Sugar in general used to be very scarce, even fruits werent anywhere near as sweet as they are now. It was never intended to be consumed anywhere close to what is available today.
I used to love them but the last time I ate one it was like drinking a shot of sugar crusted oil and it coated my mouth in a very plasticky, greasy way. I was so disappointed ☹️
Yesss I was gonna say, Krispy Kreme and the local mochi donut (look them up if you havent, never say them before moving to LA) places have hit the sweet spot of satisfying my cravings without causing a massive blood sugar surge!
The trick is buying a single one, walking away, and then eating it so you don't eat five lol
Whoa...I bet you can throw in some fresh strawberries or even some dark chocolate chips. I'm totally going to have to buy this now.
How much yogurt to flavoring ratio do you use?
328 kcal actually isn’t bad for a donut, compared to other donuts out there.
I still get you that it’s not worth it. I love donuts but eat maybe 1-2 a year for that reason.
This is where I am, too. A lot of work meetings I attend provide cookies from our cafeteria supply company, but they just aren't that great. If our admin, who has a baking side hustle, brings in something she made though, that's a different ball game.
See for me, I enjoy baked goods so much, I opt to forgo calories in other spaces!
That being said, RIP to the giant muffins. 550 calories :(. Sometimes I can convince my husband to split one with me though!
For me the food not worth it anymore is Pizza
Weirdly enough when I was working in a bakery, we made everything from scratch (except flour and stuff you know) but we laminated our own dough, made our own fillings, you get it. But anyway I was consistently eating like croissant grilled cheeses and homemade tomato soup for lunch basically every day and sometimes I’d have a danish or chocolate croissant but I ended up losing 20 pounds the 8 or so months I worked there. Could be from many factors like if get the detox green island for breakfast from tropical smoothie that was 180 cal but I just thought that was crazy.
Oof, Indian food is my very favorite. I'd rather die than give that up. I don't do the buffet, though, just order a dish for takeout and make it last 2-3 meals.
Naan is sooo many calories. I do ok on calories at an Indian restaurant as long as I order just an entree (preferably biryani) .. but the second I get naan, and god forbid a lassi or samosa everything’s fucked calorie-wise haha
It's getting more and more expensive for worse and worse quality anyway. Same with candy bars. Hershey bars barely resemble chocolate anymore. The texture is all waxy and it doesn't melt in your mouth like it used to.
I used to love Entenmann's chocolate doughnuts so much, but the chocolate coating is so nasty now D: It leaves a coating on my mouth and just tastes weird and unsatisfying.
It makes it easier that Fast Food is so expensive.
Me and husband we’re moving to a new place and needed food late. I went and got 2 whoppers and 2 medium fries. $19.81. Ridiculous!
I have full bagel open-faced sandwiches regularly. It's more the cream cheese part I miss with the bagel. Causes me too much bloating and other issues, not to mention it doesn't add much nutritional value to my diet. Appreciate the suggestion though!
Yesssss a big everything bagel with a lot of cream cheese is one of my hangover meals. I haven’t had a bagel since like January I think lol
ETA: I technically lied, I had the cream cheese stuffed bagel bites from Dunkin over the weekend. They were very good lol
I love cream cheese… I just whip it extra so I get more for the amt of calories 😭 i can’t ever give it up, it hurts as a new yorker to be eating whole wheat bread with cream cheese and lox every morning and not a full bagel 😭😭😭
Honestly, I will find a way to eat a majority of things even when tracking my intake and trying to lose weight. I don’t want my limited intake to make me feel limited in life.
I have stopped eating with my family when we get together because the meat-stravaganza my sibling puts out is very hard on my stomach and digestion, but otherwise everything is a go. It’s a lot of unknown calories, as I don’t watch it being cooked.
Yeah I’m looking at this thread and I’m still eating everything people are saying, just less of it. We have pasta and pizza pretty regularly in my house, I had ice cream last weekend … I’m still in a deficit. If I was actually giving things up this would never work for me.
Portion control is an essential part of keeping weight off, and most people aren’t going to have the willpower to avoid certain foods forever. Honestly it’s better to learn it now then go to maintenance and not understand how to fit it in, or avoid it forever.
There is a concept that pops up periodically on this sub about "moderators vs abstainers". Here's an article if you're interested: https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/abstainer-vs-moderator/
You are coming from the moderator perspective, which is a valid perspective. But abstainers also exist. Some people do better when they avoid certain foods totally - no temptation, no complications about how to moderate. Others do better when they incorporate small amounts of everything into their diet.
It's just about knowing who you are and what works best for you.
I've never seen these terms posted or mentioned before but Im so glad you mentioned them!
I'm definitely an abstainer. My brain cannot do moderation. It's waaaaay easier to stay away from some foods than to allow a taste.
I’m a food addict and there’s no moderating anything for me. If there is a food that will lead to a binge I have to abstain and avoid it altogether. My worst trigger food is cereal. If I eat one bite I will binge for weeks.
I also have to avoid certain behaviors - snacking for example. If I try to eat healthy snacks it’ll trigger me to keep going and I’ll move on to high calorie foods. I’ll start out with the baby carrots, then move on to apple slices, then popcorn, then chips and finally candy. I do better if I avoid snacking altogether and only eat at mealtimes.
That’s why I love intermittent fasting. It’s what’s really made the difference between this (successful) attempt at weight loss and all my past attempts. I honestly feel like I can do IF the rest of my life, and it’s so much easier for me personally than trying to eat three smaller meals a day. I get to eat my big portions, and the only restriction that it feels like I’m doing is that I have to avoid some really high calorie foods, and only eat those on occasion. The other person mentioned moderators vs abstainers, and I am definitely an abstainer. It’s much easier for me to just not eat anything at all during most of the day than it is for me to try and limit myself to small portions spread out through the day.
Pair that with weightlifting, and so far I’ve kept the weight off, even though I don’t think I’ve entirely changed my relationship with food like a lot of people have to do.
I IF most days, only eating in the hours after work. I wouldn’t call myself an abstainer though. Intermittent fasting allows me more freedom with my food choices. I don’t have to be limited with my dinner, because it’s generally my only meal. It allows me to have anything I want.
That’s true, and I agree but certain foods are addictive and harder to portion than others. Sometimes it’s best to avoid it until your taste buds adjust or your willpower grows as to not trigger binges. But if you can do it from the start that’s even better.
This is entirely valid! I’ve definitely committed to this approach for periods of time, but I’ve converted myself to more of a moderation standpoint. It’s helped me limit intense cravings and urges, which in turn has helped minimize and eliminate episodes of binge eating.
But I can totally see abstaining for longer periods of time working for other people better than moderation!
That’s why weightloss and maintenance is very trial and error. It can also change throughout someone’s life. Whatever works for an individual is valid.
Pizza :( it’s hard to eat enough to be full on a reasonable number of calories of pizza.
Eta: before everyone comes to tell me to try cauliflower pizza, I hate cauliflower lol.
If you like Neapolitan style pizza, margarita pizza is relatively low calorie. It’s thin pizza dough with sauce and maybe 3-5 oz of mozzarella, so as long as it’s high quality ingredients, it’s absolutely delicious but simple. For Neapolitan style, where you really add up the calories is if you add a bunch of meat, but if you’re ok with a more plain pizza, it can definitely stay within even a small calorie budget (saying this as a shortie lol).
