Is it me....

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  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 904 Member
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    Is it my perception, or does every food I look at seem to have a huge amount of calories and/or fat?

    I do not think it is just you. Many people who start this journey have this experience. In part it is because you are more aware now how many calories items have. It is good you are aware of this. Don't let it rule you though. Now that you have the knowledge, make better choices when eating. You can still eat a lot of food when you do.

    I know--I try to stay balanced, but learning how the calories work was a bit of a shock!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Maybe look into getting a cookbook and some ingredients and baking the muffins yourself? You can knock out some of the calories by subbing, say, apple sauce for some of the oil if the recipe calls for it, for example, and you can use more nutrient rich whole grain flour vs white flour, that sort of thing.

    This, although to be honest muffins are pretty much never worth the calories for me. I save my baked goods calories for other options.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    Your perception, or your location maybe. What aisle/restaurant/store are you in? It might just be that the foods you choose to look at are high cal and you need to look at other foods.

    Sometimes it's a muffin, or a can of soup, or something else. It'll be the 7-11 around the corner from work or the grocery down the street.

    Just trying not to be discouraged--trying to find a bigger variety of good taste and low-calorie in the same package.

    Muffin, cans.. 7-11.. all have bad stuff! stay away from muffins and anything canned.. the 7-11 is for lotto tickets not food.

    Grocery stores, walk the perimeter.. Stay away from the bad foods!! good luck!

    The garbage bins are at the perimeter of the store, too. Also, ice cream, frozen veggies and fruits, bakery goods, butter, and milk. All that "bad" food.
    tumblr_n2hr9qJuTS1sj3oxho1_500.gif

    OT: It's just you. I see every food having a crap ton of sodium but that's because I have to deal with HBP.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 904 Member
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    Your perception, or your location maybe. What aisle/restaurant/store are you in? It might just be that the foods you choose to look at are high cal and you need to look at other foods.

    Sometimes it's a muffin, or a can of soup, or something else. It'll be the 7-11 around the corner from work or the grocery down the street.

    Just trying not to be discouraged--trying to find a bigger variety of good taste and low-calorie in the same package.

    Muffin, cans.. 7-11.. all have bad stuff! stay away from muffins and anything canned.. the 7-11 is for lotto tickets not food.

    Grocery stores, walk the perimeter.. Stay away from the bad foods!! good luck!

    The garbage bins are at the perimeter of the store, too. Also, ice cream, frozen veggies and fruits, bakery goods, butter, and milk. All that "bad" food.
    tumblr_n2hr9qJuTS1sj3oxho1_500.gif

    OT: It's just you. I see every food having a crap ton of sodium but that's because I have to deal with HBP.

    I get to deal with one finicky eater (who says he must have meat at least once a day)--he's also a diabetic who doesn't exactly stick to his diet.
  • Wildstorms
    Wildstorms Posts: 72 Member
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    Is it my perception, or does every food I look at seem to have a huge amount of calories and/or fat?

    I do not think it is just you. Many people who start this journey have this experience. In part it is because you are more aware now how many calories items have. It is good you are aware of this. Don't let it rule you though. Now that you have the knowledge, make better choices when eating. You can still eat a lot of food when you do.

    This.

    I was massively shocked by how many calories were in my small amount of cheese. And the butter I put on my bread (although I've gone back to butter now I got other areas under control.

    The flipside is that I see how diet and exercise is linked. (So while I was exercising before, and thinking I could eat what I wanted after, I realise now that my calorie intake was still way over my daily allowance).

    I think finding out the true calorie count of food is the first step.

    :-)
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    It's good that you're looking at labels and nutritional content - that's all part of educating yourself to make better choices.

    Now you know that muffins are a not-every-day item, and that canned soup can be high in calories. Look at different flavours of soup, though. The "cream of..." onces will be high, but vegetable broths might be a better option.

    If I was in a corner store, I'd probably go for some rice cakes, laughing cow cheese, and a piece of fruit.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 904 Member
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    I can get the fruit (2 bananas for a dollar, or one apple or one orange for a dollar). The little cheesesticks for a dollar each.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I can get the fruit (2 bananas for a dollar, or one apple or one orange for a dollar). The little cheesesticks for a dollar each.

    thanks 4 sharing
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    Is it my perception, or does every food I look at seem to have a huge amount of calories and/or fat?

    Yes you are choosing to look for the wrong types of foods. Basically anything that comes ready made is gong to be unhealthy and either high salt or high sugar and probably high fat as well.

    Choose whole foods. Avoid processed foods. Whole foods are the lowest calorie and the most healthy.

    When i look at some of the diaries on this site its quite horrifying how bad people are eating in America. And i predict that everyone who loses weight without improving the quality of their diet will regain all their weight and more.

    People need to make eating healthy whole foods (and that means cooking for yourself) a priority.
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    Cheese and butter are fine. but you must restrict your portion size.

    Cheese i'd suggest not more than 40g per day if you can help it. (That said, i just ate more than that today but i compensated elsewhere. and i don't usually do it) Cheese is high in calcium so its not totally bad.

    Butter is better than margarine but olive oil is better than butter so use olive (preferably cold pressed extra virgin) whenever you can instead of butter.

    Fats have twice as many calories as protein and carb foods that's why you need to use only small amounts.
  • BruceHedtke
    BruceHedtke Posts: 358 Member
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    The garbage bins are at the perimeter of the store, too. Also, ice cream, frozen veggies and fruits, bakery goods, butter, and milk. All that "bad" food.

    Frozen veggies are bad? That's news to me.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 904 Member
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    The garbage bins are at the perimeter of the store, too. Also, ice cream, frozen veggies and fruits, bakery goods, butter, and milk. All that "bad" food.
    Frozen veggies are bad? That's news to me.

    Frozen fruits and veggies aren't bad. Ice cream and fro-yo's not bad, either, but only in moderation. Whole milk can be swapped out for 2% milk. Not all food is bad.

    If you want a trouble spot, it's right by the registers. That's where the candy is.

    I notice that two of the local supermarkets in my area have moved the produce aisles so that they are much more visible. One moved the produce all the way to the other side of the store; the other moved it more towards the front.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    The garbage bins are at the perimeter of the store, too. Also, ice cream, frozen veggies and fruits, bakery goods, butter, and milk. All that "bad" food.

    Frozen veggies are bad? That's news to me.

    And to me - in many cases they're actually better than "fresh" as they have been snap frozen soon after being picked, where much of the "fresh" veg you get from the supermarket has been kept in cold storage for anywhere up to weeks, with the vitamins within degrading by the day.