How aware of you of the number of calories in food in general, and especially in the food you eat?
I’m acutely aware. I’ve never had a weight problem, except for one brief period in my life, about 6 months, shortly after I quit nursing my last baby. I had been nursing for pretty much 3 years straight. After I quit, I put on a BUNCH of weight! Nursing will suck those calories right out of you, and I had gradually changed my eating habits, consuming more calories, in those years without realizing it.
So then I suddenly found my self with about 40 pounds to lose.
I turned to my sister, who is the Diet Queen and she taught me everything I know, every trick there is.
Above all, she said, never go on a diet. You must completely change your eating habits forever, and get in the habit of counting calories.
So I did. It took about a year, but I lost that weight and never put it back on.
During that year I counted calories of every single thing I put in my mouth, whether it be a Life Saver hard candy, or a sunflower seed. I had to memorize them because this was pre-internet. Her other secret was to round up. If a piece of bread has 60 calories in it, call it 100. (Those numbers are easier to remember and add up.) It became so second nature that I still do it, pretty much subconsciously, unless I need to lose 5 pounds or something. Then I bring it to the forefront and get stern with myself.
I recoil at the sight of most fatty foods and many desserts, foods that I might have been attracted to a long time ago. It’s just gross now.
When coffee lattes and cappuccinos came out I was horrified! Coffee has 0 calories. It’s beautiful the way it is (except I don’t like coffee.) Why dump 200 fat and sugar calories in it?
People who get non-diet sodas freak me out. They’d probably be shocked to realize how much sugar is in them, probably 200 useless calories a pop. And people will drink 2 or 3 or more a day!
Not long ago Rick got a strawberry / banana smoothie from McDonalds. He asked if I wanted a sip. I blurted out, “Oh my God no! Do you know how many calories are in that??! Probably about 300!!”
He looked at me like I was stupid. It’s bananas and strawberries. How could it be fattening? Then I looked it up. Yep. 260 calories. Mostly from added fat (yogurt) and sugar. People wouldn’t eat it otherwise. He was shocked.
How aware of your calorie intake are you?
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39 Answers
Since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I always check the carbs number.
Extremely aware. I often plan what I’m going to eat beforehand
I’m overweight, so I started paying attention to my diet recently, from when and what to eat to amount of calories.
Go for it @Sneki2! Eventually it won’t feel like such a chore. It will be a habit.
I calorie count in my head too, have a very good knowledge of calorie, fat, carb content of most foods. Otherwise, I love to eat and as long as I don’t weight 300lbs. I don’t care, I eat what I want, life is short and eating is one of lifes great pleasures.
I don’t worry about calories, have a metabolism rate and never gain weight, unless I’m guzzling a lot of beer, which I have pretty much given up on. I’ve had people tell me I look pretty buff for an older guy, what do I do, blah blah. No I don’t work out anymore, and I eat anything that tastes good. I was told a few years back that I might have pre diabetes, and I don’t care. Can’t afford a doctor and I’m gonna die eventually anyway. So if I can’t enjoy my life, might as well step out in front of a Semi truck.
Who told you you might have diabetes and why did they say that?
A nurse at a free checking thing at the hospital I worked at back about, hell 7 years ago or more. I just dropped in while at work, she put a doodad on my finger, and told me that. Oh, well, thanks for the distraction from work, ma’am. LOL If diabetes don’t get me something else will.
Pretty sure you’d have to have a blood orburine test to check for diabetes. Pretty sure then too dad they stick on your finger monitors you oxygen saturation levels.
I am very aware. I can eat something over the top yummy if I want but will back off a little on the next meal or make sure I get more exercise to make up for it.
It takes a mile of running or walking to burn off that 100 calorie, double stuffed Oreo. Frankly it’s not worth the trouble.
My weight does not fluctuate more than a couple of pounds. It is far easier to be at a healthy weight than to be overweight and work hard to lose it.
I take the easy way and keep my BMI at the center of the normal band.
@Dutchess_III Could be, that’s all Greek to me. Don’t recall all the details, I do remember her saying that I might have pre diabetes, no point worrying about something I haven’t got yet and might never get. Hell, the world could end tomorrow too. What – me worry?
@LuckyGuy me too. I once went to grab lunch at a deli and they had the most awesome pies and cake slices on display. I said “What the hell” and got me a nice piece of cake. I called it my lunch tho. That’s all I had for the rest of the day. Works!
It’s important not to deny yourself. You just have to work it right.
As my old pappy used to say, if it looks good eat it. Think I might mount up and mosey down to Golden Corral.
Oh I love that place! Which is why I never go there.
Come on, live a little. Calories, shmallories. Tell your hubby you got a hankering fer Golden Corral, have you a good chow down. You can make it up later in the week. Take ya’ll a walk, go for a jog.
