Shocking first day of food tracking
Replies
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Are you using a food scale yet? If not, wait until the first time you see how small a "serving" of peanut butter actually is.
I am not using a food scale yet. Just trying to stick to measuring cups because that is what I have already. I Might have to invest in a food scale soon though.
Would recommend it. It's a big eye opener for some stuff.6 -
Are you using a food scale yet? If not, wait until the first time you see how small a "serving" of peanut butter actually is.
I am not using a food scale yet. Just trying to stick to measuring cups because that is what I have already. I Might have to invest in a food scale soon though.
It will be the best $15 - $30 you'll ever spend. I had a cheap one first ($10 or so)... I gave it to my friend because I wanted one with a bigger display so I could read it more easily, especially when I had my large mixing bowl on it for recipes.
Seriously - it's not that expensive - and will be your BEST weight loss / control tool apart from MFP.13 -
Yes that first week is a real eyeopener. Personally I traced a full week without too much judgement stopped some bad habits but did not change much at all I took it as a chance to learn first. Only after a week or so I started to make more significant changes1
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My rubbish bin mentality got to me yesterday. I have been doing really well, then, my older son left a piece of pizza on his plate. As it glistened and shone at me I thought what a waste. Then it was in my mouth. I have decided the best course of action is to ask him to through his leftovers in the bin.10
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My rubbish bin mentality got to me yesterday. I have been doing really well, then, my older son left a piece of pizza on his plate. As it glistened and shone at me I thought what a waste. Then it was in my mouth. I have decided the best course of action is to ask him to through his leftovers in the bin.
If you look at it as "a waste" to eat it when you do not need it - that may help you overcome that. It is a waste to consume excess calories - it is a waste because it counters the work you've done to become healthy and creates more work for you to get rid of those excess calories and fat. It serves no nutritional purpose if it puts you over your daily calories - unless you plan on eating less the next day.
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I'll never forget the moment I stopped after a day of bicycle touring (a large distance, so I could afford the calories) and had a dinner at a Cracker Barrel near Saginaw, Michigan. 3000+ calories in the dessert, not even beginning to include dinner. I only logged when I got back to my hotel room, and my jaw actually dropped.
And then I rode long distances for the next 4 days as well, so it didn't matter. 4 -
Are you using a food scale yet? If not, wait until the first time you see how small a "serving" of peanut butter actually is.
I am not using a food scale yet. Just trying to stick to measuring cups because that is what I have already. I Might have to invest in a food scale soon though.
+1 for food scale usage. Link to the one I have below, have had for over a year, no frills, no issues with it, enough different units I can almost always find a database entry unit to match. <$10
https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Elegant/dp/B004164SRA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1515003985&sr=8-3&keywords=ozeri+food+scale2 -
My rubbish bin mentality got to me yesterday. I have been doing really well, then, my older son left a piece of pizza on his plate. As it glistened and shone at me I thought what a waste. Then it was in my mouth. I have decided the best course of action is to ask him to through his leftovers in the bin.
If you look at it as "a waste" to eat it when you do not need it - that may help you overcome that. It is a waste to consume excess calories - it is a waste because it counters the work you've done to become healthy and creates more work for you to get rid of those excess calories and fat. It serves no nutritional purpose if it puts you over your daily calories - unless you plan on eating less the next day.
This is how I think of it. It's just as wasteful to eat something I don't need as it is to throw it away. Whether energy is put into the trash or stored as excess fat on my body, it's equally wasteful.9 -
My rubbish bin mentality got to me yesterday. I have been doing really well, then, my older son left a piece of pizza on his plate. As it glistened and shone at me I thought what a waste. Then it was in my mouth. I have decided the best course of action is to ask him to through his leftovers in the bin.
"Glistened and shone at me"
Love it!
Luckily me and cheese don't play well together, but I have a sweet tooth from hell.
The great thing about MFP is it gives you the tools and lets you ask the question....does it fit my macros for the day? If not, can I do something to offset it like exercise or modify my food to compensate? Also, I have my milk coffee and cake (treat) every day and I sit down and savour it. Keeps me on the straight and narrow!
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In a weird way, the more "packaged" convenience foods you eat as you start, the "easier
for the "eye opener". The more chain restaurants you eat at, the easier for the "eye opener", though I predict that law for chain restaurants to list calorie counts will go away soon.
It's amazing, isn't it?1 -
My rubbish bin mentality got to me yesterday. I have been doing really well, then, my older son left a piece of pizza on his plate. As it glistened and shone at me I thought what a waste. Then it was in my mouth. I have decided the best course of action is to ask him to through his leftovers in the bin.
Pizza can certainly be a fine choice in moderation.
A great tool for me is to portion foods for lunch instead of eating too much at one meal. I would stick that slice in my lunchbox with some flavored water and veggies. Knowing a slightly bigger than normal lunch makes me able to make sensible choices that day. Lunch made to look forward to, no drama, no sense of wastage or forbidden pleasures.1 -
slimbyjune18 wrote: »It’s shocking and eye opening. 25g of cheese looked tiny at first. Like others say use a food scale, it’s surprising how much of other foods you can eat (esp veg, salad, fruit). I find it really helpful to plan meals out using the restaurant website nutritional info now too.
I know I found a recapie for a salad that called for 1 oz of cheese but it was 115 calories so trying to keep my calories lower today I just cut the cheese out. That’s one good and bad thing about me. I don’t follow a specific restricting diet but I’m not much of a dairy or meat eater. So it makes my diet naturally high carb low protein which I’m trying to change.
Hey mlh2018!
Are you eating close to your calorie allowance for the day? From the sounds of your post you might be trying to eat way under on some days? Following the IIFYM principle works perfectly with MFP and is far from restrictive!
Apologies if I have it wrong - just a concerned citizen 0 -
I have never tracked food in any way. No calorie counting or macros. So today I started tracking and let me tell you. I set up my account and the app recommends me on a 1400 calorie diet. I think alright that’s do able for now. I grab my breakfast sandwich and bam 700 calories!
It's all about different choices. It's less than half the 700 calories if you make your own sandwich as follows using reduced calorie options:
Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Sausage Patty 80 cal
Thomas Light English Muffin 100 cal
Large Egg 70 cal
Sargento Reduced Fat Cheddar Slice 60 cal
Total: 310 cal
You can make up a few of them and put them in the refrigerator, and pop one in the microwave in the morning. The Morningstar Farms fake sausage and fake bacon options are very good, by the way.
Think of your 1400 cals as a budget. You can choose what to spend your calories on each day, and you can choose when to spend them during the day. For example, I like to have a snack in the evening, so I replaced lunch with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks so I could save calories to spend later.
Gross.
Egg McMuffin: 300 Cal. And it has the benefit of tasting good.11 -
I have never tracked food in any way. No calorie counting or macros. So today I started tracking and let me tell you. I set up my account and the app recommends me on a 1400 calorie diet. I think alright that’s do able for now. I grab my breakfast sandwich and bam 700 calories!
It's all about different choices. It's less than half the 700 calories if you make your own sandwich as follows using reduced calorie options:
Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Sausage Patty 80 cal
Thomas Light English Muffin 100 cal
Large Egg 70 cal
Sargento Reduced Fat Cheddar Slice 60 cal
Total: 310 cal
You can make up a few of them and put them in the refrigerator, and pop one in the microwave in the morning. The Morningstar Farms fake sausage and fake bacon options are very good, by the way.
Think of your 1400 cals as a budget. You can choose what to spend your calories on each day, and you can choose when to spend them during the day. For example, I like to have a snack in the evening, so I replaced lunch with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks so I could save calories to spend later.
Gross.
Egg McMuffin: 300 Cal. And it has the benefit of tasting good.
Nothing wrong with good old Egg McMuffin, but making your own low fat version at home like the kind mentioned ends up being cheaper. And really, the light cheddar cheese and English muffin is fine (haven't tried the Morningstar veggie sausage).4 -
Why do you think that law will go away soon?Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »In a weird way, the more "packaged" convenience foods you eat as you start, the "easier
for the "eye opener". The more chain restaurants you eat at, the easier for the "eye opener", though I predict that law for chain restaurants to list calorie counts will go away soon.
