Today, I took my two cousins and their friends to a Baskin Robbins for a little-after swim treat. I don't think I was really expecting anything from them other than delicious, creamy, probably fattening ice cream.
But while I was struggling over the phrase "Cabana Berry Banana", I noticed something, Baskin Robbins now has little nutritional factoid labels on all their ice cream flavors. Most of the ice creams were in the 400 calorie range, with some of the fat-free flavors only 200 calories.
This isn't some big shock to me- I've always known that ice-cream is chock full of calories- I wasn't born yesterday, or in a barn, or whatever the saying is. I'd just never thought I'd see an ice cream place that made their nutritional information readily available for all patrons to see. In most of the ice cream stores we have back home (like Coldstone Creamery and Gofer Ice Cream) just offer you choices, and you'd probably need to ask for a nutritional fact sheet if you wanted to know anything pertaining to your health.
So I went back in my head to my old memories of my weirdly serious health teacher (she opened parenting night telling everyone's parents "Your child has a 1 in 4 chance of having an STD. DID YOU KNOW THIS?!?".) droning on about calories, and I remember her saying that the average person needs about
1500-2000 calories per day.
I tried doing some math in my head:
So if I need about 2000 calories, and I'm eating 400 of them, I'll have 1600 left. And for my meals.. But that's where I got stuck. I have no clue how many calories I'm eating at meal times. 500? 600?
700?
I'm not a crazy health nut, and I'm not obsessing over my caloric intake. I just want to know.. would you rather know the nutritional information of all the food you're eating? Or do you just not care?
And more importantly, do you even watch your caloric intake in the first place?
Comments (90)
I don't care. I typically eat the most in the morning, and gradually eat less throughout the day. I eat when I am hungry, period. End of question. I refuse to return to the life I had living with an eating disorder and counting every morsel of food entering my lips. I KNOW when I have eaten over my limit, because my body tells me. I stop eating after 6 pm, and allow for my body to digest.
I already look up the calories of what I am ordering at restaurants before I get there, and I have a few applications on my ipod for this. I always pick the healthiest choice, and this has helped me stay healthy. I really REALLY like that it seems that soon all restaurants will have to do this, because it saves me time. Besides, maybe America wouldn't be so fat if they would stop hiding behind curtains and just look at calorie counts for once. It blows my mind how ignorant some people are about their overall health and calories. No, a 5'0" women should not be eating 2000 calories when she is sitting on her ass all day, despite the fact that the nutrition label on the back of the pork rinds say "based on a 2000 calorie a day diet". Sick.
When it comes to eating out, I really don't care, obviously the places we eat when we eat out are generally not going to be low in calories or healthy, for that matter. When I'm home, I don't worry about counting calories, but that's because I eat fairly healthy at home. The first time I ever experienced the posting of calories in a menu was in a TGIFridays in New York . . . and later that day in a Starbucks. I was not a fan of having that information staring me in the face, haha! I would definitely not want to walk into an ice cream shop and see how many calories I was eating, but that's just me!
I definitely care about my caloric intake. I pretty much count every calorie. & when I eat too much junk food or eat more than my BMR (body metabolic rate), I make up for it with exercise! Gotta stay healthy!
You would think that ice cream places would not want to have the calories on display for all their customers to see because it would make them less inclined to eat it.
As far as calories go, I'm pretty anal. I always count the calories in everything I eat. It really bothers me when I don't know the exact number of calories in certain foods.
nope. it's never mattered to me.
i do not really care. i am happy to eat what i like to eat without going crazy about calorie. luckily enough i am still under weight.
It's actually not a healthy habit to revolve your eating around calories. You should be more focused on getting all of the nutrients your body needs at each meal/snack. I hate it when people only look at calories and not nutritional value. I eat based on an exchange basis, so many proteins and veggies at this meal, fruit here, grain there. And by the way, 2,000 calories of what you need a day is not gross, it's normal and healthy. plus exercise this is a very stable diet and if you eat the right foods you can even lose on this. Trust me, I've been through far too many nutrition classes, groups, and dietitians to not have learned something.
I work in Starbucks, and because of that, I snack on their goodies all day, everyday. It got so bad that I gained ten pounds from it. So, something needed to be done.
