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Ontario Adds Calories to Restaurant Menus

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  • JohnnyPenso
    JohnnyPenso Posts: 412 Member
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    That explains why those littler calorie cards showed up in the display windows at the local Timmy's recently :) I think it's a good idea all around to give people as much easily accessible information as possible when it comes to health and fitness. Easy to make smarter decisions as you wait in line to choose your item too. I didn't realize the big difference in the common donuts until I saw the calorie cards in the display case. I haven't had one in ages but when I do I'll make a different choice than I normally would have and save myself about 120 calories.
  • mactammonty
    mactammonty Posts: 9 Member
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    I used the calorie list at Coffee Culture last night to stop myself from eating a muffin. 600 calories was just too high. I like it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Went out with friends to Timothy's last week and loved seeing the calories up there! No more guessing about the hot apple cider!
  • GeorgiePie88
    GeorgiePie88 Posts: 54 Member
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    I grew up in Ontario and love this idea. If only they can start doing this in New Zealand as well (which is where I currently live).

    I imagine for single pre-served or pre-made items (like donuts) would be trustworthy, but I would be skeptical for anything else. Even things like french fries or coffee, where there is room for the measurements to vary. How do I know that the server didn't put more fries into the container or milk to my coffee than intended?

    I guess this is where it's a good idea to continue to be mindful of food in restaurants. Even if the restaurant tells you that the plate of pasta is X number of calories, it's wise to continue to be aware of how calorie-laden restaurant food can be and to try not to dine out too much.
  • amarneu
    amarneu Posts: 164 Member
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    I love that this is happening, it has encouraged more of the local mom and pop type restaurants to get on board as well
  • xmarye
    xmarye Posts: 385 Member
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    I wasn't aware of this... YAY ME! At least one good thing about living in Ontario lol.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I just wish my local kosher sushi counter would follow suit. They make a lot of unconventional/non-traditional rolls, many of which contain tempura bits, spicy mayo, and other items that can run up the calories. (I wouldn't be nervous if they just, say, had a cucumber, red pepper, and mango maki roll, since my guesstimate would probably be close. But I can't really eyeball a 'line' of tempura spread out along 8-10 slices.)
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I got a menu at Cheesecake Factory with the calorie values yesterday and loved it. I actually explored the menu more than I normally would have.
    I go out to eat enough times where it would be a detriment to just say screw it. Even if it can be higher, a ballpark is very nice.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    edited February 2017
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    mactammonty wrote: »
    I used the calorie list at Coffee Culture last night to stop myself from eating a muffin. 600 calories was just too high. I like it.

    I am almost convinced that commercial muffins are actually made in reverse centrifuge compressors. There is no reason that something so small should contain so many calories.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    crazyravr wrote: »
    Human error will play a huge roll here.
    Subway sub, lets say 400cal with a table spoon of mayo. Now, ever see a subway employee measure anything with a spoon or a scale? This sub can quickly become a 600cal sub with a simple 3 second squeez of that mayo bottle etc.

    True. However it will still provide a relative ranking of the available choices
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
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    Packerjohn wrote: »
    crazyravr wrote: »
    Human error will play a huge roll here.
    Subway sub, lets say 400cal with a table spoon of mayo. Now, ever see a subway employee measure anything with a spoon or a scale? This sub can quickly become a 600cal sub with a simple 3 second squeez of that mayo bottle etc.

    True. However it will still provide a relative ranking of the available choices

    And if you're that concerned about the higher calorie items being left up to human error, which will happen no matter how well trained, skip it. Problem solved.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I appreciate it now because when new foods come out, the nutritional info isn't on the website, but the calorie number on the case is at least something to go on.
  • EricaCraigie
    EricaCraigie Posts: 1,396 Member
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    Yes a good idea! Will make some people think twice about items they assumed to be healthy but aren't. Went to Tim Hortons the other day and was surprised to see it (as I don't go to fast food)
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    EricaCraigie wrote: »
    Yes a good idea! Will make some people think twice about items they assumed to be healthy but aren't. Went to Tim Hortons the other day and was surprised to see it (as I don't go to fast food)

    Yep. Some foods aren't as terribly high-calorie as I thought. And then there's Timothy's red velvet cake at 995 per slice. (And yes, it's about twice the size of a slice I'd cut if it were my cake, but if it were my cake it probably wouldn't have inch-thick frosting, etc.)
  • RaenaLynn
    RaenaLynn Posts: 87 Member
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    Went out to dinner last night to find they had cals on the menu. Wish I had known. Would have saved me time from prelogging the night before. I wish all restaurants did this. Would make eating out world's easier.

    I do try to overestimate what cals I eat at a restaurant so I don't bust my calories. I quick add anywhere from 20% to 30% of the meal's total calories to try and account for variables like extra cooking oil, those things. :smiley:
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    I love the idea.
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
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    I hate this idea...I'm still going to eat the food, I just don't want to feel guilty about it when I go for a second order.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    They have that in a lot of chain places here (Chicago), so much that I just expect it, there might as well be a law. (And isn't the US one in effect or soon to be?)

    I like it, but I don't think it makes a difference except for those of us who pay attention anyway.

    Precisely.

    It's nice, but I'll still go to restaurants that don't have it - since the one-off places are often some of the best.

    I wouldn't expect it to make much difference to the general population. At least, not alone. Perhaps combined with other nutrition education efforts it might help. There was a study done when McD's initially put calories on their menu showing no significant difference in patterns of ordering before or after.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    Shawshankcan wrote: »
    I hate this idea...I'm still going to eat the food, I just don't want to feel guilty about it when I go for a second order.

    it puts things into perspective for a lot of people who are obese and "don't eat that much" thinking they have some metabolic disorder or are in starvation mode. Sure you only ate a poutine and dinner, the Poutine set you back 1350... maybe people will be a little more aware now.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    stealthq wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    They have that in a lot of chain places here (Chicago), so much that I just expect it, there might as well be a law. (And isn't the US one in effect or soon to be?)

    I like it, but I don't think it makes a difference except for those of us who pay attention anyway.

    Precisely.

    It's nice, but I'll still go to restaurants that don't have it - since the one-off places are often some of the best.

    I wouldn't expect it to make much difference to the general population. At least, not alone. Perhaps combined with other nutrition education efforts it might help. There was a study done when McD's initially put calories on their menu showing no significant difference in patterns of ordering before or after.

    I mostly don't go to restaurants with it either. If I'm going out to eat it's rare I am going to a chain place with all the great local places here. Where it's helpful is if you need to grab a quick lunch and are out or don't have food with you or are with people for work (but it's not a nicer sit down kind of thing). Something like Pret or various other chains are great with the calories AND some good options.

    And that's where I think it might actually have a more significant effect. I know from past experience that it's easy to just not look is you aren't counting calories (or not really have a good sense what it means), but I think when you have to list calories places have more pressure/incentive to have at least some stuff that has reasonable calorie counts, since they know SOME people will care.

    Will that help with obesity overall? Probably not, but it's selfishly better for those of us who care, again. ;-)

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