Ok for breakfast I had 1 peice of whole grain toast with 1 tbs of peanut butter on it and 1 cup of apple sauce.
Sounds like a wimpy little breakfast right? It sounds healthy right?
Well that 1 cup of all natural apple sauce was 140 calories, sheesh its apple sauce!
The toast was 100 calories and the PB was 100 calories.
So that tiny little meal was already 340 calories. I can't believe it.
Do guys ever make a meal that seems super healthy and then find that its actually really high calorie.
At this rate I'm gonna figgin starve.
Just thought I'd vent, lol.
Actually, if you cut the applesauce to 1/2 cup, that would be 270 calories for the meal. Not too shabby! What might be better is to eat an apple instead of the applesauce.
Last edited by Marlene On A Mission; 10-09-2008 at 01:26 PM.
It's surprising isn't it? I've gotten much better at finding things that have more volume for the calorie. Also, as your stomach adjusts to smaller amounts you will fill up on much less. I eat oatmeal every morning, at first I was eating a cup full of oatmeal with skim milk. I eat 1/2 cup of oatmeal with skim milk now and it really does fill me up. Bulking things up with veggies helps too. You can eat a whole cup of plain non-fat yogurt for 110-130 calories. I keep frozen blueberries and strawberries to stir in with a little splenda. It is a whole bowlful for very little calories. I just bought the volumetrics book from Amazon. It has some great ideas for getting more out of your calories. http://www.amazon.com/Volumetrics-Ea...3573326&sr=8-1
There are very few light products that I like, but I greatly enjoy the Sara Lee Delightful breads. It is 45 calories a slice, (the slice is a little thinner than most breads) and it is very tasty toasted. 2 Pieces is is the same calories as one piece of most regular bread. With fresh garden tomato season still upon us, I have had a grilled cheese, egg and tomato sandwich (240 calories) and a glass of tomato juice (50) every day for breakfast for the last 3 months! Oh it's SOOO GOOD!
Surprise, surprise! Gee, I know what you mean! And just think of how much you have been used to eating, and you didn't even know... When I looked up some of my favorite meals... and realized that one meal had my whole day's calories... Yow. Ouch.
You won't starve. You'll see. Plan some snacks in between meals to help get you through.
instead of peanut butter I'd have cottage cheese (low fat) or a slice of low fat swiss
and instead of 1 cup of applesauce and apple would be better more satisfying i think.
Do guys ever make a meal that seems super healthy and then find that its actually really high calorie.
I think the problem here is that you're confusing healthy with low cal.
Calories are not the enemy. Unhealthy calories are.
A breakfast of whole grains, peanut butter, and apple sauce is a great breakfast for 350 calories. You've got complex carbs, a fruit, lots of healthy fat and protein in the pb ... which *is* super healthy, in my book.
A bad use of your calories would be a McDonalds breakfast biscuit for 350 cals
.
Last edited by PhotoChick; 10-09-2008 at 02:53 PM.
How many calories are you eating for the day? 340 calories seems like a perfectly reasonable breakfast, and the choices you meantioned seem good nutrition bargains for the calories.
I agree it's important not to equate healthy with low calories. Or even with one food. A healthy food is not a healthy diet, because there's no single food that provides all the nutrition you need. In that sense, no food is a healthy food if your eating is out of balance. If you're eating lots of fruits and vegetables, but not getting enough protein for example, then another apple isn't necessarily a healthy choice for you. No food is healthy in a vaccuum, but only in the context of what your body needs, and how well those needs are being met.
I think of calories like money. It isn't just the amount of money you spend, it's what you spend it on and what you get back for the money. If you're spending money on pedicures, but not on rent, you're going to get into financial problems pretty quickly. You'll have pretty feet, but have to live in a cardboard box in some alley. If you're spending your calories on food with a high nutrition per calorie ratio, you're spending the calories wisely - getting a return on your investment.
Calories are often thought of as the most important aspect of food choice, especially for weight control. I'm not saying they aren't a consideration, but I don't think even for weight loss they are the most important consideration. You will lose weight if you reduce calories, but only eat candy bars, but you're not going to feel very well, because you're not nourishing your body.
