How many calories do you eat in a day?

pizzamoose · Post by **pizzamoose** » Jun 9th, '05, 21:33

I have come to realize that most people who think they're great at counting calories actually suck at counting calories. Lets take an example.

Two tablespoons of "light" french dressing is 90 calories. Most people use more than two tablespoons on their salad. A lot more. Maybe as much as 10 tablespoons worth. Congratulations, you just added 450 calories to that salad. Bacon bits? Easily 150 calories if you're careful. And don't get me started on croutons. What about a sandwich? Each slice of bread is 100 calories, so you have 200 before you've put anything inside of it. Mayo is at least 150 calories, and with cheese and coldcuts, you might as well be eating a big mac.

Speaking of big macs, eating out is even worse. A bloomin' onion at Outback Steakhouse packs in almost 2500 calories. Share that with a friend, add a rib steak and a beer, with some fries on the side, and you're probably looking at a 5000-calorie meal. Going for pizza? If you only get cheese, each slice is over 600 calories. Add pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and whatever else and you're looking at 800 calories. I cringe to think of what a stuffed slice must be.. 1200 calories at least? And most of us don't limit ourselves to just one slice, unless we're on a diet. And don't get me started on soda, snapple, and other sweet drinks.

So when I think about the number of calories I used to eat before I was on this diet, I was absolutely astounded. I probably averaged 10,000 calories a day. Now I realize that I have a reputation for being able to put food away, but when I think about it, most people probably routinely eat at least 4000 calories/day, perhaps 5000.

So that is my survey. Think about the foods you eat, and the quantity, and come up with a number. What is your normal daily caloric intake?

Bling Skier · Post by **Bling Skier** » Jun 9th, '05, 21:34

I never counted.

Hal U. Dewin · Post by **Hal U. Dewin** » Jun 9th, '05, 21:35

pizzamoose wrote:I have come to realize that most people who think they're great at counting calories actually suck at counting calories. Lets take an example.

Two tablespoons of "light" french dressing is 90 calories. Most people use more than two tablespoons on their salad. A lot more. Maybe as much as 10 tablespoons worth. Congratulations, you just added 450 calories to that salad. Bacon bits? Easily 150 calories if you're careful. And don't get me started on croutons. What about a sandwich? Each slice of bread is 100 calories, so you have 200 before you've put anything inside of it. Mayo is at least 150 calories, and with cheese and coldcuts, you might as well be eating a big mac.

Speaking of big macs, eating out is even worse. A bloomin' onion at Outback Steakhouse packs in almost 2500 calories. Share that with a friend, add a rib steak and a beer, with some fries on the side, and you're probably looking at a 5000-calorie meal. Going for pizza? If you only get cheese, each slice is over 600 calories. Add pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and whatever else and you're looking at 800 calories. I cringe to think of what a stuffed slice must be.. 1200 calories at least? And most of us don't limit ourselves to just one slice, unless we're on a diet. And don't get me started on soda, snapple, and other sweet drinks.

So when I think about the number of calories I used to eat before I was on this diet, I was absolutely astounded. I probably averaged 10,000 calories a day. Now I realize that I have a reputation for being able to put food away, but when I think about it, most people probably routinely eat at least 4000 calories/day, perhaps 5000.

So that is my survey. Think about the foods you eat, and the quantity, and come up with a number. What is your normal daily caloric intake?

40..

Hal U. Dewin · Post by **Hal U. Dewin** » Jun 9th, '05, 21:41

pizzamoose wrote:I have come to realize that most people who think they're great at counting calories actually suck at counting calories. Lets take an example.

Two tablespoons of "light" french dressing is 90 calories. Most people use more than two tablespoons on their salad. A lot more. Maybe as much as 10 tablespoons worth. Congratulations, you just added 450 calories to that salad. Bacon bits? Easily 150 calories if you're careful. And don't get me started on croutons. What about a sandwich? Each slice of bread is 100 calories, so you have 200 before you've put anything inside of it. Mayo is at least 150 calories, and with cheese and coldcuts, you might as well be eating a big mac.

Speaking of big macs, eating out is even worse. A bloomin' onion at Outback Steakhouse packs in almost 2500 calories. Share that with a friend, add a rib steak and a beer, with some fries on the side, and you're probably looking at a 5000-calorie meal. Going for pizza? If you only get cheese, each slice is over 600 calories. Add pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and whatever else and you're looking at 800 calories. I cringe to think of what a stuffed slice must be.. 1200 calories at least? And most of us don't limit ourselves to just one slice, unless we're on a diet. And don't get me started on soda, snapple, and other sweet drinks.

So when I think about the number of calories I used to eat before I was on this diet, I was absolutely astounded. I probably averaged 10,000 calories a day. Now I realize that I have a reputation for being able to put food away, but when I think about it, most people probably routinely eat at least 4000 calories/day, perhaps 5000.

So that is my survey. Think about the foods you eat, and the quantity, and come up with a number. What is your normal daily caloric intake?

btw....each slice of pizza is not 600 calories...even with 2oz of full fat moz per slice (which is alot and many places use part-skim), that's only 18 grams of fat. Even at 60 grams of carbs per slice, year right, maybe deep dish sicilian and 2oz of cheese....add some protein from the cheese and dough...maybe 18 grams....you're still only a 474....round that off to 500 for some more fat and carbs in the sauce...and c'mon, how much sauce on one slice? This is a stretch....

DrJeff · Post by **DrJeff** » Jun 9th, '05, 22:03

FYI, a 20oz bottle of "regular" soda, i.e. Coke, Pepsi, Mt Dew, etc has approximately 43 grams of sugar, or to put it in perspective almost 23 sugar packets worth of sugar

To really put that in perspective, sports drinks, i.e. Gatorade, Powerade, etc have just over 1/2 the sugar content of soda. The real sugar drink winner though is the pre-made full carb yogurt smoothies(i.e. dannon, etc), they tip the sugar scales at roughly 55 grams of sugar per roughly 10 oz serving size

tyrolean_skier · Post by **tyrolean_skier** » Jun 9th, '05, 22:20

I don't count calories - I count points (Weight Watcher's) - If I go over 23 points per day I gain weight and believe me 23 points is not a lot of food. To keep the weight down I need to restrict my intake of starch to only once a day. That means eating a lot of salad to fill up. Drinking lots of water also helps with dieting.

borgy · Post by **borgy** » Jun 9th, '05, 22:31

I try to keep it between 1500 and 2000--- plus excersise---

Beer is a killer. How many calories in a pint of Long Trail?

I'll never chince on beer. Lite beer just plain sucks!!!!!

Dr. NO · Post by **Dr. NO** » Jun 10th, '05, 06:51

What's a calorie?

Fat? Sugar? Calories? what are they? something in the food I eat. Add salt and boom, I have a meal that satisfies me and I move on. I do reduce the amount of meat fat and some sugars now, but don't really count numbers and such. Hell, I probably get more calories than I need on a daily basis from the beer I drink !

Hal U. Dewin · Post by **Hal U. Dewin** » Jun 10th, '05, 06:59

DrJeff wrote:FYI, a 20oz bottle of "regular" soda, i.e. Coke, Pepsi, Mt Dew, etc has approximately 43 grams of sugar, or to put it in perspective almost 23 sugar packets worth of sugar To really put that in perspective, sports drinks, i.e. Gatorade, Powerade, etc have just over 1/2 the sugar content of soda. The real sugar drink winner though is the pre-made full carb yogurt smoothies(i.e. dannon, etc), they tip the sugar scales at roughly 55 grams of sugar per roughly 10 oz serving size

doesn't a 12 oz can have about 40-45 grams of sugar, depending on the brand? If I'm not mistaken, a 20oz bottle has quite a bit more.

pizzamoose · Post by **pizzamoose** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:06

RE: Pizza

After doing a little research, you're right Hal - most pizza slices are 300-450 calories each.

Costco slices are a little larger though, so they probably come close to 600.

Still, three slices of pizza and a couple of beers could put you over 2000 calories. That's more than most women need in an entire day, and pretty close to what most men need.

pizzamoose · Post by **pizzamoose** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:18

I am trying to keep my largest meal of the day breakfast. Every day it's the same thing a nutrition shake that contains what seems like a lot of food, but when you count the calories, it's not bad. I am really eating a lot more fruits and veggies these days because their low calorie count, and high fiber content.

So every morning my shake includes
190 calories: 1 "light" MRP packet from GNC (4g of fiber)
60 calories: 1 fresh pear(2.5g)
80 calories: 1 cup of frozen blueberries (4g)
50 calories: 1 fresh apple (2.5g)
100 calories: 1 banana (2.5g)
80 calories: 1 cup of frozen mixed fruit (store-bought bag containing peaches, grapes, strawberries, honeydew, & pineapple) (2g)
65 calories: 2 scoops of green powder (like a multivitamin) (3g)

So it adds up to about 600 calories, but with 22 grams of fiber. And it completely fills me up for hours..

Stormchaser · Post by **Stormchaser** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:22

I'm guessing 5,000-8,000 a day. I can't gain weight if i try. I eat a quart of ice cream a day too!

Hal U. Dewin · Post by **Hal U. Dewin** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:26

pizzamoose wrote:I am trying to keep my largest meal of the day breakfast. Every day it's the same thing a nutrition shake that contains what seems like a lot of food, but when you count the calories, it's not bad. I am really eating a lot more fruits and veggies these days because their low calorie count, and high fiber content.

So every morning my shake includes
190 calories: 1 "light" MRP packet from GNC (4g of fiber)
60 calories: 1 fresh pear(2.5g)
80 calories: 1 cup of frozen blueberries (4g)
50 calories: 1 fresh apple (2.5g)
100 calories: 1 banana (2.5g)
80 calories: 1 cup of frozen mixed fruit (store-bought bag containing peaches, grapes, strawberries, honeydew, & pineapple) (2g)
65 calories: 2 scoops of green powder (like a multivitamin) (3g)

So it adds up to about 600 calories, but with 22 grams of fiber. And it completely fills me up for hours..

that's a lot of fruit for one meal, I'd hate to be the one who has to change YOUR diaper!

snowsprite · Post by **snowsprite** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:26

I have no idea how many calories, but it can't be much. I just never eat 'til I'm full except maybe twice a year--Christmas and Thanksgiving. And even then, I don't have to loosen the belt. I eat often, but I eat barely anything. I also eat only miniscule amounts of bread, sugar, rice, potato. I avoid any processed food. Mostly the diet is just fruit, veg, protein (with as little sauce, added seasonings, or preparation as possible).

I've gone with the approach with totally changing my mindset and not putting too much emphasis on food overall--shifted my emphasis to physical activity over eating and sitting around. This has worked for me!

Sprite

snowsprite · Post by **snowsprite** » Jun 10th, '05, 07:27

That's a pretty heavy shake. Bet if you just had a banana and an apple and ignored your hunger you'd see the pounds drop instantly.

Sprite

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How many calories do you eat in a day?

How many calories do you eat in a day?

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