I'm shocked at all the calories I'm consuming.

ClassicStyles

I really do not each much. 3 or 4 times a day. Smaller meals. I am so shocked at how many calories are in the foods that I'm eating. Really, a peanut butter & jelly sandwich is 400 calories.... a bowl of KIX cereal.. a real bowl of 1 cup of cereal with 2% milk is over 600 calories. I guess I'm really going to need help choosing low calorie foods. I'm headed to the nutritionist next week. Thanks for listening.

Gallowmere1984

It really slaps you in the face once you put it all on 'paper' and actually measure, eh? I know the feeling. Coffee creamer was my big hitch.

kappyblu

It's true that once you start tracking, the calories can really add up. However, a bowl of Kix cereal with 2% milk is not 600 calories. One cup of 2% milk is about 120 and 1 cup of Kix is 130 or so calories. How big is the bowl you are using?

endlesoul

You want a even bigger reality check, buy a food scale the cups and measuring spoons are not accurate for measuring. When
I got mine I had a lot of fun weighing everything.

CharRicho

Yeah peanut butter is a lot. Cereal is another thing that has more calories than it seems like it should.

I cut way down on the amount of peanut butter I use on things, and cereal is now a "sometimes" food for me, not an every day thing.


I've started eating way more vegetables, also protein shakes and lean meat. I'm actually finding now that I have a really tough time getting ENOUGH calories in a day! It just takes getting an idea of the kinds of things that fill you up that are low in calories, and once you get used to using those things, you will find you're taking in way less.


Edit: I also switched to skim milk. In cereal, you will not notice the difference. (though if you drink it you will)

karenstack

Same here! I really didn't have continued success until I started using this app. There's something about seeing everything in black and white that makes you pause, right? It's also great to see how the calories I burn exercising can affect my results.

ClassicStyles

Kappy Blue, I took it right off the box.

The serving size they use is 1/4 cup. Well my bowl of cereal is one cup. If it is 120 calories for 1/4 cup/ times that by 4 and you get 480.

Then you add in the calories for the milk. Well that is only 1 cup as well. 1 cup of milk was 120 calories... that was 600.

So maybe I'm a big eater... but one cup = 8 oz. 8 oz of cereal and 8 oz of milk is not a huge meal. Like I said, I was surprised by the Calories.

AuntieMC

It is truly amazing to me how few calories I really need. The Standard American Diet contains way too many calories! We need to eat more like people in other parts of the world -- many more vegetables, less meat, and greatly reduce the processed foods and junk foods! I have lost 172 pounds since August of 2011, and am stalled out at my current weight (still need to lose at least 40 pounds), because, even on healthy foods, I am still getting too many calories, obviously. They add up so fast!

kappyblu

Please check the label again. The serving size is 1 1/4 cup. One cup and 1/4 cup. You can check the food database on MFP as well. :flowerforyou:

dakotawitch

Tracking wine or beer on the occasions I drink it is still a HUGE shock.

One thing I love about MFP is that I can check the database before I go out to eat and use it to make better choices. That big old burger at Red Robin is less appealing when I realize it has 1100 calories in it! (Although some days, nothing else will do.) I find that forcing myself to be honest helps me make better choices most days.

I had a real "over the top" calorie day today, and I know seeing it all stare back at me tomorrow will motivate me to do a little better. (Those Chinese food leftovers really got me today...ugh.)

ClassicStyles

Kappy,

That is really good news.... I thought it was only 1/4 cup. Wow.. what a difference. Thank goodness. So I ate less than the serving size. Yippee. Thanks again, I'll fix my data. Now I feel better.

FunnyBunnyHunny

I picked up an iced tea today, logged the whole bottle and realized that just one bottle is DOUBLE my allotted amount of sugar for the day! Absolutely insane. Logging is definitely making me think before i consume. Drank half the bottle and put the rest in the fridge. Thought about throwing it out.

