Almonds and Calories - Worth It?

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  • BigCed77024
    BigCed77024 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    I LOVE almonds! I grab a handful and that's all I will eat for that day. They are expensive so a bag will last me a week. They are good and nut-ricious..see what I did there!
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
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    They're delicious and filling.

    Eating 100 calories of almonds that will keep you fuller longer than a pack of raisens for the same calories.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Decent protein. Great fats. Good micronutrients (selenium, for one).

    It's worth it if you want to make it worth it. Enjoyment + nutrition is a winner, winner, chicken dinner.
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    Yes. Unprocessed, natural and delicious. They can really take the edge off when you're hungry but are in between meals. I say go for it :happy:
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Just got home and bought 2 big bags of Regular almonds and 1 bag of Cocoa Almonds from Sam's Clubs.... Eat them everyday... :drinker:
  • Gkfrkv
    Gkfrkv Posts: 120
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    I don't have it as a snack by itself, but add a few to other snacks. I love the taste, and for me it's worth it as a little treat in the middle of the day.
  • FrontBoard
    FrontBoard Posts: 15
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    It sounds like you are comparing apples to oranges, for lack of a better analogy. You seem to be asking "are almonds better than a protein bar for getting a bunch of protein?" In that case the almonds will not win.

    That aside, everyone else here has great points. They have a nice breakdown of fat, protein, and carbs and are very easy to portion control. Sure they may not be "filling" because they are pretty calorie dense but I find when I eat a relatively small portion when I am hungry that they do satisfy my hunger just fine.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    Almonds (and most -- probably all -- nuts, in general) are a great snack.

    As you noted, however, they don't give a lot of "bang for your buck."

    Personally, I'm not satisfied to eat only a handful of nuts for a snack, so I haven't fit them in recently (and if someone can eat 3-4,000 cals a day, of course they can eat pretty much whatever they want).

    I've recently been bumping my intake, in order to find the right maintenance level, so at least it looks like there's more peanut butter and nuts on the horizon.
  • Mr_Boy
    Mr_Boy Posts: 42 Member
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    What's the calories per almond? Is it as horrific as peanuts because if so I find it unlikely that enough to actually stop you being hungry wouldn't be several hundred calories? I have a bag of small salted peanuts - each about the size of a pea - and I'm sure I worked out even they are something dumb like 10kCal each!!
  • VaTechM3
    VaTechM3 Posts: 13
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    Thanks all for the replies, very good information.

    I just need to go back to the scale and measure things out correctly, which I was doing for a while, and now can't seem to find my scale for some reason haha.

    Anyway, I really like them as a snack, maybe I need to change my thought process around them as more of a filler between meals and not something that is going to eliminate a hunger strike between meals.

    I agree with the additional health benefits of almonds compared to a lot of other things I could be eating, but if you're really tracking calories, maybe they don't make the best sense if you're trying to lose? I guess with everything, there is a trade off so I'll just get back to portioning to keep myself on track.

    They are very easy to just pick up while walking around the house and having a few, but it seems they could quickly bust a day of calories if you aren't careful.

    Thanks for all the insight!
  • ryandeceptacon
    ryandeceptacon Posts: 26 Member
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    For me, I find it astounding that you feel you need to eat so many to satisfy. A handful of almonds really isn't that bad calorie-wise. It certainly isn't close to 340.
  • FrontBoard
    FrontBoard Posts: 15
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    What's the calories per almond? Is it as horrific as peanuts because if so I find it unlikely that enough to actually stop you being hungry wouldn't be several hundred calories? I have a bag of small salted peanuts - each about the size of a pea - and I'm sure I worked out even they are something dumb like 10kCal each!!

    About 7 calories per almond.

    According to Google's calorie database 1oz of almonds and 1oz of peanuts are virtually identical at 163 and 161 calories.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    For me, I find it astounding that you feel you need to eat so many to satisfy. A handful of almonds really isn't that bad calorie-wise. It certainly isn't close to 340.

    It's a crazy world, isn't it?
  • Pedalpush
    Pedalpush Posts: 246 Member
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    I sure hope so, I've eaten a *kitten*-ton of them today...
  • jeffd247
    jeffd247 Posts: 319 Member
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    I was buying the 100 calorie packs of Emerald plain Almonds and eating that. I then noticed that every packet contained 14 almonds so I bought a big thing of them and just count out 14. That is what I take with me to work for a snack.

    Otherwise I would plow through the whole bag.
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
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    I keep almonds at my house for one purpose... macro adjustments. If I haven't had enough fat that day and want to get my macros as close as possible to my goal I will have a serving of raw almonds. I really like the way they taste but they are just so high in calories. I would rather have peanut butter anyway :bigsmile:
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I've been reading a lot about eating nuts as a healthy snack. I really like almonds and have been getting plain, dry roasted, unsalted almonds from the fresh market. They're quite tasty!

    I just added my snack of them (which I haven't eaten all of yet) of probably 2oz of almonds, which to me doesn't seem like a lot, and came out with approximately 340 calories.

    While the 10grams of extra protein is nice, I could just eat a protein bar, save 100calories, and get an extra ~20grams of protein.

    Does it really make sense to use almonds as a snack if you're trying to eat at a deficit, they don't seem like a very good "bang for your buck: food option...

    Am I missing anything?

    They are extraordinary nutritious...they especially good for your ticker. When I was trying to resolve some ticker issues, my dr and dietitian really pushed the almonds as well as things like avocado...heart all better now. yes, they are calorie dense...but extremely nutrient dense as well...beyond just a little protein. it's all about the heart healthy, heart saving fat in them that really go a long way in improving HDL levels...that's why I ate them and continue to make room for them in my diet. I only ever had about an ounce per day when losing and no more than 1/2 an avocado per day...at maintenance I usually have a couple ounces of almonds pretty routinely.

    I can't stand avocado......but love almonds. I sprinkle them on salads ....crunchy, yummy. A few sliced almonds give my morning oatmeal staying power too!
  • Mom3b3g
    Mom3b3g Posts: 10
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    I love almonds and I agree that they're a lovely healthy snack but I have portion control problems with them. I'll weigh out 30g, eat them, think, "That wasn't many", weigh out another 30g, etc. by the time I've finished I have to go to the gym for an hour! I now avoid them unless they're in indovidual serving packs.

    I bought a container of whole, roasted with salt (sorry, can't eat them any other way;) almonds, and before putting it away I separated it into baggies by 1oz portions. On a day when I see I need more calories, I'll take one bag as a snack.

    I'm trying not to eat at too much of a deficit because I'm nursing. But sometimes I'm done eating for the day, still at a deficit, so nuts are a perfect solution. I don't wanna break out the real nosh cuz then I can't stop, and it seems a shame to eat only healthy food and then end up with a couple of cookies. (Can't say that never happens though...)
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    Almonds=worth the cals. BUT I usually stick to about 1 serving, which is closer to 150 cals. The other option is dark chocolate covered almonds as a dessert. I stick to about 1 serving of those, which is about 200 cals, BUT it is a completely satisfying and healthy dessert. I was obsessed with raw almonds for awhile and ate about 2-3 servings per day. My HDL level was amazing.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Yes if you like them. For me, not much. I'll have a bit in oatmeal or yogurt but I'm not overly fond of them. Almond butter though... lol.

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