1. When you're almost
finished with your meal, you notice that there is just a "dab" of
mashed potatoes left in the serving bowl.
That dab equals 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes with milk and butter and adds
up to 120 calories.
2. In the kitchen,
when you're cleaning up, you notice that there's one dinner roll in the basket
and a little piece of roast turkey, so you throw them together and make a
"small" sandwich so you don't have to worry about the left-over roll. You're looking at over 200 calories!
3. You order a Kid's
Meal at McDonald's and notice that your child has only eaten half of their
small sack of French fries. So, you
finish them up before you take the tray to the garbage bin. How many
calories? 115.
4. Your wait person
keeps coming by and refilling your glass of Coca Cola. You've ordered regular Coke because you've
heard that artificial sweeteners are worse for your health than sugar. So, throughout the meal, you can consume as
many as 100 extra calories just from the refills.
5. Olive oil is good
for your heart, isn't it? And the bread
dip the restaurant offers with their great crusty French bread is really
good. So, you dip and dip,
congratulating yourself that the olive oil is much better than slathering
butter on your warm bread. Why not just
eat the bread plain? Or, pass up the
bread basket altogether? By the end of
the meal, you've "dipped" xxxx calories of healthy olive oil, but
calories are calories. A 1/4 cup can
have almost 500 calories!!
6. Don't you just
love all the food samples they give out at CostCo? Why, you can eat an entire meal there while
you do your shopping! But, for example,
two or three hot wings can set you back 200-300 calories. And what about the Quiche at the next booth??
7. You go into the
refrigerator looking for a quick snack and see the bowl of cold, left-over
Macaroni & Cheese. Yum! You've eaten it before you even know what
you've done and just consumed around 60 extra calories.
8. Your work
associate always keeps a bowl of jelly beans on her desk, saying that a few
here and there keep her from getting really hungry between meals and raiding
the box of donuts in the kitchen. You
manage to mindlessly nibble a handful while discussing your latest work project
and, oops, there goes another 60 calories!
9. You are really
"starving" at lunch time so you order "double protein" on
your Subway Sandwich, thinking you are making a wise choice. Well, you are, but you are also eating an
extra 50 calories and you probably didn't need more food to start with!
10. Back in the
kitchen you notice that Auntie Alice didn't touch the small serving of peach
cobbler you gave her and it's the last of the batch. So instead of throwing it away or saving such
a small portion, you gobble it down. How
many calories? Around 200.
What can you do about all this mindless eating? Keep a food journal for a couple of weeks and
notice when you are eating "stuff" you hadn't planned to eat. You will be amazed. It will also make you more aware of what you
are doing and, by the end of the two weeks, you will be more attuned to what
you do.
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