Portion sizes and calorie dense foods

[Grogu]

For the first 8 or 9 months on tirzepatide, I didn't track my calories, but as my weight loss slowed in the last four or five months, I've paid more attention to portion size and calorie restriction. Reflecting on those past few months, I think one of my biggest takeaways is that I used to eat a lot of calorie dense foods as snacks and had portion sizes that were out of whack.

The picture below is one oz of cashews @160 calories. Prior to tirzepatide, I could easily eat 5 times this amount while watching TV, that would be a 800 calorie snack. Another favorite night time snack was cheese and crackers. That was probably around the same calories.

I was in the store yesterday and looked at the bread I used to make grilled cheese sandwhichs out of. 170 per slice, plus butter, plus cheese, and the sandwhich was probably 1,000, plus tomato soup and was probably 1,200 lunch.

I'm definitely into fat rather than sweets. No wonder I was overweight .

Just wondering what others have "given up" or seriously decreased the portion size.

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[CNCCurrency]

I like Pistachios, nutrient rich and high in protein.

 

[Grogu]

I like Pistachios, nutrient rich and high in protein.

I love pistachios! I could eat my weight in those

 

[tubby]

Are you familiar with "Volume Eating?" I'm not personally a fan of the approach, but I bring it up because it's a name that people attempting a similar approach to what you're describing have adopted. I mention it because people within that community have already done a ton of work trying to optimize towards finding foods that best meet the criteria that you've laid out so it could save you some time in developing your own personal version of the approach and give you a leg up VS trying to perform the full analysis yourself.

And to be clear, I'm not crapping on the approach and think it's great. It's just not my personal preference for myself is all I'm saying. Some people find great success with it.

 

[woundcarping]

I’ve became more aware of fat… I like sugar but at only 4 cal a gram it’s easier to manage than flavorful fat at 9 cal per.

This rotel sausage dip is 2500 calories before the chips, portions and budgeting matter!

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[Grogu]

I’ve became more aware of fat… I like sugar but at only 4 cal a gram it’s easier to manage than flavorful fat at 9 cal per.

This rotel sausage dip is 2500 calories before the chips, portions and budgeting matter!

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That dip is exactly what I'd love to have for a snack at night watching TV. Looks delicous. I'd take that over a piece of pastry anyday.

 

[woundcarping]

Pound of sausage, can of Rotel tomatoes, block of cream cheese, and away you go!

 

[Grogu]

Are you familiar with "Volume Eating?" I'm not personally a fan of the approach, but I bring it up because it's a name that people attempting a similar approach to what you're describing have adopted. I mention it because people within that community have already done a ton of work trying to optimize towards finding foods that best meet the criteria that you've laid out so it could save you some time in developing your own personal version of the approach and give you a leg up VS trying to perform the full analysis yourself.

And to be clear, I'm not crapping on the approach and think it's great. It's just not my personal preference for myself is all I'm saying. Some people find great success with it.

Thanks for the heads up about Volume Eating. Never heard of it, but will definitely look into it.

The thing is, I want to continue to eat the things I like, not eat a bunch of stuff I don't like such as kale and quinoa . My approach right now is just measure things I like so I better understand what a "normal" portion looks like. I bought some cheese today and just going to have like one or two Baby Bell cheese things and a few crackers.

 

[trojanpeptide]

I can hardly eat anymore. I prioritize protein. 2 eggs = 12g, 1 multigrain toast = 5 g = 18 g total, or I will eat 18g protein from a can of sardines (smoked thank you). lunch? maybe, but probably forcing a protein drink ~20-22g protein. I picked up some protein bars at 20g protein today. I have sugar in my coffee, along with milk, so a little cheat there, along with juice throughout the day. Supper? I think stir fry + chicken or beef or fish.

Snack ? maybe but it will prob be dark chocolate almonds or something like that.

I used to eat doritos, or tortilla chips, but the calories are just too much. Just concentrating on protein so I don't waste away too much. And yes I miss mash potatoes with pools of gravy... which I can handle from time to time, but it's the steak that's important nowadays (for me).

 

[woundcarping]

…. a protein drink ~20-22g protein….

With my protein shake the say it’s a scoop per 8oz of water, but that’s too rich for me, upset stomach is a possibility. I started with a scoop per 16oz and recently moved to a scoop and a half per. Tolerable without much effort and a 50% protein bump for the same effort. (35g)

 

[trojanpeptide]

With my protein shake the say it’s a scoop per 8oz of water, but that’s too rich for me, upset stomach is a possibility. I started with a scoop per 16oz and recently moved to a scoop and a half per. Tolerable without much effort and a 50% protein bump for the same effort. (35g)

have you ever mixed it with a coffee? I will do that sometimez with a bit of milk. I don't add sugar in those instances.

