Holy Calories!

I was looking up the nutritional content of some things I like to get at Boston Market and I was shocked by the calories in an old favorite the Chicken Carver Combo - 700 calories, 1500mg sodium. YIKES! Fortunately, I haven't had one in years, but I'm shocked by what I put in my body back then.

Has anyone else been shocked by the number of calories found in something they used to eat (or used to eat A LOT more of?) Sometimes I consider calorieking.com a blessing and a curse!

Sun. Jun 10, 4:58pm

I was shocked when I first looked up coleslaw. I thought it would be relatively good for you, you know, like a little salad, but one small side of coleslaw is about 200 calories and 12 grams of fat. That's WAY too much for a little bit of food.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 5:30 PM

In my teen years I used to eat Mc Donalds fish sandwich, lg fries and diet coke with an apple pie. YIKES.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 5:34 PM

Greek Salad - 600-700 calories for a serving...eek!!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:03 PM

McDonalds-Quarter Pounder with Cheese, super size fries, super size coke... and then followed by something sweet like a candy bar just because "I deserved it" and it tasted damn good! LOL, I don't even want to KNOW how many calories that is. Probably WAY more than I am even eating in an entire day now. Thank God for peer trainer and motivation!!!!!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:12 PM

Just browsing through my most recent copy of the Nutrition Action Newsletter (fabulous resource...Google it to check out online) and they were profiling some "fast casual" restaurants you run into while travelling...so here are some of the shocking results...Chipotle's vegetarian or chicken burrito has 1,140 calories, 19g of trans or sat fat and 2,810mgs of sodium.....sbarro's pepperoni stromboli has 890 calories 44g of trans or sat fat and 2,470 mg of sodium.....Panera's Italian combo on ciabattabread has 1,110 calories 20g trans or sat fat and 3,220 mg of sodium.....and for dessert Cold Stone Creamery Chocolate devotion (gotta have it size) has 1,180 calories, 41g of sat or trans fat and 119 mg of sodium. YIKES!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:16 PM

I haven't had a big mac meal in a long time!!! I would love to have one, but the guilt (thankfully) creeps in and I resist that, and have a hamburger happy meal instead.. It's not great, but if you 'gotta' have it, at least it's the lesser of 2 evils!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:24 PM

The biggest surprise lately was the chocolate chip cookies from Jimmy John's. I think they have about 500 calories, way too many for a cookie.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:51 PM

Fast Food

One night I went to McDonald's and got a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a diet coke. I don't go very often but realized that they now put the nutrition information on the side of the sandwich and french fry boxes. It about made me sick and the next day I joined Weight Watchers. I think the whole meal was about 1400 calories and might I add soooo not worth it.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 6:56 PM

I thought Baja Fresh might be an easy place to find something to eat, but I really had to go through their website and nutritional info to find something that wasn't ridiculously high in calories. I think I ended up getting ONE shrimp taco with no extras, which was maybe 250 calories. The burrito my husband gets (the vegetarian) is WAY too many calories and you'd think that would be a better choice but it was only better relative to the others!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 7:19 PM

Oh my goodness! Coldstones gotta have it, almost 1200 calories!!!! I used to eat that stuff all the time! Thats awful. I wish that could be less fattening, I would love to have some every now and again, but I will NEVER step foot on there again! How awful! That's one dessert, not even dinner! I thought the Quarter pounder with cheese meal was bad! Not even compared to that!

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 7:26 PM

A bunch of stuff. Most recent was my favorite coffee drink from Panera- 570 cals for the 16oz and over 700 for the 20oz! Yikes. Also, the "bloomin' onion" from Chili's or Outback has over 2000 cals in it and I used to split it w/ my boyfriend (as just the appetizer). And a caesar salad at Chili's is over 1000 cals. Could go on and on...jeez

Monday, June 11, 2007, 12:06 PM

mcdonalds chicken selects. I thought that would be something i could get instead of a fatening cheeseburger...i was wrong. then i thought , well, maybe their salads don't have a lot of calories b/c it's a salad! i think i'd be better off with a cheeseburger than a salad! it's crazy!!!!

Monday, June 11, 2007, 12:12 PM

I agree with most

but I'm kind of confused on the Mcdonald's salad?

I always get the Bacon Ranch salad with Grilled Chicken and Balsamic Vinagrette Dressing and the salad is only 260 calories and the dressing is only 40. I don't think 300 calories for a filling meal is that ridiculous?

