IHOP Observations & Life changes

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sundancer1966
sundancer1966 Posts: 478 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

We went to IHOP this morning for a late breakfast to celebrate our wedding anniversay (fav breakfast place closed due to flood). One reason we picked IHOP was that the menu lists the calorie counts per meal, so we were confident that we could stay on plan and I am proud to say that we did.

Here is what I am surprised about, The regular meals (we did the simple and fit menu items) the calories are up to 2,000 calories a meal. that is more than I eat in a day. I was watching what other tables were getting and I am amazed that seeing how many calories are in some of these meals, people were still getting them, then adding add'l sides. Maybe they don't know how many calories a person needs in a day, or they just don't care.

I am thankful that we found MFP and became aware of how many calories we need to function and the tool to plan our meals. In the past, we would plan our day around where we wanted to eat, today we planned our meals around our activities.

Replies

  • Jaybelle
    Jaybelle Posts: 5
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    Congratulations you are getting it...I do sometimes but sometimes I just want what I want then I hate myself....
  • jessicajoy87
    jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
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    ooooo! i ate the spinach omlete the other day! Yummy! And it was huge! I could only eat half!
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
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    yes, I'm amazed every day how much I used to eat w/o thinking about it. How much ppl eat and think they're eating well. I'm fascinated by attitudes about food. Many ppl think you SHOULD stuff yourself at every meal. Healthy food is punishment. Fast food is 'real food' .. amazing
    I'm glad I found MFP too. I think about everything I eat (and drink) now
    yay!
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
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    Happy Anniversary!!!
    Yeah, it's pretty sad what people put in their mouths... I bug my Mom about it all the time and she just scoffs at me... She technically weighs less than me but only by about 5lbs now... I try to be a good influence; she's followed some of what I say like now she doesn't put gravy on her mashed potatoes any more, but I'm still worried. I think people just don't think about how many calories they are eating until they weigh themselves and start freaking out.
  • charityateet
    charityateet Posts: 576 Member
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    Awesome job! I have a hard time eating out because I am super critical of other people's food choices. Take for instance the other day a lady at a table across from me ordered the pub nachos........she was all by herself and the PLATTER came out just heaped with a mess of chips, meat, cheese, cheese sauce, sour cream, etc. I was like WOAH!!! I don't even know the nutritionals on that but it can't be good!
    And the woman who ordered the chicken fried steak with extra white gravy......wowzer.

    I guess that kind of food just doesn't appeal to me......I'll snag a couple fries off huby's plate - but I know the grease will make my tummy hurt.....and really, I only need about 3-500 calories at any one given sitting - I can't imagine how gut bombed I'd feel if I at over 1,000 of just meat and grease!!!
  • vsyates
    vsyates Posts: 373 Member
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    You go girl!! Being able to do exactly what you did is a huge goal of mine. I'm still avoiding the eating out thing because I have difficulty controlling what I order.....
  • Kate6868
    Kate6868 Posts: 159 Member
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    It is amazing to realize how little food we really need. Even on days that I go over my calorie limit, I am eating SO much less than I used to!
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
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    It is amazing to realize how little food we really need. Even on days that I go over my calorie limit, I am eating SO much less than I used to!

    I recall reading somewhere once that our stomachs are roughly the size of our fists, so we should only eat as much food as we can hold in our hands.
  • manda1028
    manda1028 Posts: 148
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    good for you guys! and i think a lot of people just eat for taste and to feel stuffed. i have really noticed that after starting mfp.
  • Schraudt814
    Schraudt814 Posts: 496 Member
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    It really is amazing how clueless we can be about what we put in our bodies! I've been trying to watch my sodium intake and it's so hard! It really is great to have this resource to help!
  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
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    Those whole grain blueberry nut pancakes on the fit menu are DELICIOUS for less than 600cals!! I was full most of the day off of them.
  • Michelle_M2002
    Michelle_M2002 Posts: 301 Member
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    Yup. IHOP is right across the street from us (literally) and it's my kid's favorite place to eat as well. I used to always get the chicken fried steak breakfast. I had them put cheese in my eggs. I got extra gravy. Then of course there were the pancakes and the hash browns.

    I honestly didn't THINK about the calories. Then one time shortly after starting my new nutrition plan we went there. I asked to see the nutrition books. I was ASTOUNDED at how many calories are in some of those meals.

    So yeah, people just don't THINK about how many calories they are eating. I know I didn't. What I thought were "normal" portion sizes are actually OVER EATING sizes. Now I'm much more aware of how many calories are in my food and what an ACTUAL portion size looks like.

    Thank goodness that we get it now!!!

    God bless!
  • aimeeturner
    aimeeturner Posts: 225 Member
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    Great post! I agree with you completely. I used to be one of those people who always said "I work out, so I can eat whatever I want and I will be fine." So, that is what I did. I never realized what I was consuming until MFP.

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