Restaurants are Irresponsible.

Skip the cheese, skip the meat, get all veggies, salt and pepper and deli mustard.

That's what I do and it fills you up every time because of all the fiber. Get water.

It's our right to say "No thank you" when something is offered to us...who cares how they look at us...they're working there-it's their job to build the sandwich, not ask questions.

I have never been

Hmm... Marketing also tells me that *insert popular sugary cereal name here* can be part of my healthy breakfast... Thanks, but I don't need to start my day with that much sugar, even if it is fortified with 9000 vitamins and minerals.

You did your research, now you're on top of it. They're trying to make money. That's what they take responsibility for, not your health. It's ok to move on now.

You make a great, responsible choice. The original post author wrote as though he didn't have a choice to pass on condiments, sides and drinks. I've never had anyone look at me weird for telling them no cheese. I do it because I'm lactose intollerant so I could care less how they look at me anyway. They'd be looking at me really funny if they were around about 30 mins after I ate that cheese! My healthy standard is the oven roasted chicken on 9 grain oat, lettuce, onion, tomatoe, green pepper, cucumber, and my splurge is the sweet onion teriyaki sauce. It's high in sodium, but I drink a ton of water anyway so I don't really mind.

Besides the fact that normal fast food places are horribly bad for you, I have even fell in to the trap of Subway being misleading. They have Jared for years telling us about 6 subs with under 6 grams of fat. But when you go to the place (as I do 5 days a week), its much different.

I used to get about what they advertize. I'd get a 6 inch turkey sub. Good so far. Then they immediately ask you what kind of cheese you want and if you say "none" as you would have to to stay under 6 grams of fat, they make you confirm it as if you are abnormal. Move down for veggies and then get your sauce. Virtually all fo them are bad for you. I used to get light mayonase. Its LIGHT so it must not be too bad. The problem is that legally "light" only has to be 30% better for you than the original, no matter how fatty that is. Then the serving size is 1 table spoon, but they would put about 2 times that on the sub. Now at 400+ calories and 17 grams of fat, they want me to get a drink and chips or a cookie. Unless i get a diet coke and no chips or cookies, those numbers go up again. Then double that on the days I got hungry and got a 12" sub.

Bottom line - I was gaining weight eating subway on a regular basis.

These days I still eat there but get a grilled chicken salad with no cheese or dressing and fat free Lays and I net about 250 calories.

Good for you for doing math. Stupid of you to blame everyone else for putting food in your mouth.

Nevermind that FAT ISNT BAD FOR YOU. Its not causing your heart to explode or give you cholesterol.

In addition to the holes in their message, there's also the fact that Jared lost weight by eating Subway <i> and exercising regularly. </i>

I get my roasted 6 inch...add avocado (and count it) ad regular mayo cause light is a fail anyways, and 'decide' to get baked chips because I like it with chips. no soda.

Same point, it's about each one choices . In mayo's case or whatever, we can always say 'add nothing' and take it home an put whatever we want in the quantities we want .

I DO agree restaurants are irresponsible in their HUGE serving sizes for food you can;t end or bloat you. Why? We would still pay the same for even less that makes us full without all the extras.

Restaurants are not irresponsible - people make irresponsible food choices.

You could try making and packing your lunch - easier on the belly and wallet.

This

I worked at subway for 8 years (or so) and I can say that eating 2 meals there every day for 8 years, I lost 40 lbs--in the first 2 years of employment. It's all in the choices you make. I don't know if it's changed since I left, but if you want your sandwich to be under 6 grams of fat, you order the 6" from that menu, and tell them you want it made to those specifications. In Canada there is an * beside the 6 grams of fat logo....and it states in small writing that it is without cheese or sauce. Subway is the healthier choice between most fast food restaurants, but unless you make it all yourself, at home, you can never be sure what you're putting in your mouth. It's not false advertizing. The choices you make with your order is what can make it true or not. Opt for a salad instead of the sub....take out the bread to save even more calories. You can't blame the restaurant for your decisions. THAT would be irresponsible. IMO

The impression I got that the OP was making was just that there are a lot of hidden calories, even in seemingly "healthier" options at restaurants, be they fast food or otherwise. I don't think it absolves us of the responsibility of making good health choices, but sometimes you think you're making a good choice and it turns out you're way off.

