Learned a Valuable Lesson Today

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amrichards0711
amrichards0711 Posts: 23 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, it will be one week tomorrow that I joined MFP. I have been doing so well and staying within my calorie range. Today we went out to eat for the first time since I started this. We went to IHOP for a late lunch/early breakfast. I almost ordered one of their Simple and Fit options, but I decided against it because all of those were under 500 calories. I usually eat around 700-800 calories for dinner, so I thought I could choose something that would reasonably fall in that range. I already knew from a thread I read on here earlier this week that they add pancake batter to the omelets, so I didn't order my usual Country Omelette. I should have. My husband ordered the Cinn-A-Stack pancakes. Came home and went to log my calories. I discovered that the salad was 1440 calories. How is that even possible? My husband's pancakes were only 890 calories. I guess it must be the way they cook the chicken, but that is ridiculous to me.

I thought I was making a good choice, and now I've blown my calorie count for the day. I'm kinda upset about this, but I guess I learned a valuable lesson. I am going to look up the menus for all of the restaurants that we go to and choose sensible meals now, so that I am informed and know what to order when I get there next time.

Replies

  • 9jenn9
    9jenn9 Posts: 309 Member
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    Yeah, those salads can be calorie landmines. I always look up menu info before I get to the restaurant. If none is available, I make the best choice I can and try to only eat half.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
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    Always order from the simple and fit side of the menu. The taliapa is a great choice. I ask for a double order of broccoli and no potatoes. There was probably full fat salad dressing, the chicken was marinated in oil and who knows what else, full fat cheese, nuts, fruits? The calories can mount up quickly on salads. You could have gotten the simple and fit choice and then had a snack later if you were hungry.
  • MarioLozano16
    MarioLozano16 Posts: 319 Member
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    It's only one meal in the thousands you'll ever eat. Enjoy it
  • azuly24
    azuly24 Posts: 5 Member
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    Order salads with cheese, salad dressing and croutons on the side. That way you can control the amount of calorie dense ingredients the salad has. By it self the lettuce barely has any calories and the chicken fills you up so its worth it.
  • cindik32
    cindik32 Posts: 1 Member
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    Just had this conversation last night with a restaurant manager - when I asked about nutritional info for their house salad. She said restaurants always use 6 ounces of chicken to top the salad, not 3, which then becomes two portions. Then, as others have said, cheese and nuts and croutons add more calories. I ended up bringing about a third of the salad home and had it for breakfast today! Moral of the story - restaurant salads should always be split into two meals.
  • vivaldirules
    vivaldirules Posts: 169 Member
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    Wow. 1440 is a lot. So I had to check their website. Besides lettuce and tomatoes, it had fried chicken, fried bacon, two kinds of cheese, a honey-mustard dressing, hard-boiled eggs, and garlic bread. But the next time you're delivered something that looks like that you could skip the bread, get a different dressing on the side, remove much of the cheese, and order it with grilled chicken (that's an option). Still a calorie bomb and probably not very satisfying. Keep your spirits up! We all learn. Always will continue to, too.
  • burnsds
    burnsds Posts: 12
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    Yeah 1440 calories, been there - then jumped on the treadmill and walked fast for an hour while watching TV and burned 500 calories. 1440 becomes 940, and that's not so bad, plus it will help to keep burnin away with a higher metabolism.

    One thing to remember, is if you can stop eating after 7:00 pm you will see the pounds drop off. Those grazing snack calories that I did between 8 pm and midnight were killing me. And then, there is always tomorrow. Never too late to start over and do better the next day, I know your body can forgive you for the little mis-steps we all make.
  • Lemmynade
    Lemmynade Posts: 160 Member
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    We all do this... I was so pissed when the 5 croutons I ate last week were nearly 200 calories. Not worth it!

    I also look up menus and nutrition information before I go places. It helps me plan how I spend my calories.

    Tomorrow's another day!
  • amrichards0711
    amrichards0711 Posts: 23 Member
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    Well, for what it's worth, I ate the salad without any dressing, but I'm used to just ordering whatever I want and not really thinking too much about calories. I guess the fact that I am thinking about what I'm eating now is what is important and it is just one meal.

    Glad to hear that there are others who have been in this position before!
  • 1longroad
    1longroad Posts: 642 Member
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    I got dinner out last week and looked up the menu before going. I had in mind to get a caesar side salad as one of my sides. It said 60 calories without dressing or crutons. How can a plate of romaine lettuce, with possibly a tiny bit of cheese, but I don't think it even came with that, be 60 calories?

    Anyway, ended up getting green beans instead.
  • sarasmiles124
    sarasmiles124 Posts: 138 Member
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    I was working an overnight one night and hadn't brought anything with me to eat, so I walked across to the MacDonald's and figured I would get a salad with grilled chicken. For whatever reason, once I got back to work I decided to look up the nutritional information for that particular salad and was flabbergasted to see how much sodium there was, 980 miligrams of salt with grilled chicken and no dressing on it. When I looked at the sodium content with dressing it was almost 1200. I couldn't do it. I couldn't put that in my body and so I ended up having to figure something else out to eat, but ever since then I try and pay attention to the ingredients of things and consider the preparation for it and how it can affect calories.
  • jennibear8504
    jennibear8504 Posts: 46
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    I think we've all been there at some point... The first week was a nightmare for me... It was a HUGE change in lifestyle, but I got used to it... then about a month in I made a terrible mistake, and I ordered something without looking up the menu first. I ate it, and looked up the calories afterwards, I had consumed like 2-3 times the amount of calories I thought. I paid for it in tears and sweat. It was a big deal for me and I made sure I never made that mistake again... Just take it as a learning experience and start over the next day...
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    So bacon, cheese, chicken (breaded and fried), crouton (crunchy dry bread), garlic bread, lettuce, and likely dressing with added sugar. Just getting grilled chicken, skipping the breads, and dressing on the side would save about a meals worth of calories. You'd then be left with the most satiating parts of the meal and be within your initial goal.

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