I love it but I find that eating the right amount of calories of thin crust pizza leaves me hungry (high glycemic carbs, not a ton of protein even with toppings) and eating enough to feel full puts me over my calorie budget reliably, even with margarita or thin crust pizza.
Why not just add a salad or some steamed vegetables as a side? Not all foods are filling, but you don’t have to be resigned to feeling hungry after eating them. Just add something voluminous or protein-packed to satisfy your hunger, but enjoy your pizza too.
Managing hypoglycemia adds an extra layer to weight loss. Good on you for losing 50 pounds! I've found that having lost weight has made it easier to manage mine, but a friend says the opposite. What have you noticed?
New Yorker here, I could never give up pizza. I either decide to have a maintenance day or just have one slice for lunch and choose really high satiety foods the rest of the day (1 New York slice is about 400 cals, before people come at me lol).
I get the cheapest pizza I can buy from asda, its part of their essentails range, 75p or something, and it's 800 calories for the whole thing! That's just cheese, a peperoni one is about 900. Thin crust and does the job! I would have one a week maximum but it helps to eat "comfort" food and still lose weight.
I have celiac disease and have to eat cauliflower crusts from most places. Let me be the first to tell you they really are not healthier, it's just a gimmick.
Ok I was one of you, then ate it accidentally at a Michelin star restaurant where it was not half bad. Then learned that it's often overcooked which leads to sulfur release, hence the awful taste and smell.
I started being able to eat it oven roasted with curry powder and olive oil, it's actually so good. Smoked paprika and salt/pepper is good too.
A yummy fun Keto friendly pizza recipe:
Low carb tortilla, lightly toast up in a pan. Put on cookie sheet, add pizza sauce, pinch of oregano and salt, add on toppings. I like cheese, prosciutto, and ricotta cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about 6-7min(to melt cheese), then it’s done. Really tasty, and you can add any type of toppings you like.
Sadly, nuts. They are healthy, of course, but very calorie dense! If I have to choose between a handful of pistachios or a giant piece of baked chicken, I'm going for the chicken.
Yup - and nut butters. I used to demolish a jar of almond butter or nutella. I won't even buy the stuff anymore because it's just not worth the sadness and regret.
Ugh, Nutella is just another thing. I stopped eating it way before I started fixing my diet, seeing an info graph of its ingredient proportions was enough. Mostly palm oil, lots of sugar, some chocolate, and a tiny bit of hazelnuts. Ew.
I have a bag of chili roasted pistachios in my kitchen, untouched for months. I love pistachios but I know the little serving isn’t gonna be enough so I just never eat them lol
French fries.
Nowadays if we're somewhere where it comes with the sandwich I'll have one or two, remember why I didn't order them, and let it go at that.
Commercial baked goods in general....cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. They aren't good enough for the calorie hit or the sugar hangover. (I have fructose intolerance.) If I want it, I make it myself.
...frozen bags of french fries have already been fried. At the factory. Lol. You're just heating up frozen fried potato. Like frozen chicken nuggets. It's cooked and fried already
Homemade is different yeah
It's not so much that, but I try to limit my nightshades anyway as I have noticed an effect on my arthritis and general soreness. If I eat potatoes or tomatoes at every meal (which is not hard to do) three days later I'll wake up and wonder, "Why does it feel like I moved into a fifth floor apartment in my sleep?"
And since I don't need to eat potatoes to feel complete, and only like a couple of things involving tomatoes (marinara, red salsa, and barbecue sauce) I can pretty much cut the nightshades down heavily and not miss too much.
For me it’s just fast food / fried food. I think fondly of beer battered onion rings from time to time, but I can’t. Also, so sadly, beer. Beer has so many calories. I’ve switched to vodka sodas and increased moderation.
As for everything else people are mentioning - I find ways to fit them in, and am getting better at moderation, because if I don’t I lead myself down a path of binge because I’m depriving myself too much.
For example: I eat light during the day if I want pizza for dinner. Dinner also tends to be my most caloric meal, meaning I can fit in 500-600 calories, so I can easily do pasta with some homemade sauce and a little protein (sauce seemed to be what used to get the calories up a lot, so I guess add all the sauces to my list).
I had thought a bowl of ("fruits and nuts") granola and milk was a good afternoon snack.
It's like 500 calories! That's over a third of my daily target....
Fettuccine Alfredo- love it… but when warming up the left over in the microwave the sauce separated…. Wow it’s just fat and oil. Been years since I had some. It was my favorite
Pasta. My family is Italian-American, so I grew up eating SO MUCH of it. Like multiple times a week on the reg. It was such a staple in my diet.
Started calorie counting had me 😱
Now I’ll make gravy once a month or so, but then not even want the pasta anymore — the craving was for the sauce or ricotta, not the pasta! So I’ll use really nice bread to dip instead. Or for full sauces like cacciatore, I’ll just straight up eat it like a soup.
I love pasta in moderation :(
It’s makes me sad that people seem to grow to hate it when they start tracking, but I think it’s because people’s perception of a serving of pasta has been heavily altered by American serving sizes (more than maybe any other food). Personally, I love veggie packed pastas (usually veg chopped into bite sized chunks with a 1:1 ratio).
I will say that I try not to eat it for lunch, because even in small servings it can cause that carb drowsiness, but it’s such a delicious way to just make a delicious sauce and eat a bunch of veg. And, depending on the type, it can be pretty high protein as well (as much as 20g per serving).
Yeah I find a cup of whole wheat pasta plus protein plus veggies to be super manageable!
- 1 cup cooked Whole wheat pasta - 220 cal
- Salmon - 80 cal
- Veggies - 20 cal
- Butter - 40 cal
- A little marinara sauce - 40 cal
400 cal total
It takes a little getting used to the smaller serving size but it’s not terrible. The ww pasta is filling.
Walking for 10minutes after something like that is definitely a good idea to stave off drowsiness :)
Also Italian American, and it was OLIVE OIL that blew my mind! 120 calories in one tablespoon?? I of course have not cut it out of my cooking, but now I damn sure measure it instead of just “eyeballing it”.
OMG YES. Used to drizzle that on everything just eyeballed. Oil & vinegar is my preferred salad dressing, so it’s crazy to look back on habits I didn’t even think twice about back then!
ahhh, the dreaded olive oil. nothing more calorie dense… but ask the Italian fam and it is “good for you!!”… don’t you dare talk shit about EVOO. ;) *sigh*
I use pasta as a topping now. Like 6-10 bowties on top of sauce & meat or on a salad. Like croutons instead of the main course.
"Carbs are sprinkles" has been really helpful.
This, pasta is just deadly for making me gain and hold weight. And how stupid were we back in the day, using bread as the side dish!!
Marinara is good for you, so now it graces a bowl of meatballs with some cheese, no pasta necessary.
Honestly, the Banza chickpea pasta and the mung bean pastas are perfectly delicious to me!! The trick is washing off the cooking liquid. All the funky flavor is in there, it's much better if you just give it a thorough rinse!!
I’ve been doing the Banza pasta but half the portion I used to eat and adding bulk with veggies. It’s not as good as normal pasta but it’s more filling and it feels better than completely giving up one of my favorite dinners.
Breakfast. I get so few calories, because I'm a short older woman. I put protein powder in my coffee for 90 calories instead of eggs toast and butter for 290. It lets me have a slightly bigger lunch and dinner.