Gidzmo

I really do not each much. 3 or 4 times a day. Smaller meals. I am so shocked at how many calories are in the foods that I'm eating. Really, a peanut butter & jelly sandwich is 400 calories.... a bowl of KIX cereal.. a real bowl of 1 cup of cereal with 2% milk is over 600 calories. I guess I'm really going to need help choosing low calorie foods. I'm headed to the nutritionist next week. Thanks for listening.

I like tomato sandwiches, and I figured that they were fairly healthy (after all, they were on 12-grain bread). Then I plugged the recipe through MFP.....:noway:

orangelobster

Almond butter instead of peanut butter
pita bread or english muffins instead of regular bread
1% or skim milk instead of 2%
lose the "kix" -that stuff won't do anything for you.

jimosaurus42

I had the same reaction a few years ago when I lost 80 lbs. The way I manage my hunger as well as my calories is by eating a great deal of vegetables, some fruit, and cheese/yoghurt. I find that as long as the item has both a low glycemic index rating as well as lower calories to gram ratio I stay full longer and am able to feel relatively full on very little food. Additionally because I get all the vitamins and minerals I need my body doesn't feel I'm starving. Lastly its great because eating healthy should be a priority diet or no. Hope my experiences help!

wendybird5

For me realizing how much a serving size really was shocked me. I'd always look at the calories, but not at how many servings were in the container, thinking it obviously was just one serving when in fact it was two or even four.

Artests

I have a huge addiction to peanut butter and refuse to go without it so I use PB2 which is peanuts that have been ground into powder, and you just add a 1:1 ratio of water to it and BAM you have delicious guilt free peanut butter!

NaomiHooley

How wonderful is the knowledge though right? Now we know and we can make changes.
A cup of yogurt and strawberries would be half of that and fill you up more.
A morning smoothie could have veggies and fruits. The more things that grow from the earth, the smaller the calories, and the further you'll go in your day
Congrats on the journey!!

jmkmomm

I know the bread is smaller and more expensive but I buy the 35 calorie bread. The serving size of peanut butter is 2 tbsp but 1 tbsp looks pretty good on this bread. I don't use jelly. We were brought up using sweet pickles on peanut butter. So I use bread and butter chips or better yet pickle relish. It spreads out real easy and you use less. Good luck

shunyata13

It was a shock to me as well when I started keeping track of my foods. The food scale was a good tool for me to get used to proper portions. I also made changes in my diet. I used to eat honey maple ham and swiss cheese on various types of breads with honey mustard. When I saw how much sodium and calories were in just that one sandwhich I then knew why I weighed as much as I did.

I did make changes that were tasty for me. I substituted to Boarshead Honey Coated Turkey, Mozzerella Cheese and used Wraps in place of bread. I also use lettuce and Bolthouse yogurt dressings. The dressing has almost no caleries which helps a lot. I will also use Boarshead Blazing Buffalo BBQ Chicken and seedless red grapes along with shredded cheddar cheese and the lettuce and dressing with the wrap.

It didn't take long to get used to eating that way because I knew I was eating way less calories than before and it was a lot healthier for me as well.

I did find that the first week or so was leaving me more hungry at the end of the day so I upped my calery count to feel full but still lower than what I was eating until my stomach shrunk and got used to eating less.

So far I lost around 30 - 40 pounds and only 5 more to go. I am already in my goal size and I am getting compliments on how I look. That always helps as a positive reinforcement. I did have different health issues during the weight loss and couldn't do exercises as often as I would have liked or at the level I wanted to be at. I tried not to pay too much attention as to what other members did and had to come to terms that I was going to loose at the level that was healthy for me and not as quickly as some of the others could do. It was frustrating at times but when I let go of my ego and need to keep up with the others I did better.

Good luck in reaching your goals and may all the ones on your friend's list be supportive of you!

libertarian4321

That's what I like about this web site- I can see the junk that I'd been eating was full of fat and sugar and calories. I'm still eating a lot of volume, but the calories are much lower, and it seems to be working.

Less high fat food, less sugars, more lean protein and veggies.