Whoa- I had no idea there were that many calories in X. Foods to avoid.

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Replies

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited December 2018
    Calorie bomb. But worth it, sigh.
  • jessieleighc1
    jessieleighc1 Posts: 2 Member
    Mayo, Aoili, any kind of sauce really! Most add about 100 calories for 1tsp to 1tbsp!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    To (attempt) to get this thing back on track, I finally thought of something not worth the calories to me any more that I would be perfectly happy to never eat again. It will get me a lot of hate and woos. I just really don't like them enough to consider spending calories on them that could be put to better use elsewhere (like chocolate).
    Doughnuts.

    Most of them, yeah. Some of the local bakery though... totally worth it.
    pinuplove wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    Has anyone else noticed this? We tend to be a food focused bunch. Huh...??

    I mean, FOOD is right there in the sub-forum title :lol:

    But food is an important component of my life above and beyond survival, anyway. It's a bit of a hobby. My husband and I enjoy shopping and cooking together. We watch TV shows and YouTube videos about cooking. We search out unique places to eat when we travel. Family social functions are very food-centric (quite common). Food is much more than fuel to me.

    Same here and that's one of the reasons why I'm failing at the maintenance thing. Food is my #1 hobby (I mean... I'm going back to school to be a pastry chef in a month!). Always loved food and I've accepted that I'm never going to be skinny because of it... so be it. At least I'll be happy, lol.

    To go back to OP - it's about balance. I know that it's not popular here, but I don't agree with the whole 'there are no bad foods' thing though - some foods are definitely not as healthy as others. It doesn't mean you should completely avoid them if you love them, but that they are not always a good choice. I mean, some people might get away with eating cake for breakfast, or have a slice of pie for lunch, but if I do that I'm guaranteed to crash and burn later, lol. Starbucks drinks are the worst for me - one of those and I feel weak and dizzy until I eat something more nutritious.

    That being said, I saw it here again... healthy doesn't mean low calorie. Nuts and avocado are very healthy, just calorie dense.

    The worst waste of calories for me is most restaurant desserts - half the time, it's just some 800 calories of disappointment (I have very high standards about my desserts).
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    some people might get away with eating cake for breakfast, or have a slice of pie for lunch, but if I do that I'm guaranteed to crash and burn later, lol. Starbucks drinks are the worst for me - one of those and I feel weak and dizzy until I eat something more nutritious.

    Pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving is a tradition for me, but I know I'll be hungry for lunch sooner than usual. I would never think it was a good idea to replace a meal with a dessert on a regular basis. I also don't consume any Starbucks drinks besides black coffee, because I think sweet coffee is icky and even if I did not I dislike wasting calories on drinks. (I also think most cake is way overrated and not worth it, and even good cake is often too sweet for me.)

    But that doesn't mean that pie or cake is "bad food" IMO, although I'd count it as obvious that vegetables have more nutrients that II'm likely to need (since not starving) than they do. There are many other foods that fall into that category -- olive oil, cheese, are a couple of examples -- but thinking of foods as bad foods and good foods just doesn't seem very informative or logical to me. I'd rather think of their overall qualities and functions. (To me pie is a dessert food and thus should be saved for dessert and consumed sparingly when I have room for it or on a special occasion.)
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    The two biggies for me are granola cereal and trail mix. I stopped eating granola cereal as a serving size just wasn't worth the effort and if I ask my wife to buy crack, she knows I mean trail mix. But 300 cal for those tiny bags of the Kirkland stuff?
  • IsETHome
    IsETHome Posts: 386 Member

    The two biggies for me are granola cereal and trail mix. I stopped eating granola cereal as a serving size just wasn't worth the effort and if I ask my wife to buy crack, she knows I mean trail mix. But 300 cal for those tiny bags of the Kirkland stuff?

    Wow we all have food crack. Mine is black Australian licorice....180 cals for 3 tiny pieces. An individual would gain a pound eating one pack. I must confess I did this (over 3 days) and a bag of dill chips... right before I started logging over 30 days ago.