When I look through their salads sticking to Grilled Chicken.
Then Southwest Salad is 320
The Asian Salad is 300
The Cesar Salad is 220

None of these seem that horrible to me???

Monday, June 11, 2007, 1:06 PM

are you sure that the salad protions you are eating are only one serving? usually the nutritional info is per serving, but sometimes the "serving" that they give you is actually 2 or more servings.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 1:14 PM

No one McDonald's it's the whole salad, on Burger King it's 1/2.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 3:05 PM

My guess it's the dressing that one chooses that's going to make or break a McD's salad. As a pp noted, though, if you're just looking at calories - a small burger would probably have fewer. The question is...would you just stop at the burger??

My shocker was the # of calories in muffins and bagels from coffee shops. Some bagels are pushing 400 calories - wow. And then I think of the times I've gotten the breakfast bagel sandwiches...oy.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 3:21 PM

I eat the McDonald's Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad instead of burgers and fries. The salad fills you up. I use Kraft Lite Done Right Ranch dressing (70 Calories for 2 TBSP), much better than the Newman's Own Ranch (170 Calories).

I was surprised when I looked up the Burger King Whopper meal. I used to get no cheese, but with onion rings instead of fries. The entire meal is more calories than I should eat in a day. I haven't had Burger King in a long time.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 3:31 PM

I have no clue about the calories but that commercial about the KFC mashed potatoes with corn, fried chicken bits gravy AND cheese AND a biscuit must be over the top with empty calories, fat and sodium. The thought of eating it gives me a stomach ache.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 4:01 PM

I love that new Ranch BLT with grilled chicken. I thought the grilled chicken would make it ok. NOPE, the meal with medium fries and a med coke has 1110 calories, 36 grams of fat, 90 cholesterol, 1990 sodium. Man, that sucks. McD's has a thing on their site that you can make a meal in a bag and it will tell you the nutritional content for all of it. Kinda discouraging, but I guess that is the point.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 5:01 PM

My bf and I had a healthy dinner before going out to watch a hockey game. We wanted dessert and decided to split a milkshake from Johnny Rockets before the game started.....when I got home I checked - 1120 calories for the regular vanilla milkshake!! What the heck...good thing I only had half!....won't be getting a shake (or anything else from there) ever again.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 5:49 PM

5:49 I had a similar experience with Johnny Rockets! I got a burger from there and I just knew it was loaded with calories, and since we were that at midnight I only had a few bites (maybe 1/3 of the burger) to satisfy those late night hungries. When I checked the calories later, I was SO glad I stopped there. I think the burger I ordered had about 800 calories - ouch. I keep saying I'll go there and have a burger when I reach my goal weight and joke that I'll then immediately shoot up 3 pounds and have to get right back to work!

Monday, June 11, 2007, 5:55 PM

4:01pm - the KFC bowl is 550 calories, before the biscuit. I don't know how many calories are in a biscuit, but I'd guess 250+.

I budget 500 cals for my lunch + afternoon snack, so on occasion (very rare occasion), I actually can justify that bowl - I've had it once; it's heaven! Then I just skip my snack, but, on rare occasion, it's worth it!

Also, for McDonald's, there are 250 cals in a cheeseburger. Not a Big Mac or anything like that, but a cheeseburger. Sometimes when my hubby and I want McD's, we'll split a 2-cheeseburger value meal, with a diet soda, and I let him eat most of the fries. That keeps my meal there well under 500 cals.

As for Coldstone, a kiddie-sized version of a low-fat ice cream with "healthy" or no toppings isn't too horrible either.

As a rule of thumb, never "supersize" or "gotta have it" or even "large." Go for a small, or kiddie size. It allows you to eat the foods you like more often. There is no food shortage!

Monday, June 11, 2007, 10:18 PM

Found this on AOL today!

At a deep dish pizza place, fajitas may sound like a sensible option. However, Uno's Grill Chicken fajitas, packs a whopping 83grams of fat and 1350 calories! Beware of high calorie sides, like sour cream and guacamole, which can add a lot of weight to an otherwise healthy meal.

Think twice before picking Ruby Tuesday's veggie burger as a healthy option, as the sandwich clocks in at a mind-blowing 943 calories. Mind you, this doesn't include toppings or any side dishes. We're not sure what's been done to this poor burger, but with 52 grams of fat we're going to put this on our "don't" list.

