Have Restaurants Gone Mad???
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It's truly insane. I One of my favorite places to go to is Olive Garden. Just for fun the other day I did an entry to see how many calories I would eat when I would go there. Each breadstick at olive garden is 150 calories. I would typically type them in alfredo sauce, have HALF the size of the chicken alfredo pizza, some salad, maybe a couple shirley temples and maybe a black tie moose cake. That is close to 3,000 calories in one sitting. Even w/o the black tie moose cake, it is still over 2000 calories!
MFP says I should eat 1200. So, w/ all the food from the other meals from the day - i probably ate around 4,000-4,500 calories on days when I would go to OG. Which wasn't much, but that is still SO many calories to consume in one day!0 -
Was going to reply to an earlier post, decided against it. Not worth the trouble.0
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and youknow, you can only order a HALF order before 4 pm.
o.O because automatically at 4 you MUST need more food right? lol When I used to eat out I loved the half order option. My parents used to go out to Max& Erma's, which I haven't seen mentioned so I don't know how far reached it is, but she used to get this salad called a hula bowl and they offered half options. Some place's salads are so huge now they are practically a meal of their own. One thing I definitely love about Japan is the smaller portions. Smaller portions and I still walk away feeling full and I stay that way.0 -
Just because someone is too lazy to google restaurants in their area doesn't mean they don't exist.
:laugh:
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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Oh this made me laugh so hard! The mere fact that I would have to google shows they are not easy to find! Forget about actually using my legs to walk around to find somewhere....that's too lazy though right? Oh too funny! By the way, I have travelled to many many countries and not only use google, but also buy books before I go somewhere and visit local tourist informations. I love experiencing different cultures and go abroad for just that. I am not a 'pool' person and 99% of the time actually loose weight when I go abroad for the amount of walking we do. This was only my experience and we stayed in Oregon. I have as a child visited plenty of other places in the states and I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places to eat, however our personal experience was that even sit down places seemed to be exceptionally quick with the food, and once we were finished we felt rushed to leave. I've not said this to offend anyone; here in the UK there aren't many places that offer live entertainment whilst you eat, (which i love!) and that is something you can find almost everywhere else...not necessarily a bad thing, just a different experience.....0 -
:explode: i was thinking the same thing! before i started dieting, i'd get a ranch BLT from arby's...................now that i know it's 900 calories, i AM NOT gonna eat that anymore! it's completely insane!!!!!!!!!! whenever i eat out at mcdonalds, it's always a mcchicken or a salad. i was so upset to find out that dairy queen's food has so many calories in it.
it TICKS me off!!! :mad:
i'm staying away from resturants as much as possible. :bigsmile:0 -
Just because someone is too lazy to google restaurants in their area doesn't mean they don't exist.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Oh this made me laugh so hard! The mere fact that I would have to google shows they are not easy to find! Forget about actually using my legs to walk around to find somewhere....that's too lazy though right? Oh too funny! By the way, I have travelled to many many countries and not only use google, but also buy books before I go somewhere and visit local tourist informations. I love experiencing different cultures and go abroad for just that. I am not a 'pool' person and 99% of the time actually loose weight when I go abroad for the amount of walking we do. This was only my experience and we stayed in Oregon. I have as a child visited plenty of other places in the states and I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places to eat, however our personal experience was that even sit down places seemed to be exceptionally quick with the food, and once we were finished we felt rushed to leave. I've not said this to offend anyone; here in the UK there aren't many places that offer live entertainment whilst you eat, (which i love!) and that is something you can find almost everywhere else...not necessarily a bad thing, just a different experience.....
You do realize the US isn't laid out like most European and Asian cities, right? I live a 45 minute drive from downtown Phoenix. I'm not about to walk there.
Also, how are you supposed to find restaurants, as a tourist, in a new city, especially one that is sprawled out like ours are? Often there's no such thing as a "main street" and restaurants are nestled everywhere within a few-mile radius. Are you going to hoof it for a few hours to find a nice spot for lunch? I never said you HAVE to google. But I would certainly do MY research before visiting a new country. Hell, before visiting a new CITY in my same STATE! 0 -
I posted almost this exact thing a while back. I now have the answer.
