Calorie shocker!

Options
1…5681011…23

Replies

  • obrientp
    obrientp Posts: 546 Member
    Options
    Potatoes and pastas. They are so high caloric. A little tiny portion of pasta is just not worth it, so sadly, I have almost stopped eating it except for when I have a ultra high calorie burinng day.
  • musicboxes
    musicboxes Posts: 133 Member
    Options
    I too was shocked to see the facts of ALL (OJ being one of them) the foods I THOUGHT I was eating.. as opposed to what I was REALLY eating..so no wonder I was in the shape I was in. MFP has been the tool I needed to keep me in balance. Personally, I eat what I want when I want it, just because I like it....but I find better choices...and cutting the servicing sizes has helped tremendously. I love chocolate so Instead of eating a whole candy bar, I read the labels, find a mini snack size, am satisfied & enjoy treating myself.

    I find in searching a lot of foods, you are not sure of the ingredients, so I make my own so I know exactly what I am eating. My husband and I have a fav ice cream shop that I've gone to since childhood. Our treat was to share a huge banana split that must have had 10,000 calories (LOL). So I decided I could make one myself, so I used 1 cup ice cream, added pineapple, strawberries & chocolate syrup (didn't have a banana at the time). I measured & counted everything, it was much healthier & I was thrilled to eat something I love & enjoy without the guilt trip.
  • musicboxes
    musicboxes Posts: 133 Member
    Options
    Like.
  • jniels1975
    jniels1975 Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    me too on the oj! bummer. have a real orange instead,it has fiber and keeps you fuller than the juice. But yes, OJ is delicious.
  • Soapstone
    Soapstone Posts: 134 Member
    Options
    Well I put in my orange juice earlier I wanted to cry thinking of how much exercise it'd take to burn those calories.

    Keep in mind that your body burns a ton of calories just existing. In fact, the vast majority of your "burn" is just existing. On average, BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calories equate to roughly 70% of an individuals daily calorie needs. For me, that's roughly 1800-1900 calories. On average, your NEAT and TEF (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis and Thermal Effect of Food) make up another 15% - 20% and actual exercise is going to be roughly 10%-15% on average. Of course, this differs based on individual activity levels...an athlete for example will burn a ton more calories exercising, therefore their BMR is going to account for less of their daily burn, etc...but just to give you a ball park average.

    I only bring it up because it's a bit of a sliperly slope towards disordered thinking to start looking at caloric inputs and then think you have to go work all of that off.

    Thank you for saying this. It's easy to start forgetting.
  • NSMustanggirl
    NSMustanggirl Posts: 70 Member
    Options
    Orange juice. All the way! I was totally shocked. Even eggs I was shocked, jsut becuase I thought they were less calories. Cheese too.

    I haven't checked eggs yet, is that another shocking one. I knew cheese was bad but I didn't actually realise HOW bad and cheese is one of my all time favourite foods. Really not looking forward to eating healthier and fewer calories.

    Any juice is high in sugars... I was never a big juice drinker so the switch to water wasn't a big deal at all! In terms of eggs and cheese, don't eliminate them! Keep in mind that some foods, while high in caloric content, are full of other nutrients that may keep you fuller, longer and eliminating the "munchies" that get you into trouble not to mention other great benefits!! Eggs are a great source of protein - I had 4 eggs whites this am and will have a couple of whole eggs throughout a week, and cheese is a regular sprinkle in small quantities or a small snack

    SO, moral of the story, make sure you are educating yourself about the entire nutritional story of a food before eliminating! Calories aren't the be all and end all of our diets
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Options
    Oh! And boy do I love that OJ! I came to the conclusion I'm better off eating a big orange. I only use 6-8oz glasses (juice glasses) for OJ. Portion control.
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    Options
    When I first started working out, I set out to not change my diet whatsoever. I planned to continue eating a pizza or two a week, burgers several times a week, massive quantities of bacon and eggs and homefries every day, and so on.

    Well, after just a couple weeks my mindset changed. I suddenly wanted to eat better so that I wasn't just undoing all of my hard work with my fork. That helped, big time, even without tracking food, just eating healthier options. I still ate pizza, burgers, bacon, etc. just in less amounts, and not as frequently.

    Eventually I signed up here, and that has kept me on track through the times where I haven't exercised, even though I don't always stick to my 2600 calories.