Veggies and feta cheese piled high on fresh baked bread sounds like a health friendly dream, but don't be fooled by this harmless sounding sandwich. Panera Bread has packed a whopping 560 calories and 23 grams of fat into its Mediterranean Veggie sandwich. Compared to others on this list, it's relatively low, however that much fat in a veggie sandwich isn't a smart bet for anyone's health.

Soup might seem like the safest choice on the menu, but be warned -- not all soups are created equal. If you decide to bypass the pasta to go the soup and breadsticks route at Olive Garden, you should know that just one bowl of the Pasta E Fagioli soup adds up to almost 600 calories and nearly 10 grams of fat.

http://body.aol.com/healthy-living/restaurant-health-hazards

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 6:56 PM

The Cheesecake Factory is pretty much all FOOD PORN
One slice of their Blackout Cake weighs 14oz and contains 1480 CALORIES - and 71g fat (nearly half saturated). You'd need 4 people to share that slice to make it manageable. Pretty much all of their cakes, cheese or otherwise, average 100 calories per ounce. Now get this - they have a low-carb cheesecake with 6g of net carbs (it's nearly all fat) and 610 calories. Suddenly Atkins is looking pretty good.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 12:48 AM

I am shocked by the amount of calories in foods that I used to regularly consume.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 1:02 AM

I almost died when I read the nutritional facts for the Subway sandwhich I loved (Meatball Marinara)...I mean it's Subways, so it has to be healthy..right?

WRONG. the whole freakin' thing (12 inches) is 1000+ calories. The sandwhich isn't THAT good..jeez.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 1:09 AM

I've been dismayed by the calories of all my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavors. One serving is 1/2 cup and usually over 300 calories (the ones I love.) That's 8 tablespoons!!

Someone mentioned Baja Fresh...I ordered the Grilled Veggie burrito recently and freaked when I later saw it runs around 800 calories!! Of course, the portions are HUGE - that's half the issue with much of this stuff.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 9:41 AM

At places like Baja Fresh, Chipotle, etc., the tortilla that they use to make the burritos is HUGE, and around 400-500 calories alone. You can actually do pretty well there if you get a "burrito bowl" - all the insides in a bowl, instead of in a tortilla - especially if you substitute lettuce for the rice, and skip the sour cream and guac, or have just a little.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 10:43 AM

Need a cheeseburger and fries

Seriously, if you have a craving have a regular cheeseburger and a bag of fries from MD's and it is 12 points. If you just have the small one, it will satisfy your craving and you won't blow it all on one meal.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 6:52 PM

I used to regularly eat Taco Bell's taco salad with EXTRA meat and cheese!! It clocks in at 820 calories. YEEE-IKES! This was long before the word 'calorie' was a part of my vocabulary - ha.

Saturday, June 16, 2007, 4:38 PM

I ate a Turkey Sandwich at Ruby Tuesday's that has 647 calories...for a turkey sandwich?!?! So much for trying to eat smart.

Saturday, June 16, 2007, 5:52 PM

I read this and I have a sudden urge to exercise... hmmm.

Sunday, June 17, 2007, 1:44 AM

Olive Garden's Lasagna Classico - 900 CALORIES!! Enough said. That's without 2 breadsticks, stuffed mushrooms, and the salad. OUCH!!!

Monday, June 18, 2007, 2:02 AM

SODIUM Anyone?

Processed turkey, processed chicken, snack food even if its "healthy". I checked the sodium content in Boca Burgers (vegetarian burger patties) not too long ago, they make you think just because its lower in fat that it must be GREAT for you, wrong. Totally loaded with sodium.

In my opinion sodium is the real food fetish out there that noone wants to talk about. It's almost impossible to avoid lots of sodium without eating like a monk. Calories remain an abstract concept to most people, I'm convinced that the food industry likes it that way.

Now that I'm more careful about what I eat, and realize how much better it makes me feel both physicaslly and emotionally, I look back at the rationalizing I used to engage in to "justify" my diet and it just astounds me. The psychology of eating, and the fetishizing of fast food almost killed me.

High blood pressure WILL bring you down eventually even if you're not that overweight. The sodium content in those low calorie salad dressings at McDonalds is quite high you'll find.

