Does it ever freak you out to see how easy it is to hit like 4000 calories?

[MedChick87]

I definitely know the feeling! My biggest reason I got up to over 230 lbs was fast food. There were some days where I'd eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I didn't get the "lower calorie" options. I'd get the full on combos with large fries or hash browns. With each of those meals being 800-1000 calories (or more!), it's no surprise I gained so much weight. It's just ridiculous how many calories they can shove into fast food.

[Munchy]

Originally Posted by sontaikle

Oh gosh this so much. It's one of the reasons I was able to sustain myself on 1200-1400 calories. It sounds like very little but it can be a lot of food if you eat the right things!

1800 calories of veggies, protein, etc. is a LOT and I feel satisfied each day

Agreed. I think it's hard to reach 4000 calories, but then again, I make most of my own meals and always have because I love to cook AND I really like using and showcasing vegetables. I decide what I'm going to cook based on the vegetables I have on-hand. I have cauliflower, for example, so I'm making curry tonight. I may add a little chicken, but the star of the dish is the cauliflower.

[EagleRiverDee]

Oh gosh yes. All the foods I love are high calorie and bad for me. I have to be super careful, and really what I have to do is almost like a drug addict and simply stay away from my trigger foods. I have found I basically have to swear off cheese for a month at a go, because if I don't I won't stay away from it. Alcohol and sweets are other high calorie foods I frequently swear off for a month or more at a time, no cheating allowed. Otherwise I find I just cheat more and more. Cheese is probably my biggest weakness. Oh, and coffee. I don't know why but I gain weight if I'm drinking coffee, even if it's just black. It messes up my metabolism somehow- and I love coffee. It's actually the hardest of them all to give up.

[KittyKatFan]

When I read these online stories about the unhealthiest restaurants/foods/drinks, I just feel awful because I have eaten so many of the foods that make up those lists.

For example, PF Chang's. Their lo mein dish is like what, 2000 calories? And I would usually split the lo mein, PLUS the Mongolian beef and sweet & sour pork with my dad. That must have been 3000 calories right there.

And don't even get me started on the Cheesecake Factory. Their dishes are always on those lists, and there are several times when I have eaten the dishes that have the highest calories.

The worst is the milkshakes at the various fast food places. I can down a milkshake with no problem. And now I'm finding out that they were 1400 calories at some restaurants??? I thought maybe 500 calories max. Was I wrong.

I have been pretty good about keeping my eating to a reasonable amount, but I did go on vacation and overeat, and over Thanksgiving I overate. I tried to put those days out of my mind, but now I can't help but think that I must have been consuming 5000 calories a day.

[Magalo]

After a while of strictly following my diet I find it HARD to eat enough! It's the opposite. After being so used of eating little, I find it hard to reach 1800 cals. I end my day without counting during the day, it ends to be 1300 cals and I'm feeling uber full. When everything in the house is low-fat, the bread is 55 cals a slice, the fridge is full of delicious fruits and you only drink water, tea and black coffee, it's just hard to reach a normal amount.

[csugirl93]

I have to write everything i eat down the moment i eat it with the calories or i get out of control and eat everything! after i started my "diet" i decided to add up all the calories i would normally eat and it scared me!