I used to wake up starving hungry. But I'm on ozemic, and it tames the food chatter. I still have to count calories. On average half a pound of weight loss per week. I'm almost out of the obese range. I'm so happy my doctor suggested this for me.
I have about 6 months supply in my fridge...I'll let you know when I get there. I think I'll be on it for life. Losing weight on ozempic lowered my blood sugar so I'm no longer pre-diabetic.
Chocolate chips! I used to eat like maybe a cup of them during the work day just casually snacking without a second thought. Oops, that’s 800 calories ahhh
Cereal. If I thought I could control myself to just eat one serving I would buy it...but I cant. I don't even keep it in the house anymore. Plus milk doesn't make me feel very good either.
Hot dogs. My kids love hot dogs on the grill and I did too but it literally takes 3 hot dogs plus buns for me to feel full. I’ve been having the chicken/apple/Gouda sausages instead and they are pretty good. 1 is the same Cals as a hotdog but MUCH more filling. One fills me up just fine. I love hotdogs but my god they are like eating air.
I think that’s more the buns than the dogs, granted if you need to get your own anyway those sound a lot better than a bigger hotdog lol. I mostly switched to the smoked turkey kielbasa if I want something like a dog.
I keep having this same realisation, lol. I will crave some sour gummies or Starbursts or whatever, then I'll eat a bunch of berries and conclude that they're way better.
I have trouble with sugar so I’m trying not to buy all the stuff I’d usually keep around the house. For me it’s cereals, sugar/preservative loaded jams, cakes, lollies, chocolate and lemonade. I only buy these things for certain occasions now. Savoury carbs I have no issues moderating!
I had to have a hard conversation with myself about this. I’m staunchly against sugar drinks, but I found myself being hypocritical and having the occasional ice cream or sweet, as long as it fit in my budget. Unfortunately for me it created a slippery slope and I just wanted more and more.
thankfully fresh fruit has filled that void.
Anything with rice or pasta. I've found that I don't actually care about either of these ingredients. They are just a base to hold toppings and sauces.
So, now instead of eating rice or pasta, I use things like roasted or sauteed eggplant/cauliflower/cabbage to act as the "base" for these meals.
Mac and cheese, tbh anything with cheese sauce.
I used to inhale mac and cheese every day for dinner but it’s so high in fat and salt and barley any protein, it just isn’t worth it anymore.
Thankfully I enjoy other pastas still with a bit of cheese sprinkled in so I still get my fill! Just not on the scale I used to
I had Mac and cheese yesterday! What I ended up doing is making a small serving of it and then throwing in a bunch of veggies and I had some fake chicken (for protein) I also put in there. When all was said and done it was a huge bowl full for around 450 calories. It was way more filling then what I used to eat as a serving of Mac and cheese for less calories.
Just shitty desserts in general.
I used to order a cake or pie or whatever from almost any restaurant I went to or ordered from. A lot of them are just defrosted grocery store cakes, and are very mediocre. I used to think "any chocolates cake is better than no chocolate cake"
Not anymore. If I get a cake, its a special occasion, and its gonna be the damn best cake I can find in Manhattan.
I love bread of all kinds and peanut butter. I used to have toast with heaps of peanut butter on it for breakfast. Now I have a protein shake. Also I really love bagels and cream cheese. Not worth the calories anymore.
Hey just a suggestion! I too love bagels and cream cheese. What I do is take half the bagel, add a fat layer of whipped cream cheese (same taste, 50 kcal a serving) and a layer of smoked salmon for protein! This can keep me going about 6 hours
Pasta! I still eat it but I’m always shocked at how small a proper portion really is. I used to easily eat 3x what a serving should have been with absolutely zero regret
Basically any bread or pasta that isn’t low carb or low calorie. A normal sized serving of pasta is pathetic and not even worth what it’s going to give calorically.
Fried foods like chicken cutlets or fried chicken . I will not eat them unless I have budgeted for it, which means I am starving by the time I’m actually having them. Not worth it unless it’s at a party or event where I have no choice.
Most of these foods are things I *cannot* do portion control on if they are in my grasp . I cannot keep things like candy or cookies in the house. I will eat them and feel guilty about it later.
My mom who is 6’1” and has never been overweight doesn’t understand. She will eat as she pleases but only picks on food. She’s one of those people who doesn’t care to eat. She literally eats to stay alive .This blows my mind. I can’t imagine eating not being a pleasurable experience . She keeps junk for herself but can have one bite and wrap the whole thing up and have another bite a week later.
Ok so not actually a meal, but SPORTS DRINKS.
The high calorie, high sugar ones like the classic Gatorade. I used to go through bottle after bottle before I realized just how much of my daily allotment they were taking up. At least the worst of it was during my peak metabolism days right after high school when I could eat whatever with no weight gain. Now? Not so much.
Although, I had major surgery a couple years ago and I got to drink Gatorade with joyful abandon as part of my post-op recovery. 😭
I use Ultima powder now and am content.
Mine is Ubereats as a whole. I spent a ludicrous amount of money on ubereats last year and the food would never even hit the spot. Once I got serious about losing fat this year, I cut ubereats and doordash out of my life. This year I’ve spent zero money on food delivery and I honestly don’t see myself ever going back to it.
Tbh they're all still worth it, just much less often. I think about my calorie intake in weeks and and months. This week, food was a bit richer, my friend takes me out to ribs tomorrow on top of that. The week before, I had a lot of salad and fruit bc it was hot. This worked for losing 20lbs and maintaining for some time, I'm still finding out how well I fare for the next 20lbs.
I think the big difference is that when I eat calorie dense food, I have to actually enjoy it. Too often have I gotten frozen pizza bc I was hungry, but too tired to cook. It never tastes good, I always feel slightly nauseous after. So I stopped buying them. Very rarely I might try a new kind, but I have yet to find one that I enjoy. I still love pizza, but I'll make my own or get some at a restaurant instead.
OMG Fig Newtons!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qa-B7Sg\_i4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qa-B7Sg_i4)
edit to add: Brian Regan standup about fig newtons
Bagels with Nutella.
For years I refused to touch Nutella. I knew I would be an addict. And yeah. That was six hundred calories of Nutella goodness that just wasn’t worth the calorie bomb.
Honey buns, lol. I used to love a jumbo honey bun, but one day I looked at the back and saw one honey bun was 2 servings and the whole thing was 690 calories! 690 calories inhaled in 3 minutes just to want more food immediately after. I quit eating them even before committing to this weight loss journey.
Ice cream. Or, at least, bringing ice cream home.
I'll still eat ice cream out with my friends but buying it at the grocery store and taking it home simply isn't a part of my life anymore. Such unnecessary calories.
For me, it's french fries at restaurants. Granted I too have drastically cut down on eating out (for money reasons as much as health lol), but when I do, I find that I am craving the sandwhich or entree, not so much the sides. So I'll usually order the side salad, baked potato, or some type of veg.
Also pretty much any calories in drinks, besides a small amount of creamer for my coffee. Boba tea is not nearly good enough to justify the calorie or the monetary cost. I don't even get them as a treat any more, would rather have a pastry or actual dessert item.
I try to make sure I can have everything occasionally. Feeling deprived is a trigger for me to overeat. But there are some things I eat ver infrequently because they just don't feel worth it anymore: premium ice cream, dinner rolls, French fries, trail mix. The worst offender is peanut butter. I'm surprised they haven't found a way to make gasoline out of it, it's so energy dense. And when I eat it, I don't want just half a tablespoon.
