Foods You'll Think Twice About Now

One of the interesting things about logging is being really shocked about how many calories are in some foods. What are the foods you now think twice about eating? My big two are:

1 - butter. 50 cals in just HALF a tablespoon!
2 - potato chips. just doesnt seem to be worth it for me since they are not filling in the least! i don't mind something that has a lot of calories if its satisfying, but chips feel like air.
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Replies

  • Cmbisbee
    Cmbisbee Posts: 3 Member
    Olives! 4 black olives = 25 calories (no biggie), 2.5 grams of fat (just for olives!). That sucks. I put olives in a lot of recipes. I knew they were high in sodium, but I didn't realize they had fat.
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    Olives! 4 black olives = 25 calories (no biggie), 2.5 grams of fat (just for olives!). That sucks. I put olives in a lot of recipes. I knew they were high in sodium, but I didn't realize they had fat.

    Yes, but they have good fat in them. Olives are very good for you.

    Edit: I LOVE olives. I eat them wayyyy too much just straight out of the jar haha
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    I think twice about what I order in resturants now due to the high sodium, sure I still eat out but if you compare you can see a huge difference in a chicken sandwich from one resturant to another
  • reedkaus
    reedkaus Posts: 250 Member
    Olives! 4 black olives = 25 calories (no biggie), 2.5 grams of fat (just for olives!). That sucks. I put olives in a lot of recipes. I knew they were high in sodium, but I didn't realize they had fat.

    just so you know, though, the fat is olives is considered to be "healthy fat", and provides your body essential nutrients
  • hottiebikerchick
    hottiebikerchick Posts: 187 Member
    Hee hee- funny, where do you think Olive OIL comes from....sorry just found that amusing!!!
  • rach7turtle
    rach7turtle Posts: 47 Member
    wow i didnt know that about olives. now i will think twice about it.

    I think twice about pasta and how much is in my serving instead of piling it onto my plate. I also now substitute it with spaghetti squash and other types of squash and veggies.

    I also think twice about baked potatoes.
  • kborton1122
    kborton1122 Posts: 914 Member
    Avocados! High fat content, even though it's the "good" kind of fat. They are delicious, so I do still eat them from time to time.
  • Kldouville
    Kldouville Posts: 6 Member
    Grape Nuts Cereal has a lot of calories!!
  • tanayar
    tanayar Posts: 6 Member
    OMGoodness! Pinto beans!! 245 calories for 1 cup! I'm mexican I used to eat beans with atleast 1-2 meals a day! and trust 1 cup is not much when you take into account how you are eating them lol oh how I miss them lol
  • SocWkrBee
    SocWkrBee Posts: 374
    Hee hee- funny, where do you think Olive OIL comes from....sorry just found that amusing!!!

    Play nice, LOL! It's called olive OIL, not olive FAT! :wink: (sarcasm font)
  • PrayerofAmity
    PrayerofAmity Posts: 176 Member
    Butter and olives are both high fat foods that yes you would want to limit (especially the sodium in olives if you have blood pressure issues) but the fact is that the fats in both are GOOD fats. I would eat unsalted butter over margarine any day in limited amounts. I wouldn't go so far as to avoid either of those.
  • imlik
    imlik Posts: 64 Member
    Bananas, sadly. Yeah, they've got a lot of potassium, but they've also got lots of carbs and sugar. If I eat one, I eat only half of one. I can get potassium from other sources, anyway: spinach, tomatoes, milk, cheese, other fruits & veggies with less sugar. Bananas make the roof of my mouth itch, anyway, lol.
  • winetoweights
    winetoweights Posts: 32 Member
    Olives! 4 black olives = 25 calories (no biggie), 2.5 grams of fat (just for olives!). That sucks. I put olives in a lot of recipes. I knew they were high in sodium, but I didn't realize they had fat.

    Yes, but they have good fat in them. Olives are very good for you.

    Very true! I dislike olives, but check this out:
    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=46

    Like avocados, very high in fate relative to size, but fat doesn't make you fat!
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Shrimp- Cholesterol levels are way high. Eat that and an egg and you're screwed.

    Ground beef- I have to eat pretty much no fat the rest of the day to keep my macro percentages right if I'm going to have something with ground beef.

    All drinks besides water, low sodium V8 and skim milk- do I really want to waste my calories on liquids. Orange juice especially. I can't keep that crap in the house because I'd be tempted to drink it all the time and 120 cal and a whole lot of sugar are not what I need.

    I pretty much think about and evaluate all food, what nutrients they're giving me and how they fit into my macro percentages before they're consumed. It makes cheat days especially wonderful because even when I don't allow myself to go over on my calories, I'll pay no mind to my macros.
  • toshie333
    toshie333 Posts: 295 Member
    crisps i dont eat anymore - not worth the calories. the odd piece of choc however, i cant resist.
    fizzy drink (not diet. full fat) fanta etc
    wine and beer - i now drink spirits not that im an alcoholic lol
    nuts - good fats but high in cals!
  • tldust
    tldust Posts: 103 Member
    alcohol . . . esp. the hard liquor and those fancy mixed drinks . . . . There's so many calories in alcohol that you either have to exercise like crazy to have more than 1 drink or drink your calories instead of a meal. Just not worth it most of the time.
  • futuremalestripper
    futuremalestripper Posts: 467 Member
    none.

    I don't think twice about any of them. I eat it all. That's what running is for.
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    :huh: some REALLY good food choices being nixed for the sake of calories in this thread...

    olives, pinto beans, and bananas should be anything but avoided IMO (unless allergy or other medical reason).

    (in fact I may pop open a can of no sodium added pinto beans in honor of that one).
  • minkakross
    minkakross Posts: 687 Member
    I've learned to avoid eating out. even cutting portions in half the calorie count on most dine out meals whether fast food or table service is just too high.
  • jckyg
    jckyg Posts: 1
    bread. anything with bread. just too good. especially when they have rolls at restaurants..mmmm.
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    :huh: some REALLY good food choices being nixed for the sake of calories in this thread...

    olives, pinto beans, and bananas should be anything but avoided IMO (unless allergy or other medical reason).

    (in fact I may pop open a can of no sodium added pinto beans in honor of that one).

    I don't nix any of the food that I listed. I just change things around when I want them. I like my 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat percentages and it's my goal to eat within my calorie limit and keep those percentages.

    Then again, I try to be mindful about what I'm getting out of everything I eat.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Just throwing this out there:

    Every food that you all pointed out as "thinking twice about" are all healthy for you:

    Avocados, beans, olives, bananas, nuts.

    How about something like a turkey burger with extra blue cheese and fries? A chili dog? Thick crust pizza with everything on it? Lets get real here and talk about foods that you really should think twice about.
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    you guys do realize fats and cholesterol are critical for health?

    Moe critical then the carbs you eat.

    You're certainly right. Fat and protein cannot be replaced by anything in our diets, however we can use fat as fuel.

    Cholesterol is also essential but constant high cholesterol in our diets are not good for us. That's why I typically avoid eating shrimp and eggs on the same day. Not a bad idea, you know?
  • EellaK
    EellaK Posts: 16 Member
    none.

    I don't think twice about any of them. I eat it all. That's what running is for.

    I like your style.
  • tygwyn2
    tygwyn2 Posts: 3
    Well I've been on MFP for a few months now and I starting to see calories in a slighty diffrent light.
    Calorie coutnting - keeping under the daily allowance, worked well at first but then my weigh loss slowed down and I had to look at my diet in another way.
    Just as there are 'good' and 'bad' fats, then I see good and bad calories.
    If its calories from a 'unpocessed' food, such as Olives, Dates & Butter then I'll let myself consume more, than if its from a processed food.

    Some foods may be high in calories but the benifits nutrion wise make them worth having.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Huh. All the foods listed here so far are what I would consider healthy! Butter and olives and avocados and bananas- really?

    I think differently about some foods- cereal for example is a treat for me now, not a meal. Peanut butter needs to be measured carefully by weight- but I still eat it every day. The only real surprise I found was that splenda isn't calorie free- it has 3.8 cals/packet. If you're like me and you took calorie free to mean dump 12 packets in a large coffee- several times a day- that came as a harsh reality. No more splenda for me!

    Edit- and I agree with FutureMaleStripper- running forgives a lot of indulgences! WILL RUN 4 DONUTS!
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    Any drink with more than 20 calories, except my low cal starbucks that I won't give up :)
  • redscylla
    redscylla Posts: 211 Member
    Peaches. I had NO idea they had that much sugar. Nothing like discovering that eating a peach consumes most of my daily sugar allowance. Youch.
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    Pie


    However...I am pleased with Bacon. Funny how I used to not eat bacon when living an unhealthy lifestyle and now that I'm losing weight and getting fit, bacon is a big part of my diet lol. So I guess bacon is what I thought twice about :-)
  • TXBelle1174
    TXBelle1174 Posts: 615 Member
    MMMMMMM... butter!

    The only thing I think twice about is sugar.