I see I sort of rambled again, especially to just say I think your breakfast sounds like a pretty reasonable one.
Sometimes you can find Soy PB and it will be lower in calories. Usually anything nut related that is spreadable will totally up your load in calories, but I have found that pumpkin spread can be relatively easy on the calorie count.
Well, when you get an applesauce that says "all natural" you need to read the label. SUGAR is all natural.
Look for an applesauce that has no sugar added! This will be only 100 calories per cup, instead of 140. There are many applesauce varieties available in the individual single serve 6 packs, and they are 50 calories a serving. (1/2 cup)
I usually get the Healthy Harvest 6packs for my entire family. The kids don't need the added sugar, either.
Ya I guess I was sort of confusing healthy with low cal.
I was just thing, sheesh what a small amount of food for 350 calories.
The apple sauce was apple tree all natural no sugar added and it was still 140 cals for a cup. I need to just skip the apple sauce and eat an apple.
And the amount of food or volume per calories is an important consideration. The book Volumetrics and I think there have been others (I think one I read was called "Eat More, Weigh Less") talk about choosing more volume for your calorie. For example, an apple is generally more filling that the same calories of applesauce or apple juice. Soups are generally more filling than a casserole with the same ingredients. Adding lots of veggies to a pasta dish make it more filling for the calories...
There are a lot of low calorie foods you can use as "filler." I was at a barbecue restaurant a few months ago and I ordered their pulled pork salad. It was on their "light" menu with the calorie count listed (I don't remember what it was, but it was reasonable) I thought it was kind of weird to put pulled pork on lettuce rather than a bun, but it was really, really good, and more filling than a sandwhich would have been.
Um, my breakfast is usually around 350 cals. I find this perfectly normal. If I cut it to 200-250 cals, I just end up hungrier sooner and eat a snack and the before lunch cals end up equaling the same amount. I aim for 1400-1600 cals/day, 400 or so for breakfast, 500 or so for lunch and snack, 500-600 or so for dinner. But nothing is written in stone; I'm flexible.
You need calories to fuel your body. Being fueled, full and satisfied for a few hours is what I aim for when I eat!
If you want to reduce the cals in this particular meal you could sub the 100 cal/slice bread for a whole-grain or whole-wheat light bread. Light breads usually run around 40-50 cals/slice. I'd keep the tblspn of peanutbutter -- that's your protein and fat. You could reduce the applesauce to 1/2 cup or eat the apple or eat something else.
Your breakfast sounds just about right to me as it is though!
Oh I definitely agree that an apple would be better than the apple sauce for example.
But something else to consider is that right now a piece of toast with peanut butter looks like a "small"amount of food for you. But you'll find that it's a very *filling* type of food. And you'll realize that you don't need a whole bowl of something or a whole plate of something to be full.
I used to think that 1/4 cup of dry oats was such a piddly little amount. It certainly wasn't a "real" serving and there's no way I could survive 4 hours on that. But you know what's funny? Now, my breakfast most mornings is 1/4 cup of oats, and 1 serving (28g) of shredded cheddar cheese and an apple. And because of the QUALITY of what I'm eating ... I stay full.
The other day I had 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich - 1 slice of bread, 35g of peanut butter, and a scant teaspoon of pumpkin butter. I can remember the days when I would have looked at that and said "You've got to be f-ing kidding me? That's all I get?" But you know ... that was yummy and it kept me full until lunch. I had a snack, but I didn't eat it because I wasn't hungry.
This is definitely a learning and growing process. We as Americans are so conditioned to think that bigger and more is better. Super size it. Biggie size it. Get a 64 oz soda for $0.99. Go to Cheesecake Factory and get a meal that's big enough to feed 4 people on one plate.
But the truth is that you really really don't need that much food to be satisfied. You just need the right kind of food.
So many calories? In this?
Gee, I know what you mean! And just think of how much you have been used to eating, and you didn't even know... 
When I looked up some of my favorite meals... and realized that one meal had my whole day's calories... Yow. Ouch. 
