Page 4 | To feel so stupid over hidden calories

CallHimMrRaider · 07/02/2022 12:11

OP, I have been doing similiar to you - low(ish) carbing, intermittent fasting, and nothing as virtuous as a veggie scramble for lunch, and have lost a good amount of weight on it.

I would check out what it is that's making you 'pile on' weight as a couple of extra bit of olive oil shouldn't be doing that given the rest of your diet.

Harrysmummy246 · 07/02/2022 12:13

@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?

Honestly, do you think weight is piling on purely for a few splashes of oil? REALLY? Who recommended this particular combination of faddy strategies as opposed to ensuring you get enough protein, being realistic about calorie burn and consumption and, just eating a little less and doing a little more? Sounds scathing but really, this doesn't feel like the answer

pastabest · 07/02/2022 12:14

followed by red grapes and 1 chocolate out of the leftover Christmas stash ( I am going to get rid of the chocolate I think) and then for tea the salad I mentioned earlier with a small jacket potato with beans n cottage cheese followed by 1 more Christmas chocolate and a satsuma. Maybe an individual pot of Greek yoghurt too

depending on portion size that all that could easily be 800 - 900 calories.

Your salad earlier probably around 400

So as a minimum your on around 1200 without eating any breakfast etc.

If that's really all you are eating then it might be that the problem actually is that you are eating too little.

irishfarmer · 07/02/2022 12:15

I know pp's have said about frylight destroying pans. I have also found that. I now use www.tesco.ie/groceries/product/details/?id=286812172 I bought one, then when it was empty I bought the big bottle of oil, popped off the sprayer and refilled the bottle. You use hardly any oil.

Hidden calories, I think a lot of things advertised as healthy have huge amounts of hidden sugar/ calories. So check the sugar content.

I lost weight without changing my diet when I quit drinking. A bottle of wine contains about 650 calories which depending on how much you drink can make a difference.

Harrysmummy246 · 07/02/2022 12:15

@Cheeseandlobster

I yearn for my younger days where could eat anything and stay thin

This will sadly be part of it- very common around the menopause.

PS don't just get rid of the chocolate etc. This has to be sustainable

Jupitersmoonandstars · 07/02/2022 12:17

@reesewithoutaspoon

If the oil isn't in the pan after you cooked it, then it's in your veggies. . an extra 300 calories a day will add up. over a week that's 2100 extra calories which is more than a pound in weight ( rough estimate is 1700 calories =1 pound in weight). so you need a deficit of 1700 a week to lose a pound approximately.

For most people, 3500 equals a pound in weight.

LH1987 · 07/02/2022 12:17

Definitely an obvious one but museli, I thought it was a low calorie, healthy option but the one I was having seems to be basically sugar!

Bunnyfuller · 07/02/2022 12:18

Well done trying to lose some weight op. I had no idea MN was so full of such perfect people who had never made assumptions about things.

The spray oil works fine, or with good non-stick you can go no oil.

I read the labels of everything now, sometimes calorific content is surprisingly horrific.

Gonnagetgoing · 07/02/2022 12:19

I had no idea until recently that cheese was so high in calories. I don't have it much - Cathedral City lighter e.g. in cheese on toast but used to have Baby Bels (light) or Marmite little cheeses on a regular basis after work...

I also used to eat a tin of soup or a carton rather than half the recommended amount.

I hardly snack now, or try not to. Don't obsess re 5 a day etc.

I also like a date with peanut butter for a snack.

I think a certain amount of fat/carbs/protein is healthy in a daily diet.

CornishGem1975 · 07/02/2022 12:19

Not stupid at all - I really don't think people give much thought to oil, or butter or that dollop of mayo and if you're trying to lose weight it can really add up!

Harrysmummy246 · 07/02/2022 12:20

@Happy36

You could oven bake your mushrooms and veg. (could do a huge batch in advance) then make the scramble in the microwave.

Or pour the eggs on and pop back in the oven. Not everyone can stomach microwaved eggs

absolutelynotfabulous · 07/02/2022 12:21

I wouldn't sweat your lack of calorie knowledge op. Eating these days seems to me to be more about healthy eating and low carb.

I'm the queen of calories, mainly because my weight watching exploits date from the early 80s when calories were The Thing. I haven't a clue about carbs and I don't much care.

I'll do whatever it takes to stay slim. Calories work for me mainly because it's easy to be accountable.

lightand · 07/02/2022 12:23

Dont feel stupid. I started a thread on this very subject, about 6 months ago. I will see if I can find it.

HoliHormonalTigerlilly · 07/02/2022 12:23

Nuts & seeds!! Ate a packet of sunflower seeds at my desk once throughout the day. Then realised it was 1000 cals 🙈🙈🙈

lightand · 07/02/2022 12:25

@lightand

Dont feel stupid. I started a thread on this very subject, about 6 months ago. I will see if I can find it.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/4229377-I-had-no-idea-how-many-calories-are-in

I found the advice all very helpful

Original poster

Cheeseandlobster · 07/02/2022 12:26

@Harrysmummy246 that old chestnut eat less move more. If the oil equates to an extra 300 to 400 calories x 5 then surely getting rid of that will help? And compared to a lot of people I know I eat relatively virtuously, at least in the week anyway. I don't think what I do is faddy. I am aiming for something sustainable and I have maintained most of the good habits in hiit training, loads of water n veg and eating 2 meals a day rather than 3 for 2 years now. I found when I started low carbing my pre menstrual cravings disappeared. Prior to this I was ravenous for a few days before. So some things are working. I just need to work on what isnt

OP posts:

Lampshading · 07/02/2022 12:26

@cherrytreecottage

Just a warning, fry light absolutely ruins a non stick pan! If something particularly needed oil I found the tiniest drizzle or spray of oil, brushed around with a pastry brush to get good coverage was far better. I've gone through SO many pans because of fry light!

Yes agree with this, just use a bit of oil and make sure it's hot and spread across the frying pan before adding the ingredients.

Original poster

Cheeseandlobster · 07/02/2022 12:27

@lightand

Dont feel stupid. I started a thread on this very subject, about 6 months ago. I will see if I can find it.

Thank you. I will have a read

OP posts:

drpet49 · 07/02/2022 12:28

* I cannot see how even with the extra calories in the oil how you are "piling" weight on whilst intermittent fasting, low carving and exercising*

^I agree. Something else is going wrong here.

Gwenhwyfar · 07/02/2022 12:31

@user1497207191

A biggie is salad dressings/oils etc. It's a "staple" part of most diets to have salads, but they're pretty boring and uninspiring without some kind of oil/dressing, and that's where the calories are!

Then you eat a 'light' dressing, which then means people tell you it's evil because it's got preservatives and additives... Is there a non-processed low-calorie dressing?

BlondeWidow · 07/02/2022 12:31

@cherrytreecottage

Just a warning, fry light absolutely ruins a non stick pan! If something particularly needed oil I found the tiniest drizzle or spray of oil, brushed around with a pastry brush to get good coverage was far better. I've gone through SO many pans because of fry light!

How does fry light ruin a non stick pan?

Harrysmummy246 · 07/02/2022 12:32

[quote Cheeseandlobster]@Harrysmummy246 that old chestnut eat less move more. If the oil equates to an extra 300 to 400 calories x 5 then surely getting rid of that will help? And compared to a lot of people I know I eat relatively virtuously, at least in the week anyway. I don't think what I do is faddy. I am aiming for something sustainable and I have maintained most of the good habits in hiit training, loads of water n veg and eating 2 meals a day rather than 3 for 2 years now. I found when I started low carbing my pre menstrual cravings disappeared. Prior to this I was ravenous for a few days before. So some things are working. I just need to work on what isnt[/quote]
Because HIIT isn't the amazing thing its proponents make it out to be.

You'd honestly be better going for a walk.

And jeez, yes, that amount of oil, the food must be swimming

Dixiechickonhols · 07/02/2022 12:35

Scrollingleaves not criticism of avocado or nuts at all. Agree they have many benefits, I eat them. But some people don’t realise how calorific they are a handful of nuts might be hundreds of calories but the person is confused why they aren’t losing as they are eating healthy food. Op is quite right to have them just weigh them for a few weeks at least.

Gwenhwyfar · 07/02/2022 12:35

"Bread, one slice can be up to 200 calories depending on the loaf size etc, so I switched to ryvita"

Most bread is around 100 cals a slice though. I've also had to swap to a lower calorie alternative.

purplesequins · 07/02/2022 12:36

Then you eat a 'light' dressing, which then means people tell you it's evil because it's got preservatives and additives...
Is there a non-processed low-calorie dressing?

mix a tablespoon plain yoghurt with herbs/spices