Today’s guest post is by Michelle Remkus. Michelle is a Registered Dietitian with her Masters in Nutrition and Wellness and writes a blog on her website, Live…Don’t Diet. Michelle did a cool visual collage of 100 calories 24 different ways to give you an idea of how calorie density varies. Pretty cool! I’ll take the blackberries please!
When you look at the amount of each 100 calorie food you can see that some foods fill up the whole bowl like the strawberries, apples, or bell peppers, while others are only a few pieces like the Hershey’s kisses, M&Ms, or gummy bears. 100 calories can go so far with some foods, but with others can add up quickly. Something called “mindless” eating can take over and without you being conscious of it you may devour 500 calories of a snack food. For example only having 13 gummy bears can be difficult when you have a whole bag in front of you.
If you’ve ever over-indulged and ate a whole bag of potato chips, you aren’t alone. In fact millions fall victim to this unconscious eating. Unfortunately, this mindless eating habit can be the answer to many people’s weight gain. Food psychologist Brain Wansink, PhD coined the term mindless eating after he discovered through experimentation that people eat more if served food in larger cups, bowls, and plates. In one study people ate 34% to 45% more popcorn if it was served in “extra-super-size ginormous buckets” than in regular large containers — even if the popcorn was stale” Wansink says. “Even a kid’s cereal bowl can be a trap,” according to Wansink. “Children poured about twice as much cereal into a 16-ounce bowl than into an 8-ounce bowl,” he says.
Wansink suggests mindless eating can be stopped if we change aspects in our environment. The best approach is to keep the candies, chips, and soda out of view and instead keep healthier foods at eye level. By filling your refrigerator and pantry with fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains you are more likely to snack on these healthier, lower calorie foods. Another change is to swap out your large bowls, cups, and plates for smaller ones. The smaller our plates are, the less food we can fit on them, and the less food we will eat overall. Lastly, don’t eat in front of the TV or computer. Wansink states this is “where you’re likely to lose track of how much you’ve eaten.”
Another healthy eating tip is to eat foods that have more volume with the same amount of calories. This helps you fill up and you’re more likely to stay satisfied until your next meal. For example, you can eat 5 Hershey kisses as your afternoon snack or have 2 medium apples. Obviously the apples are the healthier choice, but not only are you getting more fiber and nutrients, you are also filling your stomach with more volume of food for the same calories. Many times it’s the volume of food that we are eating that tricks the mind into thinking “I’m satisfied and full.”
In a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants were given either an entree of mac and cheese or an entree of mac and cheese with 25% pureed squash and cauliflower blended in. The participants who ate the mac and cheese with squash and cauliflower consumed 360 fewer calories per dish because they tricked their brain into thinking they were eating more, when in fact they were eating less energy-wise. The simple recipe modification of adding vegetables to a recipe reduces the calories, but still allows you to eat the same amount and feel just as satisfied.
Learning to eat mindfully and follow portion control can be your key to a healthy weight. Reach for fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, lean meats, and whole grains. These foods will give you more volume per calorie, keeping you full and satisfied. Portion control can be one of the most difficult aspects of maintaining a healthy diet, but by eating these healthy foods you get more bang for your buck…or I guess I should say more bang for your calorie.
What Does 100 Calories Look Like?
1 cup of blackberries
5 Hershey’s kisses
1 and 1/2 eggs
1 and 1/2 graham crackers
2 and 1/2 rice cakes
1 cup Chex
1 cup strawberries
1 slice of bread
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon peanut butter
13 almonds
13 gummy bears
2 bell peppers
2 small apples
2 tablespoons chocolate chips
2 tablespoons jelly
28 M&Ms
3 clementines
1/2 cup dry pasta
8 saltine crackers
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dry oatmeal
Michelle Remkus is a Registered Dietitian with her Masters in Nutrition and Wellness. She is currently a consulting dietitian in long term care, as well as a dietitian at a local wellness center where she does one-on-one nutrition counseling. But her most important job is being a mommy to her daughter, Hannah. Her thoughts about healthy eating is that nothing is off the table. The most important factor in healthy eating is having a balanced diet, watching portions, and eating foods you actually enjoy. Hence her motto “Live…Don’t Diet”. On her blog she has information, recipes, advice, and tidbits to hopefully help you to improve your nutrition and live a healthier life.
Ali @ Peaches and Football says
August 13, 2014 at 7:47 amThat’s a great visual! I was finding myself looking through the pictures and also wondering/thinking about how filling each of the options would be. When you look at it this way you can see how easy it is to pack on calories. 13 gummy bears? Please, I’d eat 5x that many!! 😉
Livi @ Eat, Pray, Work It Out says
August 13, 2014 at 8:00 amI love this visual guide!
Dave Douglas says
August 13, 2014 at 8:09 amFantastic visualization project! This really helps to demonstrate the various forms of density and volume of food associated with 100 calories. I particularly like comparing the 13 almonds to the 13 gummy bears. After beating morbid obesity I know how satisfied I will feel with the almonds vs the temporary blood sugar high of the gummy bears.
Thanks for doing this!
Ashley @ Saving Money in your Twenties says
August 13, 2014 at 8:29 amThis is awesome! I like the peppers and the apples- I didn’t realize you could eat so much of those for just 100 cals!
Tonya says
August 13, 2014 at 8:38 amCool. Nice visual reminder that fruits and vegs go a long way.
Jeri says
August 13, 2014 at 8:51 amI need little bowls like that to eat cereal in. A regular cereal bowl means fill it up and keep filling it up until you use up all the milk.
