Popular Restaurants with surprising calorie count

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  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    Pei Wei!!! For the longest time the only thing I would order at Pei Wei were the Vietnamese Chicken salad rolls, because they were only 150 calories for 3 rolls(I still have the old nutrition print out to prove it). About a week or so ago, I was checking the nutrition facts to check another dish and saw that they are now 480 calories for 3 and 18 grams of fat!!
  • tanisha_rae
    tanisha_rae Posts: 6
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    salads, in general are for sure always WAYYY higher in calories than I'd guess unless Im extremely picky and order them w/o half the stuff on them and with a light salad dressing.... i usually stick to something grilled as it'll fill me up more, and doesn't require as many picky specifications from me.. ;)

    On the other hand.. one of my friends little tricks is to go to McDonalds (yes I said it) and order an ice cream cone if she wants a treat- only 170 calories... not too shabby.. way better than that dairy queen malt evidently :)
  • niceMarly
    niceMarly Posts: 89 Member
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    I admit freely that I am a McDonaldsoholic.....but now, instead of a big mac, fries and coke....I get a Grilled Chicken McBistro, BLT, NO BACON, NO SAUCE.....for about 320 cal....a small garden salad (skip the dressing) and Coke Zero (yes I know it's high in sodium).....see??? it can be done!!

    I also love Subway, but you MUST resist the cheese and sauce. Their ham is fat-free!

    Dairy Queen and KFC are no-go's for me. Tim Horton's has a fairly decent chicken noodle soup, and you can order sandwiches with the cheese and sauce.
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
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    I am always suprised at the amount of fat and calories in salads in general at restaurants. I can't believe that it is sometimes healthier to order a burger at some restaurants than it is to order a salad. I can never understand why restaurants don't have fat free salad dressings to go with their salads either, I mean come on, you say you have "healthy salads" so why not offer the fat free dressings as well. lol

    Salad dressing on the side, dip your fork in the dressing then take a bite. you use a lot less that way! Or ask for a lemon wedge in lieu of the dressing and use that. I have heard that a "healthy salad" often has more calories than many other things on the menu b/c of the croutons, bacon bits, dressing, etc. they often load on there!!

    ^^ This. The fork trick always works for me.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Arbys seems to be pretty good atm.

    I get a Classic Turkey Roaster, small potato cakes, and a bottle water for 520cal, 19g fat, 1480sod, 63carb, 5g fiber, 26protein.
  • VanessaHeartsMasr
    VanessaHeartsMasr Posts: 727
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    My husband was devastated today. His FAVORITE menu item is a Jack Daniel's burger and fries from TGI Fridays. I looked it up for him and we found out that the burger alone was 1360 calories!!! Add the fries and a couple cokes. Woah! Kinda ruined his life. Lol.
  • Jonahyona
    Jonahyona Posts: 108 Member
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    Cheesecake Factory.....nearly everything is over 1k calories.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i dont care so much about calories but it's mainly the sodium i have to be careful about when i eat out.

    subway would be SO much better if they didnt use deli meat and maybe roasted their own turkeys and chickens for sandwiches. for the ham, well there's no help for ham :laugh:
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    On The Border and Chili's are both HORRIBLE calorie bombs. Macaroni Grill and Olive Garden are, too, for the most part.

    Denny's has some really good, low-calorie options. An unwich at Jimmy John's, especially if you hold the mayo, is incredibly light. Chipotle is not bad, if you skip the tortillas and get a burrito bowl or salad. Cheesecake Factory has pretty awesome items on their light menu.
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    Chilis and Olive Garden.
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
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    I try to research restaurants before I go to them since a couple of restaurants show nutritional information on their sites. But since I usually estimate a high calorie value in any case, I end up never being surprised when it is high haha. I was however, surprised by Panera offering some yummy low calorie options.
  • Coming4U
    Coming4U Posts: 93 Member
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    Cheesecake Factory.....nearly everything is over 1k calories.

    They have an entire low cal menu seperate called skinnyliscious and almost everything on it is under 600 Calories and it is fantastic. I go there alot with great success.
  • sunrise611
    sunrise611 Posts: 1,904 Member
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    I was surprised at how high in sodium Olive Garden is in most of their dishes.
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
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    IHOP's calorie counts are deplorable. Two wheat pancakes with sugar free syrup is over 300 calories. Salads are almost 1000 calories. A stack of four seasonal pancakes (like red velvet w/o butter or syrup) is over 800 calories.

    I know I shouldn't be shocked, but it sucks. My roommate works there, and it's 5 minutes from the house, and we always choose IHOP when we are going out to eat. I have to study the nutritional guide very carefully, write everything down, and bring it with me. But I do that for all major restaurants, and I recommend everyone do that.

    Applebee's is bad too. 1400 calories for some of their APPETIZERS!
  • wazzanz
    wazzanz Posts: 78
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    Have a protein shake before you go. Great way to eat less!

    I have Subway salads twice a week. Often get double meat. Roast Chicken or Roast Beef seem to have less sodium. Have substituted the sandwich for a wrap when need that bit more as less refined carbs.
  • MindyG150
    MindyG150 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I am always suprised at the amount of fat and calories in salads in general at restaurants. I can't believe that it is sometimes healthier to order a burger at some restaurants than it is to order a salad. I can never understand why restaurants don't have fat free salad dressings to go with their salads either, I mean come on, you say you have "healthy salads" so why not offer the fat free dressings as well. lol

    So This!!
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
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    I admit freely that I am a McDonaldsoholic.....but now, instead of a big mac, fries and coke....I get a Grilled Chicken McBistro, BLT, NO BACON, NO SAUCE.....for about 320 cal....a small garden salad (skip the dressing) and Coke Zero (yes I know it's high in sodium).....see??? it can be done!!

    I also love Subway, but you MUST resist the cheese and sauce. Their ham is fat-free!

    Dairy Queen and KFC are no-go's for me. Tim Horton's has a fairly decent chicken noodle soup, and you can order sandwiches with the cheese and sauce.

    I find McDonald's isn't awful too. I just get a plain McDouble (1 slice of cheese) and a parfait with a water, and it's around 400-500 calories. I find the meal to be satisfying, for fast food. I also like the grilled chicken sandwiches, but I tend to get them without bread.
  • Breeoxd
    Breeoxd Posts: 4
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    Red Lobster has many good options. I agree with an earlier post about Panera--but stay away from the sweets. Those numbers were SCARY!! I also agree about Starbucks. I can have a "skinny" latte, but was also surprised by the pastries!!

    Really? everything I've ever seen at RL is drenched in butter- even when you don't order drawn butter with Lobster, the fish is drenched in it. And those biscuits are the devil. Seriously, I'm not the most stringent person in the world, but dang folks! lol

    But yeah for SB skinny versions! RIght on!
  • missprincessgina
    missprincessgina Posts: 446 Member
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    I was going strong losing weight a couple years ago, and had a meeting in a small town about an hour away, and I drove a colleague with me. I brought my own lunch and was doing great. At the end of the meeting, he said "I'll take you to Dairy Queen..." which I NEVER go to, never eat there, never had an urge to. But he really wanted something, so I went, and tried to think of the smallest, least-offensive/bad thing I could order for a little treat. They did not have the frozen yogurt or low-fat/low-sugar ice cream. So I ordered a small vanilla malt. Tiny thing, about 3/4 -cup of blended ice cream and a spoonful of malt.

    Went home and looked it up on the DQ webpage. 650 calories. I about passed out.

    However, that week I continued to lose my 1-2 pounds per week as I had been for several months. I learned important lessons, though: 1) processed and fast foods of any kind (salads included) seem to always have more calories than you expect, so reduce those as much as possible; and 2) one goof during a week won't kill you.

    But I'm much more mindful--and forgiving of myself--now and that's probably been my only visit to DQ in the past 10 years and I have no urge to ever set foot in one again.

    I am obsessed with DQ. That is one thing I refuse to give up. I'd run hard for 2 hours or do anything to have a blizzard. Ice cream is probably my favorite food.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I don't go out to the chain restaurants unless I'm traveling or something. The downside is that I can't look up calorie counts of the meals I eat out, so it's always a wild guess. I do a lot of cooking from scratch, though, so I think I'm pretty good at determining what the ingredients are and rough quantities of each.

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