Ironically, counting calories made me realize which foods I loved....

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xKoalaBearx
xKoalaBearx Posts: 181 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
.... and which foods I could live without.

For example, I used to LOVE White Castle sliders... but at 155 calories per slider... it was too many calories for me for such a little thing. I could eat 10-12 of those in one sitting! And just eating two or three isn't satisfying to me.

Oreo double stuff cookie... 70 calories for one cookie! I used to love these. But now knowing how much they cost, they're not so appealing anymore.

There are a bunch of foods like this for me... I slowly realized I can just live without those.

Chocolate is a whole different story for me... it doesn't matter how many calories... I can't live without it... so I've learned to eat within my means... and have some every day.

Funny what I learned about myself.

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Replies

  • Dreysander
    Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
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    Peanut butter came out a front runner for me. It's extremely calorie dense but you can bet your stars I have it every day for the most part.
  • aft85
    aft85 Posts: 54 Member
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    i have this problem with cheese. it's just too depressing to see how little cheese makes 100 calories. :(
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
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    I realized a great way to talk yourself out of fast food is to look up the nutritional info beforehand. Some of it is just crazy!

    My favorite thing in the world is a meat calzone from Old Chicago. But when I realized it comes in at over 1,700 calories I only go on my birthday now :(
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    I completely agree with you. Most donuts, I use to eat them just because they are sweet and there, but they are not worth it to me at all. Store bought cake (which comes into my job on a very regular basis) yeah not worth it. But I do have chocolate every day, and at least one cup of coffee with sweet cream.
  • dkingdom1
    dkingdom1 Posts: 60 Member
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    Totally agree. It also helps me to form some "go to's" for when I get back to school (like I love having an Apple, Dannon Light and Fit, and a Cheesestick for around 250 calories that "holds" my stomach quite well).

    Cereal, I can definitley live without. No more big bowls of cereal because I swear, a bowl could have up to like 1000 calories (including milk) and still leaves you hungry within one hour. Now if I want something sweet, I have between 32-64g by its lonesome.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,045 Member
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    Yup, when I first started counting calories I really had to decide what was worth budgeting for. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches? Worth it. Crappy grocery store cookies that are often on offer at work? Not worth it. Counting calories has really encouraged mindful, rather than mindless, eating (except when alcohol starts making my decisions for me :o ). I'm going to make sure that I get the absolute most enjoyment and satisfaction out of things.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I think that's the case for a lot of people here. For me, I can do without fast food French fries. They aren't satisfying enough, so I now skip them and have either the sandwich alone or get a side salad.

    But ice cream? Oh, I'll eat a bowl several times a week. Weighed out, I know what's enough for me now.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
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    This is completely true for me! Chocolate is a priority so I'll definitely budget it in, whereas other foods aren't worth the calories for me. Someone was trying to tell me that I needed to be eating avocado. I responded that while I didn't mind it, it was far too calorie dense for me to bother when I'm not that much of a huge fan of it.
  • RuthieStauffer
    RuthieStauffer Posts: 5 Member
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    I completely agree about recognizing which food to live without and which foods are my go to.

    For me, the way I make my coffee was the game changer. I went from using flavored non-dairy creamers, powder creamer and/or powder hot chocolate; to now I drink dark roast of some type with heavy whipping cream and cinnamon. Then I blend it to make the cream frothy. If I go to Starbucks, I ask for steamed heavy whipping cream. I had "fell off the wagon" over the holiday break, I had made a cup of coffee with the flavored non-dairy creamer. I took two drinks and threw it down the drain because it tasted as though it was filled with nothing but chemicals (which it is). So my coffee regimen had changed forever. Which I am ok with :)