  • IsETHome
    IsETHome Posts: 386 Member
    Mayo, Aoili, any kind of sauce really! Most add about 100 calories for 1tsp to 1tbsp!

    Looking at this reminded me today, in my chick fila splurge that I didn’t add the sauce to my diary....special sauce is 140 calories per small packet - didn’t see that coming.......wahh
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    frau5 wrote: »
    Dilvish wrote: »
    Unrealistic calorie deficit. Why? because eventually you will start adding back more calories as 1200 is not sustainable for the vast majority of people. Especially sedentary people.

    ...

    And last but not least...a sustained calorie deficit at 1200 calories can cause more than just weight loss. Too few calories can cause a host of health issues. So ask yourself, is it worth losing weight if you are compromising your health?

    I'm also on a 1200 calorie eating plan and that was set by my dietician. I've met with her for the past 3 months and she reviews my food logs to make sure the calories I'm ingesting are mostly from veggies and lean meats. There are some days I'm really hungry but most days I'm content with the amount I'm eating. I don't go to bed hungry. It helps to spread out the calories into several smaller meals.

    As for which foods surprised me were high in calories, almost all salad dressings. I love Ranch and haven't found a good low cal version or a good substitute.

    @frau5 have you tried any of the Bolthouse dressings?
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Peanut butter/nut butters 😭

    Am I the only one who thinks that peanut butter isn't really all that high calorie?

    Some peanut butters/nut butters are 170-180 calories & I'll usually have 1.5 servings & find that's more than enough for a rice cake or to eat on its own.

    I have a weird relationship with peanut butter. When I weigh out a portion and stick to it I find it is plenty and as you say not really that bad calorie wise. But if I throw caution to the wind and just mindlessly scoop PB onto bread or into a smoothie or god forbid grab the jar and a spoon, I could easily eat 1,000 calories of it in no time.


    For me PB and dry cereal were shockers. Not for the # of calories per serving, but for how much more than a serving I thought was a serving! Both are foods I don't go near without a food scale.

    I'm always sad at how small a damn serving of cereal is.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    edited December 2018
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    IsETHome wrote: »
    I’m really interested in my initial query. What foods surprised you. X

    For me, it would be restaurant foods more than anything. Trying to find a reasonably sized meal in a restaurant with a calorie amount that doesn't send me over is so difficult. It takes some serious planning, and eating very little for the rest of the day.

    Also trying to find one that isn’t boring taste wise, but still isn’t a truckload of calories.

    I’m shocked at times how high milkshakes are. I think the smallest Arby’s Andes Mint Shake is around 700+ calories?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    IsETHome wrote: »
    I’m really interested in my initial query. What foods surprised you. X

    For me, it would be restaurant foods more than anything. Trying to find a reasonably sized meal in a restaurant with a calorie amount that doesn't send me over is so difficult. It takes some serious planning, and eating very little for the rest of the day.

    Also trying to find one that isn’t boring taste wise.

    I’m shocked at times how high milkshakes are. I think the smallest Arby’s Andes Mint Shake is around 700+ calories?

    Sonic Snicker's Blast is 500 calories for the mini (and that thing is tiny!) I used to get the large :flushed: No wonder I was fat.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    IsETHome wrote: »
    I’m really interested in my initial query. What foods surprised you. X

    For me, it would be restaurant foods more than anything. Trying to find a reasonably sized meal in a restaurant with a calorie amount that doesn't send me over is so difficult. It takes some serious planning, and eating very little for the rest of the day.

    Also trying to find one that isn’t boring taste wise, but still isn’t a truckload of calories.

    I’m shocked at times how high milkshakes are. I think the smallest Arby’s Andes Mint Shake is around 700+ calories?

