Post 'em here. All those disappointing meals you thought were healthy but are really high calorie

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited September 2017
    Ruatine wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Yeah juice is definitely one, with the whole thing about people having a glass of orange juice with breakfast in about every single tv show or movie out there, lol. Juice is actually the only thing I basically cut out from my diet (I've had one glass in 4 years). Really annoys me that they suggest taking my iron pill with orange juice... NOT worth the calories at all.

    And subway being 'the healthy choice'. lol.

    Oh, wraps too. Just as many calories as a sandwich yet they always show as a healthier choice.

    Yes! This annoys me. Tortillas are NOT less calories than bread. A flour tortilla is 140+ calories, and that's just an 8". Now lettuce wraps... that's something I can get behind. If I'm looking to cut calories with a meal that involves a sandwich, burger, etc. I'm down for switching out the bread with lettuce. Leaves me room for something that fills me up more.

    Depends on the tortilla. Depends on the bread. I picked up a pack of Olé whole wheat tortillas this past weekend, and one is 70-80 cal. Similarly high in fiber compared to the whole wheat bread I usually get, and higher (for the calories) in protein.

    Yes but I highly doubt that it's the kind of tortillas that restaurants use.
    Muffins make me sad, always so high calorie. Not much surprises me after 4 years of MFP though, but...

    I had a co-worker who decided to go "low calorie" and "eat healthy." She decided the best way to do this was to look for better lunch options while at work... I watched her do this pretty much every lunch for months. She would buy the "healthy" option burger with a GF bun from a local chain, eat half of a large fries, add a small coke and then top it off with a large frozen yoghurt with toppings "but it's low fat!"

    Just for fun, I worked out her calories for lunch one day, with information readily available from where she purchased. I wouldn't have, except she kept telling me (after losing almost half my body weight) that I should go "lower calorie and eat healthy like her." Over 2500 calories in the total meal and 75 grams of sugar just in the Fro-Yo. And she ate this every day. She also wouldn't budge from her stance that I should eat like her, not that I ever asked for her opinion. She refused to believe the figures. One day, she's going to get a big shock. Fro-yo in particular isn't necessarily healthy or low calorie, despite being low fat, and you can't just eat as much of it as you like without consequence.

    Frozen yogurt is definitely right there too. Same calories as ice cream most of the time.
  • x_stephisaur_x
    x_stephisaur_x Posts: 149 Member
    I tend to be upset anytime I discover a new "healthy" food that isn't that good calorie wise lol

    Discovered I love Avocados, but can rarely fit them into my calories :(

    In terms of genuine disappointment, I ordered one of those low calorie pizzas from pizza express (UK) and it's just a thin crust pizza that they've cut a hole out of! Worse still, they filled the hole with rocket (arugula) which I cannot stand! Very sad me that day!
  • sportynad9
    sportynad9 Posts: 17 Member
    There is a breakfast smoothie from Crussh (UK) that sounds and tastes amazing. It has banana, almond butter and a bit of honey in it and the other day I thought it would be a nice shake up to the usual porridge. They didn't have any calorie information in the shop, so I decided that it probably wouldn't be much more than my usual breakfast and bought it. I almost fell off my chair when I saw online that even the small one has about 1000 calories. And I was hungry again about 1,5 hours later :)
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    sportynad9 wrote: »
    There is a breakfast smoothie from Crussh (UK) that sounds and tastes amazing. It has banana, almond butter and a bit of honey in it and the other day I thought it would be a nice shake up to the usual porridge. They didn't have any calorie information in the shop, so I decided that it probably wouldn't be much more than my usual breakfast and bought it. I almost fell off my chair when I saw online that even the small one has about 1000 calories. And I was hungry again about 1,5 hours later :)

    Oh man! I can imagine. I used to sometimes get a peanut butter banana protein smoothie from a local coffee shop for dinner. It was great. Some of my friends get it now as their beverage choice when we go out for coffee and I never say anything of course but inwardly I cringe just because they just ate dinner beforehand. It's not that I necessarily think they need to eat fewer calories or anything like that, but these are women who generally eat healthier and smallish portions and so forth and I just do not think they realize that the shop's calorie estimate is 700 on that smoothie...I don't know if they just don't look, or what. It is right there on the menu now, and these ladies are the same ones who will say something about watching their intake. I think some people view it as "it's all healthy, fruit and natural nut butter with protein powder so it's okay" but calorically...wow!
  • JadeQuetzal
    JadeQuetzal Posts: 95 Member
    Not a meal... but olive oil. We almost never use oil, so I never bothered checking.

