The cold hard truth about Chipotle Burrito Bowls

124

Replies

  • KameHameHaaaa
    KameHameHaaaa Posts: 837 Member
    rofl. Some maroon actually does that?!

    **moron

    BugsBunny_Maroon.jpg

    Just sayin'.

    But speaking of chipotle, I think I know where I'm havin lunch this weekend :love:
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    It's not Chipotles fault though.
    I think it is their fault if their posted nutritional info is purposely understating their portion sizes by 70%.

    Their calculator gives 190 calories for 4 oz of rice, which is about 1 scoop. If you order rice, and watch them throw scoop after scoop in there, whose damn fault is that?
    Are we supposed to always pre-research how an item is prepped and the size of the restaurant scoops and keep count while the person makes it, when we eat out? How would you even do that someplace where you're not watching the prep? You'd have to deconstruct your food and weigh each piece.

    Generally I order an item and trust the web site N.I. for the item. Knowing I can't do that at Chipotle is good info.

    Yes. Personal responsibility, for the win.
    So you take your food home from restaurants and take it apart and weigh each ingredient? That's some serious personal responsibility there. :laugh:

    No, not at all. But I've done my research and have an idea of what a portion size should look like. I'm also perfectly capable of saying "one scoop please" or "hold the rice." It's really not that hard.

    As an adult, I'm capable of realizing that Chipotle is never going to be able to get the serving size right every single time because....human error. I don't hold Chipotle responsible for that because it's an unrealistic expectation to have - unless, of course, they mechanize it. But, I'd rather eat 100 more calories than see people lose their jobs.

    And, of course, no one is holding a gun to my head telling me to eat there. I make that choice.

    Ahhh personal responsibility. It's really an amazing thing to be an adult who doesn't need a corporate entity or the government to hold my hand through a menu.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Meh...my lunch is typically around 600 - 800 calories...that has nothing to do with the actual nutritional content and whether or not it's healthy.

    also, anyone who is surprised about a restaurant serving and calorie content in restaurant food is just oblivious....I'm always surprised that people are surprised...it's a bit ridiculous...
    How do you know your lunch there is 600-800 calories? From the info they gave you? You're not surprised to hear it's probably more like 1400?

    I'm not expecting restaurant N.I. to be dead-on. But it's normal to expect it to not be 70% off.

    How do you know it's 70% off and not 10% or 20%? Have you taken it home and weighed it? How did you separate the cheese from the rice and meat? What's the secret to isolating the guacamole from the sour cream? Last time I tried this, the tomatoes got mixed in with the salsa and I had hard time getting the weights right; what was your solution?
    No, that's my point. You can't really estimate it well yourself, you need to trust the company to give you semi-accurate info.

    People who did weigh it (see first post) found 70% difference. Does anyone read the thread before jumping in? :ohwell:

    The last time this came up was because an employee said they're trained to double the rice that's listed as a portion in the N.I.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    I hate getting more than I pay for. I want less, damn it!
    You understand the point isn't about the cost, right? Not that you're getting anything more than you paid for, anyway. The same people who set the portion sizes set the prices. They just lie on the nutritional info.

    Now they are lying?

    Yes, I'm sure that's it. They probably had a board of directors meeting about how to lie to customer's about nutritional values. It's a conspiracy to make us all fat.

    It couldn't possibly be that there's no accounting for human error in every store. That would be too logical.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    It's not Chipotles fault though.
    I think it is their fault if their posted nutritional info is purposely understating their portion sizes by 70%.

    Their calculator gives 190 calories for 4 oz of rice, which is about 1 scoop. If you order rice, and watch them throw scoop after scoop in there, whose damn fault is that?
    Are we supposed to always pre-research how an item is prepped and the size of the restaurant scoops and keep count while the person makes it, when we eat out? How would you even do that someplace where you're not watching the prep? You'd have to deconstruct your food and weigh each piece.

    Generally I order an item and trust the web site N.I. for the item. Knowing I can't do that at Chipotle is good info.

    Yes. Personal responsibility, for the win.
    So you take your food home from restaurants and take it apart and weigh each ingredient? That's some serious personal responsibility there. :laugh:

    No, not at all. But I've done my research and have an idea of what a portion size should look like. I'm also perfectly capable of saying "one scoop please" or "hold the rice." It's really not that hard.

    As an adult, I'm capable of realizing that Chipotle is never going to be able to get the serving size right every single time because....human error. I don't hold Chipotle responsible for that because it's an unrealistic expectation to have - unless, of course, they mechanize it. But, I'd rather eat 100 more calories than see people lose their jobs.

