Eating Out Calories

It’s so easy to underestimate the amount of calories that go into commercial foods. While perusing the menu at a popular food chain or walking down the line of steaming entrees and veg at a tried and true cafeteria, I think of how I might perhaps fix similar items at home. I think about the ingredients I might use to make that same dish, thinking that, well it can’t be that bad, what would be on it/in it that would make it so high calorie?

I decided to check out my latest edition of The Calorie King Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter book. If you haven’t got one, run to your nearest bookstore or on-line seller and buy it. You’ll be glad you did. It’s invaluable. Anyway, in the back of the little pocket-sized book is what I consider a pretty reliable nutrition list of menu items from popular restaurants and fast food chains. Some of it will scare you! I’m not saying don’t eat these things or go to these places. What I am saying is to be sure you know what you’re getting. More information allows you to make an informed decision.

Listed below are a few items I found in the book with their calories written alongside. If you're limiting your calories to around say 1500 or even 1700 a day, many of these dishes would be totally out of the question. Check it out.

Appleby’s – Fiesta Lime Chicken – (entrée with sides and sauces) – 1285 calories! (at least Appleby’s does have a listing of Weight Watchers items on their menu which are not too bad.)

Burger King – Original Whopper sandwich – 680; Whopper Jr., (no cheese) – 370

Cheesecake Factory – per slice - Brownie Sundae – 970; Original Cheesecake – 630

Chili’s – Classic Nachos – with fajita chicken – 1630; with fajita beef – 1740

Dunkin’ Donuts – Powdered Cake donut – 310; Bagel – plain multigrain - 410

IHOP – Buttermilk pancakes – short stack (3) [without butter and syrup] - 330

Macaroni Grill – Primo Chicken Parmesan (dinner size) – 2220!

P.F. Chang’s – Lo Mein Beef (per whole dish) – 1375

Ruby Tuesday – Lemon Grilled Salmon (entrée without sides) – 505

Zaxby’s – Chicken Finger Plate – (regular entrée without sauce) – 1055

A Word About Eating Out

Bowing to outside pressure as there is more concern about America's growing girth, many more restaurant chains these days are starting to include healthier choices on their menus. It's a welcome change, but don't assume that just because an item is listed as "healthy" or "smart," it's going to be lower in calories. For example, a recent check of the popular baked goods chain, Dunkin' Donuts, shows they have a line of items dubbed "DDSmart." These are items that are billed as "Better For You Choices That Keep You Running." That may well be, but take it upon yourself to do a little investigation.

Listed under their bakery items, Dunkin' Donuts has a Reduced Fat Blueberry Muffin. That sounds good. But the muffin is listed at 400 calories, 45 of those from fat. Right below the muffin is listed a Cheese Danish. I would think it would be much higher in calories but instead, it's only 340. However, it gets 200 of those calories from fat. Certainly the muffin would be considered healthier because it contains less fat, but note that it is higher in calories. Listed under bagels, the "DDSmart" item is the Multigrain Bagel at 380 calories, 50 of those are from fat. Multi grains are great, but the Plain Bagel listed contains 320 calories, 25 of those from fat.

This is why it's important to actually have the nutrition information on items and not simply rely on those little menu logos that mark items as healthy or low fat or heart healthy. And for those restaurant chains that don't bother to give nutrition information, you can't assume you can just look at something and tell, or assume that since similar items you might eat at home aren't that high in calories, the ones in the restaurant chains aren't going to be either. Be responsible for what's important to you. If you need to eat low fat, fine. But if you're assuming things that are listed as low fat are also low calorie, think again.

A 630 Calorie Muffin?? Yep.

Ever wonder how many calories are in those chocolate chip cookies or those moist luscious slices of pound cake in the pastry case at Starbucks? New Yorkers now know, and quite a few of them aren't too happy about it. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but in this case, ignorance can add hundreds of calories to your daily diet without your knowing. So, in their efforts to battle the bulge for their citizens, New York city officials passed a law requiring restaurant chains to post the calorie totals for their foods. It has sent some consumers reeling to discover what some might have already suspected.

Even though it's labeled as "fat free" a slice of the banana chocolate chip cake comes in at 390 calories at Starbucks. One popular muffin at Dunkin' Donuts is 630 calories. A muffin! And diners at T.G.I. Friday's are stunned to learn a good number of the meals on the popular chain's menu are well over 1000 calories, even the salads!

We really shouldn't be surprised and we shouldn't condemn them for it. These are restaurants not health food purveyors. They're in the business of selling good tasting food, food that's so good you want to come back again and again. But if you come back too often, you need to know you may well be, in a single meal, eating your entire day's calorie allotment. There is nothing wrong with eating out, but to do it several times a week is probably going to make you put on weight. Starting your day with a calorie and carb loaded muffin and a fancy cup of sweetened milk-rich coffee isn't doing your diet any good, either. If you're trying to lose weight, these meals and snacks will leave you fighting an uphill battle.

We like to fool ourselves sometimes. As long as we don't know the calories, they can't possibly be that bad, can they? Or if we're eating in the car, or standing over the sink, they don't really count, do they? But they do count and much more than many of us realize. New Yorkers are finding that out. Seattle and San Francisco have similar laws going into effect later this year. Such a law might be coming to your city. If it does, don't run, just be aware. Information is power.

Perhaps instead of eating that entire Bloomin' Onion at Outback Steakhouse all by yourself, (at more than 2000 calories,) you share it with two or three friends. Managing our weight, means managing our food. It's not a bad thing.