Appalling!

DaughterOfTheMostHighKing

yup! there's lard in the re-fried beans... they're not really re-friend... but in fast food anything there's lots of preservatives and salt. gotta watch it. You can ask them to make something like a salad w/o meats... even a cheese tortilla would have been less!

lewandt

I have heard Taco Bell is awful for the calories.

DaughterOfTheMostHighKing

just gotta remember that everything in moderation is best. eat only half of what you order or be ready to work it off the next day!

CaptainMFP

My big moment was actually looking at sodium in restaurant food, rather than calories. I watch it closely due to my blood pressure and it is hard for me to eat out for that reason alone. In effect, I eat out very selectively (planning what to get before I arrive at the restaurant) or I eat out as part of a day on which I'm not keeping track of everything (which are rare days).

If you think the calories are nuts -- and I disagree with the respondent who said there's very little under 1000 calories...I find a lot of options in a reasonable calorie range -- then check out sodium. Very little under 1500 mg per dish there!

jody664

[

New Federal law is that any company with more than 20 units has to post calorie counts in the same size font as the menu item. Nothing to do with the state you are in. I believe Taco Bueno is big enough to have to conform to that law.

I was JUST going to say that! Although I had dinner at Carraba's tonight, and they do not post their calorie counts. Grrrrr. Luckily I was able to pre-plan my meal before I left the house.

megsmom2

I had a similar experience this week. Culver's was advertising a special....a walleye dinner. Well, as a displaced midwesterer I had to get in on that. It was delicious, and I thought I wasn't going too far off track with it. I checked the calories count when I got home...over 1800. Ouch. Not again any time soon, but it sure was tasty.

DataBased

My big wake up call (and heartbreak) was Chick Fil-A chicken strips (the four count meal). Broke my poor, addicted heart - and my food budget for the day. Hope you logged your painting activities - you may not be as over as you think.

Tomorrow is a brand new day. :-)

jhardenbergh

There are healthy options at every restaurant, you just got to know what to look for. I would have thought a salad would have been the best thing on the menu at any restaurant then I started doing homework. I travel a lot for work and eat dinner out most nights during the week. I have found Outback to have the best options. Not only do they have the food that is healthy but they can prepare it healthy and it still tastes good. Ask questions and tell them not to prepare with butter, I tell them slap it down on the grill with a little salt and pepper. Longhorn sucks, I asked them to prepare a steak the same way and tasted like garbage without their sauces and butter that they cook it in. Always ask for dressing on the side if ordering a salad. I always say no cheese. It can be done. Do a little homework? Most restaurants especially chains have their info on the web. Panera's website is pretty cool cause they give you the option of taking each ingredient you don't want off and it tallys the total. Their tai chopped chicken without dressing and wontons is 340 calories by adding half the dressing only makes it 370 calories, just watch the sodium at Panera.

AvonLucyR

I remember hearing a report on the radio about Jack in the Box's bacon milkshake (sounds gross to me). They mentioned it was 1000 calories and there was no bacon in it! It was a sudden wake up call. I knew eating out was really bad for you, and I had learned to put 1/2 my meal in a to go box before I started eating, but it's ridiculous. I am so grateful for the restaurants which offer under 500 calorie meals!! At least you can pick low calorie, even if it might be high in sugar or salt. Be proud of yourself for trying to make the best choice, and now you know for next time. :happy:

jamilla77

We are all in a Health Recovery program here. Part of it is that sometimes we have a bad day even with the best of intentions. But the next morning we get up, forgive ourselves, and start right back on recovering our health.

I live in MI and our Taco Bells have the nutritional guides printed and at the counter. They also have a "lite menu" with lots of options! I usually get 1 chicken soft taco fresca style no cheese or sour cream!!! I really like it! Then I usually get just water to drink!

jhyan

[

New Federal law is that any company with more than 20 units has to post calorie counts in the same size font as the menu item. Nothing to do with the state you are in. I believe Taco Bueno is big enough to have to conform to that law.

I was JUST going to say that! Although I had dinner at Carraba's tonight, and they do not post their calorie counts. Grrrrr. Luckily I was able to pre-plan my meal before I left the house.

Law was just passed in 2010. On things like that they give the restaurants a couple years to get into compliance as it can be very expensive.