    As for what shocked me, well, I don't really remember specific foods. One brand of granola I like is pretty high in calories for a serving that satisfies, but perhaps the biggest surprise was how tiny a "serving size" typically is, and how inaccurate volume vs weight measurements are. I now weigh everything. It is the only way.
  • alexsheena
    alexsheena Posts: 20
    Options
    Try flavoured water instead of juice or coke. I've switched to sparkling peach water and its very low cal, low sugar and better for your teeth. My motto is baby steps.
    Cut down or work on small areas at a time and soon it will add up to something big.
  • chevyimpalagirl
    chevyimpalagirl Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    Turkey bacon and nutella omg.
  • alexsheena
    alexsheena Posts: 20
    Options
    I now weigh everything. It is the only way.

    Yes definitely weigh everything, you'll think you know what a portion looks like but you're probably way off. I was so shocked when what I thought was a portion of porridge was actually more like THREE! Just weighing my food has done so much for me already.
  • chancock6
    chancock6 Posts: 87
    Options
    Want a real shocker, look at some pasta. There's some macaroni and cheese that's 350 calories per 2 oz. Seriously? And all the liquid calories I used to consume on a daily basis was terrible.
  • ameryati
    ameryati Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    A single digestive biscuit not a good food but shocking how bad they are, but like has been said some foods its a balancing act not just about the calorific value, a lot of nuts that are very good for you and have great nutrients are sky high in calories.


    I remember my shock when I found that one digestive biscuit contained 73 calories. That's even more than 3 cups of shredded cabbage. Wow!
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Options
    The calorie servings on about half of the things I buy are incredibly misleading and so small it's a joke.

    Like a jar of nuts. Has anyone ever gotten a jar of nuts and counted out X amount of pieces? Peanut butter listing at 2 tablespoon and ridiculous calories.

    The way ONE soda screws up your sugar intake for the day.

    Oh and because I live in California I get to see the calories when I go out to eat on the menu. Chain restaurants will blow your mind on the calories of one meal.

    How are the calorie servings misleading?
  • achantee
    achantee Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    About the eggs, whats even more shocking is that there are 70 calorie and 4.8g of fat (which equals about 44 calories from fat alone) in 1 large egg; however only 15 calories in 1 large egg white and no fat. I always thought that scrambled eggs were a great breakfast. Who knew. And about the cheese, yes full fat cheese isn't the greatest, but 2% (not fat free because of all the added junk) is just as good, and a lot less fat and calories. 70 calories in a slice of American cheese, versus 45 in the 2% American. Even when I'm not "dieting", I still buy 2% cheese because I can't live without my cheese.
  • Benji49
    Benji49 Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    Juice, pop, ice cream, cheese, French fries and gravy! I've given up pop totally because it was never my favorite thing, French fries have become sweet potato fries baked in the oven and I only use homemade gravy for dipping if I really crave it. I cannot think of single reason why I would EVER give up cheese or ice cream in moderation.

    Another thing you have to remember - and there are a lot of really good comments above - is you can still have your junk food sometimes. Make it a treat that you earn every once in a while. But you will probably find that as you change some of your habits and start to eat different foods that maybe you've never tried before you will actually not crave the junk so much. And....you can adapt recipes that you love to eat and turn them into healthier food.

    Have fun with it and make it a lifestyle change - NOT a diet.
  • slimmer1972
    slimmer1972 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    For me, it was bread. I love bagels, toast, buns, bread for sandwiches, etc. I realize the high carb intake but caloric, too? :sad:

    ^^^THIS! I felt my heart break a little when I read the caloric count for whole wheat bread.
  • Getawayfromthecake
    Getawayfromthecake Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    Biscuits... because you never can just have one. Some fox biscuits are 70 cals a pop :O
  • moonbaby12
    moonbaby12 Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    Here's another Shocker, Quinoa are crazy high in cal's

    but also super high in nutrients...

    Exactly, and quinoa is NOT super high in calories. One cup (according to nutrtiondata.com is 222 cals. Not to mention 8 g protein and 5 g fiber. ) I would be more concerned about chocolate or donuts myself!
  • beepee75
    beepee75 Posts: 2
    Options
    "Skinny" coffee drinks are about as much or more as my morning breakfast. ALSO, flour tortillas, I just learned about that one, superbad!

Categories