    Now that you mention it, I think milkshakes might have been my biggest surprise. I mean, I knew they weren't diet food :lol: but when I realized splurging on a milk shake was basically doubling my meal's calories? Holy cow! I find myself bargaining in my head with stuff like that... Ok, it's worth... 300 cals, maybe 400. Look it up... 800 cals! Nope sorry, I have to pass.
  • sytchequeen
    sytchequeen Posts: 526 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I mean, I knew they weren't diet food :lol: but when I realized splurging on a milk shake was basically doubling my meal's calories? Holy cow! I find myself bargaining in my head with stuff like that... Ok, it's worth... 300 cals, maybe 400. Look it up... 800 cals! Nope sorry, I have to pass.

    I hear ya. I think I now splurge on a milkshake a couple times a year at most, and plan my day around it.

  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    IsETHome wrote: »
    I’m really interested in my initial query. What foods surprised you. X

    For me, it would be restaurant foods more than anything. Trying to find a reasonably sized meal in a restaurant with a calorie amount that doesn't send me over is so difficult. It takes some serious planning, and eating very little for the rest of the day.

    Also trying to find one that isn’t boring taste wise, but still isn’t a truckload of calories.

    I’m shocked at times how high milkshakes are. I think the smallest Arby’s Andes Mint Shake is around 700+ calories?

    Now that you mention it, I think milkshakes might have been my biggest surprise. I mean, I knew they weren't diet food :lol: but when I realized splurging on a milk shake was basically doubling my meal's calories? Holy cow! I find myself bargaining in my head with stuff like that... Ok, it's worth... 300 cals, maybe 400. Look it up... 800 cals! Nope sorry, I have to pass.

    It sucks! I could eat almost a half of a container of Breyers/Turkey Hill or a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream & feel more satisfied than drinking a milkshake.

    Even though I don't necessarily love Breyers their Chips Ahoy/Oreo Blasts ice cream is actually really good & I can eat 6 servings for around 780 calories & have a monster bowl of ice cream (usually only do this during TOM/maintenance diet breaks).

  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    Don't avoid anything. Everything in moderation.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Nearly all foods surprised me at first-mainly because I don’t really know what calories meant. I had a vague notion of “healthy” eating, and I’d done weight watchers a few times so I had an idea of foods that were low in points, but I was drinking over 800 calories in just plain regular coffee a day when I started. EVERYTHING was a shock.

    However, after 7 years of this, I can say that I’m quite pleased that I didn’t take the approach of eliminating foods arbitrarily based on calorie count. Or designating foods as “bad” because they are higher in calories. Lots of “healthy” foods are not particularly low in calories and many “unhealthy” foods are.

    On most occasions, I have made alternate choices (using artificial sweetener and no cream for coffee), eating more veggies than starches (personal preference as starches doesn’t typically fill me up), choosing leaner meats/proteins, choosing to avoid (but not entirely eliminate) foods that I don’t enjoy enough to make them worth the calories (peanut butter, nuts, cheese-all of which are perfectly fine foods) also occasionally having cookies, cakes, donuts, ice cream, pizza, etc. because life is way too short to never eat those things again.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    To (attempt) to get this thing back on track, I finally thought of something not worth the calories to me any more that I would be perfectly happy to never eat again. It will get me a lot of hate and woos. I just really don't like them enough to consider spending calories on them that could be put to better use elsewhere (like chocolate).
    Doughnuts.

    I had such high hopes for a friendship based on cake.

    Now I’m questioning everything.

  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,068 Member
    Pasta. 200 calorie serving (weighed dry) is just - pathetic and makes me want to cry big dragon tears.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    To (attempt) to get this thing back on track, I finally thought of something not worth the calories to me any more that I would be perfectly happy to never eat again. It will get me a lot of hate and woos. I just really don't like them enough to consider spending calories on them that could be put to better use elsewhere (like chocolate).
    Doughnuts.

    I had such high hopes for a friendship based on cake.

    Now I’m questioning everything.

    :cry: Please, I can explain!

    How do you feel about kolaches? :smiley:
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    To (attempt) to get this thing back on track, I finally thought of something not worth the calories to me any more that I would be perfectly happy to never eat again. It will get me a lot of hate and woos. I just really don't like them enough to consider spending calories on them that could be put to better use elsewhere (like chocolate).
    Doughnuts.

    I had such high hopes for a friendship based on cake.

    Now I’m questioning everything.

    :cry: Please, I can explain!

    How do you feel about kolaches? :smiley:

    I suppose I can take solace that more donuts are left for me.

    And anything that starts with pastry sounds good to me.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    To (attempt) to get this thing back on track, I finally thought of something not worth the calories to me any more that I would be perfectly happy to never eat again. It will get me a lot of hate and woos. I just really don't like them enough to consider spending calories on them that could be put to better use elsewhere (like chocolate).
    Doughnuts.

    I had such high hopes for a friendship based on cake.

    Now I’m questioning everything.

    :cry: Please, I can explain!

    How do you feel about kolaches? :smiley:

    I suppose I can take solace that more donuts are left for me.

    And anything that starts with pastry sounds good to me.

    Well I've already promised some to @jjpptt2 so you guys might have to share.

    Kolaches are the best! I'm changing my answer from muffins to kolaches, officially.
  • pancakerunner
    pancakerunner Posts: 6,137 Member
    liquid Nyquil has ~100 calories per tablespoon. yikes
  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,899 Member
    liquid Nyquil has ~100 calories per tablespoon. yikes

    Wha?????
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    A big plate of pasta like one would get in an Italian restaurant has 400 calories. I don't think that's so bad. Add a tablespoon of butter, roasted garlic, some clam juice and a half dozen jumbo shrimp and you got 550 calories.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    A big plate of pasta like one would get in an Italian restaurant has 400 calories. I don't think that's so bad. Add a tablespoon of butter, roasted garlic, some clam juice and a half dozen jumbo shrimp and you got 550 calories.

    That really depends on how much pasta you get on your plate:

    https://www.verywellfit.com/the-best-italian-food-for-dieters-3495452
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,271 Member
    edited December 2018
    liquid Nyquil has ~100 calories per tablespoon. yikes


    There are sugar free cough syrups out there if this bothers you.


  • sungoddess337
    sungoddess337 Posts: 62 Member
    Coconut. 1Tbs 210 calories. 21 gm carbs. 1/6 my calories and 1/5 my carbs. 90 gm sodium (I can only have 1500 due to Chronic kidney disease). And I just wanted a little nibble of something and didn’t check. Lesson learned
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    A big plate of pasta like one would get in an Italian restaurant has 400 calories. I don't think that's so bad. Add a tablespoon of butter, roasted garlic, some clam juice and a half dozen jumbo shrimp and you got 550 calories.

    Lol 400 calories of pasta is definitely not 'a big plate'.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    A big plate of pasta like one would get in an Italian restaurant has 400 calories. I don't think that's so bad. Add a tablespoon of butter, roasted garlic, some clam juice and a half dozen jumbo shrimp and you got 550 calories.

    Lol 400 calories of pasta is definitely not 'a big plate'.

    Wishful thinking lol
    That big plate of pasta from proper italian restaurant with sauce and all the trimmings you are most likely looking at 1500cal.

    It's clear the poster means before the sauce, as she goes on to describe what's added.

    I think 200 cal of pasta is a reasonable amount (I weigh it out and am always satisfied), and that 400 cal would be a large amount. I tend to prefer to spend more cals on the sauce and less on the pasta, and always have a large volume of sauce including protein and vegetables.

    IME, Italian restaurants vary a lot on portion size. There are some here that are known for huge amounts, and I think they are more like 3x normal serving, but there are also some (usually the higher end) that are closer to an actual portion size. Calories are still high, but because of high cal ingredients in the rest of the food, not enormous amounts of pasta.
  • pancakerunner
    pancakerunner Posts: 6,137 Member
    edited December 2018
    liquid Nyquil has ~100 calories per tablespoon. yikes


    There are sugar free cough syrups out there if this bothers you.


    Doesn't bother me, was just saying I was surprised by this. Appreciate the insight though... :smiley: