What 200 Calories Look Like in Different Foods

[michigandem58]

WiseGEEK conducted a very visual and informative study and presented a photo series, which compares what 200 calories actually look like in different foods. You’d think that even with the bikini season coming up, a handful of gummy bears couldn’t hurt much, right..? Well, turns out, just 51 gram of those gives you the same amount of calories as nearly 600 grams of broccoli or 3 whole eggs would. And now be honest – which of those amounts sounds more alike a proper and filling meal to you?

Many pictures at link...

http://www.boredpanda.com/what-200-calories-look-like/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. That was cool.

[riverbendviewgal]

2. Thanks

Now I will go have some celery and avocado

[progressoid]

5. Hmm...

I was thinking about a slice of pie.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Thanks, most folks have no clue

[cyberswede]

4. Cool

The gummy bears are shocking! It looked like a decent serving of bacon, though. Yum.

I'm gonna show this to my kiddos - they'll be surprised.

[petronius]

6. Really interesting, thanks! I was disappointed in the grapes and melon - since

I often chow down on much bigger portions than that. Bacon and potato chips were bigger than I expected, however...

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. Interesting that on the Weight Watchers program (which I've done successfully and highly

recommend), they don't count most fruits and veggies, since in their view the benefits far outweigh the "calories" (or in their language, points). On my way to losing 60 lbs, it was the morning and afternoon fruit breaks that helped so much with success.

[petronius]

11. I agree that's a pretty important distinction - calories alone is one-dimensional

I'm certainly not going to trade in my grapes for (more) bacon on the strength of this...

Congrats on the success!

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. thanks! going well - from 258 in Jan 2011, down to 196 last summer - crept up a bit

bet. Thanksgiving and now (anniversary/Christmas/birthdays/Valenties day etc!)....but once garden activity picks up, should get back to around there. goes on much more quickly than it came off!

[frazzled]

7. Some of the pictures misled me a bit

When I looked at what seemed to be a very small amount of butter, perhaps a healthy pat, it turns out that the amount (.98 oz) is really a quarter-stick of butter, or two tablespoons. (That must be a bigger plate than I imagined it to be.) On the rare occasions I use butter on toast, I use only a sliver (maybe 1/8 of a tablespoon or less), or perhaps a half tablespoon at most with some oil if I'm sauteeing something that needs that particular flavor. And then that half tablespoon would be spread among 3 or 4 servings.

A pat of butter is 36 calories. A tablespoon is 102. It's a lot, but not as much as I thought I was seeing in that picture.

On the other hand, 200 calories buys you nearly an entire glazed donut. I don't really like glazed donuts, but that seems odd to me. I guess they're mostly air.

The main thing is: don't think you can subsist on 200 calories each of fruit loops and yeast donuts instead of the turkey and broccoli. The healthier, balanced diet is more important. And in the end it's all about calories in, calories out.

But interesting. Thanks!

[IdaBriggs]

9. Actually, it is what is *IN* the calories that counts more for your health

than the calories themselves.

[patricia92243]

10. My problem is I would add butter and cheese to the brocolli :(

[Luminous Animal]

29. Chop it fine, caraway seeds, lemon juice, salt pepper and a drizzle of good

olive oil. I'm not a fan of broccoli but when I eat it like this, it is good. Even my daughter since the age of three would eat it up. She liked it better when I added sweet smoked paprika which she called "the kid's spice."

[patricia92243]

30. I'll try it! I'm always pleasantly surprised how just a little bit of lemon juice makes such a huge

difference in veggies. I'll have to buy caraway seeds - not even sure what they are, but it's always fun to add something new to my food.

[Arugula Latte]

12. Interesting! Thanks!

[Marr]

14. WOW-- very interesting.

I've become very interested in exercise and nutrition over the last year, and track everything I eat on myfitnesspal, with daily targets for carbs, protein, fats, etc. I'm constantly blown away by how much good food I have to eat to meet my quota, vs. how little garbage food it would take to get me to a calorie surplus.

My average meal nowadays is a heaping plateful of greens, vegetables, and chicken or fish-- and it generally comes in around 300-350 calories. By contrast, there are fast food places that offer meals about the same physical size that would come in at 1000+ calories-- and none of them good calories.

[Shrike47]

15. Very interesting. Who would have thought there are so many calories in balsamic vinegar?

On the other hand, that was a fair amount of bacon. Yummmmm.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. bigger pile of bacon than I imagined. Lots of photos of candy

[JDPriestly]

17. Thanks. Interesting.

Almonds. Oh, too bad.

[Chakab]

18. Mmmmmmmmmmmm......

Corkscrew pasta and broccoli. Guess I know what I'm cooking for dinner tonight.

