Have Restaurants Gone Mad???

Alee4nia

So since I started MFP, I have been researching nutritional content and calories of different restaurants. Well, it's insane and barbaric. Cheesecake Factory, for example, has items that have over 2000 calories in them....what?? Who is this supposed to be feeding, Godzilla?

I mean come on, no wonder I am fat and the obesity rate is soaring in this country. Why won't restaurants make healthier options?? I just don't get it...would someone please enlighten me??

Jennyisbusy

I hate when they make something healthy sounding a calorie bomb! Roasted chicken - yay- oh wait it's been soaking in butter. or Salad-yay and then you find out it has more calories/sodium than a burger.

Alee4nia

Exactly, it's amazing how unhealthy they can make salads!?

aippolito1

haha Not even roasted chicken soaked in butter...most restaurants give you at LEAST 6 oz. The restaurant I used to wait tables for... one serving of grilled chicken is TWO 6 oz chicken patties with about 2 cups of wild rice as a serving and about a cup of veggies and every entree comes with a giant beer bread roll. I had to eat 1/3 just for a decent calorie count even with the healthy portions (the one I mentioned before).

piperjon

Today, I went to Old Chicago pizza, and had what I thought to be a healthy(ish) sandwich, the Classic Club. Yeah, it has a small amount of bacon and ham and turkey, and I ordered it without mayo. I came with mayo, and as I was at lunch, and it took a while already, and my blood sugar had tanked, I ate it with the mayo.

Look it up...

Old Chicago - Classic Club Sandwich, 1 Sandwich 829calories, 72grams of carbs, 43grams of fat (!!!!!) 0 protein listed.

NINE HUNDRED FRIGGIN CALORIES FOR A SANDWICH!

piperjon

Oops...don't hit tab by accident....

Pj

msowens

Caveat emptor.

Ruby11222

It seems the higher in fat they are the more addictive they are, the more money they make. Plus unhealthier/processed foods are cheaper to manufacture.

It really sucks, I love to go out for meals but a lot of the time it isn't worth it to have a meal that has more calories than I should eat for the whole day.

Alee4nia

Before we go out, I make sure to look up the nutritional content, otherwise we are eating at home.

anamikaraks

Going to breakfast with friends and started looking at breakfast food. HOLY COW!!! It's amazing. Our only defense is to really read the nutrition info. Now I at least know when I eat all my calories in a single meal.

lisadlocks

The restaurants are feeding US. We are the ones demanding bigger, greasier, with salt and sugar on top. I fed my obesity well. Most restaurant do have healthy option menus. You can order directly from the chef when you don't see healthy choices. I am traveling as we speak and I asked for steamed broccolit and grilled asparagus with my grilled salmon. I bypassed the southern fried chicken with gravy and buttermilk biscuits and apple pie with ice cream. I did order the mushroom bisque which was divine but now I have a sodium headached. It is up to us to do better and to make healthier choices. Then we will notice the light menu or heart healthy menu we used to ignore (or simply didn't see). The food industry will kill us if we let them. Funny, it has always been my fork and my hand on the trigger.

recesq

Aleena, I really hope you're being sarcastic. In case you're not, it is intellectually dishonest to blame restaurants for selling Americans what we want. There are some, maybe many, who can eat that food and not gain weight. Instead of focusing on supply, focus on demand. That's where the problem and solution lay.

WKenL

Yes. Restaurants have gone mad.

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, and yet they present options as healthy. As has been noted, even salads are awful. I had a salad at one restaurant recently, and it was mostly hard-boiled egg and cheese.

It makes a really good argument for making your own food and saving the money! (I'll step off the soapbox before I go on THAT rant.)

Alee4nia

It's just amazing how what you think is a healthy option is not, I mean it's insane the amount of calories a SALAD can have....yes, we need more education in regards to nutrition, how much we eat, etc...but also what these big businesses have done to our food...

Alee4nia

I mean we have the FDA and they have guidelines on nutrition. I just wish restaurants would at least try to have a healthy standard...I just don't think there are enough healthy options....I have noticed throughout the years when I try to pick healthier items at the restaurant...

There are many people who do eat these foods, but I think there are many people who don't want these foods either, I am one of them...

BrewerGeorge

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, yes. When a 250+ lb man needs to order off the kids' menu to get a realistic portion size, something is wrong.

llamabox

I mean we have the FDA and they have guidelines on nutrition. I just wish restaurants would at least try to have a healthy standard...I just don't think there are enough healthy options....I have noticed throughout the years when I try to pick healthier items at the restaurant...

There are many people who do eat these foods, but I think there are many people who don't want these foods either, I am one of them...

the FDA is a freakin joke...

DannyMussels

There's a milkshake at one place thats in the 2 or 3000 calorie range.

Most crazy coffee drinks are pretty terrible, for you women it'd be half your days intake in one cup.

Pasta portions are usually 2 or 3x an actual portion size.

Breads usually unlimited...foods flavored with various fats/sweetners (hfcs*) to make them taste better, which ups the calories, and its a cheap way for them to enhance their dishes.


*high-fructose corn syrup, developed years back as an alternative to basic sugars. It's cheaper to produce, transport and store. The shelf-life is a gillion times longer then other sweetening agents. Goes in everything from dressings to pasta sauces. Super cheap way for companies to make things taste better. So its calories galore as well...

A few books and websites out there tackle restaurant menus and their dishes, and expose them for what they really are, with blurbs about what makes them so bad. As well as alternative dishes, with similar flavors.

Naughty eh?

cramernh

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, yes. When a 250+ lb man needs to order off the kids' menu to get a realistic portion size, something is wrong.

That is, IF they will let you!

ASPhantom

I just wish they would supply nutrition info on their menus.

Half of the places, you can't even locate info on. That's the frustrating part.

Jennyisbusy

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, yes. When a 250+ lb man needs to order off the kids' menu to get a realistic portion size, something is wrong.

Yes! Thank you.

Acg67

if you eat at restaurants occasionally, overindulging isn't going to completely sabotage your diet. just get back on track the next day.

paxetamore

Today, I went to Old Chicago pizza, and had what I thought to be a healthy(ish) sandwich, the Classic Club. Yeah, it has a small amount of bacon and ham and turkey, and I ordered it without mayo. I came with mayo, and as I was at lunch, and it took a while already, and my blood sugar had tanked, I ate it with the mayo.

Look it up...

Old Chicago - Classic Club Sandwich, 1 Sandwich 829calories, 72grams of carbs, 43grams of fat (!!!!!) 0 protein listed.

NINE HUNDRED FRIGGIN CALORIES FOR A SANDWICH!

Holy cow! and how can there be no protein in that sandwich? boo on them!

I get sandwiches at the cafeteria at work, and even the "healthy" options with fewer calories and fat are bloated with sodium.

The restaurants are not feeding godzilla, they are making food as tasty as possible... to sell more, hence their business. It's a tough battle for those of us eating out for sure!

Qarol

This is why I like to cook at home. It's so fun!
Plus the liquor is cheaper...

Jennyisbusy

Here is an example of restaurant gone mad: If I make countrytime lemonade at home I can have 16 ounces for 120 calories. If I get a medium lemonade at chick-fil-a that is about 16 ounces it is 240 calories!!! WTF?

I knew it would be bad but I didn't know it would be worse than a soda! A medium coke rolls in at 170.

Romans624

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, yes. When a 250+ lb man needs to order off the kids' menu to get a realistic portion size, something is wrong.

Speaking of the kids menu, which I have also begun ordering from, I was really disappointed that Buffalo Wild Wings will not *allow* anyone over age 12 to eat that food. Its like they want you to pay for bigger portions whether you want to eat (or pay for) that much or not. Bummer. But lots of places don't require that thankfully.

tanyaMax

Yup...they HAVE GONE MAD!!! it's freakin ridiculous!!!!

iishnova

Portion sizes are utterly ridiculous, yes. When a 250+ lb man needs to order off the kids' menu to get a realistic portion size, something is wrong.

Speaking of the kids menu, which I have also begun ordering from, I was really disappointed that Buffalo Wild Wings will not *allow* anyone over age 12 to eat that food. Its like they want you to pay for bigger portions whether you want to eat (or pay for) that much or not. Bummer. But lots of places don't require that thankfully.

Absolutely! I am so irked when I go out to eat (which is very rare now :I'm an american living in japan:) and I "can't" order off the kids menu. I appreciate when there is a lunch portion, but sometimes even that is too much. I recently visited Cali for the first time, San Diego specifically, and EVERY restaurant I went to had nutrition info on the menu next to every item. At first I was irked, cause for me it just killed the mood I had for going out for dinner with a friend of mine. When I went to VA (same trip, vacation from Japan) I couldn't find the nutrition info on half of the menus and I found myself disappointed.

Part of my work is managing a restaurant at night so I usually eat at work. I don't even want to imagine the calories. After I started paying more attention to the nutritional info rather than closing my eyes and thinking "but but...its so good..." I started bringing my dinner to work with me.

Side note, I can order off the kids menu at work, thank goodness x.x

nixickle

2 years ago, my husband and I had a holiday in America; we were so shocked by the portion sizes, we had to split all of our meals, and even then there was often plenty left over! I was also amazed when I ordered mango and orange smoothie to find it was filled with sugar!! I find mango so incredibly sweet anyway....why add sugar?? My husband and I were also quite shocked to see there were no 'real' restaurants, it was all fast food. Here in the UK, my hubby and I can go out for a meal and spend 2-3 hours in the restaurant, meaning we're taking our time over eating and enjoying each others company, unless the restaurant is booked up, there is no rush for us to eat. Portions over here are also much smaller (about a third of the size) and in restaurants you are often given side dishes of steamed seasonal veg. We do also have fast food joints and obesity is still a problem over here, so I don't think we can really just blame the restaurants. I agree with a comment earlier that restaurants go by demand, the more people eat, the more restaurants will provide!

Crystal817

My husband and I were also quite shocked to see there were no 'real' restaurants, it was all fast food.

Mmmm not true at all.

TrishJimenez

The Cheesecake factory just released a new menu skinnylicous, with half the menu under 590 calories, and including some yummy options like a small burger and salad with low fat mayo, and even a veggie burger. My favorites are the shrimp soft taco's or the turkey avocado sandwich. I dont even eat the sides cuz they fill me up and I am satisfied. The other half of the menu has options all under 490 calories including items such as the greek salad, edamame and even flat bread pizza. Some restaurants are listening