Counting calories

[Skammer]

Okay, I'm trying to make better eating decisions, even when my schedule forces me to rely on takeout.

We went to Wendy's today, and to play it safe I got a salad. More specifically the Chicken BLT salad (as served, no special order*).

When I got home I looked up the nutritional information on the website.

790 calories. 53 grams of fat. :eek:

You know what I could have had instead?
A Jr. Double Cheeseburger Deluxe and Value-size fries (600 cal, 30g fat) or a Baconator Double with Cheese (750 cal, 42g fat). In fact, almost anything else this side of a triple cheeseburger with bacon would have been healthier than my salad.

*If you toss the croutons, substitue grilled chicken for the "Homestyle" (fried) chicken, and ask for fat-free French dressing if you location offers it, it brings you down to 420 cal, 18g fat. Now they tell me :smack:

[Anne Neville]

I've heard good things about Eat This, Not That for this kind of decision-making. I'm planning to get the Supermarket Survival Guide and Cook This, Not That soon. I don't eat at chain restaurants much, so the restaurant guide wouldn't help me so much.

[akennett]

My main rules for eating fast food on a diet:

1) Forget the salads. They are usually laden with croutons, cheese, and high-cal meats (like fried chicken).
2) Forget about the "signature" sandwiches -- the Big Mac, the Whopper, etc. Instead, get a hamburger/cheeseburger or a small chicken sandwich.
3) Get the smallest sized fries. It's usually enough to satisfy the salty/greasy craving, and it saves a butt-load of calories.

For instance, if we are on the road and hit McDonald's, I get a cheeseburger, small fry, and a large diet (no ice). It can cost as little as $3 (when they're doing any drink for $1 deals) and runs 530 calories (10 fewer than the Bic Mac alone).

[Sattua]

In every situation that makes it possible, find out nutrition information for food before you eat it. I learned that one pretty quick.

[Athena]

Go with your gut on what's healthy - smaller is better than larger, plainer (as in, a ham sandwich from a grocery store deli) is better than just about anything from a fast food restaurant.

And for what it's worth, I wouldn't believe the nutrition info from fast food companies anyway. I think they lie in order to make their food look more healthy than it is - there's very little regulation of nutrition information. I've figured this out over the past year, since I've become diabetic and need to count carbs to dose insulin correctly. I don't eat a lot of fast food, but on occasion I've had to. Every single time I dose based on published carb counts, I'm massively off. The first few times this happened, I assumed that maybe they laid on the ketchup with a heavy hand, or I got a double order of something. But time and time again, I eat fast food, I dose according to their carb counts, and my blood sugar tells me a few hours later that I underestimated by 10-25%.

It very rarely happens like that with anything else - just fast food.

They lie.

[runner pat]

I've heard good things about Eat This, Not That for this kind of decision-making. I'm planning to get the Supermarket Survival Guide and Cook This, Not That soon. I don't eat at chain restaurants much, so the restaurant guide wouldn't help me so much.

I like that book. I seldom eat fast foods and that book gives me ideas of what to order.:D

[Hadrian's Wall]

Moderation. It's okay to indulge once in a while. By while, I mean not everyday.
Therefore, I moderate everything. Including moderation.

[Anne Neville]

Go with your gut on what's healthy - smaller is better than larger, plainer (as in, a ham sandwich from a grocery store deli) is better than just about anything from a fast food restaurant.

But your gut would probably tell you that a salad is healthy and low in calories, and it turned out that this one wasn't.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

In every situation that makes it possible, find out nutrition information for food before you eat it. I learned that one pretty quick.

Definitely a good idea. You can find decent stuff at a fast food place if you look, but it's not always what you expect it to be.

I always get the small chili & a baked potato at Wendy's - pour the chili on the potato! It's good stuff, and actually much lower in calories than you would expect.

[Athena]

But your gut would probably tell you that a salad is healthy and low in calories, and it turned out that this one wasn't.

