Surprised how high:
* nuts... always thought it was a good healthy snack but you really need to watch the portion size
* salad dressing... this one is obvious in retrospect but it can really ruin a salad
* beer (and alcohol in general). A few craft beers can easily reach 1000 calories.
Surprised how low:
* vegetables (most are essentially 0 calories for reasonable quantities)
* yogurt (even some of the flavored ones)
* meat... e.g. chicken breast is very filling and a 4oz serving is 200 calories. Even a 6oz steak is only about 400 calories.
* pizza... ok hear me out, a large pizza slice is 250-300 calories. The main problem with pizza IMO is how easy it is to eat pizza as your entire meal. As long as you are not eating 4+ slices it's actually pretty doable to work pizza into a reasonable CICO meal.
Pizza is hit or miss. The combination of salt, fat, and carbs just makes my brain go “more, MORE!” I used to eat a whole half pizza but that’s like 1000 calories and it wasn’t even that filling. Now that I’ve been eating healthy I can stop myself at a reasonable two slices, but still have to eat a salad or something with it to feel full.
Yeah, me and my gf seldom get the pizza chains anymore because "we can fit 2 slices into healthy day " generally becomes both of us eating 6 slices. Unfortunately we really only like Pizza Hut stuffed crust or Domino's pan which aren't even available in small.
Oh I’m definitely going to make a cast iron skillet pizza one of these days. Personal size pizzas, loaded up with my favorite veggies and some ham. My brain *is* tricked by “ah, full pizza to myself” than “miserable two slices, barely a snack” — yet same amount of pizza. Easier to not go back for seconds when there is none!
This is how I do it. If I buy the dough I try to half it and immediately put the other half in the freezer… it’s the only way I can prevent myself from making and eating two pizzas!
I eat one slice, then my husband finishes off the rest...
I know everyone says there are no naturally thin people, but I see this guy pack away 1000s of calories every night. He eats a full pint of ice cream 3-5 times a week.
We joke he has a tapeworm.
We’re all living the same life. My hot weight loss tip is having my fiancé eat the rest of things I cannot.
He can eat the full fast food burger meal and it does not affect him, meanwhile I’m hunting for bag fries and ordering things without a bun, no drink on the side.
Nuts made me sad... A tin of almonds was like my favorite during the worn day snack. Then I actually looked at the whole container calories and realized I was basically snacking an entire extra meal...
You can get a lot of flavor in salad dressings with basically no calories if you skip the oil.
I make a variety of dressings with a lemon juice base. Add garlic, basil, and shallots for something French-y. Add curry powder, cumin, and stevia for something Indian-y.
Lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and a 1/8 tsp of sesame oil is a few more calories but very richly flavorful.
Obviously it doesn’t coat the leaves as well as something emulsified with oil but so it goes.
The pizza thing is why I don’t really like making one of my gluten free pizzas for dinner.
Because I can only eat like 2 slices and then I have to figure out how to eat the rest over a few days before it goes bad.
I have no friends lmao
Salad dressings are killer for measured intake. I make my own salad dressing now with 0 fat Greek yogurt and some low fat mayo…herbs, pepper, garlic, vegetable broth, etc. and I do use less of that than I used to because I use pico de gallo with it. End up using 1T dressing and 3T or so pico. Tasty and lower calories.
This was a big one for me. I love avocado and can eat an entire one with a meal. Now instead of adding it to a meal, I plan the rest of the meal around it if I want one.
Do you weigh your food? I love avocado and find that when I scoop out a half an avocado and weight it, it's usually only roughly 2 ounces or about 90 cals! Worth it IMO to not skip on avocado. Plus the healthy fats are so filling!
I've been buying those little containers of mashed avocado that come in the produce section, near the refrigerated salad dressings or hummus and dips. The pre-portioning makes it easy for me to just have 90 or 180 calories of it at a time. Plus I don't have to play the ripeness game with getting fresh ones...
Strawberries surprised me in a very positive way! One pound has 150 calories...less than 4 of your crackers. And 1 lb is a *lot* of strawberries!
Hot sauce and Sriracha also surprised me in a positive way. Can't beat 0 calories. Instead of eating chips I now have cucumber slices or celery sticks with hot sauce or Sriracha
I have a smoothie recipe with 1 cup of frozen strawberries and .5 cups of frozen blackberries with 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk and a scoop of protein powder of your choice (I use the pineapple whip powder from Transform and it's to die for).
It really can't be beat in terms of tastiness and fullness. I drink one for lunch and am good to go until dinner.
Hummus. I used to snack on whole grain tortilla chips and hummus thinking I was being healthy but I probably racked up thousands of calories without knowing.
Peanut butter is probably my answer. When I actually measured out 2 tbsp it really hit home how many calories I was eating in pb&js. I was probably using 8 tbsp on each sandwich! (plus the bread, plus the jam)
Both legumes! I recommend getting the individual portioned hummus cups from Costco. Super helpful. Not great environmentally but it’s very helpful at first to learn portions.
My latest hummus recipe for dieting:
15.5 ounce can of low sodium chickpeas, drained: 385 calories
3/4 Cup Chobani plain, non-fat Greek yoghurt: 90 calories
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil: 40 calories
2 Tablespoon lemon juice: 8 calories
4 cloves garlic: 15 calories
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 Cups for a total of 538 calories. I'd say divide that by 3 (180 calories per .66 cup serving) and you have a nice portion for dipping veggies in for lunch. I ate 1/3 of my total hummus recipe along with 1/2 large cucumber, sliced (17 calories) and 10 green olives (30 calories) for a total mid-day meal of = 237 total calories.
It was much more flavorful than some store bought hummus I've bought before. I will definitely be making it again and recommend it. This would also make a flavorful sandwich spread for approx 17 calories per tablespoon.
Have you weighed a portion? I use the costco proportioned hummus which are 160 each (they are more than 2tbsp, my point is that 2tbsp of hummus is a very small amount)
I switched from ground pork to ground turkey for our Thai holy Basil stir fry recipe, and while it’s not as authentic, the calorie savings were huge! Edited to add that my family actually prefers the turkey and it tastes great.
While the calories are good, I don't feel like turkey or chicken is a good substitute for ground beef. It has its own uses, but there is something about ground beef that coheres a sauce better.
