AKK Just saw how much I consume
 

I am not one who eats a lot but after today I just want to eat grass. I did the whole food journal and I just got sick.

It looks like even though I don't eat a lot of breads or so forth, I still consume way too many carbs.

How many of y'all freaked when you saw this journal for the first time?

I didn't freak out when I first saw the log, because I had already been dieting for 6-8 weeks. However, when I went out of town over the weekend and honestly logged my intake, now that was sickening... Especially when I found out that Cheesecake Factory cheesecake averages like 1000-1200 calories a SLICE!!!

I too was shocked! The good thing is that now you can see where the major foul ups are and start substituting healthier items.

Since I've been tracking, the only time that I near 3000 calories a day are major holidays with lots of desserts. I no longer crave fast food after figuring out how much damage it did to my diet. It's amazing how finding out how calorie rich some foods are can change how you feel about them and cause you to eat less or stop eating them altogether.

What is so bad is that I don't eat that much. I am at only 600 calories for the day and I can promise you I won't eat that much for dinner or have a snack. But what I do eat!!!! I usually ahve peanut butter and apples in the PM for a pick me up....HECK NO! The carbs....I just want to cry.

Hi karrieanne,
Am I reading this right that you are trying to exist on 600 calories a day? An apple with peanut butter is a perfectly fine snack, especially as an afternoon pick-me-up when your blood sugar dips. The apple has some sugar but it also has a lot of fiber which will help keep the blood sugar from spiking.

I am also trying to keep the carbs down (never met a carb I didn't like) but usually I look at the percent - anything around 40% carbs for the day is perfect for me. At 1100 to 1200 calories thats about 100- 120 g of carbs. But if all my carbs are coming from fruits and veggies and a bit of whole grains I cut myself some slack.

I do agree, however, logging your foods can really be an eye opener.

Pam

Carbs are not evil! Also, fitday does not distinguish simple carbs from complex carbs. If you aren't eating sugar sweetened foods, white breads, white pasta, potatoes, white rice, then you aren't eating simple carbs and no need to freak out. We NEED carbs, it's our main source of fuel.

I agree with Lizzy on this one. Carbs are essential to energy, it's just the starchy, refined ones that cause problems. I know it's been said one can gain weight eating carrots if they eat enough them, but I've never been known to go on a carrot binge:D. Creating a moderate calorie deficit along with intense exercise (for healthy individuals, with proper form) is, IMHO, the smartest way to go about losing bodyfat and staying healthy.

Logging food has always been helpful to me. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to eating:)

Actually it's not potatoes that are evil, it's all the junk we pour over them. I have really good luck eating potatoes while dieting, but I stick to red ones and eat them with ff sour cream instead of butter or margarine. I think it's the russets you have to be careful with? Oh and the fries.

Put me in the camp with Lizzie and Beth. Obviously, moderate and choose smart carbs, but as I read somewhere (and I'm paraphrasing), "what makes people think that something natural, grown in nature [vegetables, fruit, whole grains], and not processed is bad for you?"

Some days my food journal looks better than others. It's all about balancing it out and being "good" most of the time. Take heart; as you find out more what works for you and you make changes, your food journal will reflect better and better choices as you build the new habits.

Actually that is the norm for me. It's not that I am trying to live on that much. I naturally feel full on that much. I have never been a big eater. I went out with my mom for dinner and we split a cheese burger and fries and Red Robin. I felt stuffed on that amount and went to bed satisfied. So yesterday it was about 1700 calories for the day and I was good.

I tried to increase my intake by some of the standards...i.e...quick weight lose programs and such....and I started to gain in a major way. I just can't eat that much.