To feel so stupid over hidden calories

[Cheeseandlobster]

I have been trying to be healthier for ages. I follow a lowish carb diet combined with intermittent fasting, do hiit exercises daily, drink loads of water and get on average 9 portions of fruit n veg a day (usually 7 veg 2 fruit). Yet the weight keeps piling on

My go to healthy lunch is veggie scramble. Mushrooms, peppers, courgette, spinach and jalapeño with 1 egg. My pan is shit and the mushrooms stick to the pan or burn so I have been adding more splashes of rape seed oil when this happens. I looked at the bottle yesterday and 1 table spoon is 124 calories so I reckon I have been consuming on average 300 - 400 calories extra in oil. Maybe more. That's another meal! And I feel like an absolute idiot for not realising sooner.

So out goes the pan and I have bought a new pan where you can dry fry and some spray oil with 1 calorie per spray just in case.

I thought I was being food savvy but now I just feel stupid. Does anyone else have any hidden calorie warnings or done something similar?

@fellrunner85

Alcohol. People bang on about their diet then drink 3 beers or glasses of wine

Absolutely. But, like exercise, most people aren't prepared to do what's hard. It's not easy to give up alcohol completely, just as it's not easy to get up at 5.30am to go for a run or a spin class. Most people know they would be much slimmer and fitter if they did these things, but choose not to.

Much easier to shuffle around the edges of a lifestyle change, doing the odd youtube workout and cutting calories here and there, but it's not going to yield the results.

I've done dry January, but no way am I becoming tee total forever. I will somehow have to make up for three glasses of wine on the weekend. I hope to switch to G&T, but slimline tonic is not available where I live.

" tbh I’d rather have a big lovely dinner for 450 cals than a slice of sickly cake at Costa."

I'd rather the cake if I'm honest.
If I give up sweet things, maybe my palate will change?

@Gwenhwyfar

Tbh I hadn't given the meat much thought as I quite often just have a bowl of salad on it's own but had some spare chicken to finish up that day so added it and measure and counted everything.

The bacon is the little bacon flavoured crispy salad topping, not actual bacon (not that it's any better for you but you have to have something!)

I checked and I was wrong about rapeseed. It does have more omega 3. I was thinking of sunflower oil.

[quote NewYearNewMinty]@Gwenhwyfar

Tbh I hadn't given the meat much thought as I quite often just have a bowl of salad on it's own but had some spare chicken to finish up that day so added it and measure and counted everything.

The bacon is the little bacon flavoured crispy salad topping, not actual bacon (not that it's any better for you but you have to have something!)[/quote]
and that's exactly the point of the thread.

it is very easy to underestimate calories consumed in food and to overestimate calries used exercising.

Alcohol in moderation seems to work better for me than none at all. If I cut out alcohol I seem to crave sweet things and end up consuming more calories. I've never lost a stick of weight by cutting out alcohol completely for long periods.

I had a colleague who loved pesto and had it with pasta, sandwich and salads etc. She couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t lose weight until I suggested she look at the nutritional info. She was amazed - she thought that because it was green it must have been really healthy.

@ElftonWednesday

Alcohol in moderation seems to work better for me than none at all. If I cut out alcohol I seem to crave sweet things and end up consuming more calories. I've never lost a stick of weight by cutting out alcohol completely for long periods.

Yep, I'm working on max 3x a week and then usually only a small glass of wine. We've been creeping to daily thanks to lockdowns etc

@ElftonWednesday

Alcohol in moderation seems to work better for me than none at all. If I cut out alcohol I seem to crave sweet things and end up consuming more calories. I've never lost a stick of weight by cutting out alcohol completely for long periods.

Yeah, I like a glass of wine in the evening but when I'm abstaining I'll have a cuppa and then want chocolate with it.

Gensola if it's helping you , I would not want to critcise. But for everyone else, it's worth noting that anyone - literally anyone - can call themselves a "nutritionist". Dieticians are state registered like physios etc. They are the ones who are properly qualified.
Having said that, for a while NHS diet advice was not up to speed with the latest info. It's got vastly, vastly better recently, however.

My friend's dietician told her she HAS to snack between meals.

My latest food fad is greens and I recently bought a wok. For lunch today I had a whole pack. of tenderstem broccoli, steamed and served with a sprinkling of Parmesan and chilli flakes and a 2 egg omelette.
For dinner I'm having leek and potato soup with home made crusty bread. No pudding.
I ration myself to either a late breakfast of porridge or granola with fresh fruit and yogurt and dinner around 6pm OR an early-ish lunch around noon and dinner at 6pm. Only two meals, no snacks and water to drink. Before bed I have a banana and a 10oz glass of whole milk, usually M&S Gold (Jersey and Guernsey). Milk for strong bones and banana before bed is a good aid to sleep well as it triggers melatonin.
That kind of regime keeps my weight at the same level as in my early 20s. I love sweet stuff but learned to prefer to fit into my clothes comfortably without rolls of fat or buying shapewear. I cba to count calories.

One thing which I’m not sure has been mentioned or not, is that exercise can build muscle.

So often when the scales aren’t moving people think they’re not losing weight etc, when in actual fact they’ve built muscle and that’s why the scales haven’t gone down as much.

Just something to consider!

Op, your diet is very healthy but not for weight loss unfortunately. To lose weight you need to prioritise protein (not powder) rich food. Also the best exercise for weight loss is weight lifting. Try to have some weight lifting days. Also exercising every day will soon demotivate you, make youtired, have some rest days or yoga/stretch days instead. Updated/upgrade your exercises every 5-6 weeks......don't give up, first visible results will show after 3 months. .....oh and you need to cooperate healthy oils in your diet for healthy digestive system and healthy gut: olive oil and omega 3 oils are absolutely necessary and crucial in weight loss.

If you are perimenopausal you have to eat for that. Your body uses food in a different way, so you have to know what abd when you should be eating. I am very post menopausal - 25 years on. I eat lots of fruit and veg and protein. Limited carbs. Limited alcohol. And am losing weight. With little exercise due to disability, but had to find out what my diet should look like.

@Gwenhwyfar

"If you're going to just wash the sauce off why on earth wouldn't you just buy a can of cannallinni beans?? Surely it would work out cheaper and be a lot less hassle."

It's not me buying the baked beans is it so no need for the attitude.
Not sure about cheaper. At one point baked beans were the cheapest thing you could find.

You are incredibly negative

Mine is no way does it have so many calories. So annoying and not giving up my single glass of red once a day just to be skinny

@browneyes77

One thing which I’m not sure has been mentioned or not, is that exercise can build muscle.

So often when the scales aren’t moving people think they’re not losing weight etc, when in actual fact they’ve built muscle and that’s why the scales haven’t gone down as much.

Just something to consider!

Although unlikely with just HIIT and not having changed regime I'd say.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned but there is a huge difference between veg grown above the ground and veg grown under the ground.
Think about it. Broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, squash, mange tout, cabbage etc against potatoes, carrots, beetroot, sweet potato, turnip etc.
Try to choose your veg more from the above the ground category and watch the sugar levels in fruit.

I really should be taking my own advice. I piled on the weight over lockdown.

If you’re eating a healthy diet, exercising and piling on weight I would go to the doctors and get checked out. Bodies are more than just calories in, calories out. If you have a medical issue you may be gaining weight regardless of how little you are eating. Being obsessed with calories is not healthy in itself. What did people do before the calorie was invented/discovered? I would suggest getting a health check first, then showing a food diary to someone who knows what they are doing (not just someone who has their own experience of losing weight - we are all different), and so get some professional advice.

The Nutracheck calorie counting app is absolutely brilliant for keeping track and also monitoring your carbs, sugar, protein, fibre etc. I’ve learnt so much about my diet and it’s completely changed my eating habits.

Are you sure there isn't some other underlying cause for the weight gain? Under-active thyroid? Pregnancy? Peri menopause? Rather than trying to second guess what's going on why don't you see your doctor for a chat? Even if it's just to discuss the right diet plan for you?

I can relate to this and have been following a Keto style diet which really opened my areas to some of the calories in certain fruit & vegetables so your 7 portions might actually be heavier in sugar/calories than you think. Green vegetables tends to v good, but be very careful on portion sizes with rest ie on my keto 4 x cherry tomatoes is a portion! Carrots, parsnip, turnip, peppers, sweetcorn, apples, pears, bananas, plums, sweet potato, grapes, avocado are all no go when you are in weight loss phase and only allowed in moderation when maintaining!

Condiments for me 😳

"Being obsessed with calories is not healthy in itself."

If you want to lose weight you have to at least be aware of calories. I don't think that's unhealthy.
Before we knew about calories people probably had very active lives and not as much of a surplus of food.