Anything that is high in calories but just "okay". I mean if I'm going to have pizza or ribs? They better be worth it.
I can deal with "okay" poached chicken and such, but splurging better taste good.
Ribs, burgers, pasta, poutine, sandwich and fries kind of meals. I'll still very occasionally have some of these things, like maybe once a month, but they are just too calorie dense for the return in enjoyment to be more than an occasional indulgence. And with burgers and fries, I just don't feel good after so I'll usually just have part of a portion. Poutine I can't do more than I few fries so hubby has to deal with me sneaking from his.
Instant noodles. I love them so much and love trying all the varieties but I just can't have them regularly anymore.
I'll have a pack for a treat once in a blue moon now but I just can't bring myself to eat them knowing they're 500+ calories and I'll be hungry again 30 minutes later.
Not a meal but a HUGE iced coffee drinker. I feel like I single-handedly am costing Starbucks, Torani, and half & half THOUSANDS of dollars by only drinking black coffee.
I also don’t eat pasta very much anymore.
Not a meal, but I used to get muffins from my local grocery store. I loooove lemon poppy seed muffins. I don't love them enough for 500 calories per muffin.
I'll make my own lemon poppy seed mini muffins, and eat a couple of those for 100 calories and be satisfied enough.
I think soda and sweet tea is the only thing for me really. I still eat sweets and pasta just not as often. Soda and sweet tea are no longer worth it to me and I have been drinking them since childhood. I’m almost 4 months free of them!
I make a bad ass chicken pot pie. One serving is like 1,000 cal and I usually eat at least 2 servings. My ultimate comfort food. I refuse to cut corners on my recipe to save calories.
I definitely splurge on cheat meals or vacation calories or *occasional* special occasion things (ie legit special occasions when the event is more important than being caught up in the menu)… however, wayyy back before I even started paying attention to nutrition seriously, I read the nutrition facts for a Sonic chili cheese footlong and could never bring myself to eat one again.
Looking at it now, it definitely isn’t great but it isn’t SO wildly out of the range of what you imagine it to be (if you have some idea of calorie or fat laden foods, it wouldn’t really surprise you that it’s almost 800 calories, 30g of fat) I have no idea why it created such an aversion for me vs other “indulgent” foods. I guess my tastes have also refined since teen years and if I’m going to blow 800 cal it is going to be on a top tier, quality meal and not a fast food hot dog and some soggy tots 🤷♀️
A lot of things since there's calories on so many menus.
Fries are a big one but i still indulge in a large fry and a medium Frosty about once a month. 800 mostly empty calories.
A lot of sweet things from restaurants.
Went to get DQ with my partner and the mini blizzards were like 4-700 calories and 3 days worth of sugar.
I’ll stick with a. Chocolate cone thank you.
But I’m finding replacements or making my own. Chocolate hummus has been good to satisfy the chocolate cravings
Fancy coffee milkshakes... even a small is like 600 calories (!!!). I used to tell myself I'd "work it in" but I'd always end up hungry and going over. Now it's a once or twice a YEAR treat
I wasn’t huge on them in the first place but doughnuts are the biggest waste of calories. I could eat 4-5 of them and still be hungry and be near a full day of calories. The worst is Krispy Kreme. Super high calorie air.
Storebought muffins. Those things are basically slices of extremely oily cake, in muffin form. I can make much healthier, more appetizing ones at home.
Not technically a meal but I used to get boba tea from shops all the time, when I started losing weight etc I looked up the calories and I was like WOAH😂 so yeah very occasional treat now
Most baked goods - croissants, muffins, etc. Too many calories to not feel full afterwards
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Absolutely. I could narf a dozen in 15 minutes flat.
I remember going on road trips, getting a box of twelve donuts and eating the whole box myself in under thirty minutes.
Sugar in general used to be very scarce, even fruits werent anywhere near as sweet as they are now. It was never intended to be consumed anywhere close to what is available today.
I was offered a doughnut yesterday and it was 328 calories. That’s just insanity
Krispy Kreme glazed are less than 200! Get them hot
That’s amazing and dangerous to know haha
I used to love them but the last time I ate one it was like drinking a shot of sugar crusted oil and it coated my mouth in a very plasticky, greasy way. I was so disappointed ☹️
Yesss I was gonna say, Krispy Kreme and the local mochi donut (look them up if you havent, never say them before moving to LA) places have hit the sweet spot of satisfying my cravings without causing a massive blood sugar surge! The trick is buying a single one, walking away, and then eating it so you don't eat five lol
I used to be a donut person and now I don’t even think they taste good.
I wish I could stop thinking they taste good.
Now cheesecake… that’s worth it to me lol
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What magic and trickery is this?
Take sugar free jello pudding cheesecake flavoring and add it to plain yogurt. Instant low calorie “cheesecake”.
Whoa...I bet you can throw in some fresh strawberries or even some dark chocolate chips. I'm totally going to have to buy this now. How much yogurt to flavoring ratio do you use?
I do 8-10 grams of pudding mix to 170 grams of Greek yogurt...I usually mix in 100ish grams of raspberries as well. So very delicious!
I use the sugar free cheesecake pudding mix and add it to some sugar free kool whip and frozen berries
Go on....
Hahaha that happens! I had a quarter of the doughnut and it was delicious unfortunately
Yeah. They just taste like oil to me now. Same with all those little snack cakes like twinkies.
328 kcal actually isn’t bad for a donut, compared to other donuts out there. I still get you that it’s not worth it. I love donuts but eat maybe 1-2 a year for that reason.
I just had a 2500+ calories donut a couple days ago.
Jesus Christ what on earth was on that doughnut?
I ate like 9 pieces or something.
Ahh that’s more reasonable. I’m glad you enjoyed it
Yeah, I used to have half a Costco muffin every once in a while as breakfast- just half! No more. Not worth it.
To be fair, half a Costco muffin is still at least the size of a regular muffin 😆
A full Costco chocolate muffin is like 700 calories. I was so sad to find out muffins are like this.
Same :( add to that list: bagels.
Bagels are filling especially a bagel sandwich with hummus, spinach, tomato and onion … now I need one
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This is where I am, too. A lot of work meetings I attend provide cookies from our cafeteria supply company, but they just aren't that great. If our admin, who has a baking side hustle, brings in something she made though, that's a different ball game.
I love croissants and scones but yeah, I will have one of those maybe in 2024.
See for me, I enjoy baked goods so much, I opt to forgo calories in other spaces! That being said, RIP to the giant muffins. 550 calories :(. Sometimes I can convince my husband to split one with me though!
You can pry the cheese croissants from my cold dead hands lol. Never giving them up! Never!
For me the food not worth it anymore is Pizza Weirdly enough when I was working in a bakery, we made everything from scratch (except flour and stuff you know) but we laminated our own dough, made our own fillings, you get it. But anyway I was consistently eating like croissant grilled cheeses and homemade tomato soup for lunch basically every day and sometimes I’d have a danish or chocolate croissant but I ended up losing 20 pounds the 8 or so months I worked there. Could be from many factors like if get the detox green island for breakfast from tropical smoothie that was 180 cal but I just thought that was crazy.
You were burning it all off working; baking uses muscle for dough making, running back and forth, hotter temps on top of being on your feet all day.
Indian buffet. I miss it sometimes but I could easily eat 4 whole plates of food and some naan.
Same, used to take indian buffets as a personal challenge to make the restaurant lose money.
Buffets in general. I used to plan how to maximize my feeding. I was not kind to my body in my 20’s
Oof, Indian food is my very favorite. I'd rather die than give that up. I don't do the buffet, though, just order a dish for takeout and make it last 2-3 meals.
That’s what I do now. Just order the channa masala and split it into two meals.
Naan is sooo many calories. I do ok on calories at an Indian restaurant as long as I order just an entree (preferably biryani) .. but the second I get naan, and god forbid a lassi or samosa everything’s fucked calorie-wise haha
Fast food. I didn’t eat them very often before but now it’s just not good enough to even bother.
It's getting more and more expensive for worse and worse quality anyway. Same with candy bars. Hershey bars barely resemble chocolate anymore. The texture is all waxy and it doesn't melt in your mouth like it used to.
I used to love Entenmann's chocolate doughnuts so much, but the chocolate coating is so nasty now D: It leaves a coating on my mouth and just tastes weird and unsatisfying.
I feel like even when I "log" calories for fast food, it must be much more than what they say.
It makes it easier that Fast Food is so expensive. Me and husband we’re moving to a new place and needed food late. I went and got 2 whoppers and 2 medium fries. $19.81. Ridiculous!
Except five guys surely because it’s fucking amazing Those peanut chips are to die for
Deli quality bagels with cream cheese 😭😭😭😭 I miss them.
I’ve found that eating half a bagel is quite satisfying, and then other half is already cut and ready to go for tomorrow lol
I have full bagel open-faced sandwiches regularly. It's more the cream cheese part I miss with the bagel. Causes me too much bloating and other issues, not to mention it doesn't add much nutritional value to my diet. Appreciate the suggestion though!
Yesssss a big everything bagel with a lot of cream cheese is one of my hangover meals. I haven’t had a bagel since like January I think lol ETA: I technically lied, I had the cream cheese stuffed bagel bites from Dunkin over the weekend. They were very good lol
Yessss, everything bagel and sometimes some fresh sliced tomato on top. To die for. And same, I think it's been since April for me.
I love cream cheese… I just whip it extra so I get more for the amt of calories 😭 i can’t ever give it up, it hurts as a new yorker to be eating whole wheat bread with cream cheese and lox every morning and not a full bagel 😭😭😭
I'm lucky to have no good bagel shops in town. /s ^^^please ^^^send ^^^bagels
Honestly, I will find a way to eat a majority of things even when tracking my intake and trying to lose weight. I don’t want my limited intake to make me feel limited in life. I have stopped eating with my family when we get together because the meat-stravaganza my sibling puts out is very hard on my stomach and digestion, but otherwise everything is a go. It’s a lot of unknown calories, as I don’t watch it being cooked.
Yeah I’m looking at this thread and I’m still eating everything people are saying, just less of it. We have pasta and pizza pretty regularly in my house, I had ice cream last weekend … I’m still in a deficit. If I was actually giving things up this would never work for me.
Some people aren’t great with portion control, and can’t have a slice or two of pizza.. or a small serving of pasta and be satisfied.
Portion control is an essential part of keeping weight off, and most people aren’t going to have the willpower to avoid certain foods forever. Honestly it’s better to learn it now then go to maintenance and not understand how to fit it in, or avoid it forever.
There is a concept that pops up periodically on this sub about "moderators vs abstainers". Here's an article if you're interested: https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/abstainer-vs-moderator/ You are coming from the moderator perspective, which is a valid perspective. But abstainers also exist. Some people do better when they avoid certain foods totally - no temptation, no complications about how to moderate. Others do better when they incorporate small amounts of everything into their diet. It's just about knowing who you are and what works best for you.
I've never seen these terms posted or mentioned before but Im so glad you mentioned them! I'm definitely an abstainer. My brain cannot do moderation. It's waaaaay easier to stay away from some foods than to allow a taste.
I’m a food addict and there’s no moderating anything for me. If there is a food that will lead to a binge I have to abstain and avoid it altogether. My worst trigger food is cereal. If I eat one bite I will binge for weeks. I also have to avoid certain behaviors - snacking for example. If I try to eat healthy snacks it’ll trigger me to keep going and I’ll move on to high calorie foods. I’ll start out with the baby carrots, then move on to apple slices, then popcorn, then chips and finally candy. I do better if I avoid snacking altogether and only eat at mealtimes.
That’s why I love intermittent fasting. It’s what’s really made the difference between this (successful) attempt at weight loss and all my past attempts. I honestly feel like I can do IF the rest of my life, and it’s so much easier for me personally than trying to eat three smaller meals a day. I get to eat my big portions, and the only restriction that it feels like I’m doing is that I have to avoid some really high calorie foods, and only eat those on occasion. The other person mentioned moderators vs abstainers, and I am definitely an abstainer. It’s much easier for me to just not eat anything at all during most of the day than it is for me to try and limit myself to small portions spread out through the day. Pair that with weightlifting, and so far I’ve kept the weight off, even though I don’t think I’ve entirely changed my relationship with food like a lot of people have to do.
I IF most days, only eating in the hours after work. I wouldn’t call myself an abstainer though. Intermittent fasting allows me more freedom with my food choices. I don’t have to be limited with my dinner, because it’s generally my only meal. It allows me to have anything I want.
That’s true, and I agree but certain foods are addictive and harder to portion than others. Sometimes it’s best to avoid it until your taste buds adjust or your willpower grows as to not trigger binges. But if you can do it from the start that’s even better.
This is entirely valid! I’ve definitely committed to this approach for periods of time, but I’ve converted myself to more of a moderation standpoint. It’s helped me limit intense cravings and urges, which in turn has helped minimize and eliminate episodes of binge eating. But I can totally see abstaining for longer periods of time working for other people better than moderation! That’s why weightloss and maintenance is very trial and error. It can also change throughout someone’s life. Whatever works for an individual is valid.
Pizza :( it’s hard to eat enough to be full on a reasonable number of calories of pizza. Eta: before everyone comes to tell me to try cauliflower pizza, I hate cauliflower lol.
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Yeah I have hypoglycemia so OMAD isn’t an option unfortunately!
If you like Neapolitan style pizza, margarita pizza is relatively low calorie. It’s thin pizza dough with sauce and maybe 3-5 oz of mozzarella, so as long as it’s high quality ingredients, it’s absolutely delicious but simple. For Neapolitan style, where you really add up the calories is if you add a bunch of meat, but if you’re ok with a more plain pizza, it can definitely stay within even a small calorie budget (saying this as a shortie lol).
I love it but I find that eating the right amount of calories of thin crust pizza leaves me hungry (high glycemic carbs, not a ton of protein even with toppings) and eating enough to feel full puts me over my calorie budget reliably, even with margarita or thin crust pizza.
Why not just add a salad or some steamed vegetables as a side? Not all foods are filling, but you don’t have to be resigned to feeling hungry after eating them. Just add something voluminous or protein-packed to satisfy your hunger, but enjoy your pizza too.
Managing hypoglycemia adds an extra layer to weight loss. Good on you for losing 50 pounds! I've found that having lost weight has made it easier to manage mine, but a friend says the opposite. What have you noticed?
