Appalling!

tcpowell25

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.

maletac

one full place of carne asada fries is 1600 calories nothing shocks me anymore

emily356

It is soooo frustrating. I think we have all been there and done that before!! I will tell you that by law, every restaurant has to have the nutritional info available. I ask at the counter. It is kinda embarrassing? Yes, but I do it anyway:) As for tropical smoothie, I love that place!!! I get the Baja Chicken flatbreat for around 430 cals. No smoothie.:( But man that thing is good!!

loombeav

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 still eat out 3-4 times a week. If this was something I had to give up I wouldn't have been able to stick with it. I go to restaurants that I know what my options are and choose wisely. I have made the OP's mistake before and now if I go somewhere new I check it out before hand to avoid doing it again.
And I still have Mexican about once a month
ETA: I don't do fast food anylonger, never was a huge fan of it so it's been easy for me to cut it out.

annabellj

My sister wanted Panda Express last weekend and before we went we looked up the calories. One side serving of lo mein was 2000, with a meal added up to like 3000-4000 calories. We went to Starbucks instead and I had an 80 calorie latte and she had a 300 cinnamon coffee cake. Thank God for the ability to look up nutritional values prior to consumation. INSANITY!!!

it is shocking when you realize you cant eat like you used to. but the upside is you will feel bette eating better. panda has string bean chicken and broccoli beef and i get it with the extra veggies not the rice or lo mein and it is like under 700 cals for all of it. and i love taco bell as they have their fresca menu to choose from. most places have nutrition fliers that you can look at even if you dont have an iphone. if you dont have an iphone, i would suggest you get one! it was worth the upgrade for me and the extra 30 bucks a month just to have the mfp app on there!i used to be a ww member and the mtgs cost more than that.

kinkyslinky16

Ummm, yeah. Refried beans are very commonly, and traditionally made with exactly that... lard.

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 have never made refried beans and didn't know much about them other than the name lol.. I've most definitely learned my lesson... Avoiding those like the plague now lol

I haven't heard about this law.. but I don't think I've seen any restaurants that are big enough list calorie counts at all.. Interesting.. I'll research this.. Thanks for letting me know!!

kriggs1976

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.

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..

I live in Texas too. ANd just the other day I looked up what my favorite before MFP meal would be calorie wise. It was over 1800 calories! I was stunned and so thankful I have been off of fast food since mid-December. I realize it happens once in a while and that is what you need to realize too. It only happens once in a while. That lunch will not determine your success or failure, because you do not eat like that all the time. Do not be so hard on yourself. You are doing wonderfully, keep it up

DakotaKeogh

I've had it sneak up on me like that when I first started this. It takes a while before you start to really get what can be high cal despite seemingly having harmless ingredients. I know how you feel. But, tomorrow you're back on it and, like every day, you're one day smarter about food and your health. Don't let it get you down.

shovav91

This happened to me with a lot of the things I used to eat. I used to eat an entire tray of nachos from baja fresh every week (I think it's around 2000 calories). I would also get Chipotle a few times a week, an entire burrito and chips clocked in at well over 2000. It disgusts me that restaurants feel ok serving things like this to their loyal customers.

brich11280

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!!

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

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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!