Appalling!

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  • dbutorac
    dbutorac Posts: 120
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    some good ideas, thanks for posting.
  • FollowMeFit
    FollowMeFit Posts: 9 Member
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    Love that attitude! You rock!
  • Sweeterescape
    Sweeterescape Posts: 132
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    Feel your pain, I used to eat chinese 3x per week at least and convinced myself it wasn't so bad.

    I have been craving it so gave in on Friday night, figured with nearly 1000 cals left for the day I'd be fine - nope, eating only half of what I'd normally eat, I went nearly 1000 cals over! I'm thinking I either need to learn to get my portion control in check for Chinese or just not eat it at all!

    Crazy that I used to eat a 2000 - 3000 calorie meal three times a week...and I wondered why I wasn't losing weight!
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
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    I actuallly havent been out to eat or eaten take out food since I started this life style journey. I dont miss it at all as I save a ton of money and eat way much better!

    I dont have high blood pressure but was heading that way when I decided to change my life. I try to keep my sodium under a 1000 /day which is a challenge but doable. I never have water retention or water weight gain.

    If I am going to be out for a long period of time over a meal period I take my food with me or take a protein bar. Keeping a cooler in the car with veggies is a lifesaver when your hungry and still have to be away from home. I dont even think about turning into a drive-thru.

    One day wont hurt you but now you are way better informed for the next time! Look at all the tips you are gotten!
  • LMcNeal86
    LMcNeal86 Posts: 7 Member
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    This is great advice! I have looked up the restaurants that I like and created a reasonable meal and a splurge meal for me at the places where both are possible...

    Chipotle - can be very high; but, if you plan ahead it is very good. fresh food is key. looking online is a huge help. I do a burrito bowl and double the fajita peppers and onions and tomatoes. I then proceed to put half of it in a container for a later meal... I found that their steak is lower cal than their chicken! I can get a burrito bowl and eat half of it for only 260 calories. which is very good - a bit higher in some categories that I wouldn't eat it every meal...but, you have to have choices!!!
    There are healthy options at every restaurant, you just got to know what to look for. I would have thought a salad would have been the best thing on the menu at any restaurant then I started doing homework. I travel a lot for work and eat dinner out most nights during the week. I have found Outback to have the best options. Not only do they have the food that is healthy but they can prepare it healthy and it still tastes good. Ask questions and tell them not to prepare with butter, I tell them slap it down on the grill with a little salt and pepper. Longhorn sucks, I asked them to prepare a steak the same way and tasted like garbage without their sauces and butter that they cook it in. Always ask for dressing on the side if ordering a salad. I always say no cheese. It can be done. Do a little homework? Most restaurants especially chains have their info on the web. Panera's website is pretty cool cause they give you the option of taking each ingredient you don't want off and it tallys the total. Their tai chopped chicken without dressing and wontons is 340 calories by adding half the dressing only makes it 370 calories, just watch the sodium at Panera.
  • Hilary75
    Hilary75 Posts: 90 Member
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    just gotta remember that everything in moderation is best. eat only half of what you order or be ready to work it off the next day!

    Exactly this. When we get chipotle I order the burrito bowl and only eat half. It's very filling and I have the rest for lunch the next day.
  • ssmomma620
    ssmomma620 Posts: 1
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    How insane.....really makes it easy to see why so people have a weight issue.
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
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    Lol,was at Denny's with my hubby, tried to find something on the "under 500" menu and thanks to my phone discovered they all had over 1,000 sodium, gads. So be careful of that too, most of you can have 2,500 a day but there were meals on the Denny's menu with 2600+ sodium. You'd be waking up as the Pillsbury dough boy and wondering why, lol.
  • melisa35158
    melisa35158 Posts: 16 Member
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    I was pleasantly surprised when I went to dinner with my sister at Panero Bread... they list the calorie's next to each item! I wonder how restaurants can add that many calories into the food too. It's scary to think that once upon a time I would've eaten 1600-2300 calories in one meal eaten at a restaurant.
  • AlayshaJ
    AlayshaJ Posts: 703 Member
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    I WISH MY MOM COULD SEE THIS! She thinks that she eats SOOOOO healthy but she goes out to eat EVERYDAY. Free birds, On the Border, Burger places. She thinks she is eating healthy and I always tell her that there are hidden calories EVERYWHERE. She just thinks I am trying to do the whole "I know everything and you don't" daughter thing when I am really just trying to help her! Its frustrating. Maybe I should refer her to this site! Doing it!

    But yeah I went to Hooters and ate three wings, didn't realize those three wings were going to cost me 550 calories! People eat 20 of those to themselves! What the eff?! So horrible.
  • kinkyslinky16
    kinkyslinky16 Posts: 1,469 Member
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    I'm really glad I posted.. Everyone has given great ideas!! We hardly ever eat out anymore...and if we do its usually to a place where I can prepare ahead of time, calorie-wise. I never realized just how many calories were in fast food... Primarily because we try to avoid it so I haven't really had to look it up since being on MFP... I mean, we all know it's a lot.. but this has really been eye opening.. it's really no wonder I was so overweight.. I can't even imagine how many calories I was consuming prior to MFP.. As far as sodium, I am only up 1 lb today.. Which is really amazing in my opinion lol.. I thought I was going to be trying to get rid of the excess water weight for weeks! lol..

