Calorie counting is BLOWING my mind...

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24

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  • JWeaser
    JWeaser Posts: 302
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    Cheese has become my nemesis! I always want to add it to everything, but then it's like 'Oh hey there 200 extra calories'...
    I hope it gets easier.

    Have you tried the Laughing Cow Cheese? The Garlic Herb is really good and one serving is only like 35 calories. The also make like a Chipotle and Swiss.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Having those "are you serious??" moments are necessary I think for anyone starting their journey...I most definitely had my fair share, and sometimes still do!! Once you get into a groove, you'll start to understand why some foods are so expensive calorie-wise and learn to avoid/moderate them.

    This is EXACTLY why crash diets and meal replacements don't work
  • krysydawn
    krysydawn Posts: 231 Member
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    OMG yes... All the darn time I have those "ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?" moments... The other day It was a Kirkland (Costco) French Toast Muffin... 710 calories, 56 sugar and 95 carbs!!! I about had a panic attack.... :/
  • sw33tp3a11
    sw33tp3a11 Posts: 4,646 Member
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    I do it every day not sundays though , I take a break!
  • tererob
    tererob Posts: 64 Member
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    Yes ... went to Reb Robin last week ... I really wanted the Bacon Cheeseburger... until I looked at the calories and realized that I would be using up most of my calories for the day .. so decided to get something healthier instead but boy did I want that burger. I never really thought about it until I started doing this program. Now I really think about what I put in my mouth. I still enjoy the foods that I always have but now I think about it more and decide if I actually want to spend all my calories on it.
  • kylatreymom
    kylatreymom Posts: 10 Member
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    I probably should but I don't count calories at all and have lost about 45 lbs. hah. I dunno.. it's just not my thing.

    So what do you do to lose weight?
  • smurfette75
    smurfette75 Posts: 853 Member
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    It's not just you!! The first few days I was like WOW. I love food...as I'm sure we all do...so now I really have to watch what I eat. A treat every now and then.
  • kylatreymom
    kylatreymom Posts: 10 Member
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    :sad: :bigsmile:
    I have them all the time. My mom will say do you want an oreo or something like that and I say no, they're too expensive. She looks at me like I'm crazy. She doesn't realize I'm talking expensive in calories and not $. But I kind of treat it like money, get the most out of what little calories i have!

    boy do i miss my oreos's! :sad:
  • Vhovell
    Vhovell Posts: 286
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    i still get shocked by new foods but i'm just trying the food then looking at the calories, then i will know what to stay away from! Was surprised by PG Tips with semi skimmed milk - 28 cals!!! my rice today was high but worth it :) i count religiously during the week and try to keep on track at weekends although that is harder as i'm not at a desk all day!
  • Vhovell
    Vhovell Posts: 286
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    i still get shocked by new foods but i'm just trying the food then looking at the calories, then i will know what to stay away from! Was surprised by PG Tips with semi skimmed milk - 28 cals!!! my rice today was high but worth it :) i count religiously during the week and try to keep on track at weekends although that is harder as i'm not at a desk all day!
  • chozynvessel
    chozynvessel Posts: 12 Member
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    That's why I love this site, it makes you be accountable and once you see the numbers you think twice about having that again and try to find a better option. I keep telling myself that when I hit a maintenance phase I can perhaps splurge but right now while I'm trying to lose I need to stay focused and not blow my whole day with a grand slam at dennys (which is like 1000 or more calories by the way). As they said at fitness camp, "It's okay to have a 'cheat meal' but not a 'cheat day'." Because a day turns into 2 days then a week and you have just blown a lot of time eating whatever the heck you wanted.
  • breyn2004
    breyn2004 Posts: 162 Member
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    Yep I have these "are you serious?" moments (frankfurters!!!!!), mind you I also I have the complete opposite: "Are you serious? I can eat this, I love it and it fits well in my diary?" (Tuna, Salmon, Chicken, mushrooms...).

    Well said! Case and point.... take a Fiber One Brownie (90 calories), heated up and half Skinny Cow Caramel Cup (about 75 calories for the half) and you have an absolutely delicious TREAT!