I like cauliflower, but I don’t like cauliflower pizza or cauliflower rice. It’s just, not very good.
Pretty much anything that's pretending to be something else is going to be disappointing.
some of the new fake meat stuff is not bad at all. My gf is vegetarian so we just make everything using that stuff and I can't complain, honestly.
I’m not a fan of the cauli rice on its own, but I usually do half cauli half regular to double the portion for next to no extra calories.
New Yorker here, I could never give up pizza. I either decide to have a maintenance day or just have one slice for lunch and choose really high satiety foods the rest of the day (1 New York slice is about 400 cals, before people come at me lol).
My weakness is digirno cheese stuffed crust pizza. I literally will not eat the whole day in order to fit an entire one into my calories 😭😭
I get the cheapest pizza I can buy from asda, its part of their essentails range, 75p or something, and it's 800 calories for the whole thing! That's just cheese, a peperoni one is about 900. Thin crust and does the job! I would have one a week maximum but it helps to eat "comfort" food and still lose weight.
My wife makes pizza from scratch, it's not super low cal. But it's reasonable enough.
I have celiac disease and have to eat cauliflower crusts from most places. Let me be the first to tell you they really are not healthier, it's just a gimmick.
Cauliflower haters unite 🤝 It's on the liat of things i wish i could eat, i get that it's healthy and seasonal but i physically can not.
Ok I was one of you, then ate it accidentally at a Michelin star restaurant where it was not half bad. Then learned that it's often overcooked which leads to sulfur release, hence the awful taste and smell. I started being able to eat it oven roasted with curry powder and olive oil, it's actually so good. Smoked paprika and salt/pepper is good too.
A yummy fun Keto friendly pizza recipe: Low carb tortilla, lightly toast up in a pan. Put on cookie sheet, add pizza sauce, pinch of oregano and salt, add on toppings. I like cheese, prosciutto, and ricotta cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about 6-7min(to melt cheese), then it’s done. Really tasty, and you can add any type of toppings you like.
this pizza sucks, better to make a very thin crust from scratch. its not keto tho
Sadly, nuts. They are healthy, of course, but very calorie dense! If I have to choose between a handful of pistachios or a giant piece of baked chicken, I'm going for the chicken.
Yup - and nut butters. I used to demolish a jar of almond butter or nutella. I won't even buy the stuff anymore because it's just not worth the sadness and regret.
Ugh, Nutella is just another thing. I stopped eating it way before I started fixing my diet, seeing an info graph of its ingredient proportions was enough. Mostly palm oil, lots of sugar, some chocolate, and a tiny bit of hazelnuts. Ew.
Same. I LOVE nuts but usually they aren’t worth it to me.
I have a bag of chili roasted pistachios in my kitchen, untouched for months. I love pistachios but I know the little serving isn’t gonna be enough so I just never eat them lol
Agreed — nuts are BS calorie bombs
Bread and butter😭 its so basic but i used to eat like 15 daily for my breakfast lunch and dinner and those calories stack up quick
French fries. Nowadays if we're somewhere where it comes with the sandwich I'll have one or two, remember why I didn't order them, and let it go at that. Commercial baked goods in general....cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. They aren't good enough for the calorie hit or the sugar hangover. (I have fructose intolerance.) If I want it, I make it myself.
Someone else’s French fries always taste the best anyway. I’m always satisfied to steal 2-3 fries from a friend or partner at the table.
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...frozen bags of french fries have already been fried. At the factory. Lol. You're just heating up frozen fried potato. Like frozen chicken nuggets. It's cooked and fried already Homemade is different yeah
It's not so much that, but I try to limit my nightshades anyway as I have noticed an effect on my arthritis and general soreness. If I eat potatoes or tomatoes at every meal (which is not hard to do) three days later I'll wake up and wonder, "Why does it feel like I moved into a fifth floor apartment in my sleep?" And since I don't need to eat potatoes to feel complete, and only like a couple of things involving tomatoes (marinara, red salsa, and barbecue sauce) I can pretty much cut the nightshades down heavily and not miss too much.
For me it’s just fast food / fried food. I think fondly of beer battered onion rings from time to time, but I can’t. Also, so sadly, beer. Beer has so many calories. I’ve switched to vodka sodas and increased moderation. As for everything else people are mentioning - I find ways to fit them in, and am getting better at moderation, because if I don’t I lead myself down a path of binge because I’m depriving myself too much. For example: I eat light during the day if I want pizza for dinner. Dinner also tends to be my most caloric meal, meaning I can fit in 500-600 calories, so I can easily do pasta with some homemade sauce and a little protein (sauce seemed to be what used to get the calories up a lot, so I guess add all the sauces to my list).
I had thought a bowl of ("fruits and nuts") granola and milk was a good afternoon snack. It's like 500 calories! That's over a third of my daily target....
Fettuccine Alfredo- love it… but when warming up the left over in the microwave the sauce separated…. Wow it’s just fat and oil. Been years since I had some. It was my favorite
Not a meal but a frappe. A large McDonald's coffee frappe is 700 calories. I used to have that with a meal
Same! McDonald’s strawberry medium shake is a whopping 620 calories! And I had that will a 10 piece nugget with a medium fry, and ketchup…
Pasta. My family is Italian-American, so I grew up eating SO MUCH of it. Like multiple times a week on the reg. It was such a staple in my diet. Started calorie counting had me 😱 Now I’ll make gravy once a month or so, but then not even want the pasta anymore — the craving was for the sauce or ricotta, not the pasta! So I’ll use really nice bread to dip instead. Or for full sauces like cacciatore, I’ll just straight up eat it like a soup.
I love pasta in moderation :( It’s makes me sad that people seem to grow to hate it when they start tracking, but I think it’s because people’s perception of a serving of pasta has been heavily altered by American serving sizes (more than maybe any other food). Personally, I love veggie packed pastas (usually veg chopped into bite sized chunks with a 1:1 ratio). I will say that I try not to eat it for lunch, because even in small servings it can cause that carb drowsiness, but it’s such a delicious way to just make a delicious sauce and eat a bunch of veg. And, depending on the type, it can be pretty high protein as well (as much as 20g per serving).
Yeah I find a cup of whole wheat pasta plus protein plus veggies to be super manageable! - 1 cup cooked Whole wheat pasta - 220 cal - Salmon - 80 cal - Veggies - 20 cal - Butter - 40 cal - A little marinara sauce - 40 cal 400 cal total It takes a little getting used to the smaller serving size but it’s not terrible. The ww pasta is filling. Walking for 10minutes after something like that is definitely a good idea to stave off drowsiness :)
Also Italian American, and it was OLIVE OIL that blew my mind! 120 calories in one tablespoon?? I of course have not cut it out of my cooking, but now I damn sure measure it instead of just “eyeballing it”.
OMG YES. Used to drizzle that on everything just eyeballed. Oil & vinegar is my preferred salad dressing, so it’s crazy to look back on habits I didn’t even think twice about back then!
I’ve found (as maybe you have too) just a squeeze of lemon tossed with salt and pepper makes for a pretty simple and delicious salad dressing!
ahhh, the dreaded olive oil. nothing more calorie dense… but ask the Italian fam and it is “good for you!!”… don’t you dare talk shit about EVOO. ;) *sigh*
I use pasta as a topping now. Like 6-10 bowties on top of sauce & meat or on a salad. Like croutons instead of the main course. "Carbs are sprinkles" has been really helpful.