Last week I got a vegetarian sandwich at Big Town Hero (a local sandwich shop). It turns out it had over 1000 calories, 40 grams of fat and 100 carbs. Clearly, I could have been more intentional and wise in my food planning, but when choosing my sandwich, I took for granted that the vegetarian sandwich would be so much more unhealthy than the other options available. For roughly the same calories, I could have gone to Burger King and gotten a double whopper with cheese. Or gotten a whopper with a medium order of fries. Or gone to Dairy Queen and gotten a chicken basket, with fries and texas toast. Or gone to KFC and gotten a chunky chicken pot pie and potato wedges. Not that those would have been better choices by any means, nor would I have preferred them instead, but the nutrition facts for my sandwich really caught me off guard. Since then, I've tried to be much more proactive in my food choices, especially when I am eating out.

On a side note, I don't think that restaurants really need to make their food so unhealthy. Again, I don't think that absolves us of our own responsibility to make good choices, but it can just catch you off guard sometimes.

I haven't read all of the comments, but I clicked on this thread expecting to find people discussing restaurants that don't provide any nutritional info about their meals and cook excessively large proportions in tons of butter so you don't realize how much you're consuming. I'd be a little more sympathetic to the OP then.

However, the OP ate at Subway 5 times a week and is angry that her light mayo isn't light enough. Well, don't get mayo? Don't eat at Subway so freakin often? This is a pretty bad instance of a restaurant being irresponsible.

I get my roasted 6 inch...add avocado (and count it) ad regular mayo cause light is a fail anyways, and 'decide' to get baked chips because I like it with chips. no soda.

Same point, it's about each one choices . In mayo's case or whatever, we can always say 'add nothing' and take it home an put whatever we want in the quantities we want .

I DO agree restaurants are irresponsible in their HUGE serving sizes for food you can;t end or bloat you. Why? We would still pay the same for even less that makes us full without all the extras.

I wouldn't want to pay the same amount for less. I like the huge serving sizes, because then I have food to take home with me and can make 2-3 meals out of a restaurant meal. It's not the restaurant that's irresponsible, it's the consumer for failing to stop eating.

You CAN say NO to the cheese or the sauces.

You can say NO to the cookie or chips.

And ask for water instead of pop.

If you CANNOT say no to these foods then you shouldn't be going there. Don't tempt yourself.

If you have to eat take-out then subs are definitely a lesser evil. And you don't need to get a sub when you go to subway...you can get a salad and/or soup.

Jared was overweight and used to eat a lot more, so of course cutting down to only eating two subs a day helped him lose some weight. It was all about the calorie deficit....

I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'll respond to the number of responses I did see in the vein of, "It's your individual responsibility, not the companies'!"

I don't buy that. If restaurants and food companies were upfront and honest, I'd have no problem. But that's not what happens. What happens is that these companies spend millions, even billions, fighting tooth and nail against regulations that would force them to be open and honest about what they're serving. Remember when California wanted restaurants to put nutritional facts on all their menus? Or when NYC tried to do the same thing? These companies act like it's some horrible injustice to force them to let the consumers know what they're buying. You can't claim it's all personal responsibility when people are deliberately kept in the dark about reality.

What's wrong with letting people know what they're eating? Why shouldn't they be allowed to make an informed decision? If you're afraid that they won't buy your food because it's too unhealthy, the solution is to make healthier food, not to lie to people and claim it's better than it really is. It's disgusting that these businesses are placed above the health and welfare of the general population.

Time to grow up and be a responsible adult. And the information is available if you ask for it. I agree with the restaurants in NY and CA, the information on the menus just takes up space and makes it difficult to read. If I really wanted/needed the information, I can ask for it.

It should be available but is not necessarily available in actuality. Without regulation, there is also no guarantee of accuracy on the restaurants that choose to voluntarily supply the information. It's not that they aren't printing the information on the menu, it's that they can't tell you anything reliable at all.

A responsible adult would ask to be informed. A responsible adult would want to know exactly what is going in their mouth. But responsibility only goes so far. If everything is stacked against you, you're going to lose, regardless of how careful or responsible you are.

How about we utilize the justice system instead of the retarded regulations? CA and NY, not to mention OR are the perfect examples of how retarded things get when government tries to micromanage the marketplace. Prosecute fraud and let the rest of us live in a peaceful, thriving market!

When I go to subway, I get the kid's Fresh Fit meal. I have them put it on flatbread, add all the veggies, vinegar and oil. It comes with apples and milk. This is a pretty good option at subway, low in calories, high in fiber.

^^ This is a great idea! I actually stopped getting chips there and instead would add the apples or yogurt on.. sometimes both to have something to snack on later in the day. But that's a really good plan to have set in your mind every time you go!! Thanks!