Wait? Am I Really Eating That?

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  • wellthenwhat
    wellthenwhat Posts: 526 Member
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    Oh my goodness, I have a big problem with this, lol. I am also recovering from using food as comfort, so that makes it more difficult. Boughten pizza, soda, even yogurt. Calories and sugar are just ridiculous!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I find that being 'real' with myself helps. Instead of "I'm going to that party and I won't even LOOK at the baked goods. I'm sticking to fruit and raw veggies... no dip!" it's more "There is going to be a lot of stuff you love there and rarely eat. You are going to want it. So before you start telling yourself you can't have any or you'll put all the weight back on... let's reassess. What would you say it'll 'take' for you to not feel miserable and deprived while everyone around you is eating the good stuff and you're nibbling carrots and looking longingly at cake? How much do you think you need to be emotionally satisfied? Let's look up the calories now." And then it becomes, "you know... that's probably 400 calories. You can actually work that in. It might mean taking a longer walk/making sure you get on the fitness glider. Or you can have lighter meals. But yes. If you really want a piece of cake and a handful of jellybeans... that's doable."

    And I'll log it ahead of time. Sometimes I'll think, "You know, I don't think I want a 400-calorie indulgence. How about I skip the jellybeans? That'll take it down to 350 and I'll have room for a healthy snack later."

    Food is still a comfort for me. But it's not a mindless one. And another benefit to pre-logging? It's giving myself permission to have a treat. And since I can recognize for myself that it fits my daily calories, when I have the treat, I have it without the free helpings of guilt and negativity that always used to plague me in earlier weight-loss attempts. Because I know I haven't gone off the rails and I know that the indulgence isn't going to set me back.
  • kmorrow0712
    kmorrow0712 Posts: 29 Member
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    I love, love cheese. I always put cheese on everything, heftily. I never realized just how much it adds calorie wise! I definitely use it in moderation now and don't use it on things like burgers where I load it up with so much other stuff (onions, pickles, mustard, etc) that I can't even taste the cheese!
  • megzchica23
    megzchica23 Posts: 419 Member
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    I wasn't took shocked. I didn't eat much either but I knew I put away a lot of calories because I like junk food when I'm stressed and I like stuff I don't have to cook. My biggest addiction is chicken strips. :( Going to grilled and baked chicken is just bleh to me. Makes me so sad.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    lucypstacy wrote: »
    Before I started on my journey, I would say that I didn't know why I had such issues with weight because I "...didn't eat much." I always thought I was some sort of big exception to the rules.

    I was wrong.

    Once I really started looking, I had to realize just what I was putting into my body. While I didn't eat much quantity wise, the foods I did eat added up quickly in terms of calories. Because I favored foods greasy and friend (raised on them!) I was getting a lot more calories than I had ever guessed. Plus, my love of Dr Pepper certainly wasn't helping matters.

    So, being aware helped me to fix those trouble areas in my diet. Anyone else have the same issue? Was anyone else shocked by what they were actually eating?

    Oh, I was the same way. I would have a cigarette and coffee for breakfast and lunch, so my only real meal was dinner. So I was perplexed by how I could be so fat when I really only eat once a day. But when the only thing you're eating is cookies, chips, pasta and alcohol, the calories add up quickly.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Quantity wise I ate a lot of volume...I also ate a lot of higher calorie foods. I'd often go down the street to this little taqueria and get a double order for lunch...so like 8 tacos. I drank a ton of soda. Most evenings ended with me eating 1/4 Lb of cheese and washing it down with a pint of whole milk...
  • lucypstacy
    lucypstacy Posts: 178 Member
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    I never had what you'd call a big appetite, but some of my choices were rotten. I used to like those caramel chip frappes from Dairy Queen. Imagine my shock to find out they were like 470 calories for a small. Yikes! That's not worth it for me.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    bertygriffith wrote: »
    Was a sad day for me when I weighed out a serving size of my favorite cereal. I was easily eating 4 servings of that stuff every morning! Now I pass on the stuff because 54 grams of frosted mini wheats is pathetic. I may as well just eat a bowl of my tears.

    Cereal makes me sad.
  • rhiawiz57
    rhiawiz57 Posts: 906 Member
    edited March 2017
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    One time, I tracked every single thing I ate at a potluck dinner party where i was trying to watch not to take big portions of any one thing. It ended up being 2500 calories worth of stuff! Then I thought of all the potlucks I've been to - I'm sure I almost always eat at least that at a potluck. The next day I only ate a big salad and didn't end up doing permanent damage. If you have a very low calorie day right after a party or something, it does WONDERS to keep you on track!
  • MissMaggieMuffin
    MissMaggieMuffin Posts: 444 Member
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    bertygriffith wrote: »
    Was a sad day for me when I weighed out a serving size of my favorite cereal. I was easily eating 4 servings of that stuff every morning! Now I pass on the stuff because 54 grams of frosted mini wheats is pathetic. I may as well just eat a bowl of my tears.

    Made me laugh :smiley:
  • STC02
    STC02 Posts: 48 Member
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    What shocked me was the calories in a tiny processed double cheeseburger from McDonalds- 400!!

    Also the chicken legend has nearly 600 calories in it. It is basically chicken and bread what the hell do they do to it :/
  • daltontf
    daltontf Posts: 63 Member
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    I bought an Arby's Traditional Greek Gyro thinking it's macros would be comparable to the roast beef gyro. Ay Caramba!, 710 calories with 23g protein vs 520 calories with 25g protein. Sticking with the roast beef or turkey gyros for now on.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    The calories in things don't shock me, but sometimes the portion sizes do!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    lucypstacy wrote: »
    I never had what you'd call a big appetite, but some of my choices were rotten. I used to like those caramel chip frappes from Dairy Queen. Imagine my shock to find out they were like 470 calories for a small. Yikes! That's not worth it for me.

    Exactly. I'll look at the nutritional info. for some stuff I used to eat and think, totally not worth it! It doesn't even taste that good. I'd rather save my calories for something really good! Like, if I'm going to blow my calories on cookies, they're gonna be delicious homemade ones, not those pre-packaged store bought garbage cookies. Or I'll skip some mediocre, calorie-bomb of a treat in favor of larger portions of something else I like better, like a really good salad with grilled chicken. :D
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
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    When I tucked into a bag of mini Reeses cups or chex mix I knew I was eating a crap ton of calories. What killed me was finding out how much all the little bites, licks and nibbles I took when I was trying to be "good" added up. Ended up being more calories than if I had taken one whole cookie or a full serving of the thing I craved most.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    bertygriffith wrote: »
    Was a sad day for me when I weighed out a serving size of my favorite cereal. I was easily eating 4 servings of that stuff every morning! Now I pass on the stuff because 54 grams of frosted mini wheats is pathetic. I may as well just eat a bowl of my tears.

    Same!! I love cereal so much and I think since my mom never let me have the "sugar cereals", I went on a several year long cereal binge when I moved out on my own haha. Giant mixing bowls full of the stuff!
    Now if I wanted to eat a "serving" of it, it's like do I put this in a thimble or what?? I don't even buy it anymore.

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