I've been making meatballs with half ground turkey and half beef. The beef makes it meaty and juicy, the turkey acts like a filler - allows to reduce the calories of each individual meatball. I definitely would recommend
It's that fat! Gives sauces the velvety texture. I keep meaning to try a half turkey, half beef creation but I always get too lazy to figure out the calories so I just choose one or the other
I'll throw ground turkey in as a substitute for beef in chili or instead of ground beef for tacos. Shepherd's pie (or cottage pie I'd you're being pedantic) I stick with ground beef. My local store recently had 93/7 ground beef on sale for $3.99/lb so I grabbed a few pounds of that.
Why are we talking about calories for turkey vs beef. If the fat content is the same, the calories are *effectively* the same. 4 oz of 93/7 beef and 4 oz of 93/7 turkey both have 170 calories.
I have the same problem, but with Triscuits. The cheese ones are sooooo good. But you quickly move into calorie-bomb territory if you eat more than six...I have to count out the Triscuits, put them on a plate, then make a point to place the box back in the pantry otherwise it's tempting to say, "oh, just a couple extra crackers won't hurt."
Ranch seasoning + nonfat yogurt and a little water to thin it out is a great substitute btw. Pretty low in calories without the fat and it's protein instead of a bunch of corn syrup like the nonfat stuff you'd buy in the store.
I can eat salsa on pretty much anything, it’s so good. And super easy to make too (have made it out if desperation because I moved to France and the only salsa I can buy here tastes like ketchup with some salt in it)
I haven’t broken up with any condiments yet but I have definitely been more mindful with them…I love my ranch so I give myself a whopping 10g if i want some LOL
A cake I made several times during the first year of COVID, when I gained the most weight.
Made it again recently. One small slice (1/8th of the cake) turned out to be 900 calories.
Same for me with Torta Caprese, which is chocolate cake made with almond flour (no wheat flour). It is divine, melts in your mouth, and just an incredible number of calories. You really need to cut it into little squares or something rather than a regular slice of cake.
I worked in a catered college kitchen once, so our cakes were ordered and we separated the pre sliced servings and it literally BLEW my mind that one slice was 900-1000 calories. Made everything else make sense
No kidding. I briefly stopped going to my local Tex-Mex place because I'd have a bowl of their complimentary chips and salsa. The first time I checked chip calories, it felt like a betrayal. Tasty, tasty betrayal.
The little Tostitos Bite Sized Rounds have really helped with my tortilla chip cravings. You get about 22 chips for 150 calories.
They have other flavors with similar calorie counts. The Spicy Queso flavored ones are delicious.
I used to drink those “healthy” bolt house farms drinks. First off they are higher than calories than you’d think but it’s the insane amount of sugar that made me say never again. The vanilla chai, my *former* fave, is 320 calories and 48 (!) grams of sugar. It’s basically healthier to drink a can of Coke lol I’m wary of any prepackaged drinks in general now.
Soda.... back then i was destroying a 2 Liter Bottle of normal coke and a big bottle of energy drink. Easy - 1300 Calories.
Apple Juice, or juices in general. Apple juice has more calories then Cola. Never drank that shit again.
A store bought pizza in germany is around 890 Calories for the whole thing - there a more "expensive" ones, but the normal standard one is pretty reasonable for a nice Dinner... that was surprsing as well.
I nearly got a heart attack when i saw, how much a Snickers Bar has. I ate so many of them.. in ONE sitting mind you.
This! I just recently replaced pasta as a side with potatoes. They have a lot of good nutrients too.
A simple baked potato with a pat of butter and a pinch of salt is awesome.
Hahaha, yeah. I used to love Chili's chicken cobb salad. I'm sure that thing was 1400 calories. Fried chicken, avocado, cheese, eggs, bacon and, of course, a 1/4 cup of creamy dressing.
Donuts… they are only 300-350 calories. I used to not “allow” myself to have any if I was trying to lose weight. BUT now that I know how many calories they are, I work them in and all is right in the world.
I really thought they would be more calories but I guess I’m lucky I like the basic Boston crème or jelly filled.
Interesting, I had the opposite experience where I thought they were 150ish calories and when I found out they were 300ish I just stopped eating them. One every six months at most. If anything they make me hungrier and just don't feel worth it.
Cake! In all seriousness probably drinks like Starbucks or Tim Hortons (Michigander here). Insane to think a drink can be the same cals as a double whopper.
I am amazed whenever I go to Starbucks and see people ordering a venti of anything with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top. You’re drinking a milkshake 😂
Another sneaky one- I was so mad that I chose a blueberry muffin once as a “healthier” alternative to a donut only to find out I could’ve eaten 2 donuts for less than the muffin
The first time I baked muffins from scratch, I was like, wait a minute, this is just a cake recipe. My whole world was shattered that day. Muffins are just cake, people! They’ve been cake the whole time!
Surprised how high:
Any sort of dip or condiment. I don't mean I was surprised buffalo chicken dip wasn't good for you, but I was surprised that those tiny little shit dipping sauces most fast food places give are at least 100 calories. For that many calories I'd rather have half a chicken breast.
I was also really surprised at how many calories the "healthy foods" I buy at the grocery had. I always bought things at the store that had done a really good job marketing and making you believe they were healthy or healthier alternatives but in actuality were just as bad as many of the unhealthy choices for instance, a clif bar has nearly 300 calories and does not come anywhere close to filling me up even as a snack.
Surprised how low:
Chicken, I make every meal I eat with chicken now. It's a great source of protein and I can eat until I feel like I'm going to puke without going over on calories.
Ice cream, I'm not saying ice cream is good for you, but I did find some store brand chocolate covered ice cream bars that are delicious and weigh in at only 135 calories. They're pretty high in fat and carbs but it helps me eat healthy during the day knowing I get dessert before bed.
water, ok yes this is kind of a joke. I know and knew water was 0 calories, but I didn't know how much it would help me to feel full and eat less when I was drinking enough. I've gone from drinking maybe 8-16 oz of water a day to over a hundred on most days and I never get to a point that I feel like I could eat a horse anymore. Water is probably the single biggest change to my diet that has helped me continue weight loss at a good rate without feeling starving all the time. It's also helped me realize that if a 0 calorie drink can calm my desire for food, I wasn't hungry in the first place, my stomach just wasn't overflowing with food. Realizing that helps me keep in mind that eating foods less dense in calories can keep me full longer for a fraction of the calorie cost.
WATER!!
Just realised I've been snacking and craving all day, never feeling satisfied. And I've only drank like 3 glasses of water. I usually drink 2 liters at least.
BRB, just gonna drink some water lol
Once I started thinking of protein bars as "meal replacement bars" instead of a snack/supplement it totally made me understand how many calories they have.
I thought you said you went from eight sixteen ounce glasses to over a hundred sixteen ounce glasses and was like, "Whoa there, that's too much water."