It's amazing, isn't it?
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I have never tracked food in any way. No calorie counting or macros. So today I started tracking and let me tell you. I set up my account and the app recommends me on a 1400 calorie diet. I think alright that’s do able for now. I grab my breakfast sandwich and bam 700 calories!
It's all about different choices. It's less than half the 700 calories if you make your own sandwich as follows using reduced calorie options:
Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Sausage Patty 80 cal
Thomas Light English Muffin 100 cal
Large Egg 70 cal
Sargento Reduced Fat Cheddar Slice 60 cal
Total: 310 cal
You can make up a few of them and put them in the refrigerator, and pop one in the microwave in the morning. The Morningstar Farms fake sausage and fake bacon options are very good, by the way.
Think of your 1400 cals as a budget. You can choose what to spend your calories on each day, and you can choose when to spend them during the day. For example, I like to have a snack in the evening, so I replaced lunch with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks so I could save calories to spend later.
Gross.
Egg McMuffin: 300 Cal. And it has the benefit of tasting good.
Always loved my Egg McMuffins until they really started skimping out on the Canadian bacon.
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It's worse when you convert that breakfast sandwich into the exercise it will take to burn off!
I really don't like that 'you have to burn it off' mentality. It's not how it works. You burn calories just by being alive, so there's no reason to kill yourself at the gym to burn off those 800 calories when you could just eat less the rest of the day to make up for it.How shocking! Bet you’d never look at your breakfast sandwich the same again. This app is brilliant, reallly saves lives
Thankfully the sandwich is not an everyday thing for me. It was one of those times I needed something quick on my way to work. But next time I decided to go for all the calories in one meal I’m choosing a doughnut haha
See, that's the thing though... your sandwich is probably WAY more filling than a donut (or let's say 700 calories of donuts), and you get plenty of protein in that too. It's not just about calories but about satiation too.
But yeah, I hear you OP, I have to make myself walk 10-15k steps a day if I want to be able to eat enough calories not to feel hungry and/or deprived because 1400 calories just won't cut it for me.
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Why do you think that law will go away soon?Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »In a weird way, the more "packaged" convenience foods you eat as you start, the "easier
for the "eye opener". The more chain restaurants you eat at, the easier for the "eye opener", though I predict that law for chain restaurants to list calorie counts will go away soon.
It's amazing, isn't it?
It's state law for me that chain restaurants have to post calories, and honestly it's allowed me to go to restaurants more. Knowing that there are some decent 300-500 calorie options at many places makes it so I don't usually feel like I can't go to the local burger/sandwich/etc place. Extra kudos to places like Domino's Pizza which makes it easy to calculate online.2 -
Agree. And, I've been using this tracker for what seems like a couple years. It's a good daily habit and you will quickly come to know what will give you the "most bang" for your bucks. Well done to you.0
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Are you using a food scale yet? If not, wait until the first time you see how small a "serving" of peanut butter actually is.
This is so true! I was measuring out my food today for lunch (first day for me too) and weighing out 30 g of sweet potato chips was very eye opening! I kept looking at it thinking "There is no way I can eat all of those chips, and my sandwich and my fruit!" so I opted for the sandwich and the fruit. Some things seem like so much and others seem like so little! It's a freaking mind game! And not a fun one! lol0 -
kenyonhaff wrote: »I have never tracked food in any way. No calorie counting or macros. So today I started tracking and let me tell you. I set up my account and the app recommends me on a 1400 calorie diet. I think alright that’s do able for now. I grab my breakfast sandwich and bam 700 calories!
It's all about different choices. It's less than half the 700 calories if you make your own sandwich as follows using reduced calorie options:
Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Sausage Patty 80 cal
Thomas Light English Muffin 100 cal
Large Egg 70 cal
Sargento Reduced Fat Cheddar Slice 60 cal
Total: 310 cal
You can make up a few of them and put them in the refrigerator, and pop one in the microwave in the morning. The Morningstar Farms fake sausage and fake bacon options are very good, by the way.