Salad? Sure, it's healthy and low in calories.

Chicken BLT Salad? My gut is smarter than that. Fried chicken and bacon on top of lettuce is no more healthy than fried chicken and bacon without the lettuce.

[Skammer]

Salad? Sure, it's healthy and low in calories.

Chicken BLT Salad? My gut is smarter than that. Fried chicken and bacon on top of lettuce is no more healthy than fried chicken and bacon without the lettuce.
In my own defense, I didn't realize it was fried chicken until it was on my plate. Of course I ate it anyway.

[stpauler]

My SO and I have, or had, a ritual routine of Chipotle on Saturday nights. He would get off of work, pick it up, and bring it home. The ingredients were all so fresh and tasty and didn't seem very fatty either. So a couple weeks ago, I checked the calorie count of our order which included a bag of chips and a soda. The total: 1800 calories. Each. The next morning, we went out to Perkins and got steak and eggs which was about 1900 calories. We had no idea, which is kind of ignorant and sad to admit to, but that's what it was.

[Markxxx]

It's like the poor potato. On it's own a potato. A medium potato has between 100 - 150 calories.

Not bad really. But who wants to eat a plain old potato? It's all the butter, cheese, bacon and all those delicious things one adds to make the potato taste better that gives the potato a bad rep

[aruvqan]

It's like the poor potato. On it's own a potato. A medium potato has between 100 - 150 calories.

Not bad really. But who wants to eat a plain old potato? It's all the butter, cheese, bacon and all those delicious things one adds to make the potato taste better that gives the potato a bad rep

it doesnt have to be , some garlic and herbs sauteed in olive oil and then a sprinkle of sea salt... nummy

[Cat Whisperer]

Calorie counting has been eye-opening for me. One thing that is a fairly steady rule of thumb is if you make it from scratch, you can eat as much as you want (within reason) without going over your calories for the day. Homemade chicken, potatoes, and veggies aren't going anywhere near what that meal will cost you calorie-wise at a restaurant.

[Mahna Mahna]

A few years back, I started keeping an food diary on an online site, which helped me wrap my head around which foods I could eat lots of without racking up the calories, and which foods would take up a whole day's allowance in a single meal. After a while, it pretty much became second nature. It works, as long as you try to avoid the slippery slope with treats.

Of course, I've been slacking for the past year or so, and my activity level is way down compared to what it was when I last kept a diary... and I've put on nearly 10 lbs as a consequence. So now I'm back to tracking everything that goes into my mouth until I can kick the bad habits I picked up.

If you have a smartphone, there are some really great apps on the market (including a couple of free ones) that are useful for checking meals on the fly. I'm using LoseIt on my iPhone right now, and I'm quite happy with it so far.

Oh, and BTW... fast food salads are always a sucker bet. The fat content in the dressings alone is criminal, and they're always adding stuff like deep-fried chicken or croutons for extra badness. I've found the salads at Subway are pretty decent, tho.

[Renee]

Back when I used to eat fast food occasionally, I'd usually get a kids meal with water if I needed to eat out. It's still plenty of food, cheaper, and much smaller portion sizes.

[Sticks and Scones]

I'll second Mahna Mahna and say that calorie counting apps are awesome. I use the app from livestrong.com and their Daily Plate feature. It's extremely helpful.

I'll also admit that I eat huge amounts of fast food since I'm on the road so much, but I've actually lost over 70lbs (and still losing) because the key for me is that each fast food item is portion controlled. Leave me alone with homemade goodies and I won't fare so well. Actually, once I really get into the zone, I'm reluctant to eat anything if I don't know how many calories are in it. This is a good thing because it leaves out many exotic desserts and other lovely temptations.

ETA: What Renee said, most of the time I get a Happy Meal. Decent sized portions at a decent price. And my assistant's kids get the prizes. :)

[lezlers]

I count calories on an online site and live by the "eat this, not that" books. They're great. Fast food salads and resturant salads are a big no no. Usually you're safer eating a burger and fries! Some quick ways to cut calories:

Always grilled, never fried.

