BLOG 53 RESTAURANT FOOD

 BLOG 53 RESTAURANT FOOD

Eating out is a challenging component on our fitness journeys. Restaurants are convenient, quick, no clean up, and know exactly what you like to lure you in. We have the power to make healthier choices, restaurants are showing calories for the meals, and of course some chains are better options than others, but ultimately we are not controlling the preparation and what is truly being put on our plates. So just for fun, let’s take a look at some of the calorie bombs restaurants have to offer, and hope you haven’t ordered them before haha.

You might think Red Lobster is a great low calorie option. Seafood is healthy right?? Think again…. “Red Lobster itself just had the dubious honor of being the “winner” of the 2015 Xtreme Eating Awards, held yearly by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to highlight the chain restaurant menu items with the highest calorie, saturated and trans fat, sodium, and added sugar counts. Head to the Lobster for a Create Your Own Combination meal—with a Traditional Lobsterita to drink, watch—and you could down 3,600 cals in one sitting” (http://news.health.com/2015/06/03/the-9-highest-calorie-meals-at-chain-restaurants/). My husband raves about their cheese rolls too yikes. IHOP’s Chorizo Fiesta Omelet has 121 grams of fat, 1,990 calories, and 4,840 grams of sodium.  The Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs there has 1760 calories. Outback Steakhouse’s Herb Prime Rib has 2,404 calories, 169 grams of fat, and 35 grams of sugar, and 3.565 grams of sodium. Needless to say the Cheesecake Factory had a number of super high calorie menu dishes. (http://news.health.com/2015/06/03/the-9-highest-calorie-meals-at-chain-restaurants/).

Let’s keep going. Burger King’s Triple Whopper has 1.020 calories. Quizno’s large Vegetable Delux Sandwich has 1,060 calories. Adding cheese or avocado on adds to this number. A Cinnabun has about 1, 080 calories. Subway’s Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch has 1,160 calories. Most of the macaroni and cheese options at restaurants had nearly 2,000 calories. Chili’s Baby Back Ribs full rack with the fries and cinnamon apples has 2,330 calories. (http://www.businessinsider.com/17-highest-calorie-chain-restaurant-items-2013-5#were-a-fast-food-nation-18).

So we opt for the salad to try to be better right?? Well… that doesn’t always fair well on the calorie count my friends. Macaroni’s Grill’s Parmesan-crusted Chicken Salad has 880 calories and 16 grams of fat. May as well get pasta. Just getting a salad at Chipotle with chicken, black beans, red salsa, cheese, and the vinaigrette can total up to 720 calories and 41 grams of fat. PF Chang’s chicken chopped salad has 720 calories and 48 grams of fat. Taco Bell’s Fiesta Taco Salad has 770 calories and 42 grams of fat. The beef tacos are better for you. Panera’s salads are around 700 calories as well. California Pizza Kitchen and of course the Cheesecake Factory have really high calorie salads as well. (http://www.eatthis.com/19-salads-worse-than-whopper).

Shoot we may as well become hermit crabs, but we have to live life. The occasionally eating out won’t hinder us greatly, but many folks eat out 3 or more times per week. Being in control is critical and that’s why I always encourage meal planning so that YOU know what is being put in every bite of your dish. As you can see, having just one of these meals is quite damaging to your daily intake. And of course dinner is the popular restaurant hour, so you have already had most of your calories only to add on a major portion at the end of the day. The number of calories then soar through the roof for that day. We keep these chains in business, but remember one choice at a time, we need to stay on course as best as possible. Plan ahead, eat out occasionally, and don’t make a habit of finishing every morsel on your plate.