What surprises have you found about foods you didn't realize before logging?

One of the interesting things about logging foods is what I've learned about the nutrition/calories of certain foods that are different than what I had believed was true. For instance, I always thought that peanut butter, while full of calories, had a lot of protein. Not so - at just 4g/100 calories it's not a great tradeoff. I still eat it b/c i love it, though. I always that that sour cream, the full fat kind which I love, was a calorie bomb, but it's really not bad at just 60 calories for 2T. What things have surprised you?

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I have tried various "fat-free" versions of foods and found that most are not worth the minimal calorie saving for the lack of taste. I have been using 1% milk for years--I don't drink it, just use it on cereal and in cooking, the full fat sour cream has better flavor than the other, butter is infinitely better than margarine, etc. I have started eating more fruit and different veggies. If my husband had his way we would have nothing but canned peas, green beans and corn. Thankfully I like most veggies raw so I can include a wider variety in my diet.

that if i eat more veg i can have a tasty snack later and i don't have to worry about calories of it. also that veg make me feel fuller for longer!

Not food, but that i was drinking away a lot more calories than i thought

Emily3907 wrote: »

Sodium. I never realized how much sodium I was eating. No wonder I woke up with fat fingers most mornings.

Me too! Big eye opener.
And, how much I like the taste of mustard. I only went with it at first to break my bond with Miracle Whip and the enormous calories from that. But just a little mustard can add such flavor!

I would never now treat myself to a cocktail when I go out with friends, they are laden with sugar and calories and for me, just not worth it!

crys_todd wrote: »

An actual half cup of oatmeal is almost 30% more than when I weigh out 40 grams.

OMG, this!

That most processed foods out there are severely lacking in micronutrients.
That high carb fruits and vegetables have a decent amount of calories.

That everything has more calories than I thought... even veggies (well, not cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes, which I know, are a fruit, but everything else).

The only thing that shocked me about how few calories they had were caramels. I always thought they were so 'bad for you'... but nope, only like 25 calories each!

2 things: 1) Knorr rice sides ( pre packaged...I should have known better) 2) Ken's Honey Mustard. (That was a very disappointing barcode scan!!! )

Bread, I used to bake my own and our family would eat a loaf in a matter of 1-2 days. I haven't baked any since January, except yeast rolls. I just can't fit a lot of bread into my calorie goals. I do eat a lot of sandwiches but I make them with the light fluffy wheat breads from the grocery and not the dense breads that I like to bake.

PACO1481 wrote: »

I decided to focus on building muscle rather than watching the scale.....so for my diet I have to focus on getting enough protein. I was amazed at how hard it is to increase it to where I need it! But I love having something new to focus on, and the perk is that with eating all the protein I don't really want all the carbs I used to eat. :-)

Eat beef steak cook a little extra and have steak and eggs for breakfest one egg and 1/4 cup of egg whites I buy egg whites in a long size carton. Fish mainly salmon, cheese, big thick burgers use extra lean ground beef there are lots of food with protein some a little some a lot

crys_todd wrote: »

Non-fat dairy of any sort is never worth it (milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese). I'd rather have 1 oz of delicious full fat cheese than 1 lb of the non fat stuff. Usually the calorie savings aren't even that much anyway.

Can I get an amen!? Seriously, I will never sacrifice my full fat dairy for low fat or non fat. Just not worth it to me.

nicolaferris420 wrote: »

I would never now treat myself to a cocktail when I go out with friends, they are laden with sugar and calories and for me, just not worth it!

This. I used to drink fruity vodka juice drinks. I've switched to white wine.

That two tablespoons of peanut butter is closer to 1 scoop when not weighed. Before I started weighing I was eating closer to 4tablespoons and not even knowing it.

Chips and nuts that say 9 pieces 100 grams (example) is not remotely close to 9! When weighed, it's more like 5 pieces for 100 grams.

And ground turkey and 97% ground beef are actually pretty close in calories and 4ozs of chicken is a lot of chicken!

how much sodium in everything.. a big eye opener there

- what a serving of cereal or almonds looks like

- that avocado is a worthwhile "upgrade" from mayo (gosh I love mayo though)

Bananas. Who knew they were so caloric? Not me. I don't care. I'm eating them anyway. And peanut butter. 190 calories for 2 Tbsp. Don't care. Eating that too. How the heck does the peanut butter and dark chocolate spread only end up being 170 calories for 2 Tbsp? I don't know. Don't care. I'm eating that as well.

How quickly those little, "meh, an extra splash of milk won't hurt" or, "it's just a tiny piece of chocolate" moments add up. OMG.

Eggs! They have so much more cholesterol than I thought!

asflatasapancake wrote: »

Bananas. Who knew they were so caloric? Not me. I don't care. I'm eating them anyway. And peanut butter. 190 calories for 2 Tbsp. Don't care. Eating that too. How the heck does the peanut butter and dark chocolate spread only end up being 170 calories for 2 Tbsp? I don't know. Don't care. I'm eating that as well.

I was actually surprised that a tablespoon of peanut butter was as much as it was, volume wise. I was ready for it to seem like nothing, but I find I can spread a tbsp of PB over a piece of toast just fine.

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