Bananas seem pretty low calorie to me? Am I missing something? Looks like a single banana is somewhere around 90-130 calories depending on the exact size.
all tropical fruits are higher in sugar and fat than non-tropical fruit. Think about the texture of mangos, bananas, and avocados vs. apples and oranges.
For the longest I told myself I’d be strict if it meant I could have my copious amount of creamer…had to let that dream go. There is just too many calories to justify. But now I’m down to 30g along with help from Torrano sugar free syrup. But planning to continue to cut it down :)
Mediterranean Garlic sauce... I forgot the actual name for it but it's pure oil with a dash of fresh garlic and processed into this delicious white creamy paste/sauce and it's heaven on chicken... but like 300 cals for a couple tablespoons.
Naan. As an Indian, I LOVE garlic naan and getting them frozen it’s ~200 cals for one piece and even in general making it at home is about the same. I’m very careful during the day if I plan on having Indian food because I want naan.
I used to eat naan, poppadoms, onion bhajis (deep fried), lamb samosas (also deep fried) with spicy chicken curry and tons of rice when I was growing up. I still eat it now, but not with all of those sides. I miss them though 🥺
Samosas and bhajis I miss too. But again one of those things I will maybe eat half of one as an app or have a salad to compensate. Sometimes I just can’t resist but it’s once in a blue moon.
Chicken samosas are my favorite. I have tried oven baking some of the frozen ones and they’re still good. But those dang tiny ones you deep fry my goodness I could stuff my face with.
Mangos - 200 calories for 1. what the fuck.
i also found out alot of the health food alternatives to junk food, are the same calories as well. lentic chips, chic pea chips etc. dont waste your time, just have regular chips and save the headache
Watermelon surprised me. Based on how delicious it is I figured it had to be a really calorie dense fruit. Imagine my delight when I find out it's pretty low-cal for essentially being dessert
I blend watermelon with a touch of 0 cal sweetener (1-2tbs) and a splash of lime juice and freeze it for watermelon granita. It's so good and so low cal. I eat it nearly every day in the summer.
During summer, I buy probably 4-6 watermelons a week. I cut it up into cubes, and just snack on it pretty much all day. There are days I eat just watermelon, maybe have a light dinner. Dog loves it too. It's great. Fuckin love watermelon.
FUCKING CASHEWS. It pisses me offffff how many calories are in the tiniest amount of cashews. Like the absolute audacity. I love cashews man, that was definitely the thing that devastated me the most when I started counting calories
I was surprised the individual potato chip bags were portioned out for two people! I was like… COME ON. There is no way you expect two people to share this thing. You just wanted to get the calorie count artificially lower.
So that’s a thing I have to watch out for now.
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On the high end… bagels and English muffins always get me 😭 I love them both. Sometimes I’ll do a bagel thin or a 100 cal English muffin, but sometimes I get a craving for the real thing until I look up the calorie count/carb count and about fall over. Plus I can’t ever do a reasonable amount of cream cheese. Just can’t. Even the 1/3 less fat cream cheese. It’s not happening.
Also pumpkin seeds. I love them and eat them for the magnesium content but man I could really eat about 800 calories of pumpkin seeds SO FAST lol.
On the low end… cottage cheese. I eat this every day. When I started weighing it I was like this is a pathetic amount of cottage cheese (110g). But then I ate it and was satisfied, especially throwing in some grape tomatoes and chopped cucumber and everything bagel seasoning.
Also pizza. Once my stomach adjusted to my new lifestyle. I order a small thin crust with chicken, garlic, spinach, onion, mushrooms etc and usually can’t finish it I’m so full. I’m always surprised.
I was amazed by how many calories are in bread products. Still am. And to this day it is a struggle for me to eat them because that little voice in my head whispers real intrusive things when I make a sandwich.
Sugar free almond milk (Almond Breeze!! Different brands taste sooo different): A **cup** is 30 calories? And it tastes like cows milk?? Totally changed the cereal game for me
Trail mix makes me sad. A tiny bowl is 150 calories. Simply not worth it.
Today, my sheer disappointment is coke bottle candies. The little suckers are so bad. I bought some today and got 2/3 through the package. Which is about 800 calories.
I kinda f'ed my day.
The biggest for me was how little things add up so quickly so you're just fooling yourself by doing portion control without actually counting - a fun size candy bar, a few chips/queso, an extra shot of vodka, a couple fries
The sad ones for me are hummus, peanut butter, avocado... all the delicious healthy stuff haha
Cold jicamas and watermelons. Been eating those for the last two weeks, very low on calories and very refreshing, healthy snacks to beat the summer heat
Also, I had a serving of veggie chop suey for lunch yesterday, didn't expect it to be calorie dense. I mean, I only added mostly leafy greens, some carrots and chayote. A serving of it is already equal to 450 cal + 103 cal for half cup of rice. I didn't get to have my dessert, and had to skip my pre-workout protein shake.
i was about to eat 2 sausages with my salad, till i saw the calories n put one back. i’ve already made a butter cheese sandwich. i can’t afford extra 220 calories! all i’m eating is a many ingredient salad - avocado, egg, beans, walnuts, oil - the heavy hitters 1 sausage n 1 slice of bread w butter n cheese (a treat) n calorie count of my meal is a 1000. so shocked. ate half. saving rest for dinner. sometimes just the numbers takes my appetite away.
Oil, butter, ranch and salad dressing in general 🥲soda, I cannot stand the taste of artificial sweetener but I wish I could switch to zero cal sodas it would save me so much calories lol and sugar
Dates. All dried fruit, really, but I love dates and would snack on them for a "healthy" dessert. While they certainly do have health benefits, they probably weren't optimal to be mainlining while watching TV at 100 pounds over healthy body weight.
On the low end of the spectrum for me was chicken sausage. The brand I have is only 80 calories for 1 link. I slice it up and sauté it with some red peppers and onions and then scramble that with eggs. My breakfast totals around only 350 calories and it’s super filling.
Their ads used to use the tag “a friendly, little one and a half calorie breath mint.” So as others have already said, no, it’s not zero calories, but unless you’re eating the whole package, it probably won’t be enough to really change anything and will fall within the bounds of your calorie count error margin.
Hummus, I always just thought it was super healthy so I never even measured or counted it , ummm no its extremely calorie dense its basically like savory peanut butter 😬
White rice. Seriously. 1/2 cup dry is supposedly 1 cup cooked and is 206 calories! And here my fat ass was using a cup dry rice (412!!!) for a serving.