[BlueStreak]

19. Potato chips are the worst.

Anybody for potato chips and peanut butter with a nice glass of Coca Cola?

[nobodyspecial]

20. Good visuals

but it's not all about the calories. Nutrients count as well. The nuts have a lot of calories, but definitely good to include in a healthy eating plan. Nutrient dense calories fill you up. Junk calories leave you wanting more.

[kurtzapril4]

21. Any of those foods

Could be worked into a healthy eating plan, as long as they're snacks, not meals, LOL! Center cut bacon has 50 calories per 2 slices....so for 200 calories you get 8 pieces of bacon, which I think is a great calorie deal!

[KittyWampus]

32. I'm going to go for the avacados! LOVE THEM.

[kurtzapril4]

36. My point was

That there is a place in any diet for things that might not be strictly healthy. Studies have shown that people who entirely cut out certain foods, or food groups that they enjoy, have much lower long term success rates than people who keep their favourites in their diet, and just moderate the portion size. In my personal experience, this is what works for me. I have a free day once a week where I eat whatever I want. And I find I still don't go overboard on anything. On my free day...maybe I'll have a sundae after dinner. Or maybe instead of a salad and veg soup for lunch, I'll have a bacon sandwich.

Also, it is possible to find un-cured bacon. No nitrates. Avocados are great...one of my favourite lunches is half an avocado with salsa poured into the hole where the pit was. Avocados are also great on bacon sandwiches.

[kurtzapril4]

38. Oh, okay! Didn't mean to come off as testy.

From what I have read, it is, finally, all about calories. There's good calories, and there's bad calories, but it still comes down to, from a purely weight losing perspective, that a calorie is a calorie...take in more calories than you burn, you are going to gain weight. Now, how a person chooses to obtain those calories makes all the difference. I know that a bowl of ice cream would be awesome! I also know that if I eat that big bowl of ice cream, I will be hungry again in an hour or two. But if I choose to eat a big salad...with 1/4 cup light blue cheese sprinkles and 3 TBSP. of a cranberry vinaigrette, some thinly sliced apple...I'm going to feel a lot fuller for a lot longer, and it's much healthier, and lower in fat, than that bowl of ice cream. And I'll save a brazillion calories, to boot!

[kurtzapril4]

41. We'll have to agree to disagree, LOL!

It's a law of physics....take in more than you burn, you are going to gain weight. Good calories are nutrient dense. Your key statement is that the people you are talking about are atheletes. They burn off more than they take in, or their energy intake/energy output is at an equilibrium.

Just recently a guy went on a diet that consisted entirely of junk food. He lost weight. He was also athletic. But for sure his health suffered for his diet.

I'm not advocating for junk food, or processed food. All I am saying is that at this point, according to science, at a base level, one's body interprets a calorie as a calorie. Doesn't matter where it came from. There are interesting studies being done as I type that refute that belief, and I will be interested to read the results of those studies.

[exboyfil]

22. Why I upload on 2-3 sticks of celery

and an apple in the morning as well as my grapefruit. Try to fill my belly with low calorie food. Move onto to break breakfast with two egg whites and salsa. Lunch home made spaghetti sauce with blackened chicken breast on a bed of spaghetti squash. Add to that a salad with plenty of fresh veges and fat free Italian dressing. I try to stay low fat and mostly vegetable in the evening as well.

I am trying really hard to lose weight. I love the pictures. I definitely am going to bookmark. I have tough time buying 4 slices of flax bread has 200 calories though. Calorie counter says 2 slices (180 grams total) equals 270 calories.

[exboyfil]

23. What is even more amazing

is that a 150# person can run nearly 2 miles on 200 calories. We are amazing machines.

[patricia92243]

24. 1 tablespoon of butter has 100 calories. 28 grams is not a whole ounce. n/t

[kurtzapril4]

34. Grams are a measurement of weight

Ounces are a measurement of volume. It's a conversion that can't be made.

[uponit7771]

25. +1

[DotGone]

26. 200 calories is an appetizer

and that fiber one cereal looks like a bowl of meal worms.

[RedCappedBandit]

27. If people weighed out their food,

they'd be shocked at how much they're actually eating, imo.

Cool article.

[jambo101]

28. Easy to see how people can over eat

At 2000-2500 calories per day as a norm,its easy to see why so many are obese.

[rrneck]

33. Back in the day

I could, and regularly would, eat a dozen donuts at a sitting. I've slowed down in later years though. When I go to the local doughnut shop they already know what I want - three glaze and a medium coffee to go. As I've gotten older I've begun to gain weight so I don't do that so much now.

[RockaFowler]

40. I'll take the Baileys

Thank you very much!!