I guess I need to change my thinking on volume vs calories

[lyrics312]

like yesterday I went to subway and had a roasted chicken salad with spinach leaves, red onion, green pepper, cucumbers, and a small amount of fat free italian dressing (no cheese, no croutons). The thing looked massive and filled me up!

I put all of the foods into spark's calorie counter and it said I had only eaten like 300 calories max.

Its hard for me to believe that a little brownie no bigger than my palm has more calories than a huge salad with veggies and chicken.

I guess I need to change the way I see food, but I actually felt like I was doing poorly as I wolfed down my salad.

volume vs calories is confusing to me at times

anyone else have this problem?

[Spanishdream]

Absolutely agree. Large meals don't seem right, even when the calorie amount is lower than something so small. Mental thing.

[Trigger543]

yeah I'm pretty sure that's why there are so many fat ppl who "really don't eat that much"

[TheSauce9]

yeah I'm pretty sure that's why there are so many fat ppl who "really don't eat that much"

Oh man I see what you did there. Too much silliness around here lately...

[Trigger543]

Oh man I see what you did there. Too much silliness around here lately...

I'm not trying to be silly, it's true. It really makes me sick how most people (not you/anyone in particular) complain about being fat and say they want to lose weight, but they don't even have a basic understanding of the foods they're eating in the first place. If you want to lose weight, RULE #1 should be READ THE LABEL! Know what you're eating or don't eat it!

[Pokeemonn]

Well vegetables have no caloric content, so why are you so confused? Brownies are made using eggs, sugar, flour, sometimes milk, and other small ingredients.

[nacersusaf]

Well vegetables have no caloric content....

Whaaaa? Since when do vegetables have NO calories? Low calories... but not NO calories.

[Xitesmai]

I'm not trying to be silly, it's true. It really makes me sick how most people (not you/anyone in particular) complain about being fat and say they want to lose weight, but they don't even have a basic understanding of the foods they're eating in the first place. If you want to lose weight, RULE #1 should be READ THE LABEL! Know what you're eating or don't eat it!

He did read the label...sorta...just didnt read it enough to understand that 1 serving size != 1 whole pizza...lolz. Anyway...time to let that thread die a horrible death...

But to the OP I too have a hard time getting the bulk vs calories thing...just takes time and willpower to enjoy a salad as much as a Digorno Pizza.

[lyrics312]

Well vegetables have no caloric content, so why are you so confused? Brownies are made using eggs, sugar, flour, sometimes milk, and other small ingredients.

Because people always say that to lose weight you need to eat less food.

But in reality, I'm eating more food thats alot healthier and lower in calories....... ex: taking 10 minutes to Eat a big salad with spinach, cucumbers, and onions vs eating 2 mcdoubles in about 2 minutes.

Changing my perception of volume vs calories isnt easy. It feels weird in the beginning

[nlite2000]

Because people always say that to lose weight you need to eat less food.

But in reality, I'm eating more food thats alot healthier and lower in calories....... ex: taking 10 minutes to Eat a big salad with spinach, cucumbers, and onions vs eating 2 mcdoubles in about 2 minutes.

Changing my perception of volume vs calories isnt easy. It feels weird in the beginning

~40g of protein in those two mcdoubles for 800 calories.


Just saying.

[msm00b]

yeah I'm pretty sure that's why there are so many fat ppl who "really don't eat that much"

^ That

The salads I generally eat for lunch are massive as hell from the greens alone. Slap some lean meat on the top and cover it in 20-30 calories worth of very low calorie dressing and you're left with a monster meal providing satiety at a skimpy 200-350 calories total. It frees up my dinner for something fatty/compact/delicious; I rarely feel like I'm cutting when I cut.

[Trigger543]

Because people always say that to lose weight you need to eat less food.

But in reality, I'm eating more food thats alot healthier and lower in calories....... ex: taking 10 minutes to Eat a big salad with spinach, cucumbers, and onions vs eating 2 mcdoubles in about 2 minutes.