To the OP... don't avoid refried beans (the beans aren't actually refried... the prefix RE means "well" or "to a great extent" in spanish),,, Make your own and make them healthy!! I use my pressure cooker and cook up some dry black beans. I drain the water and reserve it, then puree the beans. I add a very small amount of lard (or oil... but lard tastes better and a TBS of lard has no more calories than a TBS of olive oil) to a pan and heat it up... Put the pureed beans in the pan and heat through... adding back the reserved cooking liquid to the texture you desire. Delicious and pretty dang healthy! Message me if you want a more exact recipe.

sherrybaby81

Have you ever been to Chipotle? You would think that a burrito there would be healthy...grilled meat, onions, green pepper, beans, rice...little sour cream and cheese....Do you know a Chipotle burrito with that stuff is a little over 1,000 calories????!!!!! I couldn't believe it when I saw it...and I LOVE the burrito. I haven't gotten one since then, but if I do end up craving it, I'll just get the bowl...no tortilla for me!!

I always eat the burrito bowls. I get vegetables, black beans, tomato salsa and medium salsa, sour cream, cheese, guac and lettuce. I also bring a rubbermaid container and pack half away before I eat anything. I can walk away from Chipotle with 2 meals at about 350 calories per meal. I usually bump it up to 400 calories because I know they put on more than the nutrition info says. I find half a bowl to be satisfying enough for me

treetop57

Wow!!! I live in TX so we're too red for that to ever happen lol.. But my husband and I were just talking about how that should be required so people are able to make better decisions..

It's coming, even to Texas. It's part of the health care reform act.

http://healthcare-legislation.blogspot.com/2011/04/menu-vending-machine-calorie-labeling.html

It only for chains with 20 or more outlets, but that definitely covers Taco Bell.

Edit: I just noticed the original post was about Taco Bueno, Taco Bell. Taco Bueno has more than 20 stores and will be covered as well!

AvonLucyR

There are healthy options at every restaurant, you just got to know what to look for. I would have thought a salad would have been the best thing on the menu at any restaurant then I started doing homework. I travel a lot for work and eat dinner out most nights during the week. I have found Outback to have the best options. Not only do they have the food that is healthy but they can prepare it healthy and it still tastes good. Ask questions and tell them not to prepare with butter, I tell them slap it down on the grill with a little salt and pepper. Longhorn sucks, I asked them to prepare a steak the same way and tasted like garbage without their sauces and butter that they cook it in. Always ask for dressing on the side if ordering a salad. I always say no cheese. It can be done. Do a little homework? Most restaurants especially chains have their info on the web. Panera's website is pretty cool cause they give you the option of taking each ingredient you don't want off and it tallys the total. Their tai chopped chicken without dressing and wontons is 340 calories by adding half the dressing only makes it 370 calories, just watch the sodium at Panera.

Good information! Thank you! btw...Congratulations! Incredible weight loss!!!

worej

Anyway, my whole point is that I would have had a meal like this prior to MFP and never once would calorie content come to mind... It's no wonder I gained all of my pregnancy weight back and then some!! After being here for a few months, I can see why I am so overweight... It's a real eye opener... Even still, it's disappointing when you thought you were choosing something that was work-out-able lol.. but in reality, you couldn't have been more wrong!

This is what kills me! It's also what makes me feel better about sometimes going over. If I go over every so often, I'm still on track most of the time... but discoveries like this make me think of how much I used to go over all the time without realizing it. Even going over once in a while still puts me waaaaay ahead of how I ate before.

TrailRunner61

That is NUTS... who would have thought it could even be close to that!!! I have only gone out to eat once since I started really using this site correctly. I went to a restaurant that has weight watcher meals under 500 calories so I didn't have to think to hard.

I miss eating out.... and I LOVE Mexican

I was doing that at Applebees until I found out that the shrimp & veggies meal has over 3,000 mg of sodium. The chili chicken with veggies has less but I think it was still around 2,000mgs!

HWeatherholt

The same thing happened to me when I ate a sandwich at McAlister's Deli. I had a southwest pannini and it was about 900 calories for my meal. To make it so bad, it didn't even fill me up LOL.

If you haven't tried the 500 calorie Horseradish Roast Beef and Potato Soup, you should. It's my new favorite. But stay away from the sweet tea....310 calories in their 32oz cup.

LastSixtySix

In NY its a state law that they have to put the calorie count on all food. I was shocked by the calorie counts in food. Very rarely is something under 1000 calories.

I cannot WAIT until this is LAW everywhere. In Colorado, only a few restaurants voluntarily do this and none of the big chains. My favorite is Mad Greens. Even though Noodles and Company does it in some of their restuarants, their food is getting to be really loaded with hidded bad health.

Any who - great post this for awareness. It's a dangerous food world out there. Any surprise America and every other industrialized country is having trouble with obesity? BTW, just did a report on this last semester, Mexico actually has a higher obesity rate than America. No surprise if they are eating burritos like that!

