Why hasn't the entire world..

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Replies

  • kf4vkp
    kf4vkp Posts: 164 Member
    Embraced the idea of putting nutritional information on our menus? It's so frustrating to go out for a meal and have no indication of how many calories are in each dish. I like to be informed about this stuff people! It's not going to make me leave, I'm still eating there! I'd just like to eat the best meal possible (nutrition wise).

    And those restaurants who are like "no that has nothing to do with me" (I saw that on a show once).. of course, cause it's not like you sell food... to people............ or eat yourself...........................

    sigh.jpg

    Because mom and pop places can't afford it. And after putting caloric information on the menu, restaurants noticed a decrease in over all sales and in their higher priced items as they tended to be higher in calories (cream based sauces, etc.)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    pretty sure the average restaurant doesnt have to time or the money to get food items calorically tested like mass produced products are... just gives them greater liability and false advertising to get sued... food chains like mcdonalds,subway, and dennys sure.. but not some average breakfast place

    There was a video floating around about how off those numbers are. Chipotle was off by about 10%, Subway was slightly under but pretty darn close, and vegetarian prepackaged sandwich labeled as "healthy" was twice as many calories as listed on the labels. If they don't have the money to test it, it sounds like the just guess. Might as well guess yourself using entries you have a better guess as being right and "build your own" meal entry.
  • desiv2
    desiv2 Posts: 651 Member
    We can't force them to do it, but we can chose not to eat there because of it.

    Also, having a phone with internet is really handy.. I always look up the menu for any place we are going to eat, and if I didn't know before hand I look it up on my phone.. when it's concerning smaller diners and stuff, then you have to use your own judgement, tell them not to use oils or to only use 2 eggs instead of 3, etc.. :)
  • ultraplop
    ultraplop Posts: 30
    Embraced the idea of putting nutritional information on our menus? It's so frustrating to go out for a meal and have no indication of how many calories are in each dish. I like to be informed about this stuff people! It's not going to make me leave, I'm still eating there! I'd just like to eat the best meal possible (nutrition wise).

    And those restaurants who are like "no that has nothing to do with me" (I saw that on a show once).. of course, cause it's not like you sell food... to people............ or eat yourself...........................

    sigh.jpg

    Because mom and pop places can't afford it. And after putting caloric information on the menu, restaurants noticed a decrease in over all sales and in their higher priced items as they tended to be higher in calories (cream based sauces, etc.)

    aka they are getting away with not telling the consumer what they are getting. If people don't want higher calorie food why is it ok for people to secretly sell it to them? I think people have a right to know.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    You will never know exactly how many calories you eat nor exactly how many you need.


    This is about estimation. And after you've logged your food for a few months, you should be able to do the numbers in your head.


    It's not rocket surgery.


    If you feel the need to be that controlled at all times, buy a digital food scale, set it to grams and eat at home.

    Even at home you will never be %100 accurate. Calorie counting is always estimation

    I think you are missing the point

    No. The point had been addressed in every possible way long before I got here so I tried to actually add to the conversation with a couple points.

    And maybe you could reread my original sentence, bolded here for your convenience. :flowerforyou:
  • SpitfireStacey
    SpitfireStacey Posts: 158 Member
    We should all be able to roughly guess the calorie content of different plates by their description or main ingredients. Insisting that all food providers apply calorie counts to their menu items is just another way to be lazy and pass off the responsibility of what you're putting into your mouth onto someone else.

    Here's a cheat sheet for you:
    Sauces bump up calories
    Fish beats chicken which beats red meat
    salads can come without the dressing/croutons/meat
    sodium is in EVERYTHING
    Halving your entire plate before you start immediately HALVES the calories you consume at the table.

    Any one of these is something we all already know and can control so why do we need calorie info on a restaurant menu?
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    And Taco Bell was off by 50%, and they *are* a big chain that drills their employees to be careful about portioning.

    If I wanted a packaged meal, I'd buy a frozen dinner. If I'm paying to eat at a restaurant, I'd rather have something the chef was inspired to make than a strictly controlled clone of a corporate recipe.

