Top Surprising Foods

justified111
justified111 Posts: 18 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've always considered myself a pretty well educated person when it came to nutrition. Using MFP has definitely surprised me with some of the foods I thought were more/less healthy than they are:

#1. Dehydrated Fruit - I previously though you couldn't get fat eating fruit. Well let me tell you, eating an entire bag of dehydrated apricots is NOT healthy. Since using MFP, I have moved to real fruit and it's been a huge caloric difference. I guess I could previously have read the back of the bag, but using MFP and logging everything has made me really pay attention.

#2. Pork - I used to tell my wife not to make Pork Loin because I thought it was just horrible for you. In moderation when it's baked or grilled with some vegetables it's actually not bad at all. I mention pork but it really covers so many other foods I thought were much worse than they really are.

#3. Portions - Serving sizes blow my mind. I actually had no idea I was eating so much more than a serving. I find that if I cut myself off a little early from each meal I end up full anyway. It takes 20-30 minutes for fullness to kick in so I now try to eat proper servings and I find I can eat just about anything I want (pizza, bagels, cookies) and still stay under my target.

PS - Been using MFP for 60 days (on top of exercise) and lost 20lbs so far. 50 more to go.

What has surprised you guys?

Replies

  • HacheraTsarine
    HacheraTsarine Posts: 278 Member
    Same as you : surprised to see how much I was overeating. I used to order pad thaï to go weekly. It's 6 portions of pasta (from ThaïZone restaurant)!!!

    I also realized that every bite counts : I received this giant box of expensive filled dark chocolates. Just one can make me go over my calorie goal if I'm not being careful about it and I'm quite the chocolate junkie.

    But I also learned a few tricks :
    1. Everyday, one of my meals has to be a salad with protein. It fills you up like crazy and you save lots of calories.
    2. Never eat cereals. The proposed serving size is too small to satisfy me, even with milk and a piece of fruit. So, bye bye Raisin Bran.
    3. Speaking of Raisin Bran, I do better when I meet my fiber requirements too.
  • helenrosemay
    helenrosemay Posts: 375 Member
    I was surprised to find eating nuts is healthy as long as you don't eat too many (28g should be ok) the nutrients they contain are amazing and the fats are good fats great for your heart. Pistachios, almonds & walnuts are my favourite.
  • lyndausvi
    lyndausvi Posts: 156 Member
    Serving sizes and nutritional information on packaging was a real eye opener. It goes both ways. On one hand it's silly that a 20oz beverage bottle is 2.5 servings. Really? I would think most people drink the whole amount. I would rather see information on the whole bottle so I don't have to measure it out. On the other hand, I realized I can eat more veggies than I had thought I could.


    Restaurant meals. I knew they were higher, but I didn't realize how high until I started looking at the information. I still can't figure out how chicken breast, broccoli, lemon sauce and some rice ends up 1380 calories. They must use a ridiculous amount of butter and oil.



    PP - I also try and have one meal as a salad. It does help me stay on track for the day.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    I was surprised to find eating nuts is healthy as long as you don't eat too many (28g should be ok) the nutrients they contain are amazing and the fats are good fats great for your heart. Pistachios, almonds & walnuts are my favourite.

    BBC programme? Less than 30% of the fat in nuts is released in the body. Most of it remains in the nut remnants in your faeces. It is the fibrous cell structure that does it, Looking at it under a microscope was really amazing.
  • helenrosemay
    helenrosemay Posts: 375 Member
    Yep, BBC programme.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    Can I show my age and ask - who is the presenter?

    Apparently I should know who she is, cos she is famous. But I haven't got a clue.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
    Calcium is everywhere! I used to take calcium supplements because I assumed that there was no way I was getting enough, even with the milk in my cereal and cheeses and yogurts. But by tracking it, I'm seeing that I'm almost always 'over' goal just from all the other normal foods that I eat daily. Mind you, I want to be over, since the goal on here is most likely set for a man and women need more and it isn't harmful to be over. But no more supplements of calcium for me!
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    Oh dear! I just looked at the wiki thing! No wonder I don't know who she is.

