I sabotaged myself and I'm feeling stupid

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robyn1110
robyn1110 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am so upset with myself tonight. I'm feeling so stupid too. I have been trying SO hard to stick to my 1330 a day calorie limit. I substituted some really unhealthy snacks for what I thought was a healthy snack...popcorn. I bought buttered popcorn because the nutrition label was so misleading and made me think it was really low calorie (I know, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.). I'm usually good at reading these things but for some reason this one got me. It said a bag contained 2.5 servings and then down where it usually says how much one serving is, it said 1 cup (popped) and 25 calories. I guess I never really gave it much thought because usually we multiply a serving by how many are in the container and get the total...so in this case I figured 65 calories. I was so wrong. It was supposed to be 1 cup x 5 (how many cups are in a serving) so 25×5, and then x2.5 for the bag. You guys, I was 300 calories off. I cannot believe how stupid I was. And how much time I wasted (8 weeks) thinking I was under my calories each day and being frustrated at the lack of progress, when really each night I was just eating SO many calories. So, so, so stupid. And such a bummer...I loved my popcorn.

Replies

  • Chris_B89
    Chris_B89 Posts: 15 Member
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    ... but have you gained weight? If you've stayed the same or lost weight, then it's not a problem - you've achieved one of the hardest things - a lifestyle change.

    If you can stick it for eight weeks, thats fantastic. I normally make it 2-3 weeks before a binge - eight would be awesome.

    Get back to it, you'll be ok :)
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    Eh Popcorn bags are some of the worst. For the life of me I can't make sense of their nutrition information.

    If you really like popcorn, looking into air popping your own and then adding your (carefully measured) toppings. Better portion control even if it means a little more work.

    At the end of the day, you found your culprit (the popcorn bag and its impossible serving classification - not you) and are now adapting as necessary. Good job on that! :smiley:
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
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    You figured it out, just don't let this minor hiccup sabotage you're goal.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,467 Member
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    Good going. You made a mistake. Now you've corrected it. There is no human undertaking that is free of mistakes. Don't be so hard on yourself.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,361 Member
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    300 calories isn't so bad and is recoverable from. Some perspective is needed :)

  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    Consider it a lesson learned and move on. It is ok, we all do make mistakes, the good news is now you know and are getting better at this tracking calories thing.
  • chibir1ku
    chibir1ku Posts: 6 Member
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    If you are eating at a 300+ cal deficit, it just means you ate at maintenance. You won't gain.... look at it as a harmless, well deserved break :)
  • feathernaut
    feathernaut Posts: 66 Member
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    Hey, I love popcorn too - if you can stomach switching to pre-popped popcorn in the grocery store (like that Wise brand), those nutrition labels are way easier.

    Good luck!
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    Get the 100 calorie popcorn bags! 1 bag = 100 calories. You never have to worry about multiple serving popcorn bags again. I LOVE them. And it really is a good sized serving. Popcorn in and of itself really is quite low calorie, you just have to be careful about grabbing the bags that are 3 servings or the extra buttery ones.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    you could always get popcorn kernels and put then in a paper lunch bag and pop them in the microwave and add your own butter,that way you can control how much of each you are eating and you will know the calorie count.
  • ragtimedoll
    ragtimedoll Posts: 25 Member
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    Today is another day. :) Just start over fresh, pretend it never happened! Bad days happen sometimes, you just need a restart. I bet you're doing pretty good in the big picture of things. I mean you're on a food tracking site to begin with, so that's awesome. The first step to change is wanting to change.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
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    I understand your disappointment, but you are lucky that you were able to isolate the food item that was causing you to be off. I think more often than not people misjudge lots of foods they eat, don't weigh properly, etc. and then wonder why they are stalling. If you can eliminate this one thing you will be doing great!

    I don't eat popcorn that often because the kind I prefer is too many calories. Not fair! Air popped doesn't do it for me, but if I have to eat popcorn I will buy bagged popcorn because then you can weigh it to the gram instead of having to deal with those ambiguous cups!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Live and learn. :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,227 Member
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    Weight loss is inherently a long-term process, and also a learning process. You learned something that will help you in the long term. That's a good thing. Don't beat yourself up. Self-flagellation (of the psychological sort) burns no calories.

    Make the adjustment in your eating, and go on. Everything will be fine.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    MsHarryWinston wrote: »
    Get the 100 calorie popcorn bags! 1 bag = 100 calories. You never have to worry about multiple serving popcorn bags again. I LOVE them. And it really is a good sized serving. Popcorn in and of itself really is quite low calorie, you just have to be careful about grabbing the bags that are 3 servings or the extra buttery ones.

    I was going to say this! :) If I fancy popcorn then those 100-calorie bags are great because you can just eat it all and know that you're okay - no math required.

    Congratulations on figuring out an issue and learning from it! Please don't feel stupid. :)
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    I've been buying the 100 calorie bags too. Best thing I've ever found. I need to add more to my grocery list, I'm down to my last bag. :(
  • wewillbskinny
    wewillbskinny Posts: 125 Member
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    robyn1110 wrote: »
    I am so upset with myself tonight. I'm feeling so stupid too. I have been trying SO hard to stick to my 1330 a day calorie limit. I substituted some really unhealthy snacks for what I thought was a healthy snack...popcorn. I bought buttered popcorn because the nutrition label was so misleading and made me think it was really low calorie (I know, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.). I'm usually good at reading these things but for some reason this one got me. It said a bag contained 2.5 servings and then down where it usually says how much one serving is, it said 1 cup (popped) and 25 calories. I guess I never really gave it much thought because usually we multiply a serving by how many are in the container and get the total...so in this case I figured 65 calories. I was so wrong. It was supposed to be 1 cup x 5 (how many cups are in a serving) so 25×5, and then x2.5 for the bag. You guys, I was 300 calories off. I cannot believe how stupid I was. And how much time I wasted (8 weeks) thinking I was under my calories each day and being frustrated at the lack of progress, when really each night I was just eating SO many calories. So, so, so stupid. And such a bummer...I loved my popcorn.

    Oh my goodness! I just realized I did the same thing with Nature's Bakery Fig Bars. I misread the package to find 2 bars equals 2 servings of 90 calories each. I was counting the whole package for 90 calories. Fortunately, I have still been loosing weight, so no harm done. LOL
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    wewillbskinny wrote: »
    Oh my goodness! I just realized I did the same thing with Nature's Bakery Fig Bars. I misread the package to find 2 bars equals 2 servings of 90 calories each. I was counting the whole package for 90 calories. Fortunately, I have still been loosing weight, so no harm done. LOL

    Aren't the new nutrition labels supposed to help with this sort of thing? I'm sure I read that they're changing to reflect how people generally consume the product, so if a person would normally eat both bars in a package (or a full bag of popcorn!) then the label should reflect the actual calories in that amount of product. I know I would have trouble only eating "half" of an opened package like that myself.

    I think that might have only applied to the U.S. (so probably not Canada and other countries), but it's a start!
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I also found the servings and calories in the popcorn bags misleading so now just buy the 100 cal/bag one. Good for you for spotting that, and even better for learning maintenance and not just giving up!!

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