    And, of course, no one is holding a gun to my head telling me to eat there. I make that choice.

    Ahhh personal responsibility. It's really an amazing thing to be an adult who doesn't need a corporate entity or the government to hold my hand through a menu.
    But to correct the over-portioning you have to know it exists. That's my point.

    70% larger isn't 100 calories and training employees to double the rice isn't human error.

    I don't know if all the insults- "It's really not that hard", "As an adult" (TWICE even), etc. -- are really necessary interjections. For the record, I was analyzing menus when you were in kindergarten.
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
    Meh...my lunch is typically around 600 - 800 calories...that has nothing to do with the actual nutritional content and whether or not it's healthy.

    also, anyone who is surprised about a restaurant serving and calorie content in restaurant food is just oblivious....I'm always surprised that people are surprised...it's a bit ridiculous...
    How do you know your lunch there is 600-800 calories? From the info they gave you? You're not surprised to hear it's probably more like 1400?

    I'm not expecting restaurant N.I. to be dead-on. But it's normal to expect it to not be 70% off.

    How do you know it's 70% off and not 10% or 20%? Have you taken it home and weighed it? How did you separate the cheese from the rice and meat? What's the secret to isolating the guacamole from the sour cream? Last time I tried this, the tomatoes got mixed in with the salsa and I had hard time getting the weights right; what was your solution?
    No, that's my point. You can't really estimate it well yourself, you need to trust the company to give you semi-accurate info.

    People who did weigh it (see first post) found 70% difference. Does anyone read the thread before jumping in? :ohwell:

    The last time this came up was because an employee said they're trained to double the rice that's listed as a portion in the N.I.

    I think it is time to get out the tinfoil hats. Are you saying Chipotle's board of directors is intentionally trying to make people fat??

    TinfoilHat_zpsa0ac9506.jpg

    I will reiterate what a lot of people have said in this thread and has been my experience as well. I eat a lot of Chipotle Burrito Bowls and sometimes a burrito instead and it has not hindered my weight loss one bit. To be clear, when I travel for work and am out the whole week, it is not uncommon for me to eat there 2 or 3 times during that week. So if the calories were so far off, wouldn't they be hindering my weight loss?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    It's not Chipotles fault though.
    I think it is their fault if their posted nutritional info is purposely understating their portion sizes by 70%.

    Their calculator gives 190 calories for 4 oz of rice, which is about 1 scoop. If you order rice, and watch them throw scoop after scoop in there, whose damn fault is that?
    Are we supposed to always pre-research how an item is prepped and the size of the restaurant scoops and keep count while the person makes it, when we eat out? How would you even do that someplace where you're not watching the prep? You'd have to deconstruct your food and weigh each piece.

    Generally I order an item and trust the web site N.I. for the item. Knowing I can't do that at Chipotle is good info.

    Yes. Personal responsibility, for the win.
    So you take your food home from restaurants and take it apart and weigh each ingredient? That's some serious personal responsibility there. :laugh:

    No, not at all. But I've done my research and have an idea of what a portion size should look like. I'm also perfectly capable of saying "one scoop please" or "hold the rice." It's really not that hard.

    As an adult, I'm capable of realizing that Chipotle is never going to be able to get the serving size right every single time because....human error. I don't hold Chipotle responsible for that because it's an unrealistic expectation to have - unless, of course, they mechanize it. But, I'd rather eat 100 more calories than see people lose their jobs.

    And, of course, no one is holding a gun to my head telling me to eat there. I make that choice.

    Ahhh personal responsibility. It's really an amazing thing to be an adult who doesn't need a corporate entity or the government to hold my hand through a menu.
    But to correct the over-portioning you have to know it exists. That's my point.

    70% larger isn't 100 calories and training employees to double the rice isn't human error.

    I don't know if all the insults- "It's really not that hard", "As an adult" (TWICE even), etc. -- are really necessary interjections. For the record, I was analyzing menus when you were in kindergarten.

    Because it really isn't that hard. And, yes, as adult I can use logic and reason to make choices for myself without Chipotle HQ telling me how to do it. And, you know what? Your diet is not Chipotle's responsibility, anyway.

    I really doubt it's a consistent 70% difference increase store to store. Businesses are not in business to lose money. Second, I'm pretty sure that not every Chipotle worker is doubling the rice. I've never had that happen where I have gone. But maybe that's because I'm pretty clear about what I want. And I know what a portion of rice looks like because I'm ultimately responsible. I'd like to hear from more Chipotle employees - one is not a study - that they are trained to double.