    I also agree Dreysander that Peanut Butter has replaced all the candy bars and sweets. I LOVE ME SOME PEANUT BUTTER!! And especially Peter Pan peanut butter. I spoonful a night keeps the sugars at bay :)
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    I think this is what some people fail to realize when they start on MFP with the intent to avoid a particular food or food group- as time goes on, you will naturally start to weed out the things that don't offer much bang for the calorie "buck". There's lots of things I don't eat much, if any, of anymore because it's not worth it to me. Full calorie bread, prepackaged cookies, most types of take-out pizza, etc. My hubby brought home pizza from a chain the other day that was 400 calories a slice! I couldn't have even had a taste for much less than 100 calories! But I don't avoid pizza- there's a thin crust veggie version that I love. The beautiful thing is, we all end up with a diet tailored just to us :)
  • Rachel0778
    Rachel0778 Posts: 1,701 Member
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    I agree completely. When I realized how many calories are in crackers/chips/french fries they lost their appeal completely. Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies on the other hand, worth it every time!
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
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    Yes! Tracking my food has really made me fall in love with good food again! I think I had been desensitized to delicious food because I ate so much of it all the time. For example, I would buy a bag of lindor truffles and gobble several at my desk without thinking. Now I take my time and savor them one at a time (still totally worth the calories for me).

    On the other hand, I used to stuff french fires in my face simply because they came with a meal. Now I don't find them worth it most of the time.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    I'm another one that realized that I love a good baked potato more than some old fast food fries. And there's a significant calorie savings. One McDs large fry, 500+ calories, and usually soggy and cold. One medium or largish baked russet, tiny pat of butter and salt, less than 200 cals. And tastier, imo.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I would be curious to see how many MFP users have foods which started on their "yeah, that's not worth it" lists and have become foods that they just don't eat at all now, and how that correlates to their success with weight loss and maintenance.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited January 2016
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    kgeyser wrote: »
    I would be curious to see how many MFP users have foods which started on their "yeah, that's not worth it" lists and have become foods that they just don't eat at all now, and how that correlates to their success with weight loss and maintenance.

    To be perfectly honest, I went more the other way.

    I had a"that's not worth it list" when I started and have eventually found ways to work most of them back in...the exception being soda because (aside from an occasional mixer in cocktails) I just don't care all that much for it.

    ETA: As far as "success" - I've been off the strict weight loss wagon for about 2 years now. I've done a couple bulk/cut cycles during that time frame and have been in pure maintenance for about 9 months.
  • BuddhaB0y
    BuddhaB0y Posts: 199 Member
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    Can't agree with this post more... Reading through I found myself nodding to just about everything.

    My gf and I have also found that we have started eating a lot more vegetables and developed a taste for them that we didn't have before.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    This is a great point. Some people say they eat all foods they've always eaten, but many just aren't worth the cals to me.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    kgeyser wrote: »
    I would be curious to see how many MFP users have foods which started on their "yeah, that's not worth it" lists and have become foods that they just don't eat at all now, and how that correlates to their success with weight loss and maintenance.

    To be perfectly honest, I went more the other way.

    I had a"that's not worth it list" when I started and have eventually found ways to work most of them back in...the exception being soda because (aside from an occasional mixer in cocktails) I just don't care all that much for it.

    ETA: As far as "success" - I've been off the strict weight loss wagon for about 2 years now. I've done a couple bulk/cut cycles during that time frame and have been in pure maintenance for about 9 months.

    I'm still in my losing phase, but I've lost 75 pounds so far and have been at this over a year.

    My experience is similar to yours, juggernaut.

    I started out with not worth it things and ended up incorporating most of them back into my life.

    Most of the stuff that's not worth it to me at this point are foods that come down to taste issues due to being poor substitutes by dint of being gluten free. Thanks celiac disease! Having lived with the condition for 18 years, I'd rather do without pizza than have a poor imitation. It has nothing to do with calories, it has everything to do with it just not being as satisfying to me.
  • sapphire1166
    sapphire1166 Posts: 114 Member
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    I've found that naturally weaning myself to "worth it" foods also has other positive side effects. For example, let's say that by the time dinner rolls around I have 600 calories. I've been planning on chicken, broccoli, and mashed potatoes for dinner, but I also REALLY want cheese puffs before bed. A lot of times I'll nix the mashed potatoes and cook spinach or brussel sprouts instead so I save the extra calories for the cheese puffs.

    That way I eat more veggies AND get my cheese puffs. It's a win-win.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,710 Member
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    kgeyser wrote: »
    I would be curious to see how many MFP users have foods which started on their "yeah, that's not worth it" lists and have become foods that they just don't eat at all now, and how that correlates to their success with weight loss and maintenance.

    I have quite a few of these. Reading labels and paying attention to calories certainly taught me to focus on quality over quantity. I'd say that has contributed to my success at long-term maintenance. As always, this method isn't for everyone, but it has worked for me.

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