Biggest lesson learned by tracking calories?

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  • kedrel
    kedrel Posts: 4 Member
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    Believe me @shrinkingletters I hear you on that one. And Don't get me started on how much are in my favorite Stout Beers .... sad panda!
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Serving sizes for cereal are BS.

    Serving sizes for LOTS of things are BS.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
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    I learned how important owning a good food scale really was...and to actually use it instead of letting it sit in the corner of a shelf.
  • lostgoals
    lostgoals Posts: 57 Member
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    I think the best thing I learned was an entire bag of steamed veggies and 4oz of haddock satisfied my hunger and was very low calorie dinner. The worst thing I learned is one peanut butter and jelly sandwich has even more calories than that dinner.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    I've learned that IT WORKS!!! Tracking calories is the only thing that works, no matter what diet you're on or how you slice and dice it.

    Balance. I knew I had a big dinner last night, so the day before and day of I saved up calories for it. You've gotta enjoy yourself to make it a lifestyle change.
  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Serving sizes for cereal are BS.

    So much this. The first time I weighed out a serving of cereal I was surprised. I have never eaten a single serving of cereal in my life.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Serving sizes for cereal are BS.

    Very much.

    And packages lie - most things are heavier than one serving.
  • sylkates
    sylkates Posts: 173 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I learned the difference between being hungry and being bored.
    Oh, and how to ignore hunger!

    I also learned that Pop Tarts simply don't fit into my life anymore. :'( (It's the 2 per package thing! I normally don't compulsively eat but they package twice the amount I should have at one time in a way that only eating one makes the other go stale. So I just don't buy them anymore!)

    I also learned how much of my hunger is psychological. For instance, typing about pop tarts just made me hungry. Time to drink some water.
  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
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    22Brentwoodgirl wrote: »
    I realized how frequently I just ate "a little something" without thinking about it - or enjoying it!!! Those little bits really add up. Now I think about spending my calories like I think about spending my money. I ask myself if something is really worth it. So, yes, I do splurge sometimes - but mostly I've just stopped frittering calories away.

    Ha! This reminds me of "dinner" last night. I had a caloric choice between a piece of pizza and a 1/2 slice of razzleberry pie -- or just a full slice of razzleberry pie with a quarter cup of ice cream.

    Pie for the win! :smiley:
  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
    edited March 2016
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    Serving sizes for tortilla chips and ice cream are a joke.

    I agree.....However, since I started weighing my tortilla chips -- 1 ounce or 2 ounces depending on my hunger and number of calories left for the day -- I find that whatever I put in the bowl actually satiates me and I don't clamor for more. Before, I'd keep the bag with me and just keep going and going and going....
  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
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    I love my food scale -- and just ordered two more! One for my desk and one for my purse for on-the-go. I already have one at home and one in the office kitchen.
  • ConicalFern
    ConicalFern Posts: 121 Member
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    For me it's how calories are actually in cake. I'm in maintenance now and I still rarely have calories spare for it. When I have some after lunch I often find my lunch and the cake are similar in calorific content!

    I also never realised how great cake was until now...
  • _angee
    _angee Posts: 24 Member
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    I realized how calorie dense walnuts and other nut products are, but they're so great for your health!
  • transitofvenus
    transitofvenus Posts: 3 Member
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    It only works if you know how much energy you actually need, and then actually weighing/measuring your food will make or break it. Eyeballing, guessing, and trusting serving sizes without accurate measurements was a recipe for failure.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    I have been pretty sick. I logged about 300 calories one day. Well, the last two days, even with people commenting how little I was eating, I ate about 1100. It is depressing how quickly it can get out of control. I mean, I have been tracking for a month and I was still shocked to find out how much I had consumed at those meals, while thinking I was grossly undereating!

    On the plus side, it is liberating how much variety I can have when I have more control over my food.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Serving sizes for cereal are BS.

    So much this. The first time I weighed out a serving of cereal I was surprised. I have never eaten a single serving of cereal in my life.

    Yup...my 5 year old eats 2 servings of cereals in one sitting regularly.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    sylkates wrote: »
    I learned the difference between being hungry and being bored.
    Oh, and how to ignore hunger!

    I also learned that Pop Tarts simply don't fit into my life anymore. :'( (It's the 2 per package thing! I normally don't compulsively eat but they package twice the amount I should have at one time in a way that only eating one makes the other go stale. So I just don't buy them anymore!)

    I also learned how much of my hunger is psychological. For instance, typing about pop tarts just made me hungry. Time to drink some water.

    Yes Pop Tarts is a real heart breaker!!! How can one of those damn things be nearly 200 calories??!
  • koslowkj
    koslowkj Posts: 188 Member
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    shrinkingletters wrote: »
    Oh. Then I learned that the amount of calories in a bottle of wine are a cruel joke.

    This was probably my saddest moment.

    Also, that I actually can eat less than 2000 calories and still feel satisfied.

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