    You know what's even cooler? Sometimes when I go to Chipotle I don't have enough room in my macros for rice at all. I know this because I have a general idea of what rice brings to the calorie table, so to speak. So, I ask them to leave off the rice. And then they do that. And I go home happy, rice free and 100% in control of my diet. It's awesome.

    I honestly don't even know why this is a discussion. People who don't want two scoops of rice can say they don't want two scoops of rice. It's their business model that you get it the way you want it. Sheesh.

    ETA: An extra scoop of rice is an extra 185 calories. So, I was off by 85 calories.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    Meh...my lunch is typically around 600 - 800 calories...that has nothing to do with the actual nutritional content and whether or not it's healthy.

    also, anyone who is surprised about a restaurant serving and calorie content in restaurant food is just oblivious....I'm always surprised that people are surprised...it's a bit ridiculous...
    How do you know your lunch there is 600-800 calories? From the info they gave you? You're not surprised to hear it's probably more like 1400?

    I'm not expecting restaurant N.I. to be dead-on. But it's normal to expect it to not be 70% off.

    How do you know it's 70% off and not 10% or 20%? Have you taken it home and weighed it? How did you separate the cheese from the rice and meat? What's the secret to isolating the guacamole from the sour cream? Last time I tried this, the tomatoes got mixed in with the salsa and I had hard time getting the weights right; what was your solution?
    No, that's my point. You can't really estimate it well yourself, you need to trust the company to give you semi-accurate info.

    People who did weigh it (see first post) found 70% difference. Does anyone read the thread before jumping in? :ohwell:

    The last time this came up was because an employee said they're trained to double the rice that's listed as a portion in the N.I.

    I think it is time to get out the tinfoil hats. Are you saying Chipotle's board of directors is intentionally trying to make people fat??

    TinfoilHat_zpsa0ac9506.jpg

    I will reiterate what a lot of people have said in this thread and has been my experience as well. I eat a lot of Chipotle Burrito Bowls and sometimes a burrito instead and it has not hindered my weight loss one bit. To be clear, when I travel for work and am out the whole week, it is not uncommon for me to eat there 2 or 3 times during that week. So if the calories were so far off, wouldn't they be hindering my weight loss?

    I mean, same. When I was in my losing stage, I was eating at Chipotle quite a bit. I still lost weight. Because I was making smart menu decisions.
  • ActuarialChef
    ActuarialChef Posts: 1,413 Member
    Makes me think of Five Guys and the way they serve their "little" size fries... they fill the "little" cup, put it in the brown bag, then throw another full scoop or two of fries into the bag on top of it. I'm not saying it's not absolutely DEE-LISH and that I don't worship their fries, just that their calorie estimates for a "little" serving are probably mondo outta whack.

    But I'm still not gonna take a food scale with me wherever I go.:noway:

    I've always wondered if their calories on the site are for the original cup only or if the extra stuff is included...

    The bigger problem, in my opinion, is the bold faced WRONG information we get from some sit down restaurant's nutritional information. People have tested dishes and found way more calories than what is listed. For example, Applebee's WW menu . To me, that is where we lose real control and can end up unknowingly consuming way more calories even when we've researched the nutritional information.

    Link? I like the Applebee's light menu...

    YES!! The Five Guys website's listing for fries INCLUDES the "extra" fries they give. I can't remember where I saw that, but it was an official statement from Five Guys. Eat away and ENJOY THOSE DELICIOUS FRIES!!!
  • crisb2
    crisb2 Posts: 329 Member
    .... now I'm gonna need a burrito bowl.
  • TheFrugalFatass
    TheFrugalFatass Posts: 58 Member
    QUOTE:

    rofl. Some maroon actually does that?!


    **moron

    From the Urban Dictionary:


    maroon
    1. A color between red and brown
    2. A stupid person; a fool
    1. She's wearing maroon pants
    2. "What a maroon." -- Bugs Bunny
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Is it really that bad that I do not care for Chipotle? I went there last Monday and had to fight for a place to sit (this was right when it opened also), had a worker give me a very rude look when I asked for no rice in my salad, and didn't care for the food's flavor (especially when it contained about half of my day's allotment of fat and about 40% of my protein goal and I was hungry an hour later).
  • Is it really that bad that I do not care for Chipotle? I went there last Monday and had to fight for a place to sit (this was right when it opened also), had a worker give me a very rude look when I asked for no rice in my salad, and didn't care for the food's flavor (especially when it contained about half of my day's allotment of fat and about 40% of my protein goal and I was hungry an hour later).
    BLASPHEMY! Be gone with you! Reported!!! :laugh: :laugh:
  • astroophys
    astroophys Posts: 175 Member
    Restaurants don't care about giving you a healthy meal, they just want you to think it tastes amazing and come back again to give them more money -_-

    It's not a restaurant's job to "give you a healthy meal".