Changing my perception of volume vs calories isnt easy. It feels weird in the beginning

I know what you mean, it's definitely weird but you get used to it after a while and really learn to enjoy it.

[Brodaddy]

Forget spark's, subway has the info at every branch and on their main site. They have a nice feature called 'Calculate Yours' which allows you to choose every single ingredient and then give you average info (on their site)

Here is my build:

Bread
9-Grain Wheat

Cheese
Natural Cheddar** (Dunno if this is the low fat cheddar I always pick)

Veggies
Lettuce
Green Peppers
Red Onions (Actually ordinary onions but I couldn't find them there)
Cucumbers
Sauces
None
Extras
None
Info about it:

Serving Size(g) 216
Calories 370
Calories from Fat 90
Total Fat(g) 10
Saturated Fat(g) 4.5
Trans Fat(g) 0
Cholesterol(mg) 40
Sodium(mg) 730
Carbohydrates(g) 46
Dietary Fiber(g) 5
Sugar(g) 7
Protein(g) 27
Vitamin A % DV 6
Vitamin C % DV 25
Calcium % DV 40
Iron % DV 15

Pretty decent I'd say. Wish the fat could be a bit lower but its all right
Oh and an advice, go to their website and look for 'Fresh fit choices'. Most of these are alright

Anyways, here is yours:

Bread
9-Grain Wheat
Cheese
None
Veggies
Spinach
Green Peppers
Red Onions
Cucumbers
Sauces
Olive Oil Blend
Extras
None

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size(g) 208
Calories 380
Calories from Fat 100
Total Fat(g) 11
Saturated Fat(g) 2
Trans Fat(g) 0
Cholesterol(mg) 25
Sodium(mg) 650
Carbohydrates(g) 47
Dietary Fiber(g) 5
Sugar(g) 7
Protein(g) 24
Vitamin A % DV 40
Vitamin C % DV 30
Calcium % DV 35
Iron % DV 15

An excess of 80ish cals is from the olive oil btw (Which is the same as the italian one if I remember right)

[Electricheadd]

He did read the label...sorta...just didnt read it enough to understand that 1 serving size != 1 whole pizza...lolz. Anyway...time to let that thread die a horrible death...

But to the OP I too have a hard time getting the bulk vs calories thing...just takes time and willpower to enjoy a salad as much as a Digorno Pizza.

After you master IIFYM you can knock down that massive salad for lunch then eat the pizza and a protein shake for dinner. Bam! Macros hit!

[HealthResearch]

yeah I'm pretty sure that's why there are so many fat ppl who "really don't eat that much"

That is exactly the core of the problem.

[HealthResearch]

Whaaaa? Since when do vegetables have NO calories? Low calories... but not NO calories.

Holy stunning 2 year transformation there nacersusaf! 2009-2011 Nice work.

[lyrics312]

Thanks for the Subway info. I've been going there every day this week and getting the roasted chicken salad with spinach, onions, cucumber, and green pepper (no cheese, no croutons) and using a small amount of the fat free italian dressing. Good to know that site is there.

[coldvein]

Hell Subway really isn't even that great tbh. I mean all the veggies are healthy and stuff, but I was just looking at the nutrition facts.

Footlong Oven Roasted Chicken Breast = 640 calories with 46g protein
McDonalds Double Quarter Pounder = 740 calories with 48g protein

Was interesting in my book

[ijericho]

Hell Subway really isn't even that great tbh. I mean all the veggies are healthy and stuff, but I was just looking at the nutrition facts.

Footlong Oven Roasted Chicken Breast = 640 calories with 46g protein - 470g
McDonalds Double Quarter Pounder = 740 calories with 48g protein - 283g

Was interesting in my book

Keep in mind the serving size of those items. You're getting 115% of the calories in 60% of the food (based on volume) with that burger.