    I thought I could throw a salad together this morning before work, but found out we were out of lettuce when I went to make it. No problem, I have those little 200 calorie things of raviolis. So I grabbed the cauliflower rice I just got to supplement it, and threw it in a pan to cook quickly as I had 10 minutes to spare. Threw a little olive oil and spices in before checking the calories. 120 per tbsp. I thought it would be 45 or 60 tops. I made 30 calories into 150 *Sigh*
  • LadyLilion
    LadyLilion Posts: 276 Member
    edited September 2017
    Pretty much everything in a restaurant. Eating out is much less fun in places that put the calories on the menu...but better than being surprised I guess.

    Had breakfast out at a Perkins. I know breakfast is always high unless you get egg beaters and turkey sausage or something equally boring...but the hash browns! They were twice the calories of the "breakfast potatoes", which are essentially the same thing, only cut in big squares instead of shredded. How the heck they're so much more, I have no idea.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    Graelwyn75 wrote: »
    Most restaurant steak meals... even if I choose to swap the fries for baked potato and have veggies, the steak comes with garlic butter and the veggies always seem to have butter or cream etc. For example, I am on one of my visits to my mother in London ... she always takes me out for dinners. I chose minute steak with gratin potatoes, creamed spinach and glazed carrots. I estimated that meal to be around 1100 calories.

    I don't eat out that often so when I do, I have the meal as it comes, but still disappointing that something that should be fairly reasonable in calories adds up to 1000 +.

    Are they not willing to swap out all the veggies slathered in butter, cheese, cream, and sugar for simply steamed, sauteed, or roasted veggies? If those were my only options, I would have two of the veggies boxed immediately and fit them in later in the week.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    timtam163 wrote: »
    Beer. I used to quick-add it as 100 calories per serving. I was only fooling myself... :'(

    Muffins. I used to love muffins.

    UK pints are close to 150-200 :( I don't do 'light' beer. A 4.2% 500ml ale is 204, a 5% 568ml (pint) is 295. Doesn't stop me though ;)

  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    edited September 2017
    cs2thecox wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Hard root beer. 350 calories/bottle. wtf

    Hard root beer is a thing? Seriously? Be still my beating heart... <3<3<3

    (We don't get it in the UK. This is DEVASTATING NEWS. How easy is it to find in the US? I will TOTALLY be saving calories for it next time I'm there...)

    We get a UK version of root beer but it's nothing like the real thing.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    LadyLilion wrote: »
    Pretty much everything in a restaurant. Eating out is much less fun in places that put the calories on the menu...but better than being surprised I guess.

    Had breakfast out at a Perkins. I know breakfast is always high unless you get egg beaters and turkey sausage or something equally boring...but the hash browns! They were twice the calories of the "breakfast potatoes", which are essentially the same thing, only cut in big squares instead of shredded. How the heck they're so much more, I have no idea.

    I'm guessing that the shredded hash browns have more surface area to capture cooking oil, or you actually get more potatoes in the hash browns since the chunked home fries have less potato per area of plate, all else equal.
  • allyhbeal
    allyhbeal Posts: 3 Member
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    I only started using MFP last week. I'm not overweight (5'4 and around 140 lb), but would like to be nearer 130lb and couldn't understand why given how much exercise I get. I had been eating overnight oats every work day breakfast for the last year and a half (1/2 cup porridge oats, 3/4 cup frozen berries, and enough milk to cover). Well, being a good MFP convert I weighed and logged everything in my breakfast the next time I made it. 500 sodding calories! It's not like it even kept me full until lunch! The world is a cruel, cruel place. I've swapped that for quaker instant oat packages made up with almond milk and 1 tsp agave, and have saved over 300 calories per breakfast <3

    I have oats for breakfast. I weigh out 30g + berries and milk. It is more like 150cal. Are you sure it was that high?