    It's your job as an adult to choose what fits into your eating plan.

    Restaurants exist to provide food in exchange for money.

    That's all.

    Welcome to capitalism.

    Thank you! I don't understand this trend of blaming restaurants for one's poor health and fatness.
  • Restaurants don't care about giving you a healthy meal, they just want you to think it tastes amazing and come back again to give them more money -_-

    It's not a restaurant's job to "give you a healthy meal".

    It's your job as an adult to choose what fits into your eating plan.

    Restaurants exist to provide food in exchange for money.

    That's all.

    Welcome to capitalism.

    Thank you! I don't understand this trend of blaming restaurants for one's poor health and fatness.

    Restaurants are required to follow the law as it pertains to food handling, cleanliness, etc.

    They are not required to determine what is and isn't "healthy" for the individual.

    I lived in NYC, where calorie counts were clearly posted.

    I was fine with that.

    They provided information that people had asked for so they could make appropriate choices for themselves.

    If people are making choices that lead to weight gain despite having nutritional facts right in front of them, who's responsible?

    The consumer and no one else.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    YES!! The Five Guys website's listing for fries INCLUDES the "extra" fries they give. I can't remember where I saw that, but it was an official statement from Five Guys. Eat away and ENJOY THOSE DELICIOUS FRIES!!!
    That's corporate responsibility. The companies don't have any legal obligation to post nutritional info at all, so I'm just glad when they do. But if it's going to be 70% off, I'd rather they didn't.

    I see companies that will have a column for "Number of Servings" and it's "2", for something like an entree salad off the menu. Pita Jungle springs to mind. So if you don't really scan the whole table, you might think the calories, etc. were half what they really are. But at least the data is (presumably) accurate, if somewhat disingenuously presented.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    I went to Chipotle and they only gave me half a spoon of rice, now all of their calorie counts are off.

    This isn't fair!!!! This could be up to a 70% difference!!!
  • Soooo...ask for no rice and add 25% cals to be safe....?
  • Joannah700
    Joannah700 Posts: 2,665 Member
    664046_zpsb23cdcbf.jpg

    Edited because I have issues posting pictures.

    Screw the burrito bowl, get a quesaritto and be happy.

    That is amazing! I just sent that picture to all of my sisters.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    Meh...my lunch is typically around 600 - 800 calories...that has nothing to do with the actual nutritional content and whether or not it's healthy.

    also, anyone who is surprised about a restaurant serving and calorie content in restaurant food is just oblivious....I'm always surprised that people are surprised...it's a bit ridiculous...
    How do you know your lunch there is 600-800 calories? From the info they gave you? You're not surprised to hear it's probably more like 1400?

    I'm not expecting restaurant N.I. to be dead-on. But it's normal to expect it to not be 70% off.

    How do you know it's 70% off and not 10% or 20%? Have you taken it home and weighed it? How did you separate the cheese from the rice and meat? What's the secret to isolating the guacamole from the sour cream? Last time I tried this, the tomatoes got mixed in with the salsa and I had hard time getting the weights right; what was your solution?
    No, that's my point. You can't really estimate it well yourself, you need to trust the company to give you semi-accurate info.

    People who did weigh it (see first post) found 70% difference. Does anyone read the thread before jumping in? :ohwell:

    The last time this came up was because an employee said they're trained to double the rice that's listed as a portion in the N.I.

    Yeah, I'm at work, so I can't view streaming media. Haven't seen the video. But here's my thing. If they're just weighing the end result, how do they know the ratios of the overserving and why would that have you (or the OP in this case) clutching at pearls and ranting about how horrible it is without knowing where they are off? Gross weight won't tell you if an 800 calorie count should really be 1400 unless you know the weight of the individual items.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    I went to Chipotle and they only gave me half a spoon of rice, now all of their calorie counts are off.

    This isn't fair!!!! This could be up to a 70% difference!!!

    Those sabotaging *kitten*!
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    I went to Chipotle and they only gave me half a spoon of rice, now all of their calorie counts are off.