Always ask to skip the cheese and mayo.

Order small size everything

On the very rare occasion I have a McDonalds craving I cannot shake, I'll get a grilled chicken sandwich, no cheese, bbq sauce instead of mayo and a small fry. Round 500 odd calories and VERY filling.

Subway is great if you want fast food and you're counting calories. They have a specific menu for items under I think, 400 calories. Makes ordering really easy. Get a low cal sandwich and a side salad and you're good to go.

Another place you wouldn't expect? Panda Express. If you get a side of veggies instead of chow mein and rice and two of their low calorie options (beef and broccoli and string bean chicken for example) you'll get out of there for less than 500 calories.

Eating out is always risky when you're counting calories. But if you just don't eat anything out that you wouldn't eat at home (for example, no cheesy, bacon laden meals) you shouldn't do too much harm.

[Cat Whisperer]

Some people have mentioned a good idea for eating out just eating regular food too - get a regular dinner and just eat half of it and take the other half home. This is especially useful at places that serve two pounds of food for one dinner.

[Hazle Weatherfield]

Also, always order any sauces/dressings on the side.

A baked potato is awesome drenched in salsa...very few calories! Or with broccoli and just a LITTLE bit of cheese. Or a butter substitute....

[Lynn Bodoni]

Get the smallest sized fries. It's usually enough to satisfy the salty/greasy craving, and it saves a butt-load of calories. My husband and I have learned that we are happy with the smallest size of fries...and we split it. Each of us could probably eat a medium or larger order by ourselves, but we've learned that we're actually satisfied with the half order of small. We just have a hard time resisting fries (and other foods) if they're actually on our plate, or otherwise available.

One trick we've learned is to split a dinner, or one of us gets a senior dinner (if we think we can get away with it) and one gets a light meal, and then we swap food around so that both of us get a little taste of everything. We can do this and be satisfied. Neither of us needs to eat until we can't eat any more. This was particularly hard for my husband to learn, as he was a stereotypical teenage boy with the notorious hollow leg, not just in his teens, but well into his twenties. He was very skinny for a couple of decades, until his metabolism slowed and he kept eating like a lumberjack.

[Skammer]

Subway is my usual go-to: turkey sub, no cheese, mustard no mayo, vinegar no oil, loaded with veggies. Add baked chips and water or a diet soday. Now i'm hungry...

[YogSosoth]

Yeah, don't ever trust fast food salads unless you plan on eating it plain with no dressing

[Ann Onimous]

We always have a copy of the Calorie King Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter (http://www.calorieking.com/store/product/119-2010-calorieking-calorie-fat-and-carbohydrate-counter) with us. It has a large restaurant section in it. I'm counting calories, and our daughter uses carbs for her insulin dosages, so this book works for both of us. It's small and portable, too!

I always plan what I'm going to eat beforehand and stick with it. If we end up at a fast food joint, I'll get a kid's meal. Sonic is my favorite: I can get a burger, milk and a banana instead of a soda and fries. I also log my food on SparkPeople (http://www.sparkpeople.com) so I can visually see what I'm eating and how many calories, how much fat, etc., it has.

At home, I'll do a lot of different things. Last night, the family had burgers and fries. I had a turkey burger and green beans. The meal had the same feel overall as what everyone else was having, but my turkey burgers were half the calories of their hamburgers. And, of course, the calorie difference between green beans and fries is huge.

[friedo]

I'm lucky in that I enjoy a good salad with no dressing, which automatically cuts out the bulk of the calories. Wendy's has an excellent grilled chicken caesar salad, which is less than 300 calories without dressing and is very filling.

I've also learned to live without french fries. Sigh.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

I've also learned to live without french fries. Sigh.