AmberXenon

When I go to Chipolte, I'm able to get a burrito bowl with brown rice, chicken, fajita veggies, corn salsa, and lettuce for around 450 calories. I usually only get that on martial arts days though. ;p

TrailRunner61

We are all in a Health Recovery program here. Part of it is that sometimes we have a bad day even with the best of intentions. But the next morning we get up, forgive ourselves, and start right back on recovering our health.

I live in MI and our Taco Bells have the nutritional guides printed and at the counter. They also have a "lite menu" with lots of options! I usually get 1 chicken soft taco fresca style no cheese or sour cream!!! I really like it! Then I usually get just water to drink!

I LOVE the Taco Bell 'light' Fresco crunchy beef tacos. I think they have more flavor than the reg. tacos/supreme!

liznotyet

The best advice I ever got for this kind of food... not that I can follow it usually... is that if you know it's going to be calorie dense have the smallest portion they offer. Today I had a super taco with everything on it, but the whole volume of food including lettuce was only a cup. Would have been great except I couldn't resist the chips the waiter sat beside me. Walking it off now.

slightner

I experienced this at Applebees-I got the Oriental Chicken Salad since it has a vinegrette dressing, I thought that was the healthier choice. Even with grilled chicken, it was over 1100 calories! It was a shock. Im glad to see their new under 550 menu and Longhorn also has one. It definitely helps!

mikonei

Oh, no! I had something similar happen recently. My friend's mother brought an order of chicken home from Applebee's (she didn't know it was hot when she ordered and since she can't take any spice, she gave it to me.)
Silly me, I ate it before I looked it up online. I knew it would be a little high, but I had no idea that 8 little pieces of chicken would end up being over 1100 calories. Well, I learned my lesson. lol

chicpeach

I'm in Georgia. We've a restaurant called Zaxby's here. I've always loved their salads. I can't eat them anymore. 1 salad is about 2000 calories. It's like you can have that salad, but it will be all you eat that day.

craziedazie

Don't worry - I am with ya. My husband's birthday is this weekend and we went out to celebrate last night and then celebrated with family tonight. Last night, I had planned what I was going to eat, but when we got to the restaurant I ate waaaay more than intended. Unlike you, I absolutely knew how many calories I was eating and went ahead and did it and then went ahead and got ice cream after that. :huh: oh well. I wish I would have just skipped the ice cream and fried cheese, but I am going to try not to stress over it. The one thing I can say is that the food was absolutely delicious, so at least it was kind of worth it. I definitely won't be eating like this again for a while.

Don't stress. :flowerforyou:

craziedazie

I'm in Georgia. We've a restaurant called Zaxby's here. I've always loved their salads. I can't eat them anymore. 1 salad is about 2000 calories. It's like you can have that salad, but it will be all you eat that day.

ooooohhhh zaxby's.

craziedazie

[

New Federal law is that any company with more than 20 units has to post calorie counts in the same size font as the menu item. Nothing to do with the state you are in. I believe Taco Bueno is big enough to have to conform to that law.

I was JUST going to say that! Although I had dinner at Carraba's tonight, and they do not post their calorie counts. Grrrrr. Luckily I was able to pre-plan my meal before I left the house.

We used to eat out at least 3-5 times a week and I have NEVER seen nutritional info posted at any restaurant (fast food). Some casual places have it on their menus but not many. Maybe it is a new enough law that they just have not started posing yet?

trixirn

Oh, no! I had something similar happen recently. My friend's mother brought an order of chicken home from Applebee's (she didn't know it was hot when she ordered and since she can't take any spice, she gave it to me.)
Silly me, I ate it before I looked it up online. I knew it would be a little high, but I had no idea that 8 little pieces of chicken would end up being over 1100 calories. Well, I learned my lesson. lol

Applebees has a ww menu and a <500 cal menu. I stick to those when there.

4lelito

Yes..usually true Mexican re-fried beans do have lard in them :P

JustLindaLou

I just think it is shameful that restaurants don't try harder to make healthful meals without adding so much salt etc. If we can do it at home, we know it IS possible!! I don't eat out very often, so when the opportunity arises, I do try to look at the menus and nutritional info online ahead of time and have a game plan not only for that meal, but for the rest of the day.

On the other hand, eating out at a nice restaurant (vs fast food) is a novelty these days and therefore I often just say screw it for this meal and enjoy! Fortunately I am satisfied with less these days, so I usually stop eating before I am painfully stuffed, which used to be the norm when I ate out. It's having a couple drinkies that puts me over! :drinker: