emphasize my horror with logging bananas and banana chips! Yikes!
Lastly, I noticed someone mention Dunkin Donuts muffins. I was surprised how a blueberry muffin was 460 calories but the reduced fat blueberry muffin was still 410 calories! For something being marked "reduced fat" you'd think (or I would, at least) that it would be more than just 50 calories difference, or AT LEAST under 400 calories!!!

SimplyMicheleR

I have been shocked by a lot of foods, but I am surprised how many people are cutting out healthy fats, the ones that help your body in so many ways, because of calories! I would rather have a handful of nuts for a snack over something else that appears to be "more" because those nuts keep me feeling full longer than the same amount of calories in a granola bar or something else!

I suggest people start thinking more about quality over quantity.

Another tip - when eating things like Ice cream, put your serving in a small bowl. I use a custard cup. then use an ice tea spoon to eat it versus a tablespoon. You eat it slower, and your brain registers it as more since the bowl is full, and the "small" serving becomes more than enough. Rushing through eating leads to me overeating.....

cessi0909

Even though it knew it would be high in calories I was still shocked to find a quesadilla I ordered from chilis had over 1700 calories in JUST THE QUESADILLA! That didn't include the salad I had or any side items.

JanetMMcC

Re the 410-cal reduced-fat muffin: Reduced-fat baked goods often up the sugar. I don't know what Dunkin Donuts uses, but one common replacement for fat is applesauce.

And those big muffins most places serve these days are 3x the size of a standard muffin-tin muffin.

Even things I expect to be high-calorie can surprise me. We were out at TGI Friday's and I looked up their brownie with ice cream, thinking it would be maybe 600 calories, and I could eat half and stay under budget. 1200! Luckily, I was with two guys who were willing to fall on their spoons and eat one-third of the dessert each. (I took 1/3 of the brownie and less than that of the ice cream, but logged a full 33.3333 percent.)

But there be fewer surprises by the end of the year -- restaurants with at least 20 outlets, even groceries or gas stations with at least 20 outlets for prepared food will have to display calorie counts on menus and menu boards. Vending machines, too, if a company owns at least 20.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm217762.htm

A few restaurants already do this (I noticed it at Panera), and some others will roll out the counts before the December 2016 deadline.
The chef for Rouse's, a Louisiana grocery chain, told me in November that they were planning to put up the counts early this year in their prepared food areas.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/chain-restaurant-calorie-counts/

And for those upset at banana totals - buy small bananas! A 5" banana is about 75 calories.

I also like the freeze-dried fruits in individual packages. Those tend to run 35 to 45 calories.

cessi0909

Oh and back when I first started logging I wasn't changing what I was eating and just actually logging it -- a little embarrassed to admit I would eat 2-3 PB & J sandwiches for lunch a few times a week. Holy sticker shock when I logged that!

KwonJiYong69

Chocolate spread. Yeah it isn't healthy or low cal anyway but yknow where it says 'each table spoon contains 85cal'? Well on the back it says that's for 15g. 15g is a non heaped TEASPOON.

cmarangi

IloveJAM3 wrote: »

Lots of "healthy" foods surprised me, actually.

walnuts - 50 cals for 4 HALVES
bananas- 105 for a whole one
avocados- 100 cals for half
Peanut butter - 95 cals for 1 tbsp.

Crazy! I thought I was doing good by eating those foods. O_o

Be careful on cutting out some of these foods because of the calorie count. Even though they are higher calorie there are studies that show we eat less calories when we choose these types of nutrient dense foods because they are more satiating. For example, 50 calories of walnuts will satisfy us more than 50 calories of chips. So it's good to make room in your diet for foods such as these.

blossomingbutterfly

Muffins surprise me the most, honestly.
That and Second Cup drinks, haha. I miss my winter/holiday lattes but just not worth the calories!

arv51862

Great thread, deserves a "sister thread" of foods that have been surprisingly LOW calorie !

CharlieBeansmomTracey

the thing that shocked me was when I started weighing my food was how much a serving was. I had no idea that even fruit could have more calories even if the pieces of fruit were the same size. so no two pieces of fruit are alike(so weigh your fruits too). food packaging being off was a shock and I was too shocked when it comes to how many calories were in a small serving of nuts. also a serving size of oatmeal shocked me too.

ise311

I hate that pizza has so much calorie in it. I can eat 6 whole slices on my own in one sitting!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

ise311 wrote: »

I hate that pizza has so much calorie in it. I can eat 6 whole slices on my own in one sitting!

I know isnt it crazy? I now limit myself to one slice instead of 2 or 3 like I used to

daffodilsoup

I remember the first time I actually measured out one cup of rice. WHAT? THAT's 200 calories? Same with peanut butter - my first legitimate "tablespoon" of peanut butter was a sad, sad milestone.

Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't fatter.

ise311

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

I know isnt it crazy? I now limit myself to one slice instead of 2 or 3 like I used to

1 slice? Too little for me. I had to go down to 3 slices from 6.
I still have a voucher of Domino's Pizza still unused... don't feel like throwing/giving it away to somebody else

hgycta

daffodilsoup wrote: »

I remember the first time I actually measured out one cup of rice. WHAT? THAT's 200 calories? Same with peanut butter - my first legitimate "tablespoon" of peanut butter was a sad, sad milestone.

Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't fatter.

I know how you feel! Before I started logging my favorite comfort food was making microwave peanut butter fudge. It's a miracle I wasn't 300+ pounds. Thank goodness I found this website when I did!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

ise311 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

I know isnt it crazy? I now limit myself to one slice instead of 2 or 3 like I used to

1 slice? Too little for me. I had to go down to 3 slices from 6.
I still have a voucher of Domino's Pizza still unused... don't feel like throwing/giving it away to somebody else

well,where I live the slices are decent size and one slice of supreme can be as high as 400+ calories.

Francl27

daffodilsoup wrote: »

I remember the first time I actually measured out one cup of rice. WHAT? THAT's 200 calories? Same with peanut butter - my first legitimate "tablespoon" of peanut butter was a sad, sad milestone.

Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't fatter.

Yeah then I actually weighed it raw then cooked and realized that MFP's value for 100g of cooked rice actually underestimates calories by 30%...

For me it's bread. Can easily eat 1000 calories in one minute.

NJGamerChick

Grapes, I can eat lots of them. Actually, most fruits, but grapes top that list. And apples were a shock too.

Lourdesong

Nuts, coconut (and coconut milk) and avocados. Oatmeal, cold cereal, rice and pasta (suggested serving sizes still appear really pitiful to me, relative to the amounts I was used to eating once upon a time). Rice crackers mix, trail mix, granola, dried fruit, etc, snacks I tend to perceive as being the 'healthy' alternatives to 'junk food' are quite often really calorie dense and the suggested serving sizes are a joke.

rosebarnalice

I can't say they "surprise" me any more, but I'm bemused, annoyed, and sometimes astounded how many restaurant salads are just packed with calories. The bacon bits, the cheese, the croutons . . . And don't get me started on dressings!

Noreenmarie1234

I agree with everything people have said! Especially peanut butter, 1 or 2 tbsp is such a small amount.

Also cereal, it was so sad when I realized my "bowl" of "only 110 calories a serving" cereal was over 500 calories with my serving size.

SoleilxStitch

My favourite cheese was double the calories I thought and cheese is carlorific anyway. Going to see the effects of cutting it out over the next few weeks.

grinning_chick

Apparently I make calorie bomb soups. Holiday posole came out to be 515 calories per serving of approximately 8 ounces. I'm fine with that, and can work it in, but now I can only imagine how much the cream of tomato, green chile, or asparagus will be when I make them. 0_o

bindwado

Agree with so much said above. Like weighing fruit, I thought an average banana was like 100 calories but when I weighed a banana it was worth 220 calories, not that it stopped me eating it, bananas are awesome. But made me aware! I also pre-log my meals and exercise when I can to give me an idea of the day ahead and tweak if necessary so I don't overdo it in too many areas!
Oh and I'm sure this is super obvious to everyone else, but CHOCOLATE, I knew it was bad but when I had a treat and logged it, WOW, it's like a meal in one little pack if smarties! Love this app to keep on top of it, really helps to educate on food intake.
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