I do remember being terribly poor in college and a lot of the time my roommate and I would buy 20 pounds of potatoes and my great aunt (who was in her 90s) would give me a brick of government cheese so dinners were usually cheese potatoes! Either that or sauteed potatoes with lots of butter and herbs. Of course, we always had money for beer.
When my husband and I started dating, we'd go out clubbing on the weekends and stop at Naugles (Del Taco these days) for a macho burrito at 2 AM. My son eats macho burritos these days (but he needs to put on a few pounds).
While in college and working my lunches were usually fast food, but most of the time I'd get a McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries with a diet coke. I can't say it's the best, but being poor, I'd choose the cheapest things on the menu.
I know breakfasts almost always consisted of coffee and nothing else (I never use cream or sugar).
I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that practically all my life I've been aware of my weight and have been on this diet or that diet in order to lose 10-20 pounds. Going out to eat with friends usually meant my sorority sisters and we were always on a diet! We'd go to the local pizza joint and get chef salads. A lot of the time we'd even eat them without dressing, but they were loaded with cheese. It was when the food was free that I'd indulge and do seconds of everything. Living at home with my parents meant free food so I tended to gain when I lived at home.
I am one of those that knows how I got fat. Your daily intake looks much like my own; 2500-3500 calories per day and weekends could go as high as 5000; think Outback cheese fries with extra ranch (one of my favorites). This is over 3000 calories and Mack and I would split them. Then we would eat our main course (loved the Toowamba Pasta), and finish with desert. Oh, can't forget the drinks one large or two small Rita's.
I have to tell you I admire your ability to put half your Ben & Jerry's back in the freezer. I always knew when I pulled it out I was going to eat the whole thing. I would toss the top in the trash, nuke it for 17 seconds, and not even think about stopping once I started. It was a serving as far as I was concerned. We're talking 1400 -1700 calories per pint.... yea I know how I got to where I am.
I wouldn't dare try to figure out a normal day...but kidding ourselves...I posted this once before about someone. I was doing Optifast and went out with two friends, one announced as we sat down that she was dieting.
She ate two rolls with butter. A salad with creamy garlic dressing. Shrimp Dejong (shrimp made with butter, garlic and breadcrumbs) as an entree with some veggie, and an apple pie a la mode for dessert. When it was all over she pushed back and said "That wasn't too bad, I had a salad and seafood, with fruit for dessert."
My mouth dropped open. I have always remembered that story because watching her made me aware of how I sometimes kidded myself as well.
Count me among the delusional folks who thought Snickers was a healthy vending machine option because of the protein in peanuts. I used to eat one of those every single day my first semester of grad school, stopping by the vending machine around mid-afternoon to collect my pop and chocolate fix.
I never really had a typical day since I ate a pretty wide variety of junk, but these were some of my staples:
Frosted Pop Tarts
Pork fried rice from the Chinese takeout
Hot Pockets
Peanut M&Ms
Mrs. T's pierogies
Wendy's breaded chicken sandwich
Chips Ahoy
Ragu alfredo sauce
Fruity Pebbles
Velveeta
Kraft macaroni and cheese (lots and lots of this)
Almost everything I ate was heavily processed in some way... it still amazes me.
Oh dear! I gained most of my weight while in college. I had to work a lot while taking classes so quite often I was away from home for 15-16 hours a day and when I was home I was stressed-out and studying. Ugh, no wonder I gained weight what I think back on it. I would eat breakfast in my car, on my way to class and I would eat lunch in the student dining area... dinner was usually some sort of take-out or fast food. Example:
Breakfast- Bagel from Panera, loaded with regular cream cheese (500 cals?)
Snack- Whole Foods trail mix, and lots of it! (400 cals)
Lunch- (this makes me cringe) Sbarro pizza (huge) with a side of fries and ranch dressing... sometimes regular cherry Pepsi (1000-1500 calories... whoa)
Snack- huge rice krispy treat from the student center (Who knows? 400 cals?)
Dinner- Huge Panera sandwich with chips and sugar iced tea with sugar (200 cals), or huge burrito from Baja Fresh (roughly 1,000 calories) plus side of chips and salsa (probably another 500 cals)
Oh dear... 3500-4500 calories. That's without desserts or margaritas (which I used to have often in college). No wonder I gained and lost the same 10-15 lbs for years!
