IHOP food is terrible for you

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kmradley
kmradley Posts: 27 Member
in Getting Started
I work there. I love working there. I eat there a lot because I work there. The food is delicious, the people are wonderful.
How did I not know the food was THIS bad for you. I've been on MFP for two days. I have some very bad eating habits and I knew that. But I had no idea IHOP food is THAT bad for you. Holy flying mother of all cows, pigs, sheep and chickens.

I thought "yeah, IHOP food isn't that bad, just steer clear of the really sugary stuff and don't ordered deep fried food and you should be fine..." No wonder I've gained so much weight.


I've been doing it wrong.
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Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    When you say it's "bad" do you mean it's calorie dense?
  • schelly81
    schelly81 Posts: 161 Member
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    Do you mean it's high in calories? I'm confused by the "terrible". Does it say inappropriate things to you and steal money from the register? :wink:
  • kmradley
    kmradley Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm actually more surprised at how much sodium is in things. And yes, I mean calorie dense. I just honestly posted this because I was completely taken aback at what's in it. I hadn't ever really looked at the nutrition facts about it at all.
  • kmradley
    kmradley Posts: 27 Member
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    Usually the food doesn't steal money from our register...usually.
  • doctorregenerated
    doctorregenerated Posts: 188 Member
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    Knowing what you know now, which meal do you think would be the best choice for a low calorie option? (breakfast menu)
    Looking for ideas...
  • schelly81
    schelly81 Posts: 161 Member
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    I looked at the menu. There are a lot of calorie dense foods on there but I noticed healthier options as well. It was a big learning curve for me when I started logging calories. I had to slightly change a lot of things I normally ate so that they were more nutritious. What about 2 eggs, side of turkey sausage and fruit? There was also a light and fit breakfast for 360 calories.

    Spend some time looking at the menu and make a mental note of things you enjoy eating that are a reasonable amount of calories for everyday. Keep in mind some of your favorite for when you want to splurge on a big meal or for when you have a big workout and have lots of calories to spend. (if you're eating back your exercise calories that is). I love fast food burgers and I like to fit one in my calories for lunch about once a week. I just pair it with a lower calorie high protein dinner to still make my day work.

    It takes a bit to get used to but don't get discouraged, you can do it :smile:
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    Not really. Unless you have sodium issues, I don't see why it cannot be worked into a balanced diet.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
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    Any restaurant food is going to be a hindrance esp. when you can't be 100% certain that the portion you get on your plate was prepared with the 100% accuracy used to calculate the nutrition data...and yep it will be high in sodium because I'm sure they use a lot of highly processed ingredients that require longer shelf life.

    Even worse are places like Quaker Steak & Lube that only offer MINIMAL nutrition info on their website and everything on their menu is fried or super high fat/calories/sodium. They are not meant to be a healthy place to eat, lol.

    I would bet there are more healthy options at IHOP and Perkins than there are at Quaker Steak and Cracker Barrel, lol
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    When I've gone to IHOP in the past, I've just ordered off the Simple & Fit menu, which isn't too bad calorie-wise. Also, maybe you could bring food with you so you don't always have to eat there.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    I like pancakes
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    I like pancakes

    ^^^ This ^^^ I like 'em with butter and a lot of syrup. A lot of syrup.
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
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    I disagree. Maybe it's terrible for you but. . . IHOP food is wonderful for me.

    ETA: Especially the cheesecake stuffed french toast. omg yum. . .
  • kmradley
    kmradley Posts: 27 Member
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    Hey peeps, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound complainey...more like...awakened. I like IHOP alot, I don't mean to hate on them at all. I work there and I love working there. I love bringing people pancakes and seeing their delighted, happy faces when I bring them their food. I didn't mean to seem negative.