    Thanks for all of your replies!! I appreciate it!
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
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    When I go to taco bueno I get the chicken taco salad without the shell and tortilla soup. Yum
  • mistyrn83
    mistyrn83 Posts: 19
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    I had this same exact eye opener with a 2000 cal meal about a week ago!!!! Im with you NEVER would of thought just how bad it was in the past. CRAZY
  • tldust
    tldust Posts: 103 Member
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    It's amazing how many calories something turns out to be after you look it up or plug in a recipe. We made a Ganache Berry Tart a few weeks back. I knew it wouldn't be good. It was 900 calories per slice. That was half my day in calories. I brought it to work to share the horrific calories. But you're right. I would never have imagined before MFP. How many 1000's of calories was I eating before?
  • kaetra
    kaetra Posts: 442 Member
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    All restaurants are full of pitfalls. I keep a My Food entry for the most acceptable item at as many restaurants as possible so I have something I can work in somehow. That way when friends say "You want to eat lunch at *so-and-so*?", 90% of the time I can say "Sure!".

    It's rare that I have to pass on a place entirely and ask if it's OK with them to go somewhere else. Thank goodness when I do my friends are very understanding and happy to accomdotate the crazy calorie counter. hehe

    It's the Boy Scout in me - "Be Prepared"
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
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    My husband and I grabbed lunch at Taco Bueno today just because we were helping my in-laws paint one of their rent houses. It was quick and nearby.. Can't even tell you the last time I had fast food.. I try to avoid fast food as much as possible usually.. Typically I look at restaurants nutrition information before I go somewhere so I can pick out the most calorie-efficient dish... I didn't get a chance to do that today.. My cell phone was dead at the time.

    So I did what any calorie-counter would do.. I picked what I thought might be 800 or so calories.. Sure, it's a high calorie meal but nothing I couldn't work off later if I went over my calories (I was thinking 300 or so calories over maybe?).. I logged my calories on my phone after lunch and it was nearly 2000 calories.. I thought that couldn't be right, so I decided to double check it when I got home.. It was an appalling 2000 calorie lunch after all.. I am horrified!!! I got a bean burrito, muchaco, and taco (#5)... I also helped my husband with his beef enchilada =(

    I am so disappointed... How can a bean burrito be over 600 calories!?!??!?! What the hell is it made with?! Lard?!?!

    I tried to make up for it by having grilled salmon and veggies for dinner... But even still, I am a whopping 1440 calories over.. I'm about to go jump on the elliptical to try to recoup as many calories as I can lol..

    Anyway, my whole point is that I would have had a meal like this prior to MFP and never once would calorie content come to mind... It's no wonder I gained all of my pregnancy weight back and then some!! After being here for a few months, I can see why I am so overweight... It's a real eye opener... Even still, it's disappointing when you thought you were choosing something that was work-out-able lol.. but in reality, you couldn't have been more wrong!

    Anyone else have a similar experience?

    It is so SHOCKING! I'm really surprised I didn't gain FAR more than I did! I've have been eating like this (and NOT exercising) for all of my adult life...but I started packing on the pounds and inches and other "woes" about 15+ years ago (when I started having children) and when I discovered how many empty calories I've been "dogging" for all these years--:love: wow...:sad:

    This is just a mere one of the horror discoveries I've been made aware of about the typical S.A.D. diet (Standard American Diet), which was and is a big motivating factor for an entire lifestyle change for me and also for what I now (and forever more) will and absolutely will not/no longer be eating and drinking starting last month!
  • DFWTT
    DFWTT Posts: 374
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    I've been losing since mid-December but recently started obsessing which is why I joined this site. We all have different caloric requirements and 800 cals really doesn't put someone like me in the OMFG stage. It may be contrary to what others think but I feel like I need one good cheat day a week. I don't care what the calorie content is or if I have have 5 glasses of Cab instead of 1 or 2. All week I think about what my cheat will be and by the time Sat comes, it's most satisfying. This week was a big bowl of homemade chili on a bed of jalapeno cornbread and a six pack of Bud Light. Yea, I had seconds :wink: Don't feel bad, all work and no play stinks. I've lost 22lbs since Dec 19th BTW and no, I didn't log it.
  • christibam
    christibam Posts: 478 Member
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    That is NUTS... who would have thought it could even be close to that!!! I have only gone out to eat once since I started really using this site correctly. I went to a restaurant that has weight watcher meals under 500 calories so I didn't have to think to hard.

    I miss eating out.... and I LOVE Mexican

    I got an email once titled, "Bob Harper Eats Out Mexican". After I was done laughing (because I have a pervy mind), I checked it out and it had a lot of great info.

    http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/exclusives/nutrition/healthy-eating/dining-out-tips/

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