Hidden Calories

Amygrl559
Amygrl559 Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I thought we could share all those sneaky, hidden calories that you typically don't think are in certain foods or that you just forget have calories in them.
Mine are: coffee creamer. The one I use (generic brand, light) have 30 calories per 1 tsp. and I typically pour the creamer in! So I have to log 2-3 servings for that and they add up quick!
Another one is the I can't believe it's not butter, original. That has 70 calories per 1 tbsp. didn't know that before I used it!
Does anyone have any other examples we should look out for?

Replies

  • PeggyWoodson
    PeggyWoodson Posts: 337 Member
    Some vitamins. If you enter your vitamins on your food diary it will let you know which ones have them. Also for fats.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    For me, it's having to remember to keep track of fats and oils when I cook. These aren't exactly hidden calories, but it's very easy for me to forget to log those couple tsps of olive oil or butter, and they sure do add up!
  • Foodie711711
    Foodie711711 Posts: 137 Member
    Sprays..whether it be Pam oil or butter spray, salad dressing sprays whatever. They tell you it's zero calories for half a second spray. Who really uses it like that or time your spray! Upon further inspection it tells you how many calories it does have if you do not watch how much you use!
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.
  • mrswoc
    mrswoc Posts: 11 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    That! And has so many carbohydrates!
  • Amygrl559
    Amygrl559 Posts: 62 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    WOW! I had NO idea!! I use Splenda every single day, for everything. Yikes, I better be more aware of it. Thanks for the tip!
  • Amygrl559
    Amygrl559 Posts: 62 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    That! And has so many carbohydrates!


    How many carbs are in it?
  • cgray
    cgray Posts: 129 Member
    For anyone who accidently swallows toothpaste: 15 calories. Fiber pills: 10-15 calories. Nyquil: 140
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    My fish oil pils are 20 calories each, and I take 2 a day. My D3 and B12 supplements both have calories too. Surprising! I don't log them, but I am aware that there are calories hiding there.
    A lot of seasoning packets you get at the store have calories. Quite a few, actually. But a lot of people are told herbs and spices don't have calories. But they do!
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    That! And has so many carbohydrates!


    How many carbs are in it?

    1 packet =
    3.3 calories
    .9 grams of carbs
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
    For anyone who accidently swallows toothpaste: 15 calories. Fiber pills: 10-15 calories. Nyquil: 140

    Nyquil?? What? I didnt know that. Thank you.

    For me I always forget to log my glucosamine. But it is only 15 calories.
  • sollyn
    sollyn Posts: 179
    for me it is the mayo. Other than that I am quite good, But the one that shocked me was the calories in green tea with lemon. I entered it in to my diary and it came up with 30 cals! Not nice enough to waste 30 cals on! :ohwell:
  • AngelAura777
    AngelAura777 Posts: 225 Member
    You should get unsweetened green tea and maybe use less lemon juice. Green tea contains catechins (search it on google) which reduce body fat! I find hidden calories and hidden sugar in a lot of yoghurt so I stick to light greek style yoghurt. Also anything that claims to be low fat is usually packed with sugar!!
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Err I don't think green tea has calories
    and an entire lemon is like 15?
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    Nyquil: 140

    Wow!
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    I never put down the milk I have in my drinks. I don't use much, and I don't feel a need to be anal about it since I am not trying to lose weight and am losing weight anyways. I also don't log my prune juice. I should do, I suppose, but I consider it a laxative, calories or not, and again, it isn't putting on weight. However, I would certainly be logging these things if I were overweight and trying to lose.
  • Amygrl559
    Amygrl559 Posts: 62 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    That! And has so many carbohydrates!


    How many carbs are in it?

    1 packet =
    3.3 calories
    .9 grams of carbs


    Wow, that's good to know. Thanks for the info!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Nutrition information mislabeling causes TONS of extra calories!

    Portions of food are often bigger than they are labelled. Here's an example:

    I use Mission carb balance tortillas which are 120 cal per 42g tortilla. HOWEVER, I weigh the tortillas and my mean weight per tortilla is 47g. That equates to 112% of the serving size listed, which is 134.4 calories per tortilla vs 120.

    This may seem like a minor issue, but it happens constantly, and all those extra calories add up- especially if you're on a tight calorie budget. Its my understanding that the portions and nutritional information listed are guaranteed minimums- to keep the food companies "honest" that you get at least what you're paying for, but there's no guarantee that your portions aren't bigger than what they're listed as. It's a big problem!

    My solution is to weigh as much of my food as is practical. Even though I have a workaround, it pisses me off that this issue is not more widely publicized.
  • jess1992uga
    jess1992uga Posts: 603 Member
    For me it's Splenda. I use to think it had no calories, because that's how it's advertised. But if something has less than 5 calories, it can be labeled no calorie. It actually has 3.3 calories a packet. It's not a big deal if you only have one or two packets, but I would put 20 in my 20 oz coffee. That's 66 calories and this was almost everyday. Now I rarely drink coffee because of this, because with the Splenda and cream that's a 100 calorie coffee.


    That! And has so many carbohydrates!


    How many carbs are in it?

    1 packet =
    3.3 calories
    .9 grams of carbs

    To avoid any of this I use Truvia. Being in nutrition class for school right now I found out it is trully calorie free because it is made from a plant extract that our bodies can't metabolize and thus it doesn't contribute any calories :) Plus, it's natural and taste better (the real reason I tried it in the first place).
  • chantellove
    chantellove Posts: 63 Member
    For anyone who accidently swallows toothpaste: 15 calories. Fiber pills: 10-15 calories. Nyquil: 140

    WHAT??? Nyquil has 140 calories?!!?!? AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I had no idea! Excuse me while my mind is blown. I just took some last night because I've not been feeling well. :explode:
  • aquasw16
    aquasw16 Posts: 342 Member
    For anyone who accidently swallows toothpaste: 15 calories. Fiber pills: 10-15 calories. Nyquil: 140

    WHAT??? Nyquil has 140 calories?!!?!? AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I had no idea! Excuse me while my mind is blown. I just took some last night because I've not been feeling well. :explode:

    I am thinking if you get the Nyquil gel caps they probably dont have that many calories! Quick, time to google it!
  • Captian_Dathon
    Captian_Dathon Posts: 73
    Splenda, probably. But I add about half a packet to black coffee, or a full packet to a cup of Earl Gray. But I drink so much coffee and tea, now I'm kind of worried... I'll use two or three packets for iced orange, zangy teas! D:

    I've noticed lots of charts online that lots of medicines, common ones, are high cal! D:

    Although, I must say, not logging them at all for the last several months didn't make me not lose weight....?
  • Skeen903
    Skeen903 Posts: 408 Member
    I totally agree with the hidden calories in the oil that I use to cook with. I have switched to Olive Oil in an attempt to at least make them better calories. The other one I have a problem with (and am cutting back on in my food intake) is peanut butter. I used to have it every morning for breakfast until I realized 2 tbsp was almost the equivalent of a Egg McMuffin!

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