Restaurant Nutrition - too good to be true?

If it is on their site I usually trust it. If I don't have the exact info but am using something similar in the database that seems low I'll add in 50-100 quick add calories or log it as a serving and a half or something along those lines.

I tend to trust restaurant nutrition stats because, in the day & age we're in, most, if not all, restaurants have been forced to release true & accurate stats to the public by now. It's public knowledge. The ones that still haven't complied are being heavily fined, from what I've been told. Some states, I've heard, are even putting the nutrition facts in their menus now. I find it helpful to know when I'm deciding what to eat and I'm glad they made them quit hiding what the calories/carbs, etc was in the different entrees.

I don't think I've ever seen anything that seems to good to be true... can you link an example? Most of the time my reaction is HOLY CRAP I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY (calories, carbs, etc) were in that. Maybe they are being sneaky and posting "per serving" and the actual meal may have 2 or more servings, something like that.

Most of the time my reaction is HOLY CRAP I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY (calories, carbs, etc) were in that.

I hear you. I used to order a wrap at Buffalo Wild Wings that I thought wasn't too bad. 1020 calories and 2120 grams of sodium!!! That's very near my daily limit on both.

Before I go to a restaurant I'll research whether they release nutritional information so I can work it into my day.

Sometimes it just seems too good to be true. Do you think they may make it up sometimes? How much of a cushion do you factor into your day when you're eating out?

I don't think they make it up, but it is important to remember that the meals that are tested are prepared specifically for testing. There is no guarantee that the cook of the day won't add more fat or salt or cheese or <whatever> than the meal that was tested.

Also, when it comes to things like meats the amount of fat can vary because not every chicken or cow has the exact same fat content in their various muscles. Same with sugar in in produce. And this is true whether home cooked or restaurant prepared. It's all just averages.

You need to pay attention to all the details. One site had it listed that there were 2 servings per dish!!!

Most restaurants however will either say "as given" or "x servings."

I'll tell you what though, I had the jalapeno lime shrimp at applebees last night. I didn't bother to look at the calories until I got home and was SHOCKED. Not because there were so much, but so little! 300 according to the website.

I seem to remember either consumer reports or maybe it was something I heard on NPR had restaurant meals tested independently and they were surprised to find that they were very close to the reported numbers, in some cases within 1% I think. I'll have to see if I can dig that out somewhere.

Of course it's all an estimate depending on ingredients, how close the cooks are following policy that day, etc. . .

Well they would be. Commercial kitchens have procedure, portion and plate comp standards. Everything from their nutrition data to thier costing and pricing depends on it being fairly accurate. FTR, I am a recently retired chef and restaurant/ catering company owner.

Until I find a way to figure out exactly how many calories I burned in a particular day, i won't worry about it.

The illuminati puts MSG into your fewds to make you want to go out to eat.

I knew it. :explode: