Peanut M&Ms

Davidaw86
Davidaw86 Posts: 117 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For about the past 2 weeks I have been having a craving for Peanut M&Ms. I knew if I didn't do something about it soon, I wouldn't be a pretty sight (eating whatever is in sight). So I broke down and bought a party size bag of M&Ms. WOAH! WOAH!! Put down the pitchforks and torches. Allow me to explain myself before I'm hanged, drawn, and quartered. Along with the M&Ms, I bought some sandwich baggies and a permanent marker.

When I got home, I spent the next 45 minutes weighing M&Ms, and marking the bag with the weight. I got the bags as close to 100 calories as I could (19g), some went a little over by 1g. I figured this was the perfect way to enjoy something I love and not over indulge. I ended up with 60 baggies of M&Ms that I can grab one a day and not kill my calorie count.

The sad part was not the fact that so few M&Ms would make 100 calories, I figured it wasn't going to be a lot. But the real sad part was realizing that before changing my eating habits, I would shove 100 calories (if not more) of M&Ms in my mouth at one time and continue going back for more. I'm very happy I no longer do that without thinking of the consequences.

Anyway, I wanted to share this with everyone, in case if like me, you crave something sweet and you want a way to enjoy it in smaller quantities.

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Replies

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited February 2018
    Cool. I've done that with regular M&Ms, but in serving sizes of around 200 calories.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,733 Member
    This is a great idea (because I do the same with cereal). For some reason, I can do one bag a day but, if it's not preportioned, about 6 unlogged handfulls are a portion.

    I'm normally good with the party sized bags of m&ms tho.
  • Davidaw86
    Davidaw86 Posts: 117 Member
    bbell1985 - Thanks! That's the reason I put the weight down, it'll force me to put it on my diary entry (I put my food down before I eat it), so if I see my calorie count going up too much, I stop myself.
    Orphia wrote: »
    Cool. I've done that with regular M&Ms, but in serving sizes of around 200 calories.

    I didn't want to do too much, just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.
  • Davidaw86
    Davidaw86 Posts: 117 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    This is a great idea (because I do the same with cereal). For some reason, I can do one bag a day but, if it's not preportioned, about 6 unlogged handfulls are a portion.

    I'm normally good with the party sized bags of m&ms tho.

    Lol! I could see myself doing that with cereal. It's a good thing I don't buy cereal often. :D
  • Davidaw86
    Davidaw86 Posts: 117 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Not my first rodeo. I "put my food down" before I eat it, often, for years, as well. Still doesn't stop me from over eating these days.

    I have absolutely no will power some days, lol. If I don't log before I eat, I know I'll regret it (happens everyday I do it).
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I would have just got a normal single serve pack... 250 cals can always fit in a week.

    That's my plan for reeses pieces next week :bigsmile:
  • littlebrittlifts
    littlebrittlifts Posts: 225 Member
    Great idea!
  • Davidaw86
    Davidaw86 Posts: 117 Member
    edited February 2018
    amtyrell wrote: »
    Try getting some snack size Ziploc. I know this sounds silly but that empty of a bag would not feel like a great but the same number in a smaller bag would work for me. So snack size Ziploc.
    Kinda like the smaller plates feel more full and this more filling

    I would have, but I'm going to do the same thing with some chips we bought as well. So I needed the larger ones.
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    I would have just got a normal single serve pack... 250 cals can always fit in a week.

    I find I can't always fit much more than 100 calories at a time. So I figured I can always grab two bags of them if I can fit more calories in (like I did yesterday).
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Please keep and reuse the bags!

    Don't worry, I reuse bags whenever I can. :)
  • Leannep2201
    Leannep2201 Posts: 441 Member
    Mmmm, I love peanut M&Ms!!!
    I’ve done the same with dried a fruit/ seeds/ nuts mix. Not so muc because I tend to overindulge on them, but just for the convenience factor.
    I should do that with my cereal too. Because if I’m not careful, I could also eat it by the handful(s).
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It's a great strategy but I couldn't deal with 60 bags of M&ms waiting to be eaten! 9 mms for 100 calories!!
  • SoleTrainer60
    SoleTrainer60 Posts: 180 Member
    I love peanut butter M&M's. I buy the snack size bags, but it would be more economical to do it your way. :)
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    I buy a "pantry sized" 62 oz bag of M&M peanuts at Costco or Smart & Final and always have another bag in reserve.

