Calorie surprises!

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Replies

  • Cespuglio
    Cespuglio Posts: 385 Member
    My surprisingly low calorie meal (well, lower than I expected) was a slice of NY pizzeria pizza at about 180 calories. JOY! A Kit Kat bar has more calories than that.
  • Mistila
    Mistila Posts: 38
    Dehydrated strawberries 1 oz is 30 calories and it takes quite a few to make a oz.
  • Nixenne
    Nixenne Posts: 37 Member
    It's not a food...but I've always taken liquid Nyquil when I have a cold. I took a dose without thinking anything of it the last time I was sick, and THEN looked it up--93 calories and 19 carbs for one dose?? That's more carbs than I usually consume in a day. x_x
  • bluex232
    bluex232 Posts: 135 Member
    Cereal with 2% milk was a lot higher than I thought, I used to litteraly eat more than a half of box at a time, sometimes close to 3/4 of a box (oh I love it sooo, especially Cap'n Crunch Opps All Berries!), and that would be just a snack! On the other side of the scale, Waffles and sugar free syrup were lower than I expected them to be. Working overnights I don't eat breakfast much, but waffles are starting to replace my cereal (which depresses me a little...somedays I want to eat nothing but a box of cereal, lol.)
  • kmhenry84
    kmhenry84 Posts: 96 Member
    I also didn't realize bananas were as high in calories as they are.

    Another shocker: salads at restaurants!!! I'd think, oh it's a salad, it has to be low cal - WRONG!! At Chili's I can have a lean sirloin (200 cal) with broccoli or beans and make out with less that!!! Even sans dressing.. what the heck in it is so high in calories??

    Question for anyone that might know in regards to calorie shockers: So I have a couple packs of 100 calorie popcorn.. I don't eat them every day, but they have a bit of fiber for only 100 cal and they are a good filler! Anyways, on the label it says that unpopped a bag is 130 cal, but popped a bag is 100 cal... anyone get that??
  • cougfn69
    cougfn69 Posts: 7 Member
    not sure if anyone has suggested it but fortified skim milk is just like 2% or maybe heavier. that is what i always get.
  • Haylz_ish
    Haylz_ish Posts: 80
    Cheese. :(

    I love cheese. I now measure it out but holy moses I used to eat a lot of cheese!!
  • VanessaHeartsMasr
    VanessaHeartsMasr Posts: 727
    Kraft Mac n cheese. 410 calories for 1/4 of a cup!!
    Holy crap! Good to know.
  • VanessaHeartsMasr
    VanessaHeartsMasr Posts: 727
    I was invited to a restaurant with a friend, Perkins. I had only been there for breakfast before...anyhow, I knew it wouldn't be low calorie, but I did not expect a grilled mozzerella & tomato sandwich with tomato basil soup to be 1100 calories, but it was!
    I was shocked by Perkins as well. 3 pancakes have over 500 calories!! (without butter or syrup!)
  • sophie_wr
    sophie_wr Posts: 194 Member
    My biggest surprise was bread. I'm french after all so bread is a big deal !
    And one time I was at this party where that was a coco pie (coco and cream, something like that). I thought it would be high.... but I was in shocked when I realize it was 900 calories PER slice !!
  • Chrisswa
    Chrisswa Posts: 71
    For years, I feasted on nuts thinking it was good for me. I loved the Kirkland Signature Deluxe Mixed Nuts or the various mixed nut offerings from Fresh & Easy and Trader Joe's. I believed that because I was forgoing candy, cakes, and chocolates, etc., I could consume as many nuts as I wanted and feel good about it. After all, they were natural and raw!

    Whoops! Tons of calories (mostly from fat.) I have no doubt that raw nuts are superior to a candy bars, etc. But it took MFP to open my eyes to the concept of "servings."

    I learned that I was scarfing down anywhere from 600 to 1000 calories of nuts on any given day! That was in addition to whatever I was eating at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

    These days if I eat nuts I keep it down to one serving.



    Me too i was gobsmacked when i saw Almonds were like 10 cal per nut ... i use to eat handfuls. If i think back i probably ate 1000 to 1500 a day maybe more :( i knew they were high in fat but didnt realise how many cal they added up to. This is the reason i love MFP . I miss nuts and will now add them bak into my diet now i know how to eat them.
  • hkclaire
    hkclaire Posts: 17
    Sushi - An 8 piece pack of plain salmon nigiri is anywhere from 400-500+ calories. I always considered it a light/healthy meal or even a snack!

    On the low side - dehydrated strawberries.
  • MaggieAudiologist
    MaggieAudiologist Posts: 23
    White short grain rice....and here I always thought it was a lower calorie choice compared to pasta. Now I'm learning to choose brown basmati rice and control my portions.
  • FoodPwnr
    FoodPwnr Posts: 153 Member
    I used to drink 3 xl triple triple coffee's from Tim Hortons almost every day....when I joined mpf i found out they were 480 calories each ...eeek...needless to say I no longer drink them O_0
  • Montemuscle1970
    Montemuscle1970 Posts: 21 Member
    I also didn't realize bananas were as high in calories as they are.

    Another shocker: salads at restaurants!!! I'd think, oh it's a salad, it has to be low cal - WRONG!! At Chili's I can have a lean sirloin (200 cal) with broccoli or beans and make out with less that!!! Even sans dressing.. what the heck in it is so high in calories??

    Question for anyone that might know in regards to calorie shockers: So I have a couple packs of 100 calorie popcorn.. I don't eat them every day, but they have a bit of fiber for only 100 cal and they are a good filler! Anyways, on the label it says that unpopped a bag is 130 cal, but popped a bag is 100 cal... anyone get that??