A Starbucks stop wasn't eating, it was drinking a drink,
Oh good grief! No kidding. And before I got my office, I met potential clients at Starbucks - sometimes 2 a day. That's 2 venti hazelnut lattes with whip. Or two pumpkin lattes. Or two mochas with whip.
Of coruse they didn't count - drinks and coffee have no calories!!
I used to work at the big Starbucks in Roswell with my laptop using their dial-in, and later wifi, so I could be central to all of my restaurants if they had a crisis. I would be there for hours, and just get a new drink every few hours... The chai tea latte was a later evolution of my SB habit, when I was trying to cut back. When I first started going I had a Venti Caramel Mocha Frappucino several times a day sometimes... Or, the mochas with whip... loved those, too...
When I really wanted to cut back I got a smoothie instead, from Planet Smoothie. Looked on their website recently and the one I used to get had 878 calories...
I know that I would end up stopping at Wendy's for lunch several times a week. I just added up the calories for my super-sized combo, with Ranch dressing to dip the fries in, and a frosty for dessert. 1770 calories. For one meal.
Oh driving to photo sessions (I don't do studio work - all my work is on location) ... I always had something to eat. To keep up my "energy" for the session, you understand.
And driving to a wedding, and then from the wedding to the reception, and then from the reception home? Drive throughs were my friends.
Road trips to weekend weddings? Big bags of Pirate's Booty, at least 2 stops at Sonic or McDs, etc. And if I was driving at night? A venti breve latte with an extra shot.
I never really had typical days... but a day might go something like
B- nothing
L- nothing
4:00 pm - cheese and crackers, deli meat, yogurt, pretzels... I would just eat until stuffed
6:00- Red Robin's for dinner- dry pepper appy ribs, large burger with bacon, avacado, cheese, mayo, EXTRA fries with ranch dressing, share a desert lol! Probably mile high mudpie, 3 or 4 glasses iced tea
8-2am was a junk food feast- whole large bag of chips, large bag peanut m&m's, 2$ worth of 5 cent candy, pint Ben and Jerry's, more iced tea
I wouldn't even know how many calories... but I'm thinking 4-5 thousand???
This was pre-kids... when I met my hubby. When I gained 150 lbs in two freaking years!!!
The fast food stops were the killer for me. I have young kids (three, 4 years and under) and for a long time the only time they would nap was falling asleep in the car. So then I would stop and get something to eat and park somewhere, reading a book. This was my "me" time. Kids still sleeping an hour later? Another stop for a milkshake in the summer or a caramel latte in the winter.
Oh Lord, I hate even thinking about it. Last year before I started dieting it wasn't unusual that I would eat lunch AND dinner out. Lunch was usually McDonald's (1500 cals) and dinner was a sit down place, Italian being my favorite and I would eat everything on my plate - I am guessing that was in the 1500 cal range as well. Add in multiple Cokes at a sit down restaurant and I was well over 3,000 for the day plus whatever I ate at breakfast (which was my light meal at home).
And I wonder why I always felt tired and just disgusting. I was a walking french fry!
i'd go to multiple drive thru's to make up the "perfect" meal. i'd want 1 taco... and a double cheese burger... and an oreo cookie shake... and chicken strips from popeyes but i'd want a kfc biscuit... i'd make a point to give myself an hour to hit all of them. then eat it in the car and throw out the evidence.
we'd go to red lobster... each of us would get an appetizer which could easily act as a whole meal, large entrees with soups added on and *at least* 4 baskets of biscuits for the two of us...
I remembered something I often forgot. My eating was horrid but especially in college. I used to be super lazy so I'd eat one thing. 2 of my favorite things were canned olives and canned pineapple. So I'd open up a can of pineapple and eat it all. I'd do the same with a can of olives. I also remember liking instant mashed potatoes and I'd make them and then eat the entire batch. I don't think I ever used my tupperware if I ever had any because I'd just eat it all!
I also remember liking instant mashed potatoes and I'd make them and then eat the entire batch.
I used to do this in college - make a big bowl of instant mashed, and mix with sour cream and top with cheese. It was a cheap meal because I could buy the potato flakes in bulk at Sams.
lol! Probably mile high mudpie, 3 or 4 glasses iced tea