    I just hadn't looked at the nutrition information of any of the stuff we sell before. And when I did it was like a lightbulb turning on because it just hadn't occurred to me that there was that many calories, that even the not-sweet stuff was crazy high in fat and sodium. Certainly there are low-cal options at IHOP. There is the "Simple and Fit" stuff which is all under 600 cals, and you can always get egg-beaters instead of regular eggs, you can always get salad instead of fries, you can always get a fruit cup in place of pancakes, you can always get turkey-bacon instead of bacon or sausage. We serve some nice salads, we serve broccoli. Healthy.

    I gained weight while working there and obviously I don't place any of the blame on them for that because it was my choice to eat everything I put in my mouth. I eat the healthy stuff sometimes, sure. I also don't sometimes, and almost all the items that I enjoy at IHOP are over a thousand calories.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I'd stick to pancakes and fruit if I went to IHOP.
  • jeichelb83
    jeichelb83 Posts: 172 Member
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    The Original Pancake House beats IHOP for taste hands down. However, I did have the "Light and Fit" breakfast there once and was very surprised that the whole wheat pancakes were pretty damn good. My rule of thumb is to log early to know how many calories you can eat and then go from there.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    Keep in mind that calories themselves aren't inherently bad...a calorie is just a unit of energy and energy is necessary to sustain life and activity. Further, and while a pancake probably isn't the most nutritious food on the planet, caloric density has nothing to do with nutritional quality. There are numerous, highly nutritious and healthful foods that are also incredibly calorie dense.

    All that said, yes...it is an eyeopener when you start logging because you've never paid attention to your energy consumption and how much energy (calories) certain foods have...it's the first step in learning moderation and portion control.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,719 Member
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    I do IHOP at least 2 times a month. My go to: Big steak omelette. Like 1200 calories. But I eat 3/4 of it and my DW eats the other 1/4.
    900 calories a meal for me is pretty much on the top end, so I can't do that everyday. But on days I know I'm going to eat there, I prep for it by being conservative with the rest of my calories throughout the day or hitting up a longer workout.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    I went to IHOP not too long ago and had the silver dollar pancakes off the children's menu. Pancakes, an egg, a slice of bacon, plus coffee--it was a decent meal and didn't use up all my calories for the day.
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    Hey peeps, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound complainey...more like...awakened. I like IHOP alot, I don't mean to hate on them at all. I work there and I love working there. I love bringing people pancakes and seeing their delighted, happy faces when I bring them their food. I didn't mean to seem negative.

    I just hadn't looked at the nutrition information of any of the stuff we sell before. And when I did it was like a lightbulb turning on because it just hadn't occurred to me that there was that many calories, that even the not-sweet stuff was crazy high in fat and sodium. Certainly there are low-cal options at IHOP. There is the "Simple and Fit" stuff which is all under 600 cals, and you can always get egg-beaters instead of regular eggs, you can always get salad instead of fries, you can always get a fruit cup in place of pancakes, you can always get turkey-bacon instead of bacon or sausage. We serve some nice salads, we serve broccoli. Healthy.

    I gained weight while working there and obviously I don't place any of the blame on them for that because it was my choice to eat everything I put in my mouth. I eat the healthy stuff sometimes, sure. I also don't sometimes, and almost all the items that I enjoy at IHOP are over a thousand calories.

    I totally feel what you're saying. for me, its a lot harder to work in high calorie meals because I find myself just wanting to eat more and more and I am rarely ever full enough after eating it. whereas if I were to fill my day with tons of fruits and veggies, I feel fuller, more energized, AND have more calories for my favorite snacks like cheese and pretzel chips with salsa (my all time favoriteeeeee) for me its just unrealistic to work it in to my diet because I'd have to burn a serious amount of calories to make room for food for the rest of my day. if I ate a 1000 calorie breakfast that'd only leave me 400 calories for the rest of my day without working out! so I know what you mean by 'bad.' not bad in general, just bad for your goals :)
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    but then again, if you want it, make the room for it :) no sense in depriving yourself of all your favorite foods!

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