    Not all the kernels get popped and I think a lot of the butter gets stuck to the inside of the bag. Complete guesses though lol
  • raeraeti
    raeraeti Posts: 108
    Raspberries! You can eat an entire little box of them for under 100 calories. It was a pleasant surprise.
  • astrylian
    astrylian Posts: 194 Member
    Popcorn is awesome, approximately 120 calories for a bag. Kale chips, also delicious and surprisingly low calorie for something so yummy, and cauliflower! I love mashed cauliflower!
  • tinyjaz
    tinyjaz Posts: 75 Member
    Cheese. :(

    I love cheese. I now measure it out but holy moses I used to eat a lot of cheese!!

    So did I! Expecially with my wine!:drinker: :sad:
  • divinenanny
    divinenanny Posts: 90 Member
    I knew cheese was bad, but I didn't realise that it really just doesn't fit into my calorie-budget. So now I only have some for taste on my dinner, if the recipe calls for it (before I ate 4 cheese sandwiches a day).

    I was shocked when I calculated what I used to eat before counting and before starting to eat right. I used to get three burgers from BK, no fries and a diet coke. I knew this was bad. But it turned out to be 1828 calories of bad. And I usually ate a whole bag of Doritos after dinner too. That is another 1000 (!!!!) calories.

    That is why for me this lifestyle change is not only healthier, but cheaper too. No more fast food, no more snacks :D
  • Jargarita
    Jargarita Posts: 20 Member
    Ritz Reduced Fat Crackers are 70 cals for 5 crackers and they don't even taste that great!
  • roguestates
    roguestates Posts: 223
    Kraft Mac n cheese. 410 calories for 1/4 of a cup!!

    WOW that grosses me out a bit. Can't believe I used to eat 1/2 box cooked!
  • HamsterNut
    HamsterNut Posts: 78 Member
    Mcdonalds UK surprised me, a big mac and regular fries with diet coke is only 800 cals, I thought it would be like double that so I have mcdonalds now and again as it can easily be fitted into my daily 1600 cal goal!
  • feistymoon
    feistymoon Posts: 152
    Well, here's a ridiculously low one for you all to swap over to!!!

    25g of air popped corn is only 100 cals- and it's about 2.5 - 3 cups worth! Add some rock salt and black pepper or some cinnamon to taste.

    Compared to a bag of chips you get about 4 or 5 times more for the same amount of calories.

    Enjoy x
  • Kyrosh
    Kyrosh Posts: 238
    i love starbucks and would get a White Chocolate Mocha (grande ) - i read once that they were high but never looked into it until I hopped back on the calorie counting train = 470 calories!! and I would have 1-2 per week - i've switched to non-fat caramel machiattos for 190 calories - still get my fix but cut the calories in half!

    Yeah, I love all those different Frappachinos, but they are so high in calories. I was glad when they added Mocha Light to the menu because a grande is just 130 calories and just as yummy as the others. :)

    Mocha Light it is, but only a Tall one for me. That's enough for me :happy: That one is only 96 calories!!!
  • Kyrosh
    Kyrosh Posts: 238
    I used to get the individual wrapped sara lee muffins from the hospital cafe once in a while as a nice treat. Then I started counting calories...those muffins are 400-800 cals!!! GEEZ!!! Fruit kinda surprised me too.


    My boyfriend isn't counting calories but he cooks dinner 99.99% of the time, he makes a point to ask me my calories left for the day before cooking dinner. So he is very supportive and helps me out but it has been hilarious watching the looks on his face when he thinks he has dinner figured out for me!!!

    WOW! You've got yourself a great boyfriend there!! Can we share him? Lol!
  • shrinkingkiwi
    shrinkingkiwi Posts: 17 Member
    For LOW surprises - broccolli (29 calories a cup) and mushrooms (15 calories a cup) - sometimes if I am running up against my limit I just make a stirfry with some prawns and loads of these in. Is great with some lemon juice or a dash of chilli, or even a bit of soy and smear of oyster sauce. Yum! I don't think it is possible to eat enough mushrooms in one day to blow the cap.

    Popcorn also awesome - I think the reason that it has less calories popped is because calories are a measure of the energy in food, so when it is popped some of the energy has been used. To establish the number of calories in food scientists actually burn it in a chamber to see how much energy it gives off. So if you know that you can know see why popped corn might have less energy left.

    Bread was a shock, and allot of specialist gluten free products are loaded with carbs, sugar, fat and calories. Nuts also bad. I take out 3 brazil nuts at a time - hide the packet then eat them to boost my calories if I am low. I think 3 nuts is around 100 calories.

    This website is cool and very visual:

    http://www.healthassist.net/food/calories-chart.shtml

    Also some superfoods - lowcal but good nutrtition (you have to flip pages between each food):

    http://fitbie.msn.com/slideshow/25-shockingly-low-calorie-foods
  • bluex232
    bluex232 Posts: 135 Member
    Kraft Mac n cheese. 410 calories for 1/4 of a cup!!

    How the heck do you make your mac and cheese? The box says prepared it is 400 for 1 cup (1/3 of the box)... yes, still a crap load of calories for a small amount, but not as bad as you put it. :tongue:
  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
    I got a nasty shock after eating a bag of m&ms one time - won't be doing that again. From memory it was 890 cals. And for an added kick in the guts - it wasn't satisfying!

    But I've been pleasantly suprised by mushrooms, prawns, low joule jelly and cup a soups. (Chicken noodle is 45 CALORIES!) Great for the waistline!

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