One Brownie

I wanted to start the week out great and so far I have.  I had fiber one cereal for lunch/breakfast and one brownie.  I feel way too full and bad with the brownie.  I guess the quality of the calories does affect me....the empty calories of the brownie makes me feel bad.  Why is it that I really have to virtually eliminate chips, brownies, desserts for a diet to work for me?  I know it's partly mental but it's really been true for me.  Anyone have the same experience with foods?  Empty calories...sugar..desserts? 

Well, empty calories are just that, so they don't fill you at all so you probably eat more.  On a large scale, calories in are calories in, but if you eat crap and still feel hungry, then you are probably going to eat more, or feel crappy and not want to go out and be active.

I find the quality of the calories affect what I do with myself and how I feel, and THAT is what affects weight loss.  It's not as cut and dry as empty calories=gain/no loss.

I used to be this way too... I would avoid foods that I do enjoy for a few months at a time, lose a bunch of weight, and then what?

I know I won't be able to not enjoy these things for the rest of my life... So I have started incorporating them into my day. If I want a brownie, I'll get in my time on the elliptical before hand, and then I can truly enjoy it, instead of beating myself up over it. It's like saving up the money to pay for something instead of putting it on credit and having buyers remorse after. LOL

Another thing that I have noticed, is that if I do try something, and I don't get the expected "oh dear god" moment after the first bite, I don't bother finishing it! It'll be a waste either way, but if I'm not actually really enjoying it, why should it be on my waist? Especially if it makes you feel bad after! I do this all the time now, my husband laughs because I'll take a bite and say "Nope, not worth it!" and then either he'll take it and enjoy it, or it makes it's way to the trash. My calories are precious and few, I'm not about to waste them on junk that I don't even enjoy.

And last but not least, small victories should be celebrated. Sometimes you have to think:  K, so I had one brownie... But 6 months ago, I probably would have had 2-3. Already making better choices for myself!

If I thought I would have to go without guilty snacks and empty calories my entire weightloss, I would choose being fat forever.

I understand what you mean about the cals making you feel sluggish. Their not meant to do anything other then give you empty calories and fufill a craving.

If your only eating cerial and a brownie during the first part of your day, it's no wonder you're not feeling well.

Treats are completly neccissary to stay on track. Restricting yourself is a sure way to gain back all the weight you lost in a binge fest.

Try letting your body absorb the good, healthy cals for the first parts of the day and if you're still craving a brownie, chips or whatever, have a serving and move on.  A lot of it is mental, but if you balance your diet you should be okay.

Don't beat yourself up about being human. 

Original Post by makenasmom:

 It's like saving up the money to pay for something instead of putting it on credit and having buyers remorse after. LOL

What a marvellous simile.

Original Post by makenasmom:

I know I won't be able to not enjoy these things for the rest of my life... So I have started incorporating them into my day. If I want a brownie, I'll get in my time on the elliptical before hand, and then I can truly enjoy it, instead of beating myself up over it. It's like saving up the money to pay for something instead of putting it on credit and having buyers remorse after. LOL

I am the same way, I don't feel bad when I eat something with empty calories either, but workout almost every day. By working out, I am amazed what you actually can eat without being punished on the scale. Portion control with brownies plays an important role though, which is for me easier said than done

I agree..I ate a second brownie and walked 3 miles with our dog so I feel fine.  There is just something psychologically about eating the empty calories...it's hard for me to stop at just one bite, etc.

something i've found really helpful is home cooking and freezing ..... i froze some baked potatoes .... yesterday when i had a craving for chips - i cut the baked potato into chip shapes, and covered it with spray light 1 cal spray, and chucked it o the oven.    hmmmmmm. chips.  but i know exactly whats gone in it, so the calories are not so empty.  the same with cakes ..... i made some and froze some.  yes they are not the greatest calories i could have, but i know exactly what has gone in them so don't feel so bad about having them, .... homemade brownies are amazing .... and you can pick what size you want the portion to be.  and by freezing stuff- you don't have it lying around to pick at.  you actually haave to plan it, and microwave it .... allowing you a little 'think, do i really want this time ' than 'i shouldn't have had that' tiime.

each to their own though. you've made me think about brownies now!!  but i won't - its breakfast time, so a cantaloupe melon cut in half with sweetener. 

.... if anyone is looking for a filling low calorie breakfast or snack .... try the cantaloupe melon.   by cutting it in half and scooping out the seeds, you don't even need a plate. :0)

It is quite possible that a lot of what you're feeling is in your head, as evidenced by the fact that those two brownies gave you the fuel to go on that walk instead of, I don't know, making you double up in cramps from the empty calories. I'm not saying that with a sarcastic tone-- this is when emoticons come in handy!

I eat nutritionally questionable (my terminology for "bad") things quite often because I crave them, exercise portion control, and don't have a large appetite. However, it does make me psychologically anxious when I have a treat early on in the day and start worrying about the privation or small deficit I'll have to deal with later.

I save the empty calories for weekends, but even when I'm "allowed" yeah..it can feel bad. Sometimes I feel downright bloated and uncomfortable even when I haven't eaten an overly large portion of something like sweets or fried foods.

I guess the more packed with fat/sugar, the more filling it is, so it can seem like you ate more than you really did.