    I just eat a 1/4 cup serving at a time, which is 220 cals, usually as a late night snack w/a cup of tea.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    SoleTrainer60 wrote: »
    I love peanut butter M&M's. I buy the snack size bags, but it would be more economical to do it your way. :)

    I got a party bag of the peanut butter M&Ms for Christmas from a friend as I LOVE those things... and I was really proud of myself. I would limit myself to 5 M&Ms a night and it was more then enough.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,733 Member
    I love m&ms and I love peanut butter flavored things and I can't believe it took me until late last year to actually try the peanut butter m&ms!
  • WestCoastCyclist
    WestCoastCyclist Posts: 15 Member
    That was one of my discoveries this past Halloween. For me, peanut m&ms are not worth it. (I was only eating them to get to the chocolate bars that I preferred.)
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    M&M's and did I hear chips as well? I am starting to think we might be seeing a pattern here. Cupboards filled with ziplock bags of junk foods. :p:p

  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 325 Member
    Wow. I went to the movies the other night and in a weak moment, decided to get the "weigh your own" candy. Except that I don't pay attention to the weight. I had raisinettes, m&Ms, peanut m&ms and reeses pieces. I knew it was a lot and I logged it but now I'm thinking that I WAY under logged it. Oh well. Friday is over and now I know. Good for you trying to enjoy something in moderation!
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Do they sell “fun size” packs of M&Ms where you are? Those might cost a bit more, but would also save you the time and money of buying and measuring out all those baggies. Fun size packs are about 90 calories each, though you can always put them on the scale if you want to be more accurate.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Nice idea. To save time next go around, weigh 3-4 bags, take the average number of M&Ms and just put that number in all the bags and call it a day instead of weighing 60 bags. Much faster and minimal impact on accuracy.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Volendral wrote: »
    bbell1985 - Thanks! That's the reason I put the weight down, it'll force me to put it on my diary entry (I put my food down before I eat it), so if I see my calorie count going up too much, I stop myself.

    It's a great theory, but many of us have found that there are days when no amount of data prevents bad choices. I think you would have been better off buying a single serving and not keeping 42 oz in the house... we'll see. Maybe update in a few weeks? ;)
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    pogiguy05 wrote: »
    M&M's and did I hear chips as well? I am starting to think we might be seeing a pattern here. Cupboards filled with ziplock bags of junk foods. :p:p

    Depends on your definition of "junk foods". OPs definition of M&Ms is clearly "treat in moderation". :)

    OP, the problem I've found in the past with dividing a big bag of chips into smaller portions is that they don't keep well in the plastic bags. No matter how carefully I try to seal them, if they're left more than a day or two they start to get stale. So now if I have a big bag, I keep the chips in there and weigh out a single portion (or more usually a half-portion) into a bowl when I want it. It does mean that I can't just "grab and go", but it also means I think about whether I really want them right then if I have to go to the effort of getting a bowl and weighing them. :)
  • DebBahr
    DebBahr Posts: 110 Member
    Good for you for finding a way to manage sweets.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    I usually portion before eating but I've found that I've gotten surprisingly good at controlling myself around snacks since I've started losing weight. It's no longer an issue to be satisfied with only one or two pieces of something - which I never could have done in my prior life.

    I usually buy chocolates in those mini snack sizes. At 50 calories per pop it usually only takes one to satisfy my sweet tooth. I've found that it's better for me to allow myself a small portion of something I really want then it is to try to deny myself something and to find a substitute. Invariably, the substitute won't satisfy and I'll end up eating what I really wanted in the first place anyway!
  • ValeriePlz
    ValeriePlz Posts: 517 Member
    Great idea. I need to do the same with some peanut M&Ms my mom left at my house over the weekend.

    She doesn't like me losing weight, so she brought a bag of peanut M&Ms, coconut gooey bars, and pumpkin spice cookies. Sabotage much?! Only the M&Ms tempted me. Peanut is my favorite variety.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    The Costco size bag always begins with good intentions for me lol I'll let you guess how it ends!

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