Trusting fast food nutrition information

Aaron_K123
Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Lately I have been being a bit lazy and not cooking my meals at home for the week. As such I have been going to subway near my work and getting a foot long there for my lunch. If you look at subways nutrition info it is for a sandwich on wheat bread with all the veggies and no cheese and that is what I order.

I have decided to trust that the calorie estimate for this sandwich is likely pretty accurate and I can trust it so I am not taking the sandwich home and dissecting it on my food scale or anything.

In the grand scheme of things this doesn't represent that much of my total caloric intake for the day so even if it is a bit off I'm not that worried about it however it got me thinking, what is your opinion on trusting the nutrition information of fast food chain restaurants?

Replies

  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    Lately I have been being a bit lazy and not cooking my meals at home for the week. As such I have been going to subway near my work and getting a foot long there for my lunch. If you look at subways nutrition info it is for a sandwich on wheat bread with all the veggies and no cheese and that is what I order.

    I have decided to trust that the calorie estimate for this sandwich is likely pretty accurate and I can trust it so I am not taking the sandwich home and dissecting it on my food scale or anything.

    In the grand scheme of things this doesn't represent that much of my total caloric intake for the day so even if it is a bit off I'm not that worried about it however it got me thinking, what is your opinion on trusting the nutrition information of fast food chain restaurants?
    As untrusting as I am I would be pretty confident about how the chain stores give the nutritional info.
    It could vary by how much condiments are actually on the sandwich, or actual fries in the bad, or actual veggies on the sub but I would think if you get exaclty what it is saying I would trust it.
  • AllieMarie2244
    AllieMarie2244 Posts: 106 Member
    mmm i trust it for the most part

    but if I do go out and get my meal I just make sure I exercise "hard" regardless
    so if they are lying to me at least i have backed myself up :)


    Also lets say you went to a burger place... and you estimated the calories based on the website
    but whose to say the person that made your burger used the exact amount of what was estimated for the menu on your burger
    like a place in CA called Carls Jr the mayo calories online I know are very different from whats actually slathered on the burger.
    (not like you are eating burgers with mayo but just as an example)
  • Dalton1720
    Dalton1720 Posts: 104
    I used to work at Subway and I would say it is mostly accurate. There is a certain amount of veggies we are supposed to put on each sandwich, but usually we'll just slap a larger amount down on your sub so people don't complain, especially if its busy. All the meats, cheeses, and breads are pre-portioned so unless you add extra and account for that its pretty spot on. :)
  • Willdta
    Willdta Posts: 11
    You can never trust fast food nutrition to be completely accurate but I would say it's close. If you're tracking your fast foods, exaggerate on the macros so that you know you didn't go over your daily limit.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    I trust it ---- unless I am going to dissect my sandwich and weigh each ingredient, I don't feel that you have a choice. By law they have to be within 10% or something (which can be a lot - so just leave the last 2 bites and call it good)

    I try allow extra if I know I am going out - or do something extra - a quick walk or something - to help even it out. Ya still gotta live - and they always say One Meal isn't going to ruin your progress. Just try to eat the best you can when you go out and even out the rest of the day.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    I don't trust, but I'll log it and eat it as served. Simple truth is that it'll either affect your weight over time or it won't... If it does, maybe consider cutting that stuff back a little. If it doesn't, rock on.
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
    Depending on the country you're in the "nutritional information" labels are reasonably accurate. In the USA the FDA allows up to 20% discrepancy +/- on food product nutritional information labeling, if that gives you some indication ...
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    For Subway their meat and cheese is fairly uniform in size, shape. And their bread also. The amount of veggies will vary but they're veggies, not likely to amount to enough calories stress over. I do mustard only, or maybe for a BLT take a little bit of lite mayo. If using calorie heavy sauces I think there is more room for error because a little amount can be a lot of calories.

    For most chain restaurants, I believe they have measures in place to keep portions to a certain level - to keep their costs in line. If McDs employees regularly gave away 50% extra fries, it would show up in their inventory reports and management would address the problem.

    I'd be more concerned about small, owner-operator places - but then they probably won't provide nutrition info anyhow.
  • MsLesley321
    MsLesley321 Posts: 3
    Completely agree with sfbaumgarten. Go with the flow if it works and cut back if it doesn't.
  • loriq41
    loriq41 Posts: 479 Member
    I see it this way...as long as you log the to the very best of your ability and are having good results...you are doing great! No entry is going to be dead on..case in point...a "rounded scoopful of protein powder" is not as accurate is going through the trouble of literally weighing it to the gram...just try to be as close to perfect with logging as you can.

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