Since I started tracking my food I have learned...

Coffee (with cream and sugar) has so many calories and fat in it. I'm a coffee addict and drink several cups a day. It wasn't until I joined MFP that I realized I can reach 1200 cals a day in coffee alone.

You must put a lot of cream and sugar in your coffee

I have learned that SODIUM IS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......:grumble:
And now, unless the once in a while tortillas and salsa, I am an 'almost' sodium free woman !!! :bigsmile:

It does feel good, even at very hot summer temperature there is no swollen legs and ankles===>only big and muscular...:blushing: !!!
Oh well, one goal at a time !

Cheers !

...That home-cooked meals in the south are extremely high in calories! With a chicken casserole and two side items (i.e. corn and green beans for example), and then a dinner roll or slice of bread, you can EASILY eat 1,000 calories in a meal! And then you add some of my Grandmother's blueberry cobbler... whoo. Just as an example of a typical home-cooked southern meal: FRIED potatoes, FRIED chicken, FRIED squash, heavily buttered cornbread, some type of beans, and then maybe apple pie or some sort of cake or cobbler for dessert. I'm not kidding, you'll rack up 30 fat grams and 1,000 calories easily!
xoxo,
Chloe

holy leg muscle bat-man lol

I learned that I was way OVERestimating how much butter I was using. A tablespoon is ALOT of butter and can easily butter both slices of toast. I always thought I was putting 2 TBS's on each slice. WOOHOO, having a food scale is so awesome. My realizations don't usually go that way, unfortunately.:ohwell:

Ooh bumpng for a read later. How interesting!

Thanks.

I've learned how quickly 1200 calories can add up! Food is fuel for the body. We need the proper nutrients, not just 1200 - 1500 calories of mindless chewing all day. I also learned that it's okay to have an "uh oh" day every once in a while because the human body is not a machine and eating the right foods can make the 1200 calories work for me, without getting ravenously hungry throughout the day, or throwing away the foods that I enjoy but need to portion control.

That the FDA needs to rethink their food pyramid IMMEDIATELY. That is why America is obese.

It's gone. It's been replaced by "My Plate". Might not be quite as terrible. (But I'm not placing any bets.)

i used to love cooking with olive oil, but seriously- about 130 cals per TBSP? crazy! It's been PAM for me ever since I realized that. Oh, I also used to LOVE eating mangos- until I realized they've got 30-some grams of sugar in them! good lord. I know it's natural surgars and all, but even that's too many for me. I've been sticking to berries.

I realized both of those things too!!

I have learned that I'm very happy that in California, they make restaurants (like Out Back Steak House and Chilies) post the calories on each meal............made me TOTALLY change what I would normally order.

Ditto, this helps me AND I dont' usually feel that deprived because I feel good about the choice I made (based on calories) whereas before I might have picked whatever SOUNDED the healthiest -- now I look at the 5 lowest options and pick the one that fits my day and appeals to me the most.

Also the olive oil kinda freaked me out but the other day I used it to make pasta (just olive oil and spices for the sauce) and I actually MEASURED it - turns out what I had been thinking was 2 tablespoons was more like one....so I used a full 2 tablespoons (For 2 portions) and it was waaaayyy too much, my pasta was noticeably oily (...yummy yummy olive oil, I would drink you if I could).

I prefer to eat LESS of a 'good' food like olive oil than eat processed food like nonstick cooking spray. Ditto for "low fat" "low carb" "sugar free" - I'll just have one slice of bread instead of 2 icky slices.