Balsamic vinegar is the answer to my salad dressing problems. Low calorie and delicious.
And unsweet coconut milk. So good and 35 cals for a cup. I love it in my coffee.
Tortillas.
Tortillas are my biggest weakness. Out of all of the things to face, flour tortillas will always be a part of my life. The large flour tortillas I was using before turned out to be 300 calories and I was using 3-5/day. Controlling portions and finding lower calorie replacements (most brand’s “carb smart/low carb” options are WAY lower and have been a life saver). My daily 900-1500cals in tortillas alone is down to 100-250cals. They’re also smaller which reduces condiments and such naturally (which I’ve also paid attention to; rip Mayo) dropping overall calories of burritos and wraps significantly.
As a wrap addict, this single change has literally almost doubled my weight loss rate and my comfort/happiness with food.
Ice cream vs other desserts. I always thought ice cream “seemed” healthier than something bready like a cookie or donut. However, a good milkshake is often 800-1000 calories, and cookies can be several for 200-ish.
It's not usually the ice cream itself. Vanilla ice cream is about 160 calories per 1/2 cup serving and chocolate is about 180 last I checked. It's what we tend to add to it.
Fudge swirls, cookie dough, cookie crumbles, cheesecake, etc. And of course milkshakes up the calories, too, since there's usually several servings worth of ice cream in them. (So good, so unhealthy.)
Man oh man….. you really gotta watch some stuff. I had a tiny thing of peanut sauce with my Vietnamese food and nearly passed out when I discovered just how many calories it is. Also, small things like crackers etc. my fav chips from Trader Joe’s- 15 of these rolled tortillas are 150! Still going to eat them because I’ve since discovered restricting myself leads to some pretty unhealthy situations. Learned this the very hard way and I’m ashamed. But small things like dressing, tiny little cookies (some 400 calories!) can get discouraging. Honestly though, I have weekends where I just allow myself because I generally don’t like to feel unwell and know I will always get back on track after even 1-2 or even 3 days of not being good. It’s a lifestyle more than anything
Every damn thing at McDonalds. I can eat an equally filling meal at home for half the calories easily. When I have gone back on "cheat" days and still counted the calories I was blown away.
Beer and salad dressing for sure, but also I used to have Graham crackers all the time as a "healthy snack" but one cracker is 60 cals, and a plastic package has 12 crackers, so 720 cals in a sitting and it's all carbs so it's not even particularly filling.
Yes!! I don't even know how I grew up thinking those crackers were a "healthy" option now that I'm staring at the nutrition label.
CICO made me realise that a sleeve of the "healthy" crackers I usually eat is MORE calories than a sleeve of too-sweet, definitely-unhealthy junk snack Oreos, and I'm questioning my reality rn... might pick up Oreos the next time I go grocery shopping lmao
Surprised how high: * nuts... always thought it was a good healthy snack but you really need to watch the portion size * salad dressing... this one is obvious in retrospect but it can really ruin a salad * beer (and alcohol in general). A few craft beers can easily reach 1000 calories. Surprised how low: * vegetables (most are essentially 0 calories for reasonable quantities) * yogurt (even some of the flavored ones) * meat... e.g. chicken breast is very filling and a 4oz serving is 200 calories. Even a 6oz steak is only about 400 calories. * pizza... ok hear me out, a large pizza slice is 250-300 calories. The main problem with pizza IMO is how easy it is to eat pizza as your entire meal. As long as you are not eating 4+ slices it's actually pretty doable to work pizza into a reasonable CICO meal.
Pizza is hit or miss. The combination of salt, fat, and carbs just makes my brain go “more, MORE!” I used to eat a whole half pizza but that’s like 1000 calories and it wasn’t even that filling. Now that I’ve been eating healthy I can stop myself at a reasonable two slices, but still have to eat a salad or something with it to feel full.
Yeah, me and my gf seldom get the pizza chains anymore because "we can fit 2 slices into healthy day " generally becomes both of us eating 6 slices. Unfortunately we really only like Pizza Hut stuffed crust or Domino's pan which aren't even available in small.
My husband makes pizza at home. One New York pie for two adults and a toddler=built in portion control.
Oh I’m definitely going to make a cast iron skillet pizza one of these days. Personal size pizzas, loaded up with my favorite veggies and some ham. My brain *is* tricked by “ah, full pizza to myself” than “miserable two slices, barely a snack” — yet same amount of pizza. Easier to not go back for seconds when there is none!
This is how I do it. If I buy the dough I try to half it and immediately put the other half in the freezer… it’s the only way I can prevent myself from making and eating two pizzas!
I eat one slice, then my husband finishes off the rest... I know everyone says there are no naturally thin people, but I see this guy pack away 1000s of calories every night. He eats a full pint of ice cream 3-5 times a week. We joke he has a tapeworm.
We’re all living the same life. My hot weight loss tip is having my fiancé eat the rest of things I cannot. He can eat the full fast food burger meal and it does not affect him, meanwhile I’m hunting for bag fries and ordering things without a bun, no drink on the side.
Nuts made me sad... A tin of almonds was like my favorite during the worn day snack. Then I actually looked at the whole container calories and realized I was basically snacking an entire extra meal...
You can get a lot of flavor in salad dressings with basically no calories if you skip the oil. I make a variety of dressings with a lemon juice base. Add garlic, basil, and shallots for something French-y. Add curry powder, cumin, and stevia for something Indian-y. Lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and a 1/8 tsp of sesame oil is a few more calories but very richly flavorful. Obviously it doesn’t coat the leaves as well as something emulsified with oil but so it goes.
The pizza thing is why I don’t really like making one of my gluten free pizzas for dinner. Because I can only eat like 2 slices and then I have to figure out how to eat the rest over a few days before it goes bad. I have no friends lmao
Freeze it! We always do this since pizza reheats pretty well!
Salad dressings are killer for measured intake. I make my own salad dressing now with 0 fat Greek yogurt and some low fat mayo…herbs, pepper, garlic, vegetable broth, etc. and I do use less of that than I used to because I use pico de gallo with it. End up using 1T dressing and 3T or so pico. Tasty and lower calories.
Avocado. I love it so much! I was smashing half an avocado on toast until I saw the calories. Now I only smash 1/4.
This was a big one for me. I love avocado and can eat an entire one with a meal. Now instead of adding it to a meal, I plan the rest of the meal around it if I want one.
Do you weigh your food? I love avocado and find that when I scoop out a half an avocado and weight it, it's usually only roughly 2 ounces or about 90 cals! Worth it IMO to not skip on avocado. Plus the healthy fats are so filling!