    My "are you serious" moments are... seriously? I have to eat all dang day to get in the calories that I was getting in, in one meal before! Better choices mean more food! LOL
  • JustSheri
    JustSheri Posts: 12
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    This is why most of us are overweight. It is because we have no idea what we are putting into our bodies. We have to educate ourselves about nutrition.
  • andforpoise
    andforpoise Posts: 185
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    The 100 cal snack packs. I know they say 100 cal right on them...but then I realize, those are a lot of calories for what you get out of them! I agree with one of the other posters saying that they treat their cals like money - that's a good way to look at it. I'm always thinking about how far I can stretch my money and get the most of it (being a student and all) so thinking of calories that way makes a lot of sense! What surprises me the most are meals at restaurants. Earlier in the summer I went to Applebee's with a friend and I ordered a honey bbq chicken sandwich and gave her the bacon and the stupid thing (sandwich alone) was still almost 800 cals! 800 CALS for a GRILLED chicken sandwich... definitely sticking to the under 550 cal menu if I go back there again...
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    I used to worry about how many calories things were. A meal in a recipe book would be 450 calories, and I'd stay away from it. I would prefer to eat my day away in 50 and 100 calorie increments. And I obsessed about food. All. The. Time. I'm not so obsessive anymore. If I want it, I have a serving. I mean, 23 almonds are 160 calories, and that isn't a whole lot of almonds, but if I chew them slowly and thoroughly, by the time I am done, I feel full.

    This, along with 'diet' foods is a trap I've fallen into. You get so obsessed with saving calories, you don't eat any nutrition and end up starving all of the time
  • jtcleveland
    jtcleveland Posts: 57
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    I have them all the time. My mom will say do you want an oreo or something like that and I say no, they're too expensive. She looks at me like I'm crazy. She doesn't realize I'm talking expensive in calories and not $. But I kind of treat it like money, get the most out of what little calories i have!


    that's a really good way to look at it, like money and you're on a budget. Some things are too expensive and we can't afford it!
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    This is all a learning process. It is amazing how many calories can be in a food you have been used to eating for years and the portion is so much smaller than you thought. However, if you're eating healthy, and getting exercise, eating that ice cream, having that glass of wine - anything in moderation is okay. This is not a diet to cut out foods, but to learn to eat better and be more active. My problem used to be that if I wanted something, but trying not to eat it, I would eat "around" it until I ate more calories than if I just ate that food and got it out of my system. This continues to be a life education. Eat to live, don't live to eat. Take care.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Does anyone else feel this way? I mean, sweet Jesus, its getting depressing!! Everytime I consider drinking a coke, Im like, good God man, that's another 140 calories Im throwing away... Lucky me, Ive got a hankering for unsweet tea, but there are some things I was quite surprised to see how much they are "worth". Bananas are 110 each? WOW! ITS A FRUIT RIGHT?? Lol I had a glazed donut and a glass of milk one day, and it still cost me more calories than my eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes (and unsweet tea) the following day ~ and that other meal filled me up longer (until I needed something crunchy to snack on ~ enter the ever-loving and forgiving pretzel!!). Just wondering if anyone else has had any "ARE YOU SERIOUS??" moments... Im sure I cannot possibly be the only one... ;)

    Pretty much everything I used to eat made me react like that.
  • mjhuff1121
    mjhuff1121 Posts: 112
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    Oh yeah! Of course! haha, I went shopping the other day, and instead of doing all the math to see what COSTS more per seving/oz/lb, etc, I was looking at all the calories. Did you know there is such crazy calorie differences in HOMINY brands? Ok, so I don't know about other people, but I usually grab the generic, cheaper brands of stuff... (I'm a poor 22yr married gal, so sue me! ha!) that was until I was reaching in my cupboard the other day and pulled out a Walmart Yellow Hominy and a Bushes Yellow Hominy side by side to compare. They are nearly the same exact thing, but the difference per serving was 20cal! Now, I know that's not a ton, but.... seriously?! I totally chose the Bushes Hominy for less cal! Yummy. I find it fascinating at the calories I must have regularly consumed without a thought. I kinda miss the days when I could eat something without obsessively looking at the back! baha!
  • edouglas3
    edouglas3 Posts: 13
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    I feel like this a lot, and muffins are my downfall (420 calories in a big one, YIKES). But that is also how we learn to make better choices, right? and, as shocked as I am about how many calories are in some foods, I am also surpised by how good some foods are for you (light soups have only 80 calories YES PLEASE).

    and as far as drinks go, all I ever drink anymore is water and diet coke, because I hate wasting calories on anything that doesn't fill me up.

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