A surprising revelation

[eveglass]

Today, just on a whim, I decided to calculate how many calories I eat for breakfast. My standard breakfast is two slices of whole wheat toast (flax!) with peanut butter, and a glass of orange juice. I never knew how much peanut butter I was putting on my toast, so I decided to pull out my kitchen scale and do a before-and-after measurement, which revealed that I was putting about 20g of peanut butter, about one and a third tablespoons.

Looked at all the packages, figured it all out... 500 calories.

What?!? Crazy! It's two pieces of toast and a freakin' glass of orange juice! That works out to 500 calories?!?

Maybe it's time to start hunting for a new standard breakfast...


Edited to add: I've been hunting around the net and found a few interesting sites that show what 200 calories of a variety of foods look like, or what a 300-calorie meal looks like. Interesting stuff, posted here mostly for my own reference and for the edification of my readers.

- What does 200 calories look like?
- What do 300-calorie meals look like?
- 300 calorie food picture gallery
- What do 300-calorie meals really look like? (comparison between home-made and restaurant)
- 300-calorie breakfast meal
- Easy, healthy breakfasts under 300 calories

Comments

[girl-fawkes.livejournal.com]

I suspect that switching to all natural peanut butter would serve you much much better than either smooth or crunchy Krap. Possibly another nut butter, as another option.

Shocked and awed

[dragoncaller.livejournal.com]

That's almost as much as a big Mac, without cheese. This is not fair. Just as you think you're eating healthy. Thanks for this. It is a reminder that eating right is a vigilant fight indeed.
What about if you use low fat PB on your toast? That might trim your calories.
I've decided not to worry to much about weight loss right now. I won't go all Jabba the Hut, but I will have that cookie. (Just one. Two if their small. Three if it's Christmas morning) And after the New Year, it's back to being healthy.
Last year I lost 35 lbs. This year my target goal is another fifteen pounds.
Wish me luck.

Re: Shocked and awed

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

Around the time I was finishing up grad school, I went from a high of about 137 to about 112. Somehow, in the last two years or so, I've managed to go back up to about 132. It's always been a pound or two at a time, so while I've been annoyed, it sort of crept up on me.

I'm trying to be better, starting today. I don't do new year's resolutions, but I *am* trying to make lifestyle changes that will help me get back down to where I want to be.

Re: Shocked and awed

[dragoncaller.livejournal.com]

Same here. It's just difficult and frustrating when they sneak calories in on you. Just as you think you're doing well. That's why posts like your's are good reminders.

[freya46.livejournal.com]

thank you for this. I've gained 18 pounds in the past 1 1/2 years and I need to lose it.

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm up about 20 pounds over where I was in mid-2008, when I was at my lowest. I really want to get back there.

[tygrbabe.livejournal.com]

peanuts and tree nuts are amazingly high in calories because their fat content is high so even the natural stuff is high in calories. low fat dairy products (like low fat cream cheese) are a better choice to spread on toast if you're counting calories.

also, when i started looking at calories i was shocked to see how high most grains are. so really, it's best to fill up on veggies and have reasonable to small portions of the rest.