Wow... That had how many calories?!!?

Pretty much any restaurant meal. The ones that aren't over 1000 calories aren't usually worth eating.

Ryansworld84 wrote: »

Literally everything on Cheese cake factories menu HAHA

OMG I ate lunch out with coworkers and got a California Omelette thinking it was a good choice. 916 CALORIES, are you kidding me for a omelette.

AdinaRin wrote: »

Sushi surprises me every single time. I should know by now but traditional rolls always have so many cals and carbs in them... the tempura special rolls... don't even get me started on those haha.

Sushi doesn't count -that's a free meal - you would think some fish & rice would be lo cal - Eastcoast Jim

It doesn’t shock me as much as it can depress me.

I think my biggest issue is that restaurants aren’t required to post calories anymore. Some still do, but I saw plenty that changed the menus back. I feel like it’s a minefield at those places.

I was given a gift certificate to a raw vegan place, and I asked in advance if they had nutritional data available. “Oh, but it’s healthy and enzymes and blah blah blah.” I ordered a few things off the menu and promptly gave each item to others at my table. It didn’t taste that good to be worth all the calories I knew lurked in their ground nut, hemp seed, and coconut oil concoctions!

Royal1954 wrote: »

A while back I snacked on a box of cereal. Ate the whole box. Wasn't hard. Afterwards I looked at the calorie cost and I was floored. I could have had an entire half gallon of ice cream instead.

Muesli makes me sad. How can 60g of health be 250+ calories? WWWWWHHHHHHYYYYYY!?!?

Chocolate covered nut stuffed dates. 100 calories for ONE date, and I used to eat these like popcorn...

Chipotle, I get a salad bowl, no dressing, no rice, just lettuce, chicken, mild salsa, black beans, and cheese and that has over 500 calories. I think they must just have large portions of beans and chicken. So now if I order it I split it into two meals.

I agree with all of the above. I'm feeling that overall I'm better off cooking at home so I have more control over the calories by controlling the food prep. Why do chefs cook with so much oil... and everything they use is a full-fat version? It is frustrating to look at the calories on the menus at restaurants because I do love and almost prefer to eat out. And I don't much like the work of cooking and food prep on top of so many other responsibilities in my work and home life.

Here are some ideas that I find help me:
1. Make a salad or order a salad with dressing on the side. Dip your fork tines slightly into the dressing before each bite. You may put a tablespoon of dressing in the side cup but you use far less than that--maybe a teaspoon or two?--when all is said and done. Then track the amount of dressing you actually used.
2. When at a restaurant, immediately ask for takeout box to come with the meal so you can put aside half or two-thirds of the meal before you even take your first bite. Usually the meals are so fat-dense that you'll be sated and full (if you eat slowly and drink your water or tea or coffee) and you won't need the rest of the meal anyway. Or bring your own tupperware and discretely put the meal away into the tupperware before you start.
3. Instead of a bowl of cereal, try just a tablespoon of it sprinkled on top of your low cal yogurt (maybe along with some fruit or cinnamon). I do this on top of Dannon Oikos Triple Zero yogurt and it is a super high protein breakfast that still has a bit of cereal crunch that I crave. The yogurt is not low cal but it is nutrition dense when you look at it and I've found it lasts me longer than many other things do.
4. When making foods like casseroles or omelets add some of your favorite low-cal veggies to dilute the higher calorie elements and make it more plant-based. For example, if I make mini-omelets in a muffin pan I can dilute them with tomato, spinach, celery, onion, peppers, mushrooms and it becomes more food (more bulk, more filling) but less caloric per volume.

I don't have all the answers, God knows. Just enthusiastic right now about trying to really learn a new lifestyle which means changing all these habits. And tracking everything which has made the biggest difference. And lots of "wake up calls" when learning how many calories are in things!

What most shocks me is the actual portion sizes. I mean, seriously I had no idea how much I was actually overeating. The food scale is my evil nemesis, but I use it religiously.