    This isn't fair!!!! This could be up to a 70% difference!!!

    LOL. 70 percent as a regular occurrence is B.S. If you get a rice bowl with just chicken, rice and salsa, the menu says that it's 385 calories. If you add the extra serving of rice that, apparently, Chipotle is forcing upon it's customers, that's only a 48% increase. If you get a burrito the same way, it's 685. Assuming they lose this rice rule and the burrito remains at 685, then the burrito has 17% more calories than the rice bowl with extra rice.

    Either way, the rice bowl made this way is 570 calories, which is still pretty good for such a filling meal. The only way to get to near 70% is to inflate this number by 20% for precaution, you are 68% difference from the menu for 114 calories. But this number would still be off because we've already accounted for the extra rice and I doubt they are inflating expensive meat that way.

    Of course, all if this can be avoided if you are clear about what you want (i.e. one scoop of rice, no rice).
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    I had Chipotle today, and the barista did not scoop accurately - this is why I keep coming back!
  • Whalers81
    Whalers81 Posts: 14 Member
    The Chipotle by my office is cheap... they definitely stick to the servings sizes they are supposed to, if not less. I always get burrito bowls and sometimes when you pick it up, it feels like there is hardly anything in there. (I usually just get rice, beans, fajita veggies and a protein...salsa on the side.)

    I have been to other Chipotles where they load it up way more.

    If I am logging calories I am eating out, I will always add on extras to account for the inconsistent portion sizes. I rather overestimate my calories for the day than underestimate.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    hmmmm... i am ok with chipotle, last time i went there i didnt weigh but entered each ingredient of the burrito bowl individually. it came to around 750 but i didnt finish the whole thing so spent 600. i have been doing this long enough to know what a half cup looks like. i am not a huge chipotle fan but if i go back sometime, i will probably order more chicken, no rice, half black beans, no sour cream, and a pile of guac and pico.

    no point to this post except that i wanted to talk about food. because food. and i always wish my bowls had more chicken and less non-chicken.

    now, i just had this burrito from my favorite local taco truck. and i would eat it no matter how many calories. lenny is like a burrito master. and i never ask him to change a thing.
  • leannems
    leannems Posts: 516 Member
    The same can be said for pretty much any restaurant, fast food place, bar etc. I really wouldn't be overly worried about it. On days when I decide to have something like chipotle I just cut my other cals down a bit to make up for it. As you can see by my ticker, it has not hindered the weight loss :]

    This all day. No calorie counts are accurate unless you're personally weighing and measuring, and even then they can be off.
  • bb_lose_weight
    bb_lose_weight Posts: 103 Member
    QUOTE:

    rofl. Some maroon actually does that?!


    ...

    2. "What a maroon." -- Bugs Bunny

    When I read maroon I hear it in a Bugs Bunny Voice!!!!
  • hmmmm... i am ok with chipotle, last time i went there i didnt weigh but entered each ingredient of the burrito bowl individually. it came to around 750 but i didnt finish the whole thing so spent 600. i have been doing this long enough to know what a half cup looks like.
    That sounds like common sense. Pffft. Nobody here is interested in common sense.
  • sherambler
    sherambler Posts: 303 Member
    I didn't think the original post was at all bashing restaurant goers or even implying that restuarants are required to think of the consumer when designing menus or portioning servings. I took it as a very "buyer beware" type of post. I thought of it as merely providing information and trying to raise awareness about the accuracy of calorie counting and relying on pre-supplied information.

    It might be hard to imagine, but some people are new to this whole losing weight and calorie counting thing. Isn't the point of these forums to spread/discuss information and ideas while supporting one another? Someone learned something new and we're going to shame or insult them for that because it wasn't 100% accurate or should've been something they already knew just because you did?
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    I didn't think the original post was at all bashing restaurant goers or even implying that restuarants are required to think of the consumer when designing menus or portioning servings. I took it as a very "buyer beware" type of post. I thought of it as merely providing information and trying to raise awareness about the accuracy of calorie counting and relying on pre-supplied information.

    It might be hard to imagine, but some people are new to this whole losing weight and calorie counting thing. Isn't the point of these forums to spread/discuss information and ideas while supporting one another? Someone learned something new and we're going to shame or insult them for that because it wasn't 100% accurate or should've been something they already knew just because you did?

    i did find the suggestion to double the calories a bit of hyperbole. that is pretty extreme, a heaping spoon does not a whole bowl make.although well intentioned the post in itself may be misleading.