Calorie sticker shock: have you experienced this?

CarolineHayden
CarolineHayden Posts: 15 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
I just got back from dinner at Friendly's, and I went on their website to see how many calories their grilled cheese sandwich was so I could enter it in my food diary here. Wow, it's 800 calories; I hope that includes the fries. This got me wondering, what foods have you guys eaten, thinking the damage would be too bad, only to find out that you ate a lot more calories than you thought? Have any of you experienced "calorie sticker shock," and what food was it? I'm just curious, and it might be nice to know which foods to avoid in the future. Like the grilled cheese at Friendly's; unless you really want it.
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Replies

  • catshark209
    catshark209 Posts: 1,133 Member
    The so called healthy items at Chili's. OMG I think it was the chicken breast fajitas...
    Needless to say I had a house salad no dressing and the waitress was a ***** about it.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
    everything. salads for sure. some salads pack over 1000 calories in them! olive garden breadsticks are 150 a piece. i thought the lava cake from chilis would be 800 or so...1200 CALORIES. ridiculous. i pre plan now...
  • jchester71
    jchester71 Posts: 124 Member
    Chicken Waldorf Salad at California Pizza Kitchen. 1400 calories!
  • A small M&M blizzard....... 800 calories...... I'll just be making my own from now on thank you.
  • sundancer1966
    sundancer1966 Posts: 478 Member
    oh yes, that has happened to me also, A couple times. So bad once i had to do another workout that day. Now, i always try to plan the meal at a restaurant before we go. I hate the calorie shock.
  • Hoppymom
    Hoppymom Posts: 1,158 Member
    Oh ya. Last week we ate at Perkins. I thought that I was doing ok with the tilapia and brown rice and veggies. Calories were not too bad at ~850( I had stockpiled calories for the evening as we were road tripping during the supper hour) but the SODIUM!!!!! Oh My goodness! That was a shock! My husband was recently put on an 1800 cal /day diabetic diet which he refuses to follow and he ordered the captain's catch. Everything on the plate was fried. He thought that the calories would be about 1600. HE was shocked at the 2490 actual calories. He only ate half but still!
  • cyndigre
    cyndigre Posts: 31 Member
    California salad at O'Charley's has750 calories! I thought I was eating healthy also. I looked online while I was eating it and put the other half away:)
  • MrsPhan11
    MrsPhan11 Posts: 2,502 Member
    The so called healthy items at Chili's. OMG I think it was the chicken breast fajitas...
    Needless to say I had a house salad no dressing and the waitress was a ***** about it.

    OMG I so agree about Chili's. I used to always get the chicken crispers but a porition has 1,210 calories, 57 grams of fat and 2,670 grams of sodium! This is WITHOUT any sides! Now I get the Carribean Salad.
  • cthoma70
    cthoma70 Posts: 228 Member
    Yea that has happened to me and that 800 calories DID NOT include the fries they were extra. I do a lot of research on things I can eat when I go out and where I can and can not go out to eat.
  • I had sticker shock today when I entered my kids meal from Chick-fil-a. The 8oz. lemonade was 150 cal. 6 nuggets and a small waffle fries? All together, that kids meal was almost 700 cals.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
    when in doubt, order meat. that's what i do. i'll get a steak without the butter on top. a 6 oz steak is a 6 oz steak. then double veggies...usually it's under 600. i stay away from salads unless its a side salad then i ask for no cheese, pick off crutons, and get dressing on the side. all the stuff they put on the salad is what kills it.
  • Airliner
    Airliner Posts: 54 Member
    Chilis Southern Smokehouse Burger at a svelte 2,290 calories and 6,500 mg of sodium ... LOL. At least that includes the fries!

    Most of us wouldn't be able to eat again for two days!
  • CarolineHayden
    CarolineHayden Posts: 15 Member
    Normally I do my research, but I was running late for a movie, and we went there spontaneously... Not that I'm making excuses or anything, lol. It's just a shock; it's probably all the butter and the fact that it's not nutritionally dense. I guess I'll make up for it tomorrow.
  • Believe it or not, Pam cooking spray! If you spray your pan with it for 1/16th of a second, it's 2 calories. The average person sprays for about 5 seconds- that's around 100 calories added to your meal, before you even start cooking! When you're trying to do 300- 400 calories per meal, you start to pay attention to the little stuff like that. :)
  • CarolineHayden
    CarolineHayden Posts: 15 Member
    I hear ya!
  • Troll
    Troll Posts: 922 Member
    we dont eat out often, so i call them cheat days and dont worry about it. However, i am always stunned that most appetizers have 2 meals worth of calories and more than that in salt. Btw, at chilis, im almost positive snotty reactions to straying from the exact menu is part of training. Try asking for extra veggies and no rice. Ugh.
  • Airliner
    Airliner Posts: 54 Member
    Ruby Tuesday's has quite a few good choices. A small (7 oz) sirloin can be had with sides liked steamed brocolli and YUMMY grilled green beans. I usually double up on the green beans for my sides. Very nice, tasty dinner with zero guilt!