    Cheltenham lady, descendant of baronets, married to the son of... and a great self advertisor!
  • dondimitri
    dondimitri Posts: 245 Member
    I think it was the serving sizes and associated calories. Until I started logging I had no idea. Overeating by a 1000 cal/day at least. No wonder I couldn't lose any weight. Duh.....!

    I've also been looking into the glycemic index of foods and was very surprised to find out that a regular potato is almost as bad as straight glucose.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    Check the GL sites too, They look at foods in normal portion sizes rather than per 100g/ml - makes quite a drastic different in some cases.
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
    I grew up in an era in which was told fat is bad, causes heart problems and makes you fat. I learned to fear it., but now I have to learn the oposite. Amazing I started to loose weight with cutting back carbs and adding more fat! (Just started here, but lost in the past 35 pounds already)
  • keith_w61
    keith_w61 Posts: 20 Member

    Restaurant meals. I knew they were higher, but I didn't realize how high until I started looking at the information. I still can't figure out how chicken breast, broccoli, lemon sauce and some rice ends up 1380 calories. They must use a ridiculous amount of butter and oil.

    Where did ypou get your information from? Skinless chicken breast is usually pretty good, but rice is starch!
  • keith_w61
    keith_w61 Posts: 20 Member
    Serving sizes and nutritional information on packaging was a real eye opener. It goes both ways. On one hand it's silly that a 20oz beverage bottle is 2.5 servings. Really? I would think most people drink the whole amount. I would rather see information on the whole bottle so I don't have to measure it out. On the other hand, I realized I can eat more veggies than I had thought I could.


    Restaurant meals. I knew they were higher, but I didn't realize how high until I started looking at the information. I still can't figure out how chicken breast, broccoli, lemon sauce and some rice ends up 1380 calories. They must use a ridiculous amount of butter and oil.



    PP - I also try and have one meal as a salad. It does help me stay on track for the day.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    definitely the portion sizes - i pretty much know how many calories are in *one serving* of a lot of foods, but I didn't realzie what constitutes *one serving*.

    I also didn't know that coffee (plain) had some calories - i always thought it was zero (like water).
  • evilpixiegrrr
    evilpixiegrrr Posts: 103
    Eating an ounce of any kind of nut considered very healthy. There's a number of health benefits, and the fat helps keep your skin looking younger and maintain thickness. I make a point of working an ounce of almonds in my snacks nearly daily. Definitely keep up with incorporating nuts into your diet. :)
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    Bacon! I avoided bacon for months until I finally logged one slice and it came up as 45 calories. I felt very stupid for turning down all that bacon. At one point I was doing a vegetable sauté that called for three slices of bacon. When I had rendered the bacon, I THREW IT AWAY and only used the grease. God forgive me!
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
    Eating an ounce of any kind of nut considered very healthy. There's a number of health benefits, and the fat helps keep your skin looking younger and maintain thickness. I make a point of working an ounce of almonds in my snacks nearly daily. Definitely keep up with incorporating nuts into your diet. :)

    True, but like most here portions sizes is an issue. I am a Paleor for years already, but just ate way too many nuts, because they are so healthy :smile:
  • justified111
    justified111 Posts: 18 Member

    I also realized that every bite counts : I received this giant box of expensive filled dark chocolates. Just one can make me go over my calorie goal if I'm not being careful about it and I'm quite the chocolate junkie.

    It's funny you say that because I find the opposite. One or two bites of desert works fine for me. Previously when I was trying to lose weight I would turn down all deserts, office birthday cakes, etc. Now, when there's a birthday party in the office I take the slice of cake I'm handed instead of turning it down and calling out the fact I'm "dieting". Now I only have a bite or two and very little harm is actually done.

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