Ella says
August 13, 2014 at 9:46 amWhat an interesting visual! It can definitely be tough to envision these kinds of comparisons in your mind’s eye. Amazing that 1 T of PB= 2 apples!!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Violet says
August 13, 2014 at 10:22 amYou can actually have 2 cups of strawberries for 100 calories. Great article!
Natalie says
August 13, 2014 at 10:26 amI think putting it visually like this misses the point entirely. It makes it seem like quantity is more important than quality, giving people the mentality of “I’m allowed 100 more calories today. Let’s go with 28 M&Ms instead of 3 clementines.” Frankly, I’d rather eat 2000 calories of eggs than 100 calories of gummy bears.
KathEats says
August 13, 2014 at 12:35 pmUltimately both are important
jill says
August 13, 2014 at 1:16 pmThat’s an interesting take on it…I do think quantity can be important for those of us who are “volume” eaters. I am so bad at having very little of something. I get more satisfaction from eating a large serving of fruit or veggies over a small handful of candy. The candy is delicious, but a small amount never seems like enough, and I’d like to avoid, when I can manage, having a massive amount of it. These visuals aren’t new, they’re in lots of magazines under titles like ‘eat this, not that’, but I think they’re a good reminder. Also, 2000 calories is a lot of eggs. That’s Cool Hand Luke style consumption right there.
Gary Gams says
August 13, 2014 at 10:31 amGreat visual…Can it be purchased?…As a weightwatcher I have lost 172lbs…I would love to share with others…
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
August 13, 2014 at 10:49 amThis is SO cool! It is awesome to see how much you get from fruits and veggies!
Katie says
August 13, 2014 at 11:08 amThis was awesome! Thank you so much. Now I know what i can have for a snack without breaking my calorie bank. Thanks!!!
joelle (on a pink typewriter) says
August 13, 2014 at 11:14 amGreat post and so true! Seeing the visuals makes such a difference…… and I now really realize how much pb I’m ACTUALLY inhaling at breakfast every day!
Andrea says
August 13, 2014 at 11:24 amLove this! It makes me soooo sad that pasta has so many calories…I could eat like 5 cups. Or more.
CaitlinHTP says
August 13, 2014 at 11:25 amcool post!
Katie says
August 13, 2014 at 11:50 amI LOVE this post! It’s so great to help have a sense of intuition about these things.
My biggest takeaway is that a gummy bear is equal to an almond 😉
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs says
August 13, 2014 at 3:01 pmI thought the same thing 😉
Kavi says
August 13, 2014 at 12:09 pmWhat a cool visual! Great reminder for healthy snacking (and quality vs quantity!).
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs says
August 13, 2014 at 3:00 pmA great reminder — love it!
Adrienne says
August 13, 2014 at 3:17 pmI’m trying to cut down/out added sugar, and I’d really like to see a similar visual with sugar. Something like, “What 10g of sugar looks like.” Though I’m only worried about added sugar, it would be interesting to see natural sugars compared to added sugar.
CB says
August 13, 2014 at 3:43 pmWhy does 1 Tbs of peanut butter look like so much more than 1Tbs of butter?
Sarah (The Simple Dietitian) says
August 13, 2014 at 6:05 pmThis makes me want peppers. Haha!!
Great post!! It’s nice to see a visual image of what 100 calories actually looks like. A great reminder to include lots of fresh produce throughout the day. Ultimately, we need a little fat and it’s okay to enjoy things like chocolate and M&M’s. But they certainly won’t fill up our belly while keeping us trim, quite like that produce does!
Michele says
August 13, 2014 at 8:38 pmGreat post and a great reminder for when I want to eat mindlessly! Thanks!!
Maria says
August 13, 2014 at 9:05 pmI loved this post! Nice to get a visual 🙂
Alex @ Kenzie Life says
August 14, 2014 at 12:02 amVery cool post! I love being able to see the difference in the food quantity for the same amount of calories!
Ttrockwood says
August 14, 2014 at 10:53 pmI think it should be three bell peppers since they are about 35 calories each…. The vosual is helpful and obviously there are a ton of versions you could do like beverages, soups, ice cream/sorbets, etc…
Angela Han says
August 15, 2014 at 8:46 pmI think it should be 1/2 cup cooked* pasta not dry
Clifford Younger says
August 18, 2014 at 11:44 amNot to be persnickety but two “regular” medium size apples (~7 oz. each) would total 200 cal, not 100. Only very small apples, the kind you might buy off season in 3 lb bags for example, and even then only the smallest in the bag, would total 100 cal for two. Large apples — 8-10 oz — are 120 — 150 cal each.
Also:
1 cup of whole strawberries (caps on) is ~50 cal.
1 cup blackberries is ~60 cal
3 small clementines is ~100 cal; 3 large: ~150 cal
And bread is especially misleading since a “slice” can range from white lo-cal bread at 40 cal/sl, to typical mass market sandwich bread at 70-75/sl (~1 oz. serving), to Great Harvest whole grain w/ seeds/nuts at 150 cal/sl, a 2 oz. serving.
For foods that are inherently low calorie, like strawberries or green beans, it doesn’t matter much — if at all — if you eat too much of them or mis-estimate their serving size or calorie content. They’re good for you, after all, and the calorie error will be small. But not so with more calorie dense foods like bread or peanut butter or even eating 1 apple vs. 2. Mis-estimating calories or misjudging serving size, especially for foods eaten regularly, can wreck havoc with a weight loss or maintenance program.
Christine says
August 31, 2014 at 10:57 pmLove the visuals! I am the worst at eating from the bag and portion control in general. This is a great reminder to be more mindful when snacking!
Hypnogal says
November 22, 2014 at 11:20 amWould have been much better to show these containers from the SIDE – not the top (for things like oatmeal and pasta) etc… from the top we can only see the food across / not the depth.