    The steak with double grilled green beans comes in at 392 calories!
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    Definitely. I was craving a waffle from Denny's a couple days ago so before I had one I looked up the info on it from their website. I still ordered one but I definitely didn't eat the whole thing and I didn't order any meat or anything with it. The waitress kept asking me if I was sure that I didn't want anything with it. I should have told her the truth that it was more than enough calories on its own but I just smiled and repeated that I was sure.

    Chili's is fantastic. I get the Margarita Grilled Chicken with an extra lime on the side and a box. That way I can immediately put half into the box and eat under 300 calories for the meal. A little extra lime juice the next day makes it taste just as good as first made.
  • Sushi. I think if it as being pretty healthy....fish and seaweed and rice and veggies....

    Most rolls I like have between 300-500 calories and 15-20 grams of fat. It takes 3-4 rolls to make a "good" meal for me. That's 1000-2000 calories and 50-80 grams of fat.
  • Believe it or not, Pam cooking spray! If you spray your pan with it for 1/16th of a second, it's 2 calories. The average person sprays for about 5 seconds- that's around 100 calories added to your meal, before you even start cooking! When you're trying to do 300- 400 calories per meal, you start to pay attention to the little stuff like that. :)


    WHAT????????!!!!!!!!!!! Don't tell me that!!!!!!!!
  • valeriebpdx
    valeriebpdx Posts: 497 Member
    Believe it or not, Pam cooking spray! If you spray your pan with it for 1/16th of a second, it's 2 calories. The average person sprays for about 5 seconds- that's around 100 calories added to your meal, before you even start cooking! When you're trying to do 300- 400 calories per meal, you start to pay attention to the little stuff like that. :)

    If you sprayed Pam for five seconds it would be pooling in the pan. Gross. I refuse (or am heartbroken by how people cook, one or the other) to believe that a five-second spray is "average."
  • I was at Mimi's the other day for lunch and the grilled chicken sandwhich looked so appitizing in the menu, but as soon as I looked at the calories, I quickly changed my mind.....A whopping 1250....and that is without a side!! I opted for the half turkey andwhich and salad with dressing on the dide for less than 400!! A much better choice. Also, I no longer eat my favorite thing on Applebee's menu, which is the orange chicken bowl with brown rice and veggies, a whopping 1650!! It makes you think when you look at the menu's and see the calories, but I am sure glad they are on the menu's now!!!
  • mamax5
    mamax5 Posts: 414 Member
    Having calorie sticker shock just reading this thread O.O!
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
    Yes just this Thursday at work a speaker provided us with lunch from Corner Bakery....Oh boy so glad I only ate half the sandwhich!!! It was 680!!!!!! It was just cheese basil and tomatoes!
  • Marianna194
    Marianna194 Posts: 145 Member
    I live in Canada and there's a place here called Thai Express. I used to love love love their Pad Sew, and ate it religiously. Apparently it's over a 1000 cals though!! No wonder I've been gaining weight!
  • Louieanne
    Louieanne Posts: 26 Member
    For me it was the thai phoon shrimp app. at Ruby Tuesdays. That's my favorite but sooo not worth the calories!
  • The California whopper at Burger King packs over 800 calories...looks healthy with avocado and tomatoes until you see the calorie count. Yikes!!
  • nicehormones
    nicehormones Posts: 503 Member
    Believe it or not, Pam cooking spray! If you spray your pan with it for 1/16th of a second, it's 2 calories. The average person sprays for about 5 seconds- that's around 100 calories added to your meal, before you even start cooking! When you're trying to do 300- 400 calories per meal, you start to pay attention to the little stuff like that. :)

    If you sprayed Pam for five seconds it would be pooling in the pan. Gross. I refuse (or am heartbroken by how people cook, one or the other) to believe that a five-second spray is "average."


    I agree, it would be a ridiculous amount in the pan. The longest I will spray is for one full second...
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
    I was on WW and got a salad from Chili's - I don't rmember which one, but it sounded pretty safe. Nope! it was 20 points. Most of my day's worth. I definitely pre-plan now.
  • peterson_jessica
    peterson_jessica Posts: 119 Member
    I have had two pretty bad sticker shocks. One was even before I was trying to lose weight. That was the Club from Jimmy Johns..... approximately 1000 calories! =O in a sandwich! I wasn't even paying attention to sodium...... I still love JJ's as a very special treat. Another was a medium DQ Blizzard. I figured it was bad but couldn't be that bad so I checked after I ate it (big mistake) and realized I had consumed 900 calories! Wowza. It's no wonder America has an obesity problem.
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