 

[neo6488]

Ive been a big fan lately of shell on peanuts. Having to remove them from the shell slows down how fast I eat them and I’m sure I eat significantly less than when I can just pop a handful in my mouth. Macros aren’t as good as some other nuts but still decent.

 

[ThatNextGril]

Oh man, my downfall is salty+crunchy. I'm one of "them" who really doesn't care about sweets, but my idea of heaven is a table laden with crackers, chips, pretzels, popcorn, toast, french fries (anything potato really), etc. And most of these are empty calories so I need to def portion out what I eat.

Pre-peps, a 3 serving bag of chips could be gone in an hour of watching tv. But now, I'm very satisfied with a normal portion, maybe 2 if I've worked out that day, and leaving it at that.

This is why I'll never go off tirz. I know myself and myself knows me.

 

[tubby]

Thanks for the heads up about Volume Eating. Never heard of it, but will definitely look into it.

The thing is, I want to continue to eat the things I like, not eat a bunch of stuff I don't like such as kale and quinoa . My approach right now is just measure things I like so I better understand what a "normal" portion looks like. I bought some cheese today and just going to have like one or two Baby Bell cheese things and a few crackers.

I may not have explained that in a clear way, perhaps. the Volume Eating people aren't forcing themselves to eat stuff they dislike (e.g. kale) or eating a lot of quinoa (which as a grain is going to be more calorie dense than your typical fruit or vegetable).

They're just doing the exact same thing you are: Trying to develop a mental model of which foods are more and less calorie dense. I mean many of them will then go on to try to eat foods in a certain order or in certain combinations, I'm sure. I'm more just noting that they're probably the most focused on visualizing the calorie to volume ratio of different foods of all the diet "groups" I've come across.

 

[krsct]

Thanks for the heads up about Volume Eating. Never heard of it, but will definitely look into it.

The thing is, I want to continue to eat the things I like, not eat a bunch of stuff I don't like such as kale and quinoa . My approach right now is just measure things I like so I better understand what a "normal" portion looks like. I bought some cheese today and just going to have like one or two Baby Bell cheese things and a few crackers.

This was my approach and was successful with it. I ate the foods that I wanted to just a lot less of it.

 

[woundcarping]

have you ever mixed it with a coffee? I will do that sometimez with a bit of milk. I don't add sugar in those instances.

It’s Rocky Road, can’t imagine I’d like coffee with that. I have done milk, but I don’t need the extra calories.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I used a high protein, low calorific density approach to losing weight, basically anything with less than 1.5 kcal per gram is ok as it is really hard to eat enough to get too many calories in so long as the calorific density is that low. Inevitably ends up being very low fat.

Basically very lean meat, high protein low fat no sugar dairy like yoghurt or cheese ( not normal cheese ), vegetables and fruit. High protein content, low fat soup is the most effective weight loss food.

Really healthy diet , minimal processed foods , lots of micronutrients, and you can eat as much as you want, or mostly, although it is much easier to stick to long term while taking GLP's.

I found it necessary to totally avoid any high calorie highly rewarding foods, partly as eating rich foods resets your taste preferences so lower calorie foods seem less satisfying, and as I had petty obvious evidence of binge eating issues, and doing this somehow worked to stop it being an issue.

 

[ArgFdzPep]

I like Pistachios, nutrient rich and high in protein.

This is gonna sound wild but try the following: Greek yogurt, pistachios, little olive oil and honey.

 

[Grogu]

This is gonna sound wild but try the following: Greek yogurt, pistachios, little olive oil and honey.

Sounds great! I often have Greek yogurt with walnuts and honey, just not the olive oil.

Gonna try it your way this week! It’s a light drizzle of olive oil, right?

 

[JuneBug1956]

Over this 3 year journey and 110 lb loss I realized I really like protein, meat, chicken, fish, veggies and fat. ( especially steak)I am not scared of butter, olive oil or fat. I really limit my simple carbs, but eat sweet potato and baked squash ( with butter). I religiously used “ My Fitness Pal” and generally stay at 14-1500 calories a day. I lift weights and walk 6 days a week.( never did that before) I still go back to “ My Fitness Pal” occasionally to check myself. Have been in maintenance for a year. Still use Tirz, Sema and Cagri every 8-9 days or so. I did give up alcohol before this journey. I honestly don’t feel deprived. (Will have ice cream but certainly don’t crave it any more.) I often order just an appetizer for dinner or share meals.