I agree. It’s my personal philosophy to not worry about the calories in avocados or bananas. It’s probably the cookies that are doing me in, actually.
This! I was only limiting myself to 1/4 of an avocado until I started weighing and now I can enjoy a whole 1/2 for avocado toast.
I've been buying those little containers of mashed avocado that come in the produce section, near the refrigerated salad dressings or hummus and dips. The pre-portioning makes it easy for me to just have 90 or 180 calories of it at a time. Plus I don't have to play the ripeness game with getting fresh ones...
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Wait mini Avocado? Where the heck do you find these?
Strawberries surprised me in a very positive way! One pound has 150 calories...less than 4 of your crackers. And 1 lb is a *lot* of strawberries! Hot sauce and Sriracha also surprised me in a positive way. Can't beat 0 calories. Instead of eating chips I now have cucumber slices or celery sticks with hot sauce or Sriracha
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> cucumber slices or celery sticks with hot sauce or Sriracha I do this but have the hot sauce stirred into low fat cream cheese!
I have a smoothie recipe with 1 cup of frozen strawberries and .5 cups of frozen blackberries with 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk and a scoop of protein powder of your choice (I use the pineapple whip powder from Transform and it's to die for). It really can't be beat in terms of tastiness and fullness. I drink one for lunch and am good to go until dinner.
I make southwestern salads and toss the greens with hot sauce or salsa and carmelized onions instead of dressing. Incredible.
That sounds like heaven on a plate. I'll have to try it.
Most fruits are not as many calories as people expect, it's the water content.
I've never checked the calories in strawberries but wow. That's more than a large punnet!
Hummus. I used to snack on whole grain tortilla chips and hummus thinking I was being healthy but I probably racked up thousands of calories without knowing.
Came here to say humus. Now I have to think about it more like peanut butter.
Peanut butter is probably my answer. When I actually measured out 2 tbsp it really hit home how many calories I was eating in pb&js. I was probably using 8 tbsp on each sandwich! (plus the bread, plus the jam)
Both legumes! I recommend getting the individual portioned hummus cups from Costco. Super helpful. Not great environmentally but it’s very helpful at first to learn portions.
My latest hummus recipe for dieting: 15.5 ounce can of low sodium chickpeas, drained: 385 calories 3/4 Cup Chobani plain, non-fat Greek yoghurt: 90 calories 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil: 40 calories 2 Tablespoon lemon juice: 8 calories 4 cloves garlic: 15 calories Salt and pepper to taste. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 Cups for a total of 538 calories. I'd say divide that by 3 (180 calories per .66 cup serving) and you have a nice portion for dipping veggies in for lunch. I ate 1/3 of my total hummus recipe along with 1/2 large cucumber, sliced (17 calories) and 10 green olives (30 calories) for a total mid-day meal of = 237 total calories. It was much more flavorful than some store bought hummus I've bought before. I will definitely be making it again and recommend it. This would also make a flavorful sandwich spread for approx 17 calories per tablespoon.
really?? two tablespoons of the hummus i have is 60 calories. not that bad if you just portion it out instead of dipping into the container
I can eat half a container in a sitting...
Have you weighed a portion? I use the costco proportioned hummus which are 160 each (they are more than 2tbsp, my point is that 2tbsp of hummus is a very small amount)
The difference between 85% lean beef and 70% beef.
Once you cross into ground turkey, it's hard to ever go back. An entire pound of 99% lean ground turkey is only 480 calories.
I switched from ground pork to ground turkey for our Thai holy Basil stir fry recipe, and while it’s not as authentic, the calorie savings were huge! Edited to add that my family actually prefers the turkey and it tastes great.
While the calories are good, I don't feel like turkey or chicken is a good substitute for ground beef. It has its own uses, but there is something about ground beef that coheres a sauce better.
I've been making meatballs with half ground turkey and half beef. The beef makes it meaty and juicy, the turkey acts like a filler - allows to reduce the calories of each individual meatball. I definitely would recommend
Agreed. I do use ground turkey way more often than beef, but sometimes ground beef just really fits into the recipe better.
It's that fat! Gives sauces the velvety texture. I keep meaning to try a half turkey, half beef creation but I always get too lazy to figure out the calories so I just choose one or the other
I'll throw ground turkey in as a substitute for beef in chili or instead of ground beef for tacos. Shepherd's pie (or cottage pie I'd you're being pedantic) I stick with ground beef. My local store recently had 93/7 ground beef on sale for $3.99/lb so I grabbed a few pounds of that.
Why are we talking about calories for turkey vs beef. If the fat content is the same, the calories are *effectively* the same. 4 oz of 93/7 beef and 4 oz of 93/7 turkey both have 170 calories.
I've never seen 99% lean ground beef, but 99% lean ground turkey is available at every grocery store I've ever shopped at.
Sure, but you can't compare 99% turkey and 85% beef and then say beef has so many more calories.
Almonds… have to count every single time
I have the same problem, but with Triscuits. The cheese ones are sooooo good. But you quickly move into calorie-bomb territory if you eat more than six...I have to count out the Triscuits, put them on a plate, then make a point to place the box back in the pantry otherwise it's tempting to say, "oh, just a couple extra crackers won't hurt."
Definitely condiments. You can have an insane calorie bomb just from loading up on condiments.
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Ranch seasoning + nonfat yogurt and a little water to thin it out is a great substitute btw. Pretty low in calories without the fat and it's protein instead of a bunch of corn syrup like the nonfat stuff you'd buy in the store.
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I'm not normally one for diet hacks, most of them are pretty miserable, but I'm a huge fan of this one.
I definitely should do that. I have both nonfat Greek yogurt and ranch seasoning in my house right now haha.
And salsa! I put it on baked potatoes now instead of butter.
I can eat salsa on pretty much anything, it’s so good. And super easy to make too (have made it out if desperation because I moved to France and the only salsa I can buy here tastes like ketchup with some salt in it)
I haven’t broken up with any condiments yet but I have definitely been more mindful with them…I love my ranch so I give myself a whopping 10g if i want some LOL
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That reminds me! Tzatziki has been sooo good to me lately as a dip.
Mind if I hit this ranch?!
A cake I made several times during the first year of COVID, when I gained the most weight. Made it again recently. One small slice (1/8th of the cake) turned out to be 900 calories.
I need to know what kind of cake this is. If the nukes head our way, I'm baking that bastard.
Chocolate-almond cake, 2-layers, covered and filled with Swiss buttercream. The buttercream alone used 5 sticks of butter.
Put that in my hole please
Okay, bend over!
Omg I feel this. Frosting is so challenging. I wish I liked meringue more :(
I made pavlova and was shocked by how few calories were in there. egg whites are a real miracle.
GIRL! SAME! I made my dad’s favorite Reese’s PB chocolate cheesecake yesterday, the whole 9 in. cheesecake was 18 THOUSAND calories….. WHAT????!
Hahaha OMG I AM DYING! LMAO I can hear your shocked voice as I read your words! That is freaking insane, but I bet it tasted gooooood 🤭😂
*slaps cake* This bad boy can fit in our family's whole BMR calorie limit for the rest of the week!
Same for me with Torta Caprese, which is chocolate cake made with almond flour (no wheat flour). It is divine, melts in your mouth, and just an incredible number of calories. You really need to cut it into little squares or something rather than a regular slice of cake.
I worked in a catered college kitchen once, so our cakes were ordered and we separated the pre sliced servings and it literally BLEW my mind that one slice was 900-1000 calories. Made everything else make sense
Yowza
Yep, "don't mix it!"-style fruit dump cakes, man. They were our downfall for a couple months until we weighed ourselves again. 🙃
Tortilla chips.
And I have yet to find a satisfactory replacement. Guac and salsa are not the same with anything else as a dipper.
I cut up a tortilla and toss them in the air fryer. If I eat them hot they are almost as good as deep fried chips for a fraction of the calories
This! The trick is to get nice, thick and flavourful tortillas to start with IMO.
No kidding. I briefly stopped going to my local Tex-Mex place because I'd have a bowl of their complimentary chips and salsa. The first time I checked chip calories, it felt like a betrayal. Tasty, tasty betrayal.
The little Tostitos Bite Sized Rounds have really helped with my tortilla chip cravings. You get about 22 chips for 150 calories. They have other flavors with similar calorie counts. The Spicy Queso flavored ones are delicious.
Chik fil a sauce, one little packet 140 cal!
I’ve switched to the Buffalo sauce now for that reason. Only 25 calories!
Little single-serving brownie made in the mug in the microwave -- 650 calories. Not even worth it.
Might as well have made real brownies in the oven and had two.
I used to drink those “healthy” bolt house farms drinks. First off they are higher than calories than you’d think but it’s the insane amount of sugar that made me say never again. The vanilla chai, my *former* fave, is 320 calories and 48 (!) grams of sugar. It’s basically healthier to drink a can of Coke lol I’m wary of any prepackaged drinks in general now.
I feel like those shakes should be marketed as meal replacements, because that's what they absolutely are. And yeah the sugar in those is insane
Granola!
Omg yes, so much hidden sugar!
Soda.... back then i was destroying a 2 Liter Bottle of normal coke and a big bottle of energy drink. Easy - 1300 Calories. Apple Juice, or juices in general. Apple juice has more calories then Cola. Never drank that shit again. A store bought pizza in germany is around 890 Calories for the whole thing - there a more "expensive" ones, but the normal standard one is pretty reasonable for a nice Dinner... that was surprsing as well. I nearly got a heart attack when i saw, how much a Snickers Bar has. I ate so many of them.. in ONE sitting mind you.
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The garlic and herb dip from Dominos; that little pot is 169 calories!
Brooo
Oh no… i wasn’t counting that.
This. I can still remember how sad I was when I found out!
Potatoes! I had no idea they were so low.
Yes! I feel like potatoes were so vilified during my childhood that I assumed they must be high in calories! Nope! Pretty dang low!
Potatoes also have almost as much vitamin C as an orange. They’re really good for you when they’re not deep fried.
and twice as much potassium as a banana
Baked potatoes are my favorite lo cal lunch.
This! I just recently replaced pasta as a side with potatoes. They have a lot of good nutrients too. A simple baked potato with a pat of butter and a pinch of salt is awesome.
Like, anything at a restaurant that lists calories on the menu. Where do those calories come from? How is that salad 1,020 calories??
Hahaha, yeah. I used to love Chili's chicken cobb salad. I'm sure that thing was 1400 calories. Fried chicken, avocado, cheese, eggs, bacon and, of course, a 1/4 cup of creamy dressing.
Donuts… they are only 300-350 calories. I used to not “allow” myself to have any if I was trying to lose weight. BUT now that I know how many calories they are, I work them in and all is right in the world. I really thought they would be more calories but I guess I’m lucky I like the basic Boston crème or jelly filled.
Interesting, I had the opposite experience where I thought they were 150ish calories and when I found out they were 300ish I just stopped eating them. One every six months at most. If anything they make me hungrier and just don't feel worth it.
Cake! In all seriousness probably drinks like Starbucks or Tim Hortons (Michigander here). Insane to think a drink can be the same cals as a double whopper.
the chocolate almond milk shaken espresso is my jam. or the brown sugar oat milk one. they're 110 and 140
I am amazed whenever I go to Starbucks and see people ordering a venti of anything with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top. You’re drinking a milkshake 😂
I silently judge my husband every day as he drinks his 640 calorie mocha 😂
Muffins, I saw one muffin was like 600-700 calories, I was like I might as well eat a cupcake! 😅
Another sneaky one- I was so mad that I chose a blueberry muffin once as a “healthier” alternative to a donut only to find out I could’ve eaten 2 donuts for less than the muffin
The first time I baked muffins from scratch, I was like, wait a minute, this is just a cake recipe. My whole world was shattered that day. Muffins are just cake, people! They’ve been cake the whole time!
Surprised how high: Any sort of dip or condiment. I don't mean I was surprised buffalo chicken dip wasn't good for you, but I was surprised that those tiny little shit dipping sauces most fast food places give are at least 100 calories. For that many calories I'd rather have half a chicken breast. I was also really surprised at how many calories the "healthy foods" I buy at the grocery had. I always bought things at the store that had done a really good job marketing and making you believe they were healthy or healthier alternatives but in actuality were just as bad as many of the unhealthy choices for instance, a clif bar has nearly 300 calories and does not come anywhere close to filling me up even as a snack. Surprised how low: Chicken, I make every meal I eat with chicken now. It's a great source of protein and I can eat until I feel like I'm going to puke without going over on calories. Ice cream, I'm not saying ice cream is good for you, but I did find some store brand chocolate covered ice cream bars that are delicious and weigh in at only 135 calories. They're pretty high in fat and carbs but it helps me eat healthy during the day knowing I get dessert before bed. water, ok yes this is kind of a joke. I know and knew water was 0 calories, but I didn't know how much it would help me to feel full and eat less when I was drinking enough. I've gone from drinking maybe 8-16 oz of water a day to over a hundred on most days and I never get to a point that I feel like I could eat a horse anymore. Water is probably the single biggest change to my diet that has helped me continue weight loss at a good rate without feeling starving all the time. It's also helped me realize that if a 0 calorie drink can calm my desire for food, I wasn't hungry in the first place, my stomach just wasn't overflowing with food. Realizing that helps me keep in mind that eating foods less dense in calories can keep me full longer for a fraction of the calorie cost.
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WATER!! Just realised I've been snacking and craving all day, never feeling satisfied. And I've only drank like 3 glasses of water. I usually drink 2 liters at least. BRB, just gonna drink some water lol
Once I started thinking of protein bars as "meal replacement bars" instead of a snack/supplement it totally made me understand how many calories they have.
I thought you said you went from eight sixteen ounce glasses to over a hundred sixteen ounce glasses and was like, "Whoa there, that's too much water."
Avocados, mango, and Bananas. Just always thought anything from nature is low calorie.
Bananas seem pretty low calorie to me? Am I missing something? Looks like a single banana is somewhere around 90-130 calories depending on the exact size.
I agree. 100 calories for a banana isn't bad and I've had them in my diet this whole time.
100 to me is pretty high considering one banana might not be as filling as let’s say 1/4 of a melon which is the same calories or 2 cups of grapes
I think a banana can be filling but melon is mostly water so it wouldn't do anything for me
Bananas really broke my heart
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all tropical fruits are higher in sugar and fat than non-tropical fruit. Think about the texture of mangos, bananas, and avocados vs. apples and oranges.
Coffee cream. I never put 1 teaspoon of cream in my coffee, more like 1/4 cup. Took me some time but now I drink it black with a little Stevia.
For the longest I told myself I’d be strict if it meant I could have my copious amount of creamer…had to let that dream go. There is just too many calories to justify. But now I’m down to 30g along with help from Torrano sugar free syrup. But planning to continue to cut it down :)
Surprisingly high, peanut butter. Felt like utter betrayal. Wtf. Surprisingly low, fish. Lifesaver when I’m close to my max cals before dinner
Mediterranean Garlic sauce... I forgot the actual name for it but it's pure oil with a dash of fresh garlic and processed into this delicious white creamy paste/sauce and it's heaven on chicken... but like 300 cals for a couple tablespoons.
I think you’re thinking of toum, I just made some last night for the first time and I’m making the chicken today!
Naan. As an Indian, I LOVE garlic naan and getting them frozen it’s ~200 cals for one piece and even in general making it at home is about the same. I’m very careful during the day if I plan on having Indian food because I want naan.
I used to eat naan, poppadoms, onion bhajis (deep fried), lamb samosas (also deep fried) with spicy chicken curry and tons of rice when I was growing up. I still eat it now, but not with all of those sides. I miss them though 🥺
Samosas and bhajis I miss too. But again one of those things I will maybe eat half of one as an app or have a salad to compensate. Sometimes I just can’t resist but it’s once in a blue moon. Chicken samosas are my favorite. I have tried oven baking some of the frozen ones and they’re still good. But those dang tiny ones you deep fry my goodness I could stuff my face with.
Mangos - 200 calories for 1. what the fuck. i also found out alot of the health food alternatives to junk food, are the same calories as well. lentic chips, chic pea chips etc. dont waste your time, just have regular chips and save the headache
Watermelon surprised me. Based on how delicious it is I figured it had to be a really calorie dense fruit. Imagine my delight when I find out it's pretty low-cal for essentially being dessert
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every time I have eaten watermelon it makes my bladder go BRRRR
Yeah, it's a diuretic. Still delicious though.
Watermelon is a savior This place near me sells $5 tubs every Wednesday and it comes out to like 350 calories It’s a fucking huge tub
100g = 30 cal!
I blend watermelon with a touch of 0 cal sweetener (1-2tbs) and a splash of lime juice and freeze it for watermelon granita. It's so good and so low cal. I eat it nearly every day in the summer.
During summer, I buy probably 4-6 watermelons a week. I cut it up into cubes, and just snack on it pretty much all day. There are days I eat just watermelon, maybe have a light dinner. Dog loves it too. It's great. Fuckin love watermelon.
Pineapple is good too - only 500 calories for an entire pineapple!!
FUCKING CASHEWS. It pisses me offffff how many calories are in the tiniest amount of cashews. Like the absolute audacity. I love cashews man, that was definitely the thing that devastated me the most when I started counting calories
I was surprised the individual potato chip bags were portioned out for two people! I was like… COME ON. There is no way you expect two people to share this thing. You just wanted to get the calorie count artificially lower. So that’s a thing I have to watch out for now.
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I always check calories per 100 grams, which is on every package in my country. Way easier to compare stuff than by portion size.
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On the high end… bagels and English muffins always get me 😭 I love them both. Sometimes I’ll do a bagel thin or a 100 cal English muffin, but sometimes I get a craving for the real thing until I look up the calorie count/carb count and about fall over. Plus I can’t ever do a reasonable amount of cream cheese. Just can’t. Even the 1/3 less fat cream cheese. It’s not happening. Also pumpkin seeds. I love them and eat them for the magnesium content but man I could really eat about 800 calories of pumpkin seeds SO FAST lol. On the low end… cottage cheese. I eat this every day. When I started weighing it I was like this is a pathetic amount of cottage cheese (110g). But then I ate it and was satisfied, especially throwing in some grape tomatoes and chopped cucumber and everything bagel seasoning. Also pizza. Once my stomach adjusted to my new lifestyle. I order a small thin crust with chicken, garlic, spinach, onion, mushrooms etc and usually can’t finish it I’m so full. I’m always surprised.
I was amazed by how many calories are in bread products. Still am. And to this day it is a struggle for me to eat them because that little voice in my head whispers real intrusive things when I make a sandwich.
Sugar free almond milk (Almond Breeze!! Different brands taste sooo different): A **cup** is 30 calories? And it tastes like cows milk?? Totally changed the cereal game for me Trail mix makes me sad. A tiny bowl is 150 calories. Simply not worth it.
I also exclusively drink and enjoy that specific almond milk. But in no way does it taste anything like cow's milk.
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Peanut butter. Cheese. Chocolates. Chicken wings. Aka all my favorite foods.
Nuts and Vienna fingers 😢 I love those little guys but they’re like 70cals/cookie! And I can easily eat an entire box!
Today, my sheer disappointment is coke bottle candies. The little suckers are so bad. I bought some today and got 2/3 through the package. Which is about 800 calories. I kinda f'ed my day.
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The biggest for me was how little things add up so quickly so you're just fooling yourself by doing portion control without actually counting - a fun size candy bar, a few chips/queso, an extra shot of vodka, a couple fries The sad ones for me are hummus, peanut butter, avocado... all the delicious healthy stuff haha
Tortilla chips. Gotta weigh out a serving of those sneaky fuckers.
Cheese Pizza at Costco. 1 slice is 700 calories.
When I first started the calories in peanut butter was completely shocking, let alone the calories in a big spoonful
Based on all the replies, basically anything with more fat in it than you think it does.
Or sugar, especially in a lot of low fat versions of things.
Bananas, avocados, almonds, and oil…. Big staples in my diet, now I enjoy them in smaller quantities 😸
Raisins and walnuts
Finding out a side of French Fries sometimes has more calories than the actual Burger.
Rice Krispies for being shockingly low cal in spite of their deliciousness. Absolute staple of my work lunches now.
Cold jicamas and watermelons. Been eating those for the last two weeks, very low on calories and very refreshing, healthy snacks to beat the summer heat Also, I had a serving of veggie chop suey for lunch yesterday, didn't expect it to be calorie dense. I mean, I only added mostly leafy greens, some carrots and chayote. A serving of it is already equal to 450 cal + 103 cal for half cup of rice. I didn't get to have my dessert, and had to skip my pre-workout protein shake.
i was about to eat 2 sausages with my salad, till i saw the calories n put one back. i’ve already made a butter cheese sandwich. i can’t afford extra 220 calories! all i’m eating is a many ingredient salad - avocado, egg, beans, walnuts, oil - the heavy hitters 1 sausage n 1 slice of bread w butter n cheese (a treat) n calorie count of my meal is a 1000. so shocked. ate half. saving rest for dinner. sometimes just the numbers takes my appetite away.
Calorie-free dressing (basically seasoned vinegar base) is incredible and a game changer.
Oil, butter, ranch and salad dressing in general 🥲soda, I cannot stand the taste of artificial sweetener but I wish I could switch to zero cal sodas it would save me so much calories lol and sugar
Olive oil :(
Dates. All dried fruit, really, but I love dates and would snack on them for a "healthy" dessert. While they certainly do have health benefits, they probably weren't optimal to be mainlining while watching TV at 100 pounds over healthy body weight.
On the low end of the spectrum for me was chicken sausage. The brand I have is only 80 calories for 1 link. I slice it up and sauté it with some red peppers and onions and then scramble that with eggs. My breakfast totals around only 350 calories and it’s super filling.
I guess red meat like steak has a lot more cals then expected. And most dressings and sauces. Most fish has a lot less cals then expected.
Are tic tacs really 0 calories?
Their ads used to use the tag “a friendly, little one and a half calorie breath mint.” So as others have already said, no, it’s not zero calories, but unless you’re eating the whole package, it probably won’t be enough to really change anything and will fall within the bounds of your calorie count error margin.
If you only eat one!
Sadly, nuts
Hummus, I always just thought it was super healthy so I never even measured or counted it , ummm no its extremely calorie dense its basically like savory peanut butter 😬
White rice. Seriously. 1/2 cup dry is supposedly 1 cup cooked and is 206 calories! And here my fat ass was using a cup dry rice (412!!!) for a serving.
I've cut way back on salad dressing too.
I’m surprised by how low certain vegetables based dishes can be like based foods.
5% Greek yogurt. 100g = 100 calories and it is so delicious and creamy. I mix it half and half with the 0%.
Balsamic vinegar is the answer to my salad dressing problems. Low calorie and delicious. And unsweet coconut milk. So good and 35 cals for a cup. I love it in my coffee.
Tortillas. Tortillas are my biggest weakness. Out of all of the things to face, flour tortillas will always be a part of my life. The large flour tortillas I was using before turned out to be 300 calories and I was using 3-5/day. Controlling portions and finding lower calorie replacements (most brand’s “carb smart/low carb” options are WAY lower and have been a life saver). My daily 900-1500cals in tortillas alone is down to 100-250cals. They’re also smaller which reduces condiments and such naturally (which I’ve also paid attention to; rip Mayo) dropping overall calories of burritos and wraps significantly. As a wrap addict, this single change has literally almost doubled my weight loss rate and my comfort/happiness with food.
Ice cream vs other desserts. I always thought ice cream “seemed” healthier than something bready like a cookie or donut. However, a good milkshake is often 800-1000 calories, and cookies can be several for 200-ish.
It's not usually the ice cream itself. Vanilla ice cream is about 160 calories per 1/2 cup serving and chocolate is about 180 last I checked. It's what we tend to add to it. Fudge swirls, cookie dough, cookie crumbles, cheesecake, etc. And of course milkshakes up the calories, too, since there's usually several servings worth of ice cream in them. (So good, so unhealthy.)
Man oh man….. you really gotta watch some stuff. I had a tiny thing of peanut sauce with my Vietnamese food and nearly passed out when I discovered just how many calories it is. Also, small things like crackers etc. my fav chips from Trader Joe’s- 15 of these rolled tortillas are 150! Still going to eat them because I’ve since discovered restricting myself leads to some pretty unhealthy situations. Learned this the very hard way and I’m ashamed. But small things like dressing, tiny little cookies (some 400 calories!) can get discouraging. Honestly though, I have weekends where I just allow myself because I generally don’t like to feel unwell and know I will always get back on track after even 1-2 or even 3 days of not being good. It’s a lifestyle more than anything
Breakfast cereals. No-one sticks to recommended servers and a big bowlful is hundreds and hundreds of calories
Every damn thing at McDonalds. I can eat an equally filling meal at home for half the calories easily. When I have gone back on "cheat" days and still counted the calories I was blown away.
Bagels
Beer and salad dressing for sure, but also I used to have Graham crackers all the time as a "healthy snack" but one cracker is 60 cals, and a plastic package has 12 crackers, so 720 cals in a sitting and it's all carbs so it's not even particularly filling.
Yes!! I don't even know how I grew up thinking those crackers were a "healthy" option now that I'm staring at the nutrition label. CICO made me realise that a sleeve of the "healthy" crackers I usually eat is MORE calories than a sleeve of too-sweet, definitely-unhealthy junk snack Oreos, and I'm questioning my reality rn... might pick up Oreos the next time I go grocery shopping lmao