I do keep that stuff away from me during the week, but I'm kind of a carb addict, so it seems to be what I want on my off days.

Pasta, bread, sweets..I'm a junkie.

If its something that I really want I just fit it into my calories in advance for the next day. I replace regular brownies with vita tops ( expensive, but sooo worth it) and I do soy chips (delicious and only 140 for a whole personal bag..very filling IMO) I dont give up the things that I like,  I just make my own alternative for it

I know it may be in my head but the empty calories I guess make me feel somehow I'm off my goal.  I don't know....often the scale shows me that the empty calories added up. 

For me I don't have that problem. A brownie would fill me up and quite fast too. But you have to remember you CAN indulge every once in a while. You are actually supposed to have one or two desserts a week, and yes I mean sugary ones. You just need to learn to eat in moderation. That is what is killing everyone with the huge weight gain, is they just don't know what a proper portion is.

If the brownie fills you up too fast, cut it in half the next time and safe the other for later, if you EVEN want it later. Most of the time I will do that, cut it in half and safe it and then it doesn't get eaten by me, but from someone else in the house. So maybe try that next time if you do not want to fill so full.

great advice and I agree...moderation is the key.

Original Post by raychelc:

I save the empty calories for weekends, but even when I'm "allowed" yeah..it can feel bad. Sometimes I feel downright bloated and uncomfortable even when I haven't eaten an overly large portion of something like sweets or fried foods.

I guess the more packed with fat/sugar, the more filling it is, so it can seem like you ate more than you really did.

I do keep that stuff away from me during the week, but I'm kind of a carb addict, so it seems to be what I want on my off days.

Pasta, bread, sweets..I'm a junkie.

 

 You and I think alot alike!! I'm the same way... I save the "empty calories" for the weekends, my off days. I just can't live without having my carbs, and sugar. I've tried cutting them out completely before and I just end up giving up on the whole thing! Sometimes I do over do it though.. I tend to eat as much of the "bad carbs" as I used to before the diet and then I feel like crap, my body just can't take the same portions anymore.... which is a good thing!

@makenasmom,  Thank you for your word, totally true.  I especially like the bit about if it is not an 'oh dear god' brownie, then its not worth it.  I have had that first bite of a 'treat' where it was only mediocre, and it is completely NOT worth it!

I don't know if this is anything like what you mean, but junk food makes me feel physically bad.  I generally eat pretty healthy foods, I just eat a little too much and I have a thing for pasta and bread =P. Anyways, I eat very little sugar or greasy foods, and when I eat a large serving of either it often makes me feel bad.  Greasyness, like potato chips or fast foods give me stomacheaches, and sugar makes me tired later.

It also makes me feel mentally bad a little, even if I premeditated it, like your brownie. Even if you want it so bad, once you've satisfied yourself you no longer have that urge pushing you to want it, and your hindsight says "did you really need that? did you really want that?" Hindsight messes with you that way, don't feel bad. 

empty calories make me feel bad but some angel hair pasta with a little sauce actually fills me up and is satisfying.  I often lose weight when pasta is a main staple.  :)

Original Post by edspillane:

I know it may be in my head but the empty calories I guess make me feel somehow I'm off my goal.  I don't know....often the scale shows me that the empty calories added up. 

i think your way of looking at this is just a wee bit distorted..the scale shows you that you overall CALORIES added up, not the empty calories. Who's to say that you didn't have one too many yogurts, or 5 too many cups of broccoli? You're labeling the foods in a way that makes you feel bad when you have these foods. If you had 1/4 cup less pasta, 1/4 less deli meat on your sandwich, 1 less slice of bread, then easily you could have accounted for the empty calories you ate...so maybe just think about it a bit differently!! :) i hope this helps!

I definitely get what you mean about feeling bad eating those empty calories, even if they're just from a teeny brownie - no harm right? What I've chosen to do might help you to. I've sectioned off one meal of one day a week where I can eat junkfoods. It's my "cheat meal" and I agree with a lot of these other posts, that it's totally necessary to keep yourself in rhythm with the diet (I mean we all know we're not going to give up cookies and cakes forever and ever). But the cheat meal gives me something to look forward to. My Friday night, I go out to dinner with a friend and have some yummy (and healthy) sushi for dinner, and then I go right away and have my fried banana or molten lava cake. I push myself all week and when I get to Friday night, man do I go nuts for that banana and cake :) But you know, after a while your body doesn't take to sweets as easily. If you go all week without them and suddenly there's tons of sugar to digest, your body creates hoards of acid in your stomach to break it all down and it can result in some seriously bad stomachache. Anyway, the cheat meal thing works for me, maybe it could work for you too.

Oh also, did you have the Fiber One cereal for breakfast and lunch combined? One reason you ate the brownie might have been because your body needs more Calories than that to function through the better half of your day. Fill yourself on good food and it might be much less tempting to eat the other stuff.

I can defintely relate to this i had a brownie yesterday and was so disgusted. I felt gross thinking how many calories i had eaten... but in the past i wouldnt have. i never really had a problem with weight or food i always ate what i wana when i want ant whatever time and weight gain wasn't a problem.. i'm only like seven pounds heavier then my typical weight of 130 ( i'd like to get to 120 like i used to be) and now a brownie makes me feel bad... I'm new by the way hi everyone!!!