Calorie Counts at Restaurants Count
Tuesday July 7, 2009
In New York City, we see the amount of calories posted on all menu items in restaurants. How about 1,440 calories for the Quesidilla Burger at Applebee's? Or would you like 1,570 calories in the guise of the Fried...
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About Dr. Norris Chumley Satisfied Life
Dr. Norris J. Chumley is a doctor of theology and the arts, and has lost 160 pounds and maintained it over 16 years with God's help. The author/host of "The Joy of Weight Loss: a Spiritual Guide to Easy Fitness," and many TV programs and DVD's, including "Spiritual Guide to Weight Loss" and "30 Days to Spiritual Well Being," Dr. Norris also does private consultations, leads workshops and lectures nationally. He has been a featured Beliefnet daily columnist and contributing editor for many years.
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"No single approach to weight loss works for everyone. We urge you to consult with your physician before making any significant changes in your eating habits or physical activities to ensure that what you propose for yourself is nutritionally, mentally and physically sound, safe, and healthy. Copyright © 2008, by Magnetic Arts, LLC, all rights reserved."
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I definitely believe that if I knew how many calories I was actually taking in at restaurants, it would make me think twice!! Absolutely. I'm blown away by the three examples you gave above (extremely saddened by the amout of calories in the "fried mac & cheese" lol). I think that it's very helpful when you're trying to watch your weight, but still want to be able to enjoy eating out...
i think its a great idea to do this since i ate a unhealthy diet i grew up in the south where fried foods is a staple of your diet but since i had my heart attack on may 18th of this year it was a wake up call i eat very health now and i have lost 20 pounds since my heart attack
I'd rather not see the government intruding even furhter into our lives, even if it is supposed to be for our own good. I'd much rather see restaurants provide the information as a selling point. At least the ones offering food that is compatible with people who are on weight loss programs of one kind or another. But if we decide we just need the government to come in and legislate such things as posting nutritional data, then let's at least include a sunset clause in the legislation. After a year or two of forced compliance, we can see if the law made any difference and by then, it may well be something that health oriented restaurants would voluntarily do to better serve their patrons and attract more business.
For my part, I know that most restaurant food is going to be loaded with calories and salt compared to what I eat at home. I don't need a nutritional chart to tell me and I'm not sure I would care, anyway. I will eat what sounds good to me and I will try to limit it to a resonable portion and box the rest up for another meal at home some day.
I think calorie counts on menus would be fabulous! Think of how many items on restaurant menus would change when no one orders a certain thing because it has way too many calories!! It could possibly change our fat "little" world for the good.
Posting the nutritioal value of foods ordered would make life alot easier for those who health issues.
I am a little hesitant to let the government dictate across the board. It would be a very interesting experiment for a limited time. Most calorie counts can be given to you at the restaurant or checked online. I agree that overall, eating out is asking for too many calories and too much salt. Lou's right, split an entree or take 1/2 of it home.
I think the Senate has more important things to do that this. At some point we are responsible for ourselves and Big Brother needs to keep out of it.
Would I like to see calorie count on menus? yes, I think it would help people make informed decisions.
Do I want the government to pass a law enforcing this? No. They are too involved in personal decisions already.
It might be a stretch to have a mom-and-pop place submit their menu to lab analysis so I think non-chains should be able to extrapolate the data from standard calorie amounts applied to their serving size.
That said, I'm all for nationwide calorie count posting.
I had to laugh about the percentage of "recommended 2,000-calories-per-day diet." Recommended if you want to be HUGE! Or if you're a six foot guy....Those of us who are petite women maintain on 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day--what those dishes total is a day's worth of calories--or MORE.
I think there are a lot of things that the government NEEDS to work on such as unemployment, affordable health care (a lot of which wouldn't be needed if we didn't consume as many calories as we do). I would personally revisit restaurants that cared enough about their clientele to give us calorie counts.
It would be nice to know the calorie counts of menu items. ESPECIALLY at smaller cafes that don't have websites with the nutrition info. As it is, I have to try to figure it out by ingredients, and don't always guess correctly, I'm sure. Government forcing them to post calories? Nah. That would just force small cafes to either close or thier prices will skyrocket.
The government involvement to "protect" and "preserve" our society should not infringe on our choices. ON the other hand, why not put out general information and leave the choice up to the individual? How about those people who don't know or care what what they eat? It could get very sticky for those folks. There are ethic groups who have certain standards of foods and cooking that would be very hard to regulate. Making a way of providing safe walking trails and exercise programs that are low cost or free would help keep most of us in better shape. Hope we can preserve our wonderful freedom and cultures. I personally cook at home about 90% of the time. Nancy R.
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