I've actually learned I like oven fries better than the real thing. And sweet potato oven fries!

I always use dressing, but I've learned that I don't need nearly as much as I think I do.

[Mahna Mahna]

You don't necessarily need to live without dressing, BTW. Dressing is good. It makes the salad taste yummy.

The problem is that most restaurants drench the poor salad in way more dressing than it needs, and have a distinct preference for rich, creamy, fat-laden dressings as opposed to lighter vinaigrettes.

However, when it comes to those rich, creamy dressings, just ask for it on the side. Then, dip your fork into the dressing before grabbing each forkful of salad... that way, you get just enough dressing on each bite to get the yummy creamy delicious flavour, but not all the calories.

Diets should never be about cutting something completely out of your life because it's fattening. It should be about eating less of it, instead.

[Taber]

My SO and I have, or had, a ritual routine of Chipotle on Saturday nights. He would get off of work, pick it up, and bring it home. The ingredients were all so fresh and tasty and didn't seem very fatty either. So a couple weeks ago, I checked the calorie count of our order which included a bag of chips and a soda. The total: 1800 calories. Each. The next morning, we went out to Perkins and got steak and eggs which was about 1900 calories. We had no idea, which is kind of ignorant and sad to admit to, but that's what it was.

Chipotle can vary widely based on how you order it. If you get the bowl, and forgo the sour cream and cheese, it's not too bad. But the chips and tortilla are killer. The tortilla is 300 calories and the chips are 570. My entire burrito is only 625, and I get double meat, and don't forgo the cheese. Of course, that assumes the online calculator is accurate, and chipotle is very variable as to how much you get.

My story, which I'm sure I've told on here before is about Carl's jr's grilled chicken burrito. Sounds like it's much healthier than, say, a carne asada burrito, right? Wrong. The grilled chicken burrito is 1070 calories, about half from fat. The carne asada burrito is "only" 680. It's still a little below half fat, but half of 680 is better than half of 1070.

[BetsQ]

I always get a salad when I go to Wendy's, but it's the side salad. According to their website, it's 130 calories with the dressing and I never use more than half the dressing. With the sour cream and chives potato and a Diet Coke, you're looking at 450 calories, including dressing and sour cream.

To me, that's a pretty satisfying lunch, but I generally order those items because I'm a vegetarian rather than a calorie-counter.

[Athena]

Diets should never be about cutting something completely out of your life because it's fattening. It should be about eating less of it, instead.

No kidding!

Everyone is different, but I know I spent most of my 20s trying to teach myself not to want salad dressing, desserts and all that other "forbidden" kind of food. It never worked; I wanted my food to taste like something!

I have MUCH better luck cutting out the stuff that is truly just not worth it because it's not that good, cutting portion sizes - but not eliminating - the stuff that *is* worth it, and doubling up on the stuff that's REALLY worth it.

For example:

Eliminating: Chips and other salty snacks are not really my favorite things to eat, but if they're in the house, I'll eat 'em. Same with most packaged cookies. Those were eliminated, I simply don't buy them, and when they're not in my kitchen, looking at me, I don't have any issues not eating them.

Cutting portion sizes: Homemade cookies and really good chocolate, on the other hand, ARE worth it to me. So I make homemade cookies, make them small, and freeze them. I'll have one every day or two, with lunch. Chocolate? I'll buy the best chocolates I can find, and have one a day. And it's either the cookie OR the chocolate, not both!

Doubling up: I looooove chef's salads that I made myself - start with a bed of good lettuce, add lots of bell peppers, cukes, tomatoes, and whatever other fresh veggies I have in the fridge. Top with sliced deli meat or chicken breasts that I've cooked myself, and a bit of cheese, avocado sometimes, a hard boiled egg, and (my fav) pickled beets that my Mom makes. Have a reasonable amount of dressing with it. This is so good that I look forward to it, and it's incredibly healthy. I eat a giant one of these for dinner at least once a week.