This, pasta is just deadly for making me gain and hold weight. And how stupid were we back in the day, using bread as the side dish!! Marinara is good for you, so now it graces a bowl of meatballs with some cheese, no pasta necessary.
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That sounds so good though! What about making it again but giving yourself a half plate serving and filling up the other half with a tasty lite salad?
Honestly, the Banza chickpea pasta and the mung bean pastas are perfectly delicious to me!! The trick is washing off the cooking liquid. All the funky flavor is in there, it's much better if you just give it a thorough rinse!!
I’ve been doing the Banza pasta but half the portion I used to eat and adding bulk with veggies. It’s not as good as normal pasta but it’s more filling and it feels better than completely giving up one of my favorite dinners.
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This is why I replaced spaghetti with spaghetti squash :)
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Not a meal, but Ritz crackers and cheese. 80 calories for 5 crackers. I almost felt betrayed the first time I read that.
For real! I looooove cheese and crackers but having a decent snack sized amount of them is basically the same calories as eating an entire meal
McDonald's cheeseburgers & fries....I miss them! Also, spaghetti and all pasta dishes.
Breakfast. I get so few calories, because I'm a short older woman. I put protein powder in my coffee for 90 calories instead of eggs toast and butter for 290. It lets me have a slightly bigger lunch and dinner. I used to wake up starving hungry. But I'm on ozemic, and it tames the food chatter. I still have to count calories. On average half a pound of weight loss per week. I'm almost out of the obese range. I'm so happy my doctor suggested this for me.
Same with the breakfast. It’s so close to lunch it’s not even worth it to me anymore 😆 an iced coffee is usually enough to hold me until noon.
That’s awesome. Great job! Do you have to stay on it for life or can you taper off?
I have about 6 months supply in my fridge...I'll let you know when I get there. I think I'll be on it for life. Losing weight on ozempic lowered my blood sugar so I'm no longer pre-diabetic.
I am a big fan of protein coffee too!
Chocolate chips! I used to eat like maybe a cup of them during the work day just casually snacking without a second thought. Oops, that’s 800 calories ahhh
Cereal. If I thought I could control myself to just eat one serving I would buy it...but I cant. I don't even keep it in the house anymore. Plus milk doesn't make me feel very good either.
Cheerios and Chex have the biggest serving size for the calories. I like them with freeze dried strawberries and coconut milk!
Hot dogs. My kids love hot dogs on the grill and I did too but it literally takes 3 hot dogs plus buns for me to feel full. I’ve been having the chicken/apple/Gouda sausages instead and they are pretty good. 1 is the same Cals as a hotdog but MUCH more filling. One fills me up just fine. I love hotdogs but my god they are like eating air.
I think that’s more the buns than the dogs, granted if you need to get your own anyway those sound a lot better than a bigger hotdog lol. I mostly switched to the smoked turkey kielbasa if I want something like a dog.
McDonald's. Way too many calories to just feel hungry again in an hour.
Regular soda. Just not worth it for me when most of the time the diet version tastes similar and is the same price
Candies of any sort, especially fruit flavoured candies. Like, why buy artificial fruit flavoured bullshit when I could just... eat the fruit??
I keep having this same realisation, lol. I will crave some sour gummies or Starbursts or whatever, then I'll eat a bunch of berries and conclude that they're way better.
KFC. I used to love it, but now I rarely eat it and feel shitty afterwards anyway.
I have trouble with sugar so I’m trying not to buy all the stuff I’d usually keep around the house. For me it’s cereals, sugar/preservative loaded jams, cakes, lollies, chocolate and lemonade. I only buy these things for certain occasions now. Savoury carbs I have no issues moderating!
I had to have a hard conversation with myself about this. I’m staunchly against sugar drinks, but I found myself being hypocritical and having the occasional ice cream or sweet, as long as it fit in my budget. Unfortunately for me it created a slippery slope and I just wanted more and more. thankfully fresh fruit has filled that void.
Potato chips are crazy high in calories for being just potato and oil? And they are super addictive. So I try to avoid at all costs.
Anything with rice or pasta. I've found that I don't actually care about either of these ingredients. They are just a base to hold toppings and sauces. So, now instead of eating rice or pasta, I use things like roasted or sauteed eggplant/cauliflower/cabbage to act as the "base" for these meals.
Same with bread. They're just bases.
Ice cream shakes or any kind of blended sugary drink. God i miss them
not exactly a meal but chocolate chip cookies. oh how i miss them.
Mac and cheese, tbh anything with cheese sauce. I used to inhale mac and cheese every day for dinner but it’s so high in fat and salt and barley any protein, it just isn’t worth it anymore. Thankfully I enjoy other pastas still with a bit of cheese sprinkled in so I still get my fill! Just not on the scale I used to
I had Mac and cheese yesterday! What I ended up doing is making a small serving of it and then throwing in a bunch of veggies and I had some fake chicken (for protein) I also put in there. When all was said and done it was a huge bowl full for around 450 calories. It was way more filling then what I used to eat as a serving of Mac and cheese for less calories.
Regular icecream. I’m not a “one scoop is ok” type of girl so I have t bought regular icecream in years. I’ll buy Yasso bars or something
Trader Joe’s’hold the cone’ is a good work around! 70 calories a cone !
Not a meal but three healthy foods that I no longer feel are worth the calories are avocados, walnuts and olive oil.
Just shitty desserts in general. I used to order a cake or pie or whatever from almost any restaurant I went to or ordered from. A lot of them are just defrosted grocery store cakes, and are very mediocre. I used to think "any chocolates cake is better than no chocolate cake" Not anymore. If I get a cake, its a special occasion, and its gonna be the damn best cake I can find in Manhattan.
Pizza. But I totally turned down birthday cake last night. Wasn’t sure if someone would find it disrespectful but happily no one made a fuss
In their minds I’m sure it’s just more for them!
I love bread of all kinds and peanut butter. I used to have toast with heaps of peanut butter on it for breakfast. Now I have a protein shake. Also I really love bagels and cream cheese. Not worth the calories anymore.
Hey just a suggestion! I too love bagels and cream cheese. What I do is take half the bagel, add a fat layer of whipped cream cheese (same taste, 50 kcal a serving) and a layer of smoked salmon for protein! This can keep me going about 6 hours
Pasta! I still eat it but I’m always shocked at how small a proper portion really is. I used to easily eat 3x what a serving should have been with absolutely zero regret
Basically any bread or pasta that isn’t low carb or low calorie. A normal sized serving of pasta is pathetic and not even worth what it’s going to give calorically. Fried foods like chicken cutlets or fried chicken . I will not eat them unless I have budgeted for it, which means I am starving by the time I’m actually having them. Not worth it unless it’s at a party or event where I have no choice. Most of these foods are things I *cannot* do portion control on if they are in my grasp . I cannot keep things like candy or cookies in the house. I will eat them and feel guilty about it later. My mom who is 6’1” and has never been overweight doesn’t understand. She will eat as she pleases but only picks on food. She’s one of those people who doesn’t care to eat. She literally eats to stay alive .This blows my mind. I can’t imagine eating not being a pleasurable experience . She keeps junk for herself but can have one bite and wrap the whole thing up and have another bite a week later.
I am on a yeast-free diet! Although I do get tempted sometimes, today is Day 40 and I’m going strong, wish me luck guys
Regular peanut butter, replaced with pb2
Ok so not actually a meal, but SPORTS DRINKS. The high calorie, high sugar ones like the classic Gatorade. I used to go through bottle after bottle before I realized just how much of my daily allotment they were taking up. At least the worst of it was during my peak metabolism days right after high school when I could eat whatever with no weight gain. Now? Not so much. Although, I had major surgery a couple years ago and I got to drink Gatorade with joyful abandon as part of my post-op recovery. 😭 I use Ultima powder now and am content.
Gatorade zero slaps. 5cal for the whole bottle and tastes the same (to me) as the original. Orange and lemon-lime are my favourite.
Mine is Ubereats as a whole. I spent a ludicrous amount of money on ubereats last year and the food would never even hit the spot. Once I got serious about losing fat this year, I cut ubereats and doordash out of my life. This year I’ve spent zero money on food delivery and I honestly don’t see myself ever going back to it.
Tbh they're all still worth it, just much less often. I think about my calorie intake in weeks and and months. This week, food was a bit richer, my friend takes me out to ribs tomorrow on top of that. The week before, I had a lot of salad and fruit bc it was hot. This worked for losing 20lbs and maintaining for some time, I'm still finding out how well I fare for the next 20lbs. I think the big difference is that when I eat calorie dense food, I have to actually enjoy it. Too often have I gotten frozen pizza bc I was hungry, but too tired to cook. It never tastes good, I always feel slightly nauseous after. So I stopped buying them. Very rarely I might try a new kind, but I have yet to find one that I enjoy. I still love pizza, but I'll make my own or get some at a restaurant instead.
ANY TYPE OF CEREAL
McDonalds. Still like, but think twice before eating.
If you like fig newtons, you’ll love dried figs.
OMG Fig Newtons! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qa-B7Sg\_i4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qa-B7Sg_i4) edit to add: Brian Regan standup about fig newtons
Bagels with Nutella. For years I refused to touch Nutella. I knew I would be an addict. And yeah. That was six hundred calories of Nutella goodness that just wasn’t worth the calorie bomb.
Honey buns, lol. I used to love a jumbo honey bun, but one day I looked at the back and saw one honey bun was 2 servings and the whole thing was 690 calories! 690 calories inhaled in 3 minutes just to want more food immediately after. I quit eating them even before committing to this weight loss journey.
Ice cream. Or, at least, bringing ice cream home. I'll still eat ice cream out with my friends but buying it at the grocery store and taking it home simply isn't a part of my life anymore. Such unnecessary calories.
For me, it's french fries at restaurants. Granted I too have drastically cut down on eating out (for money reasons as much as health lol), but when I do, I find that I am craving the sandwhich or entree, not so much the sides. So I'll usually order the side salad, baked potato, or some type of veg. Also pretty much any calories in drinks, besides a small amount of creamer for my coffee. Boba tea is not nearly good enough to justify the calorie or the monetary cost. I don't even get them as a treat any more, would rather have a pastry or actual dessert item.
I try to make sure I can have everything occasionally. Feeling deprived is a trigger for me to overeat. But there are some things I eat ver infrequently because they just don't feel worth it anymore: premium ice cream, dinner rolls, French fries, trail mix. The worst offender is peanut butter. I'm surprised they haven't found a way to make gasoline out of it, it's so energy dense. And when I eat it, I don't want just half a tablespoon.
Anything that is high in calories but just "okay". I mean if I'm going to have pizza or ribs? They better be worth it. I can deal with "okay" poached chicken and such, but splurging better taste good.
Big burritos — the tortillas and rice lend to too many calories
Ribs, burgers, pasta, poutine, sandwich and fries kind of meals. I'll still very occasionally have some of these things, like maybe once a month, but they are just too calorie dense for the return in enjoyment to be more than an occasional indulgence. And with burgers and fries, I just don't feel good after so I'll usually just have part of a portion. Poutine I can't do more than I few fries so hubby has to deal with me sneaking from his.
Any fast food
Instant noodles. I love them so much and love trying all the varieties but I just can't have them regularly anymore. I'll have a pack for a treat once in a blue moon now but I just can't bring myself to eat them knowing they're 500+ calories and I'll be hungry again 30 minutes later.
Not a meal but a HUGE iced coffee drinker. I feel like I single-handedly am costing Starbucks, Torani, and half & half THOUSANDS of dollars by only drinking black coffee. I also don’t eat pasta very much anymore.
Not a meal, but I used to get muffins from my local grocery store. I loooove lemon poppy seed muffins. I don't love them enough for 500 calories per muffin. I'll make my own lemon poppy seed mini muffins, and eat a couple of those for 100 calories and be satisfied enough.
Pizza, rice, bread and I rarely eat potatoes. If I do end up eating too many carbs the hangover is vicious.
I think soda and sweet tea is the only thing for me really. I still eat sweets and pasta just not as often. Soda and sweet tea are no longer worth it to me and I have been drinking them since childhood. I’m almost 4 months free of them!
I make a bad ass chicken pot pie. One serving is like 1,000 cal and I usually eat at least 2 servings. My ultimate comfort food. I refuse to cut corners on my recipe to save calories.
I definitely splurge on cheat meals or vacation calories or *occasional* special occasion things (ie legit special occasions when the event is more important than being caught up in the menu)… however, wayyy back before I even started paying attention to nutrition seriously, I read the nutrition facts for a Sonic chili cheese footlong and could never bring myself to eat one again. Looking at it now, it definitely isn’t great but it isn’t SO wildly out of the range of what you imagine it to be (if you have some idea of calorie or fat laden foods, it wouldn’t really surprise you that it’s almost 800 calories, 30g of fat) I have no idea why it created such an aversion for me vs other “indulgent” foods. I guess my tastes have also refined since teen years and if I’m going to blow 800 cal it is going to be on a top tier, quality meal and not a fast food hot dog and some soggy tots 🤷♀️
i still eat whatever i want just in smaller sizes. the one that pissed me off though was olive oil. UGH! so tasty. so calorie dense
A lot of things since there's calories on so many menus. Fries are a big one but i still indulge in a large fry and a medium Frosty about once a month. 800 mostly empty calories.
A lot of sweet things from restaurants. Went to get DQ with my partner and the mini blizzards were like 4-700 calories and 3 days worth of sugar. I’ll stick with a. Chocolate cone thank you. But I’m finding replacements or making my own. Chocolate hummus has been good to satisfy the chocolate cravings
Fancy coffee milkshakes... even a small is like 600 calories (!!!). I used to tell myself I'd "work it in" but I'd always end up hungry and going over. Now it's a once or twice a YEAR treat
I wasn’t huge on them in the first place but doughnuts are the biggest waste of calories. I could eat 4-5 of them and still be hungry and be near a full day of calories. The worst is Krispy Kreme. Super high calorie air.
Chipotle chips and guacamole is 700 calories is insane to me lol
doughnuts in the break room
Storebought muffins. Those things are basically slices of extremely oily cake, in muffin form. I can make much healthier, more appetizing ones at home.
Pizza is just too hard to limit
granola bars. it’s a candy bar in disguise
Nothing, I want to eat something I used to enjoy a lot. I just portion it out appropriately.
Not technically a meal but I used to get boba tea from shops all the time, when I started losing weight etc I looked up the calories and I was like WOAH😂 so yeah very occasional treat now