HOLY TOLEDO!!! What's the biggest calorie shock you've had

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  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
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    I am constantly shocked by the amount of calories in things that I always considered to be pretty "healthy"

    Carbs are the worst offenders - pasta, rice and jacket potatoes were staples of my old diet. I still have pasta and rice but I weight my portions and I now have new potatoes in my potatoe dishes as they are much lower in calories.

    I don't eat much fast food and didn't even before signing up here but my portion size of things that I thought were healthy were too big.

    I also like wine and that is very calorific :-(
  • kateminx
    kateminx Posts: 62 Member
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    Night out with the girls at Pizza Hut = 1 pizza, garlic bread, wedges, 2 x lattes, 1 x orange squash, 1 mini (yes mini) cheesecake ... over 3000 cal!!!!
    Was all worth it too!! :)
  • chatterbox3110
    chatterbox3110 Posts: 630 Member
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    I've just been browsing through the replies on this thread, and while I don't recognise a lot of the brands as I'm in the UK, it's really been an eyeopener on where the hidden calories are LOL

    My biggest shocker wasn't calories, it was sodium! I buy my local supermarket (Sainsburys) brand of crabsticks, and snack on them, as they are very low in calories. It wasn't until I recorded them into my diary that I discovered the sodium level was about 100 times my daily allowance! Yikes! No wonder I retain fluid!

    Will be good when the restaurant menus list calorie counts, saves me having to look online to try and find something suitable when I'm going out to eat, which kind of takes the pleasure out of choosing from a menu when you get there.

    Oh, and I must remember to weigh my food ...... had another shock when I weighed what I thought equated to 40g of cereal....... eeerm, noooooo, try double!
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
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    I agree about the sodium being the biggest shocker. Especially for me, because I have high blood pressure. I can't believe how much sodium I was eating. And cals are listed on menus here, but I still use my phone to check the nutritional info online. Like yesterday I was out with a friend at Applebees and was thinking of getting the Bourbon Street chicken and shrimp. It was about 760 cals, which wasn't terrible, but when I looked it up, the sodium was over 2500 mgs. A whole days worth in one dish. I chose the asiago peppercorn steak instead (370 cals, 1500 mg sodium).
  • rndownham
    rndownham Posts: 1 Member
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    My biggest shock was not the amount of calories but the amount of sodium in The Green Turtle's pretzel sticks appetizers. You get four of them and a small cup of cheese queso for 7,775 mg of sodium. Never again!
  • kris_wilder
    kris_wilder Posts: 7
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    I just joined not long ago, but I have a big calorie shock & a question to go along with it...

    Eggplant Parm... if you go with just those words in the search and select generic, 2 cups it's over 2000 cals!

    I decided, I am going to put everything in that I plan on eating out of that dish seperately and see what it comes to... 494 cals...

    I selected 8oz of fried eggplant, 1 cup of angel hair pasta cooked, 1/8 c moz cheez, and 1/2 c sauce, and a diet soda.

    How in the world could adding those items seperately make such a difference? Is there something in eggplant parm that I don't know about?!?!?! lol

    I haven't counted calories since I was in High School, so I can't help but to wonder if I am doing something wrong.

    Thanks!
  • katyrose221
    katyrose221 Posts: 69 Member
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    I love pizza. Every time I eat it now, and enter it into the database, I cringe. I have gone from 4 (yes four) slices of typical pizza to 2, in most cases.

    The other big shocker was the sugar in milk! Wowzers!
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    My friend works at TGIFridays and recently told me that with the new law going into effect where restaurants have to put their calories on the menu, Fridays has to redo their WHOLE menu. The reason behind this being they have absolutely nothing under 1,000 calories---even their "healthy choice foods!! She said the majority of the things are over 2,000 and they know that people won't order so they have to redo and find lower calorie foods.

    I think this is excellent, it forces restaurants to think about what they're selling too! What country is this?

    No such law here in Ireland and I can't see it happening soon either, even though there was a small campaign going on about this a few months back. Going out for dinner really is a lucky dip it seems, I try to guess what's healthy-ish, but that's all I can do (nothing online either)

    I agree I think it is awesome. I have come across people who think it is unfair for the government to tell them what they can and can't eat by doing this, but I find those people tend to be unhealthy people already. This is in the US and specifically Pennsylvania. I don't know if it is nationwide but I am happy to know that I will be able to see what I am eating and make good choices about it!
  • learnbygoing
    learnbygoing Posts: 103 Member
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    My favorite ice cream is from Coldstone Creamery. I always used to get the small size ("like it" size) of the Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream. I recently looked it up....it's 900+ calories :(
  • _CHRISTIE_
    _CHRISTIE_ Posts: 237 Member
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    I went to McAlisters Deli yesterday and got 1/2 club on wheat w/ FF honey mustard... and it was 515 Calories!!!!!! I think I was doing good and man oh man!!! that's insane! ohh well.... today is a new day.... and I'm almost over my intake today as well...ughhh I have got to do better this week!
  • margielewis
    margielewis Posts: 52 Member
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    Tim Hortons XL Double Double 280 cals!
  • LissaBaby14
    LissaBaby14 Posts: 46
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    My shock was def. my favorite salad from Chilis "Quesadilla Explosion" and oh yeah, the devilish deesert i'd crave "Chocolate Molten".. I entered it in and about died.. Haha.. Any restaurant food like that has shocked me. I'm MUCH more aware of what i'm putting into my body since i've joined MFP.
  • michelletyler38
    michelletyler38 Posts: 469 Member
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    My biggest shocker was the honey chipotle crispers from chilis. They are so good. U get like 3 chicken strips for the meal & those alone without the ranch or sides are like 1700 calories. W T F I cant even figure out how..
  • michelletyler38
    michelletyler38 Posts: 469 Member
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    My biggest shocker was the honey chipotle crispers from chilis. They are so good. U get like 3 chicken strips for the meal & those alone without the ranch or sides are like 1700 calories. W T F I cant even figure out how..
  • mlh1988
    mlh1988 Posts: 7
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    ugh! i went to culvers a week or two ago, and i had a double cheeseburger, cheese curds, and a cookie dough concrete mixer. i knew it'd be a lot (and i'd had a bad day), but i didn't think it'd be well over 2000 calories! i was so upset, and it caused me to gain a bit back.... and it just set me back in general :(. since then i've been trying to just find something at home than eat fast food! except fridays............. which is date night for my boyfriend and i!
  • mlh1988
    mlh1988 Posts: 7
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    also, i forgot... one day at work i got an american club sub sandwich out of the vending machine ("the wheel of death"). it was 700 calories!
  • khrys1
    khrys1 Posts: 444 Member
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    I had a piece of store-bought Brownie Mint Blast Pie. Thought it was ok, but when I entered it on MFP, it was almost 600 calories. Wasn't THAT good!

    Also, I love home-made mashed potatoes- learned that the way I like 'em, they're almost 400 calories a cup, and I usually eat 3-4 cups!
  • orangeswild123
    orangeswild123 Posts: 28
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    When I went to Red Robin for my birthday a year or so ago. This was before I joined the site. I had a cheeseburger there for about 900 calories OMG! I ABOUT DIED when I found that out. Never again will I eat that. That wasn't including soda and some fries I had. That was the biggest shock ever!
  • mare91467
    mare91467 Posts: 91 Member
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    Eat your normal, healthy dinner. Sometimes going over calories is a good thing for your metabolism. It is also still early, jump on a treadmill or take a walk to burn off some of those calories. Log your food and exercise and move on.....
  • Suzannejl
    Suzannejl Posts: 212
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    I just joined not long ago, but I have a big calorie shock & a question to go along with it...

    Eggplant Parm... if you go with just those words in the search and select generic, 2 cups it's over 2000 cals!

    I decided, I am going to put everything in that I plan on eating out of that dish seperately and see what it comes to... 494 cals...

    I selected 8oz of fried eggplant, 1 cup of angel hair pasta cooked, 1/8 c moz cheez, and 1/2 c sauce, and a diet soda.

    How in the world could adding those items seperately make such a difference? Is there something in eggplant parm that I don't know about?!?!?! lol

    I haven't counted calories since I was in High School, so I can't help but to wonder if I am doing something wrong.

    Thanks!

    I have had those kind of recipe shockers myself. I do find that it's better to put your own recipe in, that way you know, what kind of oil you are frying it in(that's where most of the calories come from) Is it low fat cheese? Also their serving size might be different than yours. I like the ones that go by weight! Wish MFP would offer that instead of just "serving" and they may have other ingredients in there that are racking up the calories, butter, wine, sugar in the sauce, etc.

    Good catch, always double check!

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