    You do have choices, but you're never going to have perfect knowledge of restaurant food, and it's probably safer to accept that than it is to be lulled by the false sense of security provided by a bunch of loosely-connected-to-reality numbers on the menu.
  • ultraplop
    ultraplop Posts: 30
    pretty sure the average restaurant doesnt have to time or the money to get food items calorically tested like mass produced products are... just gives them greater liability and false advertising to get sued... food chains like mcdonalds,subway, and dennys sure.. but not some average breakfast place

    There was a video floating around about how off those numbers are. Chipotle was off by about 10%, Subway was slightly under but pretty darn close, and vegetarian prepackaged sandwich labeled as "healthy" was twice as many calories as listed on the labels. If they don't have the money to test it, it sounds like the just guess. Might as well guess yourself using entries you have a better guess as being right and "build your own" meal entry.

    The problem is you never know how much oil or other dense food is in there. you can be off by quite a bit without knowing that.
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
    "Why doesn't the entire world live by my arbitrary standards"

    -OP
  • Hi_Im_Jess
    Hi_Im_Jess Posts: 347 Member
    In the time of smart phones - you can use the MFP database to get at least a good estimate on the nutrition content of the food before you order it. Wished I had a smart phone to look up nutrition information before ordering the french onion soup at the restaurant tonight - it blew my sodium out of the water.

    This is what I do, there are a ton of websites where you can find out the nutritional info.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    I can understand if large corporate chain places are forced to adhere to something like this. But your little hole-in-the-wall pasta joint probably has no idea of knowing just what the nutrition content is because there recipes come from granny who eyeballed everything. And that's cool too.

    That being said, if you don't go out to eat often, why stress it? The fact is there is NOTHING you can do in the span of one day that will throw off a few months or even a few weeks worth of progress. You're doing yourself more harm stressing over what to order than you are by indulging. Going out to eat is something that should be a treat.
  • tskitzoid
    tskitzoid Posts: 51
    Pretty sure people were just fine 100's of years ago without nutritional information. (Please don't say food was healthier back then because it wasn't.)

    They were way more active than we were though. It doesn't matter what you eat as long as you're burning more than you consume, right? Well I'm pretty sure 100's of years ago the average Joe didn't eat meals worth twice their daily intake and then sit and play xbox for hours or sit at work 8 hours straight, or sit at home and watch tv/movies for hours.
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
    some fast food places have the nutritional info available .. they simply don't advertise it .. you could ask I have had nutritional info from, mcdonalds, pizza hut and KFC you can find these online also http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/meal_builder.html .....http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/ ................ http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/menus--deals/dietary-information.aspx ... lots of places offer this service already .. ......
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
    I'm still for nutrition labels. It CAN be (not always) the difference between me choosing to eat there or not. I simply like to know (to the best of my ability) what I am putting into my body. With so many deceiving menu items and possible hidden calories, it's the only way I feel confident. Smaller restaurants would see a LOT more of my $$$ if they helped with giving me that confidence. I don't necessarily CARE what the values are (IIFYM) but I need the tool to arrange the rest of my day (or week). Help me splurge responsibly.

    Couldn't have said it better.
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
    consumers should be informed as much as possible. especially with food. every gas station tells u the octane of gas. y not the nutrition of foods in restaurants?
  • Stephanie_Jean
    Stephanie_Jean Posts: 16 Member
    I tend to only go to places that offer calorie counts. It's up to the businesses whether to post, but they need to know they are definitely losing my business. I am grateful for the fast food chains posting nutritional information.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Pretty sure people were just fine 100's of years ago without nutritional information. (Please don't say food was healthier back then because it wasn't.)

    They were way more active than we were though. It doesn't matter what you eat as long as you're burning more than you consume, right? Well I'm pretty sure 100's of years ago the average Joe didn't eat meals worth twice their daily intake and then sit and play xbox for hours or sit at work 8 hours straight, or sit at home and watch tv/movies for hours.

