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Diet Detective

What You Get for the Calories

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Calories seem to be so arbitrary, and not very intuitive. I always find it interesting to see what kinds of foods (and how much) you can get for a particular number of calories. Here is my latest version of "What You Get for the Calories."


What you get for about 10 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 2

  • 4 Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Cheese Goldfish Crackers
  • 1 Domino sugar packet (15 calories)
  • 3 red seedless grapes (9 calories)
  • 3 baby carrots (10.5 calories)
  • 1 broccoli spear (5 inches long, 11 calories)

What you get for about 25 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 5.5

  • 1 Hershey's Kisses Hugs candy (Valentine's Day, 23 calories)
  • 1 heart-shaped lollipop (30 calories)
  • 1 small fig (30 calories)
  • 1 medium (3-ounce) beefsteak tomato

What you get for about 50 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 11

  • 1 Mallomars marshmallow & chocolate cookie (60 calories)
  • 1 heart-shaped Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (42 calories)
  • 1 tablespoon (21 grams) honey (60 calories)
  • 1 chocolate-covered cherry (55 calories)
  • 14 ounces Zico Natural Coconut Water (60 calories)
  • ½ cup Kellogg's Froot Loops Cereal (60 calories without milk)

What you get for about 75 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 16

  • 1 Russell Stover Milk Chocolate Almond Cluster (76.5 calories)
  • 2 raw oysters (80 calories)
  • 1 medium peach (68 calories)

What you get for about 100 calories

Minutes to walk it off*= 21.5

  • 3/4 cup Kellogg's Special K Cereal, Chocolatey Delight (120 calories)
  • 2 dark chocolate-dipped strawberries (110 calories)
  • 1 cup Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix with Mini Marshmallows (110 calories)
  • ½ cup Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
  • 20 ounces Vitamin Water Multi-V Lemonade (120 calories)
  • 1 medium banana (110 calories)
  • 1 ounce peppered brie cheese
  • ½ cup steamed brown rice (109 calories)

What you get for about 150 calories

Minutes to walk it off*=32.5

  • 1 2-ounce meatball
  • 1 Nestle Crunch Valentine Heart (140 calories)
  • ½ cup (1 pancake or waffle) Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete Pancake & Waffle Mix
  • 2 4-ounce glasses of Champagne ( 170 calories)

What you get for about 200 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 43

  • 1 Starbucks Marshmallow Dream Bar (210 calories)
  • ½ cup Pinkberry chocolate frozen yogurt with yogurt chips and coconut
  • 1 10-ounce Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel Mocha Latte with whole milk (220 calories)
  • 4 Bagel Bites Cheese & Pepperoni Bagel Pizzas (190 calories)

What you get for about 250 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 54

  • 1 12-ounce Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate with non-fat milk and no whipped cream
  • 1 2-ounce slice of cheesecake
  • McDonald's Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Newman's Own® Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing (240 calories)

What you get for about 300 calories

Minutes to walk it off* = 65

  • Applebee's 9-ounce House Sirloin Steak with no sides (310 calories)
  • McDonald's cheeseburger
  • Subway's 6-inch roast beef sandwich (320 calories)
  • Dunkin’ Donuts jelly-filled doughnut (290 calories)

*All exercise equivalents are based on a 175-pound person walking at a leisurely pace

OK. So now you know the calorie costs for a few foods. See how many of these other portion equivalents you get right.

How many calories are in:

  1. Dairy Queen small vanilla cone
    1. 150 calories
    2. 325 calories
    3. 230 calories
    4. 90 calories

  2. 1 Tostitos Restaurant-Style Tortilla Chip
    1. 5 calories
    2. 20 calories
    3. 60 calories
    4. 16 calories

  3. 1 7-ounce avocado
    1. 220 calories
    2. 322 calories
    3. 256 calories
    4. 75 calories

  4. ½ order of Outback Baby Back Ribs & Aussie Fries
    1. 2,200 calories
    2. 1,303 calories
    3. 726 calories
    4. 2,740 calories

  5. 2 pieces of Stouffer's Deluxe French Bread Pizza
    1. 430 calories
    2. 860 calories
    3. 200 calories
    4. 375 calories

  6. 2 tablespoons of Newman's Own Creamy Caesar Dressing
    1. 25 calories
    2. 10 calories
    3. 170 calories
    4. 500 calories

  7. 1 large apple (3 1/4 inch diameter)
    1. 25 calories b
    2. 67 calories
    3. 5 calories
    4. 116 calories

  8. 2 tablespoons of hummus
    1. 50 calories
    2. 15 calories
    3. 215 calories
    4. 45 calories

  9. Which has the most calories (about 290)?
    1. Dairy Queen all-beef hot dog
    2. 5 Entenmann's Original Chocolate Chip Cookies
    3. McDonald’s Big Mac
    4. Quarter Pounder with Cheese

  10. Which has the most calories?
    1. 8 Chili's Classic Nachos
    2. Chili's Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad
    3. Chili's Avocado Burger on wheat bun with fries
    4. Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls with Avocado Ranch Dressing

Answer key: 1-c, 2-b, 3-b, 4-b, 5-b, 6-c,7-d, 8-a, 9-a, 10-c

One of the best ways to develop your "calorie instinct" is to know your portions:

1 cup of cereal = a fist
1/2 cup of cooked rice, pasta, or potato = 1/2 baseball
1 baked potato = a fist
1 medium fruit = a baseball
1/2 cup of fresh fruit = 1/2 baseball
1 1/2 ounces of low-fat or fat-free cheese = 4 stacked dice
1/2 cup of ice cream = 1/2 baseball
2 tablespoons of peanut butter = a ping-pong ball

Source: The Weight-control Information Network (WIN), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health


Originally published: 2/8/2012 | Last reviewed: 2/8/2012
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