    Unfortunately, yes :( 1/2 cup of oats: 344 calories, 200g frozen berries ~70 calories, 150 ml semi skimmed milk (that amount was just a guess) ~80 calories. I now just have the oat so simple sachets, which, when cooked, puff up to about the same volume as my sneaky overnight oats - it's all about quantity with me in the morning :)
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    edited September 2017
    I don't get all the Subway hate.

    Speaking only for myself, their commercials are stupid and an insult to peoples intelligence. So I don't eat at Subway as a result.

    I don't watch much TV. Haven't seen any commercials. What I can say is that a six inch, double meat roasted chicken on 9 grain honey oat bread with all the veggies, mustard, and vinegar, baked BBQ Lays, and a diet coke or iced tea looks like this. Yummy, low cal, good macros.

    cdv35q4zjl39.jpg

    No dressing and no cheese so sad :( I get a footlong each time with two dressings+cheese ;) but no drink or crisps. Admittedly it's a rare thing.

    There was a back lash here in the UK a little while ago due to halal meat in some take outs. We like to suck up to the soon to be masses and hate on the current masses.

    Do don't have the amount of fast food places like the US does.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    I only started using MFP last week. I'm not overweight (5'4 and around 140 lb), but would like to be nearer 130lb and couldn't understand why given how much exercise I get. I had been eating overnight oats every work day breakfast for the last year and a half (1/2 cup porridge oats, 3/4 cup frozen berries, and enough milk to cover). Well, being a good MFP convert I weighed and logged everything in my breakfast the next time I made it. 500 sodding calories! It's not like it even kept me full until lunch! The world is a cruel, cruel place. I've swapped that for quaker instant oat packages made up with almond milk and 1 tsp agave, and have saved over 300 calories per breakfast <3

    I have oats for breakfast. I weigh out 30g + berries and milk. It is more like 150cal. Are you sure it was that high?

    Unfortunately, yes :( 1/2 cup of oats: 344 calories, 200g frozen berries ~70 calories, 150 ml semi skimmed milk (that amount was just a guess) ~80 calories. I now just have the oat so simple sachets, which, when cooked, puff up to about the same volume as my sneaky overnight oats - it's all about quantity with me in the morning :)

    How are you getting 1/2 cup of oats at 344 calories? Oats are usually 150 calories per 1/2 cup (~40g) uncooked.
  • allyhbeal
    allyhbeal Posts: 3 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    I only started using MFP last week. I'm not overweight (5'4 and around 140 lb), but would like to be nearer 130lb and couldn't understand why given how much exercise I get. I had been eating overnight oats every work day breakfast for the last year and a half (1/2 cup porridge oats, 3/4 cup frozen berries, and enough milk to cover). Well, being a good MFP convert I weighed and logged everything in my breakfast the next time I made it. 500 sodding calories! It's not like it even kept me full until lunch! The world is a cruel, cruel place. I've swapped that for quaker instant oat packages made up with almond milk and 1 tsp agave, and have saved over 300 calories per breakfast <3

    500 calories sounds really high for the oatmeal. 1/2 cup (41g) of dry rolled oats is 150 calories. Even if you use a full cup of whole milk (150) calories, you'd still need 200 calories to come from the berries. That's really high. Are you adding sugar or using berries in sugar?

    What's making you think that the oatmeal is 500 calories?

    It wasn't rolled oats, but porridge oats, which I'm guessing are basically smushed up oats, and therefore have more surface area so you can get more of them (and more calories) in the half-cup measurement? I'm getting the calories directly from the MFP manual recipe thingy :)
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    By porridge oats, do you mean steel-cut oats? I eat those pretty frequently and you're right -- they're 150kcal for 1/4th cup, rather than 1/2 cup like rolled oats. Totally worth it, though.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    sportynad9 wrote: »
    There is a breakfast smoothie from Crussh (UK) that sounds and tastes amazing. It has banana, almond butter and a bit of honey in it and the other day I thought it would be a nice shake up to the usual porridge. They didn't have any calorie information in the shop, so I decided that it probably wouldn't be much more than my usual breakfast and bought it. I almost fell off my chair when I saw online that even the small one has about 1000 calories. And I was hungry again about 1,5 hours later :)

    Oh man! I can imagine. I used to sometimes get a peanut butter banana protein smoothie from a local coffee shop for dinner. It was great. Some of my friends get it now as their beverage choice when we go out for coffee and I never say anything of course but inwardly I cringe just because they just ate dinner beforehand. It's not that I necessarily think they need to eat fewer calories or anything like that, but these are women who generally eat healthier and smallish portions and so forth and I just do not think they realize that the shop's calorie estimate is 700 on that smoothie...I don't know if they just don't look, or what. It is right there on the menu now, and these ladies are the same ones who will say something about watching their intake. I think some people view it as "it's all healthy, fruit and natural nut butter with protein powder so it's okay" but calorically...wow!

    he he. It's a favorite amongst those bulking for a reason.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    edited September 2017
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    allyhbeal wrote: »
    I only started using MFP last week. I'm not overweight (5'4 and around 140 lb), but would like to be nearer 130lb and couldn't understand why given how much exercise I get. I had been eating overnight oats every work day breakfast for the last year and a half (1/2 cup porridge oats, 3/4 cup frozen berries, and enough milk to cover). Well, being a good MFP convert I weighed and logged everything in my breakfast the next time I made it. 500 sodding calories! It's not like it even kept me full until lunch! The world is a cruel, cruel place. I've swapped that for quaker instant oat packages made up with almond milk and 1 tsp agave, and have saved over 300 calories per breakfast <3

    500 calories sounds really high for the oatmeal. 1/2 cup (41g) of dry rolled oats is 150 calories. Even if you use a full cup of whole milk (150) calories, you'd still need 200 calories to come from the berries. That's really high. Are you adding sugar or using berries in sugar?

    What's making you think that the oatmeal is 500 calories?

    It wasn't rolled oats, but porridge oats, which I'm guessing are basically smushed up oats, and therefore have more surface area so you can get more of them (and more calories) in the half-cup measurement? I'm getting the calories directly from the MFP manual recipe thingy :)

    Well, that sucks. Did you confuse the two in your serving size, or did you know you were eating two servings of oats?

    Note that although a serving of steel cut oats is 1/4 and a serving of rolled oats is 1/2 cup, both weigh about 40g.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    aemw93 wrote: »
    My mum made homemade bannoffee pie the other day and obviously not thinking twice I ate half of it. She then proceeded to tell me that I'd just eaten my daily calorie allowance in one portion. 1900 calories in that delicious dessert!!! Still ate supper afterwards though :p

    Easily done. I love Banoffee pie. Especially with cream or mascarpone.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Banana chips... one day I decided to dip banana chips in crunchy peanut butter lol. That was stupid.
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
    Breakfast burritos from McDonalds. I thought two was 308 calories, nope that's just one. They come in groups of two and now I have to throw one out the car window for the wildlife to enjoy. Don't worry, I unwrap it first. I'm not about littering. I just hope the local raccoon population enjoy it.

    I've always felt like 2 of those was just too much at breakfast and one wasn't enough. Whether I was eating whatever the heck I wanted, or counting calories. It's frustrating!

    Dump the eggs or half the eggs from the 2nd into the first tortilla?
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    madwells1 wrote: »
    Hummus.

    Highly recommend subbing baba ganoush for hummus

    Be careful. Some places make their baba "Creamy" with MAYONNAISE.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    savithny wrote: »
    madwells1 wrote: »
    Hummus.

    Highly recommend subbing baba ganoush for hummus

    Be careful. Some places make their baba "Creamy" with MAYONNAISE.

    Yeah it's what I said earlier, lol.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    savithny wrote: »
    madwells1 wrote: »
    Hummus.

    Highly recommend subbing baba ganoush for hummus

    Be careful. Some places make their baba "Creamy" with MAYONNAISE.

    Whether they use mayo or olive oil/tahini, baba ganoush is going to have more of a calorie load than you think it should either way. It's still delicious though.
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    debrag12 wrote: »
    timtam163 wrote: »
    Beer. I used to quick-add it as 100 calories per serving. I was only fooling myself... :'(

    Muffins. I used to love muffins.

    UK pints are close to 150-200 :( I don't do 'light' beer. A 4.2% 500ml ale is 204, a 5% 568ml (pint) is 295. Doesn't stop me though ;)

    In my experience, they can, but most just don't care. I always order my veggies to be steamed with no added salt/oil/butter/seasoning and they always come out greasy and pre-seasoned. Doesn't matter where I go. I suppose that restaurant chefs just don't care.
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