    Pretty sure food wasn't in abundance back then. Hence everyone is living longer, growing taller/bigger etc because of this extra nutrition that is available.
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  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    I completely agree. And for those who think it's somehow too much work or not the restaurant's problem, I don't eat out very much BECAUSE I have no way to know what I'm eating. Someone's missing out on a lot of business. Their choice, obviously, but their choice to not give me a choice costs them.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
    Ugghhh I know! It's really frustrating. It's alright if you go to a large chain as you can usually find it on the database somewhere but when you go to small restaurants they really don't have a clue. I don't like guessing as you don't know how many little extras of this & that they add to stuff to give it flavour.
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  • Scarlett_Belle
    Scarlett_Belle Posts: 145 Member
    If i go out to out to eat I already have it in my head what I may want so I just look up the nutritional values online and take the best guess. Honestly it not the restaurant responsibility anyway. And if i go out spur of the moment i just eat part and take home the rest

    same here
  • 4_Lisa
    4_Lisa Posts: 362 Member
    I have been known to check the restaurants online. Quite often they have their nutritional values on their sites. If not there are also apps that have many of the more common restaurants and their food nutrition. My hubby and kids have gotten so used to me doing this they now look things up for me before we go!
  • leotardbanshee
    leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
    I wish for at least an ingredient list because I am gluten and lactose intolerant :(
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    On the other hand, if a salad ends up being 1200 frickin' calories, I'd much rather use the same amount of calories on a big *kitten* bacon cheeseburger and order of fries.
  • misssiri
    misssiri Posts: 335 Member
    I'm still for nutrition labels. It CAN be (not always) the difference between me choosing to eat there or not. I simply like to know (to the best of my ability) what I am putting into my body. With so many deceiving menu items and possible hidden calories, it's the only way I feel confident. Smaller restaurants would see a LOT more of my $$$ if they helped with giving me that confidence. I don't necessarily CARE what the values are (IIFYM) but I need the tool to arrange the rest of my day (or week). Help me splurge responsibly.

    If you really want to know what you are putting into your body, eat food you prepared yourself at home. When I splurge, I splurge and I don't count calories. I don't believe that small businesses should have to find the money in their limited budgets for this. Most reasonable people know that making their own food is always better. I don't want the costs added on to the food I want to order when I want to splurge.
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    If i go out to out to eat I already have it in my head what I may want so I just look up the nutritional values online and take the best guess. Honestly it not the restaurant responsibility anyway. And if i go out spur of the moment i just eat part and take home the rest

    same here

    Yes, that's a work around that a lot of people have to use since the actual information is not available. There isn't any harm in restaurants providing the ACTUAL information though, so that we don't have to find work arounds that aren't accurate.
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    I'm kind of blown away by how many people actually seem to think that this wouldn't be a helpful, nice thing for restaurants to do. It's not like anyone's saying they should be legislated to do this. It would just be awesome if they did. How can you argue with that?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    I'm kind of blown away by how many people actually seem to think that this wouldn't be a helpful, nice thing for restaurants to do. It's not like anyone's saying they should be legislated to do this. It would just be awesome if they did. How can you argue with that?

    Well, in the U.S. you would have to have a team of scientists and lawyers on staff - for when you misrepresent something accidentally. Once you put it in writing, you better be prepared to back it up. That makes it much more feasible for companies like McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell etc. Also, those restaurants have stricter portion control - they have to when they only charge two bucks for food.

    Sure, it would be helpful...to one out of ten customers. Until it becomes something that the majority of customers demand (which will never happen) it doesn't make any business sense. Eating at a restaurant should be a stress free, enjoyable experience. If it isn't, you're doing it wrong. In that case, eat at home.
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
    Eating out a couple of times a month in a restaurant didn't make me fat so I'm not that worried if they have calories listed or not. I go out to eat amazing food in great surroundings and I decided back at the start that I wouldn't get too hung up on whether the chef put one splash of cream or two in the sauce. It's a treat and I'll go light the day before and after to balance it out and log thecalories as best I can.

    Here in the UK they keep mentioning the idea of compulsory calorie counts on menus but I think they are a long way from making it law though some independent restaurants do put 'healthy choice' markers on the menu in the same way you'd see vegetarian options highlighted.

    With regard to portion sizes in restaurants - I've found over the years the more expensive the meal, the less you get on your plate :)

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