Hello, my dears! It’s Alla Sem here. There are many things that can affect weight such as hormones, age, stress, and metabolism to name a few. We can offer advice and suggestions to help with food cravings, emotional eating, and increasing metabolism, but ultimately weight loss success comes down to one important thing: calories.
I know this isn’t something new and it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it is the truth. The biggest problem is that most people don’t know how many calories are in certain foods that they eat every day and how quickly they add up.
On my journey from 110 kg to 80 kg, I was shocked when I learned the truth about some of my favorite foods. Let me share some eye-openers with you.
As Americans, we are so accustomed to large portion sizes and high calorie foods that we often don’t realize just how many calories we are consuming. Here are a few food items to test your calorie level knowledge.
Prime Rib
Everyone loves a steak once in a while, and don’t worry, we wouldn’t dream of telling you not to have it. The problem lies in how much we eat. An average serving of Prime Rib or other steak is about 8 ounces. This is not a huge steak and will appear very average on your plate, and yet it will cost you about 600 calories. Add in the baked potato with fixings, and you are up to a 900 calorie meal.
Tip: When eating steak, have a 4 ounce portion size and fill your plate up with veggies. This way you can enjoy your steak without piling on the calories.
Scones
Do you ever run into Starbucks for a coffee and a quick scone for a snack? Many people do this, and it can become habitual. The pastries and breads in the case look too good to pass up. One of those Starbucks scones will cost you about 450-500 calories, equivalent to an entire meal. Add the latte, and you are now up to about 700 calories.
A good rule of thumb is to keep snacks between 100-200 calories. You can see that a coffee and scone at 700 calories is far too many for a snack.
Tip: Skip the scones, pastries, and doughnuts. Keep a healthy snack with you like some trail mix or a granola bar.
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Bagels
It seems like just a little bread, but bagels have grown in size over the years. A standard serving size of a bagel used to be 2 ounces, but now marketplace bagels weigh up to 6 ounces, provide 360 calories, and count as 6 servings of grains (70 grams of carbohydrates). Once again, this is something we would typically grab as a snack or part of our breakfast, and it provides a lot of calories for one food item.
Tip: Eat half of a marketplace bagel or buy store-bought bagels that are 2 ounces in size.
Taco Salad
This always seems like it would be the best choice at a Mexican restaurant. After all, it is a salad. Not quite. A typical fast food taco salad will cost you about 800 calories.
Tip: A chicken soft taco at a fast food restaurant is only around 200 calories, providing a better choice.
Restaurant Sandwiches
This can be a good choice, but beware of specialty sandwich shops. The original turkey sandwich at Schlotzsky’s Deli will cost you around 763 calories.
Tip: Avoid specialty breads such as foccacia and rolls. Stick with regular bread and ask for a light amount of mayonnaise or whatever spread they use.
The Bottom Line
On average, it takes about a 45 minute, moderate paced walk to burn 250 calories. So you can see it is much easier putting the calories in than expending them through activity. Learning about calories and paying attention to portion sizes is the number one way to win at weight loss.
Knowledge is power. Now that you know the truth about these foods, you can make informed choices that support your goals.
With love and belief in you,
Alla Sem