Now I count my calories. Especially when I'm working. It was a real eye opener. I couldn't believe how much I was eating and drinking from one 8 hour shift alone.
When I'm not at work, I don't really hard-core keep track of my calorie intake, but I definitely think about eating that bowl of ice cream when I take into consideration what all I had eaten earlier that day. I also try to figure out how much calories my meals do have, and if it seems like a ridiculous amount, I try to think about how I can have it, but eat less calories.
Now, I have lost 6-8 pounds doing this :)
I could care less about calories and whatnot. If I want it, I have it. But then again, this is pretty much my take on the entire life matter (with some exceptions) and I am as far from healthy way of living as Mojave Desert from Alaska... I am also vain and shallow and I like to be able to fit into a size 3 jeans so when I say that I eat three times a week - Mon, Wed, Fri - I am not always joking...
Nope, I just need to balance what I eat with healthy food, such as fruit and veges, everyday.
I am a health nut. I plan out everything maticulously. I don't really know why... I think most of the time I'm bored and need something to do. If I don't plan it out, I'll go crazy and eat everything WHILE I'm thinking of what I should eat. It keeps me in check.
Of course, there are exceptions. When I'm out to eat or sick, I just don't care.
I count calories, and I would LOVE if every place I went displayed the calories each food had.
Also, if I decided to binge that day and work my ass off the next, I'd be deterred from eating certain foods if I saw that it had too many calories.
yes, i love the idea of showing how many calories are in things.
It is nice to know the nutrition facts, that's for sure. I do count calories, but not down to the EXACT digits, I just do a general estimation in my head and try to be aware of what I have eaten so far that day and add what I'm about to eat to it. I also follow the rule, "moderation is key" so that goes along with my calorie counting habits as well.
Well...yes, I do count calories.
not really. i don't count my calories. although i don't like eating food that has a of calories in them.
I count my calories. It's about the only math I do. The only time I don't really care is when I'm on my period and my cramps hurt like a bitch.
I also count how much I work off. Probably not good, but I don't starve myself. I just know I'll freak out if I gain weight.
It's very important for me to know how many calories certain food items contain. I need to be reminded of my caloric limits.
I dont care how many calories I consume in a day. I eat what I want and then go exercise. I run for an hour or more AND play tennis and other parts everyday. I have no problem .
seriously i dont. i believe in eating a little of everything.
I count my calories. In fact, my psychologist recommended that I keep a food log. You see, I have bulimia and my caloric intakes can range anywhere from under 100 to over 3000. My goal is to try to eat normally, not overeat nor under-eat. While I admit I like it when my intakes are under 1000 calories, I know it's not healthy. I am attempting to lose a bit of weight, so I try to keep my caloric intakes around 1200 (give or take 200). I am not obsessive about it (i.e. I usually don't count every single calorie I get from sugar free gum), but I do try to keep a relatively accurate account.
To find out how many calories you need per day, you first need to find out your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. This is how many calories your body burns at rest.
Engligh BMR Formula:
Woman: BMR = 655 + (4.35 * weight in pounds) + (4.7 * height in inches) - (4.7 * age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 * weight in pounds) + (12.7 * height in inches) - (6.8 * age in years)
Metric BMR Formula:
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 * weight in kg) + (1.8 * height in cm) - (4.7 * age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 * weight in kg) + (5 * height in cm) - (6.8 * age in years)
Daily Caloric Allowance:
If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR by 1.2 to find the amount of calories you should be eating daily. Lightly active, multiply by 1.375. Moderately active, multiply by 1.55. Very active, multiply by 1.726. Extra active, multiply by 1.9.
Here is a good website that can help you do the calculations.
i wish i didn't count calories
I count calories. I started when I was underweight to make sure I was getting enough calories. I still count because otherwise I am liable to not eat enough and start dropping into unhealthy again.
For awhile, I was so obsessed with counting calories that I started to dream about what I was going to eat for my next meal, and how much I was going to eat and whatnot.
I think that the best thing that you can do for yourself is to eat healthy (we ALL know what is healthy and what isnt, or we SHOULD anyway) and treat yourself every once in awhile.