1. Order what you want (whatever you want.)
2. ask for a to go box with your food
3. put half to 2/3 of the meal in the to go box.
4. enjoy
and you don't have to deprive yourself of anything AND you have for for the next day.0 -
I posted almost this exact thing a while back. I now have the answer.
1. Order what you want (whatever you want.)
2. ask for a to go box with your food
3. put half to 2/3 of the meal in the to go box.
4. enjoy
and you don't have to deprive yourself of anything AND you have for for the next day.
But if I do that, how can I be mad at the big bad corporation that keeps force-feeding me chicken nuggets?! :sad:0 -
I posted almost this exact thing a while back. I now have the answer.
1. Order what you want (whatever you want.)
2. ask for a to go box with your food
3. put half to 2/3 of the meal in the to go box.
4. enjoy
and you don't have to deprive yourself of anything AND you have for for the next day.
This! I do the same thing. Get the food off your plate and in the box ASAP. Considering the prices most places charge these days, I love having 2 or even 3 meals for what I've spent.
Yeah, to keep calories reasonable, you do have to make some good choices, too. A super-rich, calorie-dense food option might mean you're only getting a few bites so make the best choice you can, bag it up to take home, and enjoy what you've left on your plate.
Also, I am a sucker for good bread and can easily gorge on it so I ask them to remove it from the table.0 -
I posted almost this exact thing a while back. I now have the answer.
1. Order what you want (whatever you want.)
2. ask for a to go box with your food
3. put half to 2/3 of the meal in the to go box.
4. enjoy
and you don't have to deprive yourself of anything AND you have for for the next day.
That's what my father in law always does. He also brings his bottle of MiO and orders water.0 -
You are right that restaurants do rush you along. People in America tend to want things right away and if they have to wait more than a few minutes, they get upset. I have been to the UK and Europe and things do take on a much more leisurely pace. You can actually sit down and enjoy the company you are with instead of being rushed. You can also enjoy the food served to you instead of scarfing it down just so they have the table available for the next group. It is all about money for the businesses and not about making the customer happy. Greed and gluttony is where it is at these days.Just because someone is too lazy to google restaurants in their area doesn't mean they don't exist.
:laugh:
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Oh this made me laugh so hard! The mere fact that I would have to google shows they are not easy to find! Forget about actually using my legs to walk around to find somewhere....that's too lazy though right? Oh too funny! By the way, I have travelled to many many countries and not only use google, but also buy books before I go somewhere and visit local tourist informations. I love experiencing different cultures and go abroad for just that. I am not a 'pool' person and 99% of the time actually loose weight when I go abroad for the amount of walking we do. This was only my experience and we stayed in Oregon. I have as a child visited plenty of other places in the states and I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places to eat, however our personal experience was that even sit down places seemed to be exceptionally quick with the food, and once we were finished we felt rushed to leave. I've not said this to offend anyone; here in the UK there aren't many places that offer live entertainment whilst you eat, (which i love!) and that is something you can find almost everywhere else...not necessarily a bad thing, just a different experience.....
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Have you checked out the books and website of Eat This Not That? They research the restaurant and choices and grade them on their healthy choices AND their willingness to share their nutritional information. They grade restaurants like Chipotle, Olive Garden, Pizzeria Uno, etc. and then let you know what they would recommend as the healthiest meal at that restaurant. I love the books and there is also a supermarket survival guide showing everything from juices to peanut butters to frozen pizzas. The author is David Dizcenko(?). Great books!!!!!!!!!0
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We have Japanese visitors to work all the time and they are always shocked about the portion sizes. They often take pictures if it's their first time in the States.0
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My husband and I were also quite shocked to see there were no 'real' restaurants, it was all fast food.
What the hell are you talking about?
