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What Should Count?

What Should Count?

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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22 Comments

  1. Brie @ Brie Fit

    Hmm. Tough question. There are honestly very few things I won’t eat now that I know the nutritional stats…but, like you said, they would be a very occasional, once in awhile treat. I used to get Arby’s at least once a week and eat Kraft mac n’ cheese 3-4 times a week, and now the thought of Arby’s makes me nauseous. But if I was really, seriously craving it, I might go for it…it’s been probably 2 years since I’ve had it though! And I still have mac n’ cheese once a month because I love it so.

    I say fruits and veggies “count.” Some are so insignificant, it’s not a big deal to skip tracking them, but stuff like bananas and sweet potatoes can be 100-200 calories each. If I ate 2-3 bananas a day, that’s a significant difference!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      You make a great point about the bananas. While I usually eat a banana a day (100 calories) I always count it. But for some reason in my head the blueberries seemed really insignificant. I guess I will still count the, because I don’t need to get into the habit of being a lazy counter. But it was an interesting debate.

      I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at Arby’s but Taco Bell and Burgerville were definitely two of my vices…I eat there once in awhile but I don’t go nuts and order everything I want like I used to.

  2. Rachel

    This is interesting to me. Never ever again? EVER? If it’s something you loved, it seems like something you would be ok to have in moderation, don’t you think…?

    Yes it’s a lot of calories (I kinda had a WTF moment when you revealed the nutritional contents) but those are calories you could easily burn off in the gym. If it’s something you wanted, as a once in awhile treat, I would say it probably doesn’t hurt to induldge in it as long as it’s not ALL the time…

    I still allow myself that one cheat meal a week where I can eat whatever I want. It’s what gets me through the rest of the week. But then perhaps that’s why I’m still struggling with my weight loss.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I don’t have a cheat meal per se, but I do splurge a little every day instead. It works better for me and I don’t go crazy at that one “cheat meal.” So that means I get to have a glass of wine OR some ice cream a few times a week.

      I don’t think I could EVER eat those pies again. If I’m going to eat 420 calories of dessert I’m going to Papa Haydn’s and getting a piece of cheesecake and NOT splitting it with Michael. šŸ˜€

  3. Sheri

    Well, there are a lot of things I choose not to eat for the same reason you freaked over the label of that desert you use to eat….the calories are not worth it to me anymore!

    I give myself treats such as a Vitatop from withstanding a temptation like a chocolate brownie or something else that might tempt me. Its only 100 calories versus 230 – 400.

    Also, I do not count vegetables if cooked in PAM, those I consider freebies.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I still haven’t tried a Vitatop! I really want to.

      Sheri–I don’t count the olive oil we cook stuff in either. Like using it in the skillet to blacken salmon or something.

  4. Lori

    Fruit and veggies count. They have calories. Yes, they are ‘free’ on WW, but are you doing WW or some kind of home hybrid? I eat a lot of fruit. In a day, I will eat a banana, a pear, and 3 clementines. I eat 2 servings of broccoli, which is about 40 calories. If I were trying to keep my calories at 1800 and didn’t count fruits or veggies, I would be counting 1800 calories of other food, but actually eating 2150. So, it does matter. The quality of the fruits and veggies is better, however.

    WW is just pushing people to eat more F and V, which is why they are free.

    I have never put anything as a ‘never again’ food. There are foods that I used to love, though, that really don’t appeal to me at all now. Those tend to be fried foods. I find it really hard to find a stellar fried food now. Also fast food. I used to absolutely love the taste of McDonald’s double cheeseburger. I loved it! Now they taste really funny to me and I have not had one in a few years. So, I would probably put that in an extremely unlikely to have food now.

    Okay, novel done LOL!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Honestly I hadn’t thought of those cherry pie treats in years. In fact, never thought of them at all until I saw one at the checkstand last night. So I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I eat enough treats and sweets so I’m not denying myself anything by saying “I’d never eat one of those again.”

      I was just being a brat and trying to find a loophole to justify eating a case of blueberries. šŸ™‚ I know that calories count no matter if I eat them or drink them, or if they are veggies. But if I go over my calories for the day because I ate 200 calories worth of fruit? I wouldn’t be too upset about that…

  5. Steven

    What a great topic on food I will not eat anymore. For me there are a few but one of the biggest for me has to include those Little Debbie snack cakes. I used to get a few a day. Now just looking at them make me sick and so glad I see the new way of life. Still shocks me when I read packages of items I used to love to eat. No more.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      That’s very insightful Steven…isn’t it crazy how our tastes change once our reality shifts?

  6. Amy

    Sometimes if it’s something I REALLY loved, I’ll indulge like twice a year or something, but otherwise, if I only liked it a whole lot, I’ll often try to recreate it into a healthier version at home.

    I when I bother to count my pickings, I do count the calories. I think fruit and vegetables should be counted because at the end of the day, you could be eating 600 calories in fruit and vegetables and not counting them.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      If I really love something I do splurge and eat it once in awhile (or I split it with Michael)!

  7. blackhuff

    I can never eat chocolate bars again, like I used to, now that I am on the healthy journey of mine. I used to eat 2 chocolate slabs (1450 calories per slab) each week. I also on top of that, ate 2 chocolate bars per week. We ate processed foods like 3-4 times a week, as to where we now eat no more processed foods whatsoever.

    1. kate

      Chocolate ill always be an important part of my life šŸ™‚

  8. Jane~ Keepingthepoundsoff.com

    I have to focus on today and not think it terms of the rest of my life and forever because it could cause me to go insane and eventually to binge.

    For today I do not eat anything with milk fat or added sugars without exception. If I were to take these two things back there is still something I would not put back into my food plan processed snack cakes: the idea of eating the chemicals in a Twinkie ever again is beyond me – and I am someone who once ate 10 in one day. So no Yodels, no Hostess cupcakes, no Twinkies, No Drakes cakes, Little Debbies, etc. If I can leave it on a shelf and still find it edible a year later it no longer fits my definition of food.

    Jane~
    keepingthepoundsoff.com

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’m with you Jane. It’s really hard for me to eat processed foods now!

  9. steena

    LOL you’re silly, seriously don’t worry about the minimal amount of calories from blueberries.
    MMmm Michael Phelps, I may have to try that strategy next time I’m in the pool!

  10. Fat Girl Fights Back

    Honestly, I haven’t really put anything on my “never again” list. I just have been sticking to moderation. I try to avoid things (high fat foods, fried foods, etc.) but I will occasionally have something and then just keep moving forward.

  11. Chris

    Wow great topic! I think my NEVER again food has to be a DQ Billzard! DQ at all probably because I used to pick up a M&M and Strawberry Blizzard on the way home alot of days! Uh hello 800 calories! As far as counting, I personally think all CALORIES count! Its a simple calorie in vs calorie burned formula that is part of our design! Now when you are talking balancing out a carb with other stuff like fat and protein I definitely am way more lenient on the natural fruit and veggies content vs worrying about the amount of carbs in something processed. Plenty of people have gotten fat on fruits and vegetables…its a good thing to say (that nobody ever has) to people who normally fill up on very little of those, but its just not true to say to someone who is watching themselves carefully! IMO!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Oh yes… DQ Blizzards! LOVED those. I’ve been known to (in the past) eat 2 a day. LOVED the Butterfinger Blizzards.

  12. KAndi

    Those fruit pies used to be something I loved, too! I didn’t get them often, but knowing that they are that many calories…I will never eat one again. Thinking about the calories in that disgusts me, now that I am trying to be very mindful of what I eat.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Exactly….it’s not that I’m denying myself something I really want…I am more mindful of what I eat and some things just don’t make the cut now!

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