How Much Are You Indulging When You Eat Out?

Posted July 31, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: In The News, His Health, Physical Health, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Diets

If you’re working on losing weight, you can start a new diet plan, count calories, and omit certain foods or ingredients with your meal. More and more people are often finding that no matter how carefully they monitor their daily diet they still keep gaining weight. Part of this may have to do with the calorie count that comes from restaurant food. Even a choice that would normally be healthy if made at home could add up to more fat, calories, carbs, and cholesterol than you may think.

Melinda Beck of The Wall Street Journal says that New York City recently passed a law that requires restaurants to post a detailed nutrition guide to each meal option. Restaurant customers in New York are getting a hard slap in the face when they see just how bad their choices really are. For example, Beck says, “Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken packs 1,290 calories. Pizzeria Uno’s Individual Chicago Classic (serves one) has 2,310 [and] an appetizer like T.G.I. Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Sampler at 2,330.” Considering that the recommended calorie intake ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day, just one appetizer covers your entire daily value.

What makes these meals worse is that “healthy” options can be worse than eating carbohydrate-loaded bread. For example, “At Shea Stadium’s Metropolitan Club, the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is 807 calories; the Grilled Chicken Sandwich is 340.” Theoretically, since the salad contains more vegetables and excludes bread, it should be the healthier choice. However, the high content of fat and calories in salad dressing boosts the calorie content to staggering amounts.

How can you make smart choices when you eat out? Pick and choose better ingredients in you food if possible. For example, substitute mustard for mayonnaise in your turkey salad. When choosing a salad dressing, pick a low-calorie option or a low-fat alternative to your favorite dressing and avoid toppings that significantly raise the calorie content of your meal. Also, instead of eating the entire meal in one sitting, you could share it or take half of it home to eat later. Be sure that even if you don’t eat the whole thing that it is still the biggest meal of the day. Ordering your vegetables steamed or asking the chef to use less butter or cooking oil when preparing the meal will not change the way your meal tastes, but will cut down on calorie content considerably.

By altering the content and portions of your food, you can enjoy a great meal at a restaurant without feeling guilty about it. However, if you still feel self-conscious or guilty about how much you’re actually eating, websites like http://www.chowbaby.com, http://www.thedailyplate.com, http://www.calorie-count.com, and HealthyDiningFinder.com will provide you with nutrition facts of meals in a wide variety of restaurants. By checking out these sites ahead of time, you will have a more informed decision about your choices before you indulge.

Sources and other research information: [http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121728720696791385.html?mod=2_1566_leftbox]