:huh:
I am an American and unless you live in a large city where there are ethnic areas all of the "restaurants" are chain restaurants and fast food.
I am fortunate to live in the St Louis area and some of the neighborhoods in the city have some fantastic sit down restaurants.0 -
My husband and I were also quite shocked to see there were no 'real' restaurants, it was all fast food.
What the hell are you talking about?
:huh:
That is how you talk to people...really? Depending on where you go in the states its hard to find a real sit-down restaurant. I'm an American. I'm living in Japan. When I went home to visit I realized how few restaurants we had that didn't have a drive through.
and honestly, people who arn't from the states can have a hard time eating there even if they do find a "real" restaurant. You don't need to be rude about it.
BAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHA It didn't take long to get called "rude" tonight! Woot! New record! Gimme an actual break. lol
And this is an asinine response. The day it's hard to find a real restaurant you can say this stuff. But where did you live? Seriously. There are far more sit-down restaurants in the greater Phoenix area than fast food. joints. Same was true when I lived in New York and Michigan. New York City, LA, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans and Miami (and many other US cities) are KNOWN for, among other things, incredible dining. Just because someone is too lazy to google restaurants in their area doesn't mean they don't exist.
:laugh:
Apple Bees, Chili's, TGIFriday's and Ruby Tuesday doesn't count.0 -
My husband and I were also quite shocked to see there were no 'real' restaurants, it was all fast food.
What the hell are you talking about?
:huh:
That is how you talk to people...really? Depending on where you go in the states its hard to find a real sit-down restaurant. I'm an American. I'm living in Japan. When I went home to visit I realized how few restaurants we had that didn't have a drive through.
and honestly, people who arn't from the states can have a hard time eating there even if they do find a "real" restaurant. You don't need to be rude about it.
BAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHA It didn't take long to get called "rude" tonight! Woot! New record! Gimme an actual break. lol
And this is an asinine response. The day it's hard to find a real restaurant you can say this stuff. But where did you live? Seriously. There are far more sit-down restaurants in the greater Phoenix area than fast food. joints. Same was true when I lived in New York and Michigan. New York City, LA, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans and Miami (and many other US cities) are KNOWN for, among other things, incredible dining. Just because someone is too lazy to google restaurants in their area doesn't mean they don't exist.
:laugh:
Apple Bees, Chili's, TGIFriday's and Ruby Tuesday doesn't count.
True, I've read that most people from countries outside the US see all chain places as fast food, not just places that have drive thrus.0 -
Think of it this way, pre-diet/ lifestyle change, if someone mentioned a new healthy restaurant is coming to town, most of us would go out of our way to avoid it. The same thing when you walk into Walmart and look for healthy foods. There isnt a pita or a true whole grain bread in site. This is what our society has done. We want the num nums and we want more. It is sad that we cannot
go to a restaurant without having anxiety over a meal. And I can tell you, from working in a restaurant, those veggies will have some
type of oil, butter, ect on it. They do not go out of their way to cook your food differently, its just a big pain to do it. Sorry, just being honest.0 -
The restaurant business is really tough -- no one is going to stay in business unless they serve people what they want. The crazy thing is that people basically WANT 3000 calorie meals. (Studies show that even when you tell people how many calories are in the meal, they pretty much order the same thing.)
IMHO, restaurants have gotten better about offering at least 1 or 2 healthy choices on their menus. Now if more people would order those, we'd see more choices.0 -
The same thing when you walk into Walmart and look for healthy foods. There isnt a pita or a true whole grain bread in site.
My Wal-Mart definitely has pita, and their produce section (fresh and frozen) is really good. I don't know how to tell a true whole grain bread from a faux whole grain, so I'll take your word on that one. ;-)0 -
Can't just blame it on the restaurants now. Our expectations as consumers drive the portions too, the concept of getting more for your money. If you sat down to dinner at a restaurant and received 4oz of meat, 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of broccoli you'd probably try to figure out where the rest of your meal is.0
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