[whiteorc]

^ That

The salads I generally eat for lunch are massive as hell from the greens alone. Slap some lean meat on the top and cover it in 20-30 calories worth of very low calorie dressing and you're left with a monster meal providing satiety at a skimpy 200-350 calories total. It frees up my dinner for something fatty/compact/delicious; I rarely feel like I'm cutting when I cut.

im aware this is off topic. is there any dressing with a decent amount of protein? also what dressing do you use?

[Trigger543]

^^^ I'm not a big salad guy so this could be wrong, but I don't think any salad dressing is high in protein.

Keep in mind the serving size of those items. You're getting 115% of the calories in 60% of the food (based on volume) with that burger.

and look at that, we just circled back to the original point OP made. good post, repped.

[Electricheadd]

im aware this is off topic. is there any dressing with a decent amount of protein? also what dressing do you use?

You could make your own using greek yogurt but I am not aware of any off the shelf stuff high in protein.

[nlite2000]

I think most would agree that a "balanced diet" would be comprised of both high volume and low volume food.


While we're on the subject--cookies are the devil.

[TheSauce9]

I'm not trying to be silly, it's true. It really makes me sick how most people (not you/anyone in particular) complain about being fat and say they want to lose weight, but they don't even have a basic understanding of the foods they're eating in the first place. If you want to lose weight, RULE #1 should be READ THE LABEL! Know what you're eating or don't eat it!

Oh no no, I wasn't calling you silly. I was just referencing the person that you were speaking of.

[AdamDye86]

You could make your own using greek yogurt but I am not aware of any off the shelf stuff high in protein.

This. 1 part fat free sour cream, 1 part greek yogurt, with some dry mix and you have a great dressing.

[zipitlisten]

Know that feeling. It was weird at first but now I feel like I eat way more than the average person even on a cut. I usually take a Subway chicken salad with me to lecture and feel stuffed while laughing on the inside at the people with 2 bags of Doritos and soda.

[codyasmith]

I think its different depending on your loss goals. I lost 60 pounds by just eating less of the **** I was already eating. Now that I'm down though I have to change my diet in order to reach further goals.

[lyrics312]

I think its different depending on your loss goals. I lost 60 pounds by just eating less of the **** I was already eating. Now that I'm down though I have to change my diet in order to reach further goals.

Im doing a mix of both right now. I'm eating the big low calorie salad at lunch and planning more satisfying meals for dinner. If i'm good during breakfast and lunch, I can pretty much eat whatever I want for dinner (as long as I limit the portion size), and still come in at a 1,000 calorie deficit for the day.

I wont always be able to do that but i'm at a weight right now where I can and it definetly helps.

[Hummina]

its kinda rare that people actually see me eat at work, but when they do, i always get comments. usually ill eat my lunch in my truck or hide in the backroom to have a snack and while its a decent volume of food, its all lower calorie stuff, meaning i get to eat more.

if people saw me eating a normal dinner, theyd probably **** themselves. my dinners usually require 3 plates. one for protein, one for carbs, and one for veggies. depending on what i have left for the day, maybe a bowl of ice cream too!

[msm00b]

its kinda rare that people actually see me eat at work, but when they do, i always get comments. usually ill eat my lunch in my truck or hide in the backroom to have a snack and while its a decent volume of food, its all lower calorie stuff, meaning i get to eat more.

I've had similar things happen to me. Currently cutting and eating my daily salad for lunch - I've had co-workers criticize me for eating 'just a salad' and had one even accuse me of being borderline anorexic. What they don't understand is that large volume, low-calorie lunch is what allows me to go hog wild every night for dinner. The reverse is even funnier, when we have a night-time function out and I get a huge plate of <insertwhateverhere> and the overweight female co-worker who inevitably ends up sitting next to me whines that "you guys" can eat whatever we want without worrying about getting fat. No, lady, the difference between me and you is that while you were snacking on oreos and fully sweetened soda throughout the day and piling your lunch plate high with calorie dense food, I was responsibly eating my lean salad at lunch and washing it down with a diet soda.

Fitting whatever you want into your macros is much easier when you spend 66-75% of your time gravitating purposefully towards volume-rich, calorie sparse food choices.