Do you think knowing the calories of the meals served in restaurants would affect your choices? This knowledge certainly effected my choice at lunch today.
I haven’t been making very healthy food choices lately. Let me restate that. I have been making healthy food choices lately, for the most part, but the amounts I’ve chosen to eat are not healthy. I know this. This is not a surprise.
We have decreased the number of times we eat out in a week during the last couple of months. This week, we are on vacation. We are going to be eating out several times a day. Most of the first few (and last few) days of our vacation will be in the car, meaning limited physical activity.
When we stopped at a Denny’s, we were delighted to see the calorie estimates of each meal right there on the menu. I saw several sandwiches that I knew I would enjoy, and then I saw the calorie counts. OMG! Most of those delicious sandwiches contain a full day’s calorie requirement for me. Some of those sandwiches contained a full day’s calorie requirement for my husband! That is not including drinks!
The meal I was hoping to get was equally as calorie rich. I finally decided on an omelet and a bowl of fruit. The calorie count was about what I thought I should have for a meal. With that experience fresh in my mind, we shared one dinner.
I don’t want to blame others for my bad choices, but after this experience, I feel a tiny bit less guilty. In an effort to make us feel like we are getting our moneys worth, portions have expanded as well as prices. The more we eat out, the more we think these inflated portions are normal.
Food television shows teach us the tricks of adding butter or oil to cause the flavor to linger on the tongue, and add salt and other flavor enhancers just like restaurants do. Our home cooking gets more like restaurant cooking, and also increases the calories in our home cooking. This is how we have learned our food is supposed to taste.
At dinner, our shared dinner, we had green beans. How much bacon, and bacon grease, should be in green beans? Our corn, contained cheese and butter. Delicious? Yes! Healthy? Only if you can stick to eating a very small portions of each.
My big problem with healthy eating, is that I feel constantly deprived. The problem is eating plain vegatables, eating small amounts of baked or broiled, with no extra fat, salads with only vinigar and none of those extras, while those around you seem to be eating everything. Losing weight requires even more sacrifice.
Feel quilt? Not one tiny bit! I feel set up.
April's Perspective 
Exercise, small portions, and snacks work for me. I always have a little of what I love to eat.
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If it is so simple, why do we have an out of control weight epidemic with all the associated health problems.
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Because Americans eat way too much. I am English and cook 6 days a week. I cook chicken or fish, 6-8 vegetables, and a starch. Always make enough for several days, and freeze the rest. My husband is 6 ft and weighs 157 pounds, and I am 5.6 and weigh 109 pounds.
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You obviously have found the golden key. I swing from one end to the other. I am old enough to know better. But try try again.
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I am 68 and the fittest I have ever been.
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I’m pretty good at controlling what I eat but I have to say, I hate calorie counting on menus. It really ruins the dining experience for those of us who don’t eat out often.
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Looking at your picture, I’d say you don’t have to worry about it to much, especially if eating out is an occasional thing. If I want it, I’ll eat it anyway, but I do consider it helpful. I bet the fine restaurants skip that part unless specifically asked.
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Fine restaurants? You mean like Cheesecake Factory? ha, ha!
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So good that you are making healthy choices and acknowledging the high calories in restaurant food. Sharing a meal is a great idea! Once I started figuring weight watchers points for meals out, I realized just how detrimental that food is! When I’m hungry, I really don’t care what I eat, so my diner choices are breakfast: egg whites, english muffin and fruit (maybe steamed veggies if dinnertime). Egg whites and fruit are zero ww points, the muffin is 4. Best deal ever and probably cheapest. Good luck and don’t give up!
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Plus you are every active. I was doing well until my hang gliding accident. Don’t really think that is a valid excuse after a couple of years, but its all I’ve got!
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Good heavens, hang gliding?? Do tell!
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It’s embarrassing. I was flying, with my my instructor running along yelling instructions, and we were going right toward a big sand dune and I froze. Crash. Look at this. https://aprilesutton.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/feats-of-daring/
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Portions have become ridiculously huge. In the 1980s, we began to shun fats and load up on carbs (which was dumb, but “the govt” told us to). Consequently, we began consuming giant bagels, huge plates of pasta, etc. We were never satisfied because we weren’t eating right. But even when we returned to eating fats, the habit of “big food” remained, and people demand it. We want portions to cover our plates. We want leftovers. Or we think maybe we didn’t get our money’s worth. It’s just crazy! And taking a walk is never going to make up for eating a thousand plus extra calories every day. You’re on the right track with portion control.
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Until my friends bring out the truffles! Then all good intentions go out the window. They say listen to your body. My body doesn’t know what it is doing. Controlling portions is a step in the correct direction.
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