Think of your 1400 cals as a budget. You can choose what to spend your calories on each day, and you can choose when to spend them during the day. For example, I like to have a snack in the evening, so I replaced lunch with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks so I could save calories to spend later.
Gross.
Egg McMuffin: 300 Cal. And it has the benefit of tasting good.
Nothing wrong with good old Egg McMuffin, but making your own low fat version at home like the kind mentioned ends up being cheaper. And really, the light cheddar cheese and English muffin is fine (haven't tried the Morningstar veggie sausage).
According to the Database entry on MFP, Egg McMuffins are fat free ... NICE!! heh.
No question the OP's sandwich involved a Bagel and Sausage - those are the breakfast sandwich killers. Calories are high on both of those. Sodium and Fat are high on the Sausage. Carbs are up on the bagel (a bagel is 6 servings of bread) ....
I dont do anything crazy on my breakfast sandwiches, but I go English muffin on the bread and Ham/Canadian bacon for the meat. That's how I lighten up a breakfast sandwich.
I can get it down to 200 cal going with egg whites and skipping the cheese .. but I generally shoot for a 300 cal breakfast.
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And that is why we gain weight
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kfischer1018 wrote: »Are you using a food scale yet? If not, wait until the first time you see how small a "serving" of peanut butter actually is.
This is so true! I was measuring out my food today for lunch (first day for me too) and weighing out 30 g of sweet potato chips was very eye opening! I kept looking at it thinking "There is no way I can eat all of those chips, and my sandwich and my fruit!" so I opted for the sandwich and the fruit. Some things seem like so much and others seem like so little! It's a freaking mind game! And not a fun one! lol
I wish I would've recorded my wife's reaction when I showed her what a "serving" of honey nut cheerios was.5 -
I drank 3000 calories of Coke the first day.11
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corinasue1143 wrote: »I drank 3000 calories of Coke the first day.
You were drinking 250+ oz of Coke per day?0 -
lemme tell ya .... ive been doing this 5 years now. lost 100 pounds. i RARELY eat fast food burgers cause i really dont like them. but my son andi were out, and thats what he asked for and i figured okay, ill have a burger. did i mention its been a REALLY long time since ive had one (from fast food) and didnt know the calorie count off my head?
yeah. get home. log it. 900 calories.
i get 1200 a day.
ive never been so glad i automatically give my son my fries LOLOLOL
im having zucchini noodle something for dinner instead of the fish tacos ive been looking forward to for 3 days
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callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »lemme tell ya .... ive been doing this 5 years now. lost 100 pounds. i RARELY eat fast food burgers cause i really dont like them. but my son andi were out, and thats what he asked for and i figured okay, ill have a burger. did i mention its been a REALLY long time since ive had one (from fast food) and didnt know the calorie count off my head?
yeah. get home. log it. 900 calories.
i get 1200 a day.
ive never been so glad i automatically give my son my fries LOLOLOL
im having zucchini noodle something for dinner instead of the fish tacos ive been looking forward to for 3 days
The sad thing is those fast food burgers never fill me up.1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »In a weird way, the more "packaged" convenience foods you eat as you start, the "easier
for the "eye opener". The more chain restaurants you eat at, the easier for the "eye opener", though I predict that law for chain restaurants to list calorie counts will go away soon.
It's amazing, isn't it?
Its really amazing. I was at a Chinese buffet the other day and they had the calorie count above all the dishes. What amazed me it that never did it say what that portion actually is haha. I wonder how many clueless folk thought the tub with those green beans in teriyaki was only 200cal, cause you know, they are veggies right?
Typically it's per laddle or for 3oz, but obviously it's impossible to tell unless you're weighing everything.0 -
Very Very much a shocker! Best thing is to keep snacks healthy and non processed, eat a light lunch and then you will have room to play with for dinner. Exercise is key!7
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I used to get a doughnut from the grocery store (plain glazed) every now and then and log it as a doughnut. When the store starting listing calories on the bakery bin, they were double what I had been logging. Not worth it anymore, they aren't THAT good!6
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