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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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!

One word: VEGETABLES!!!!! High in nutrition Low in calories.

Oh me too!!! Then I discovered white fish and had the same reaction in reverse! On fish days I stuff myself silly and don't go near my calorie goal. Supportive husband now cooking fish 3x a week

Calories in 1 cup 2% milk = 120

Calories in 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk = 40

I recently realized there are TWO serving in a packet of ramen. Holy cow, almost 400 calories for something that never totally satisfies me. Sad.

Generally the more processed food tends to be higher in calories.

Still love my peanut butter though.