Eating Too Many Cashews?


can-you-eat-too-many-cashews

Are you eating too many cashews? If you are like me, the answer is, probably, yes. My favorite is cashews followed by pecans, almonds and then the walnuts. If I can mix all four of these nuts together, then this is what I call "heaven". However, I'm trying to lose weight so I have to be very careful about how much I'm consuming. 

I hear this all of the time from my clients, that they are not losing weight even though they are on the Daniel Fast, The South Beach diet or the Paleo diet.  Most of the time, I find they are consuming too many nuts, more than 8 ounces or 250 ml. Once they cut back, the pounds start to drop off.

So, how many should you consume a day?  Here's a breakdown on the serving sizes of the different nuts:

Walnuts: 1 ounce 14 halves
Cashews: 1 ounce 18 kernels
Almonds: 1 ounce 23 kernels
Peanuts:  1 ounce or 4 tablespoons
Macadamia: 1 ounce or 12 or 13 kernels
Pecans: 1 ounce or 20 halves

As you can see, most of us consume more than this and with the average of the nuts above being 180 calories, this is the reason why your progress might be slow going.

What to do?

You have three options to control your nut consumption:

1. Buy small packages
I like this option the best for me because I can't stop eating them if I buy a large container of nut's, especially cashews and pecans.  It is not very frugal, but it helps with portion control.  The only caution when buying a small package of nuts, make sure they only have one serving per package.


2. Buy a large container and split up the nuts in snack-size plastic baggies 
This is a great option too but not for me.  I would have to have my husband hide them from me.  Once I have my nut consumption under control, I will be buying my nuts in bulk especially since it is more economical. 
too-many-cashews

3. Don't buy them
If the two options don't work for you, then you might have to lay off of nuts until you learn discipline when eating them.

Are you good at portion control when eating nuts? If so, how do you keep your consumption under control? If not, check out these individual small packs you can buy on Amazon.



Comments

  1. I stopped buying nuts because they are expensive. I would eat a handful when I got home from work. Dr. Zorba always says eat nuts, but not peanuts on his radio show. I guess because it is not a tree nut and not low-fat.

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    1. I'm beginning to only buy $1 package when I need my fix. The best way is to buy them when on sale if you have the self control not to nibble on them throughout the day.

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  2. #WOWLinkup. Interesting. I did not really know that we could be eating too many nuts.

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  3. I love cashews and almonds too! I'm ok on the portion control-I find them really filling. Trader Joes has great indiv sized packs. #Wowlinkup. Thanks again for featuring me-honored!

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  4. I'm the opposite.... I need more nuts in my life! :) (LOL you know what I mean!) They are so good for you. But, great post on limiting portions!!!! XO, Laurie~

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  5. I like eating almonds and purchase the 100 calorie packs. My mother likes peanuts with raisins. #wowlinkup

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  6. oh this is great info- I always get too excited with almonds !

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  7. Oh man I'm so terrible at portion control. I have to count out and journal things like almonds or I'll eat the whole bag! #wowlinkup

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  8. Just like everything else too much of a good thing can be bad for you...
    I measure out my walnuts in my blue container from the 21DayFix (approximately 1/4 cup). #wowlinkup

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  9. I love cashews, but my body doesn't, so therefore I just don't eat them but once in a while. #wowlinkup, thanks for hosting.

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  10. I don't like many nuts, but I do love cashews. I have tried the buying bulk and measuring them out into small baggies. I did feel they went a little stale before I got through them (I guess that is good, meaning I didn't chow them all down ... but it was one of those HUGE canisters you get at Sam'sClub). I don't buy them that often ... and I'm pretty picky, some of the off brands are NOT the same as Planters.

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  11. When I was in boarding school in high school.... I would sneak into the kitchen and CHOW DOWN on cashews! They're so flipping delicious. However, they also packed on a few pounds. Even though they're healthy, they definitely put on weight if you're not careful!!!

    Sadly I can no longer eat nuts of any kind :( But at the same time, I am okay with that because I totally go overboard! LOL! #wowlinkup

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  12. Hi Sheila,
    I am feeling sooo guilty right now. As I read your post I was snacking on a large bag of walnuts, pecans, cashews and raisins while working at the computer. I mindlessly ate too many. I have finally put the bag away after reading your post, though. Clearly, I have been trying to add more raw nuts to my daily diet for their nutritional benefits but portion control is definitely required to keep this from causing weight gain. Thanks for an enlightening post.

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    1. My client got my a big container of cashews from Costco and ate all of them in a weeks time. I gained a few pounds after that so I'm very careful with my portion control when consuming them now. Thanks for the visit.

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  13. Can't believe you wrote this article. It is exactly what my problem is ... cashews. I have a jar of mixed nuts and I ate all the cashews. No weight loss this week. I'm not buying anymore nuts. I eat too many all the time. Thanks for the post

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    1. Me too, I'm only buying the $1.00 bags when I have a taste for them.

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  14. I definitely consume too much nuts...did you know obr serving of Brazil nuts is only three nuts??!!

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