restaurants or food items that give false sense of health?

mike_littlerock

I travel frequently for business, in fact i was on the road about 80% of the weekdays for the past year. during that time, i continued to lower my body fat percentage, and put on muscle. I also ate out 3 meals a day, and became pretty good and ordering something healthy in most restaurants (though I did have to walk out of a few that had no viable options). I also learn from others, and realized that I would watch patrons in restaurants and look for patterns in what they ordered. I noted that the heavier the person (or group) the more likely they would be to have a salad bar (where available). also Lots of fried foods, greasy burgers, etc.. and almost 100% of the time they would order a diet soft drink. this is not a slam. keep in mind that I was one of those people not long ago. The reason i bring this up is that I started to think of WHY.. I think the perception is that salad bars are "healthy", even though i have witnessed people eating only the unhealthy items, and putting so much full fat dressing on that its basically a egg yoke, bacon and tomato soup with ranch gravy. lol

so.. what are other restaurants or food items that make people feel like they are doing the right thing, but usually eating poorly (and probably not MFP members tracking calorie consumption/burn). I will start off with Subway. One of the primary sites I visit is an industrial area, and the only choices are Mexican, burger joints or subway. I get a 6" chicken breast. lots of veggies, no cheese, with oregano.. no mayo or sauces at all). while in line. i noticed that many customers are literally talking about diet and then ordering a foot long, extra meat, extra cheese, extra mayo. I honestly think they "think" they are doing something healthy, after all that Jared guy lost weight and now owns a chain of Jewelry stores.

what are some others you have witnessed, or even fallen prey to personally?

LoraF83

I used to eat Subway for breakfast every day because, hey it's healthy right? 450 calories later.....(And honestly, 450 for breakfast isn't so bad -for me, but when you add it a 1200 calorie lunch and a 1500 calorie dinner along with several cans of Mt. Dew. Let's just say I had a legitimate need for this website)

I think a lot of women fall prey to the 100 calorie packs for the "diet" ice cream. 1 package isn't all that satisfying, so they eat 2 or 3 and before you know it, they've had a huge snack.

sarahharmintx

Fast food salads are definitely the first thing I think of. They can be sneaky *kitten*. Also, frozen yogurt - "yogurt" doesnt mean you can eat 7lbs of it in a serving.

Zylahe

Fast food salads are definitely the first thing I think of. They can be sneaky *kitten*. Also, frozen yogurt - "yogurt" doesnt mean you can eat 7lbs of it in a serving.

I don't get why ppl think youghurt is healthy?
Sue a small amount of plain, has lots of calcium/ protein. But what most ppl eat is so full of sugars you may as well have some cheese and crackers..

Also rice cakes, if you cover them with caramel/ chocolate its not so good. ( though i am guilty of rice cake + nutella + peanut butter, its soooo good)

And lastly " breakfast bars" they ae designed as an on the go meal replacement, not a mid morning snack

RiverManUK

I was saddened to be informed that the following are not part of my Five a Day.

Terry's Chocolate 'Orange'
'Jaffa' Cakes
Red Wine (grapes)
Rowntree Fruit Pastilles

mike_littlerock

And lastly " breakfast bars" they ae designed as an on the go meal replacement, not a mid morning snack

you are certainly right on that one. I am SHOCKED how many carbs are in some bars. I picked up some zone bars that are supposed to be balanced but they had something near 30 Grams of carbs for a small bar.. ouch! good reason for us to always read (and Understand) the labels.

Julicat6

Sneaky Hardee's with the Turkey Burger...390 cals, 17 g fat, 860mgs sodium, 32g carbs, 28g protein and that's according to their website. A whopper Jr comes in at 340 cals, 19g fat, 28 g carbs, 14g protein, and 510 mg sodium.

bcattoes

Just about anything prepackaged or at a fast food place promoted or labelled as a healthier option.

MelAb8709

after all that Jared guy lost weight and now owns a chain of Jewelry stores.

that was funny

angiechimpanzee

I second salads! I saw a very obese lady at Chick-Fil-A today telling her friend she wanted to order a salad instead of a sandwich to save calories. She probably was unaware that the salad is even MORE calories and way more fat than the original sandwich once you add the dressing -__-

Also, most yogurts for sure. My friend and I were grocery shopping, & she picked up a 6-pack of Trix yogurt & asked me if it was healthy -_- I told her not really but she still bought it.