Nope. Not worth it. We went there at thanksgiving once tho. I was full for two days!
I’ve posted this ditty somewhere before, but it’s appropriate for this thread about food: I want some black-eyed peas
I want some mustard greens
I want some cornpone on the side.
I want my chicken fried with a golden hide.
Aha, San Antone!
Nope! At one point I tried tracking it and I realized that I’m underweight not due to some kind of weird magic where my body uses calories inefficiently, but because I actually consume like 50% of the calories I should. I would have kept tracking it if I had felt something productive would come of it, but even when I’m tracking it I still can’t force more calories into me than what I want, so I just gave up on it. My body wants what it wants. I can’t override it.
@NomoreY_A I’ll go to Golden Corral with you, I want one of every dessert! LOL
By golly, we got a date then, Coloma. Anything you want, on me. Feeling generous tonight. Just don’t tell my wife. What’s a meal between friends, right? Believe me or not I am a gentleman.
Are you underweight by today’s social standards @Mariah? I suppose I was too for most of my life but I thought I looked fine. I KNOW I looked fine. I sure felt fine. Happy and very strong.
@Dutchess_III The social standards that dictate all women must look like Twiggy? Ughhhh…
Not today. In modeling And movies yes, but not in general society.
And when I was 12 the neighborhood kids called me Twiggy! I had the freckles and everthing.
Not nice kids. You should have learned the fine art of insult. Yo, you with the face… ooops, sorry – my mistake. Hey, is that a nose – or a banana? People want to be jerks, fight fire with fire.
@Dutchess_III Yes I am underweight by whatever standards you want to use – medical or social or whatever. I want to put on 10 pounds.
I would be more medically safe if I was in a place where I could better afford to lose some weight every now and then, since it happens every time I have a medical event.
@NomoreY_A I didn’t take it as an insult. They were my friends. We’d been through thick and thin, growing up together. Just good natured teasing. Didn’t bother me a’tall.
I see @Mariah.
@Dutchess III OK, good enough. Answer withdrawn, in shame and disgrace. Been happening to me a lot lately. I meant well, just figured they were mean ass kids.
You goof ! It’s all good. PICK YOUR HEAD UP!!
Didn’t know I dropped it! That’s one for Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
I lost a lot of weight by logging what I ate and monitoring my calories. So I know what calories are in most foods.
I also do the rounding up thing @Dutchess_III but slightly differently. I give everything 100 kcal. If it’s like lasagne or something, I’ll count each ingredient as 100 kcal. Cheese, sauce, meat, tomato, pasta = 500 kcals. Seems to work quite well.
It does work. And when you’re mindful of it, it automatically steers you (almost) clear of fats and sugars and toward salads and fish and veggies and stuff.
The first thing I did was to quit putting sugar in things like tea and cereal, like Cheerios. Now sweet tea makes me gag.
I still fight the cheese though. I LOVE cheese! Moar cheese!
I am a sugar addict, I don’t go completely crazy but really like my sweets.
It balances out though. Yesterday I had watermelon, nectarines, plums, a big salad with our fresh garden veggies, lemon cucumbers etc.
I had a rice bowl for lunch and walked around the property a lot and then swam for about 30 minutes after a lite dinner of a ½ of tuna sandwich and more watermelon.
Then I had a little bowl of mini-Kit Kats while watching a movie. Yep, love cheese too, I could live on quesadillas and cheese with lots of slasa and crackers and fruit.
Sugar and spice..that’s me. LOL
Man, we often go to McDs on Saturday morning and take our food to the river. Rick always gets a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit and hash brown. The sandwich freaks me out. Today he got a sausage, egg and cheese McMuffin. While waiting for him to finish (I got a hash brown) I looked up the difference in calories between an English Muffin and a McDs biscuit. I figured the English Muffin pretty close at 100 (when I checked it’s actually 67) and I guessed a biscuit at 150. Then I looked it up. 261 calories just in the biscuit!!! Unreal!
Then of course the sausage is 200, the cheese is 100, the egg is 100. That is a lot of freaking calories in one sandwich! Rounded up it’s 700 calories! He’d be so much better off getting a simple Egg McMuffin but, you know. Manly man. Pretty sure he thinks I was full of crap when I once pointed out that he got the absolute most fattening item on the breakfast menu. I haven’t mentioned it again.
A decent breakfast at McDonalds is their oatmeal, at around 290 calories.
@jca
I always ask to have it without brown sugar, cream, and cranberries
Mmmmm. Oatmeal with brown sugar and cream!
An Egg McMuffin is about 300.
@rockfan: I don’t see them putting cream in their oatmeal and I don’t see them putting brown sugar in either. I see them putting fruit. They used to put walnuts in it, but no more. Maybe they had a problem with rancidity.
Fruit. Bla.
They probably quit due to people with nut allergies @jca.
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