WHY ARE WE EVEN DISCUSSING McDONALDS HERE?? Why do you think so many people give up and gain everything back? The best way to fight a craving is to get your mind off of it with PEER SUPPORT. Please! Let's help each other by trying to NOT to get ourselves worked up over fast food.

What do you think this forum is for, for crying out loud?

Monday, June 18, 2007, 7:16 AM

If you just have the small one?!

A poster said-

"Seriously, if you have a craving have a regular cheeseburger and a bag of fries from MD's and it is 12 points. If you just have the small one, it will satisfy your craving and you won't blow it all on one meal."

Are you kidding me? You call that peer support? Don't worry about the burgers and fries at McDonalds? Gimme a break!

Are you a fast food industry mole? Get outta here with that advice! Use some common sense.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 7:26 AM

I used to regularly eat a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit and hash browns from the Devil's Pantry (McD's) on weekly road trips during college - there's a whopping 550 calories - not counting the big cup of oj - and lord knows how much fat and sodium.

It seems natural that McDonalds and other fast food joints would come up in a thread like this. The thread is about foods with an outrageous amount of calories! It's about what people USED to eat or what they used to eat A LOT more of...before they knew the calories.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 1:25 PM

Calorie Busting Veggie Burger

hungrygirl.com profiled several veggie burgers from national chains and the Ruby Tuesday veggie burger platter came in at a whopping 1300 calories - yeeeeee-ikes! Of course, the burger is apparently laden with swiss cheese and mayo and served with fries, so you've got to be kind of dense to think this thing does you any favors, but I'm sure there are people who think they're eating well by ordering it!

Friday, October 19, 2007, 10:10 PM

My shocker was when I finally went into a 7 eleven and got a sugar free slurpee. I thought I was doing good and could splurge on it. No problem it is crystal light after all. The Largest one, of course that is what I would want and drink it for the rest of the night.
I am thinking maybe 3o cal or so right? Not even. Over 200 cal. I was so disappointed.
That was 1/4 of my calories for the day. I couldn't justify something that has no nutrittional benefits.
(since then I have increased calories a bit and you know I just might have to go and get a medium one.)

The best surprise on the good side. I went to Taco Time a couple weeks ago with someone and was going to skip eating until I got home. After all how can you find something healthy.
They have a white chicken chili that is excellent. 100 cal for a cup and only 154 I think it was for the bowl. A bit spicy but I loved it. Came home and made some then next week. Mine was almost as good.

Saturday, October 20, 2007, 5:26 PM

7:16 am~~ kudos!

I absolutely agree with everything you said. When looking at nutrition facts it is extremely important to not only look at calories and fat, but also sodium AND sugars. Those are the two things to watch that will make you retain water and make you bloated, and also turn right into fat.

I highly suggest to anyone trying to lose body fat and weight to STAY AWAY from any kind of fast food. reguardless of the amount of calries in a small burger and fries... it has literally NO nutritional value! Why would anyone want to put that junk in your body??? You truly are what you eat.

Saturday, October 20, 2007, 9:01 PM

Oh stop 9:01. Can people discuss calorie awareness without the spiel about the nutritional void that is most fast food? And you want to talk about sodium, fat and sugar - then you can include virtually any restuarant out there - fast food to high end. Heck, you can buy and prepare a whole lot of crap from the grocery store - it's not just the fast food restaurants. The OP and most of the others commenting on this topic were responding to the original sentiment that - WOW - some of the foods we 'USED' to eat have a whole lot of calories.

Sunday, October 21, 2007, 12:10 AM

of course we all want to eat healthier, but some of us focus on one thing at a time...let me deal with calories and THEN i can start looking at other aspects of my food.

BUT to stick to the thread topic, i had a fav SALAD at einstein bagels that I looked up...over 800 cal! And, just like the veggie burger above, maybe I was being dumb due to cheese, dressing, etc, but everytime I picked that I THOUGHT i was being good. I could do a sandwich with chips for the same amount. Speaking of (woahhh so on a ramble here) does anyone else love that blurb in Glamour Magazine where they do "You could eat THIS...or all of this"

Monday, October 22, 2007, 5:40 PM

It really shouldn't be surprising when you consider the portion sizes. I mean, a 12" subway sandwich is going to be a boatload of calories because, hey, it's a FOOT long!! How you're supposed to cram that entire thing into one stomach at one sitting is a mystery, I guess you have to work your way up to it.

Same goes for a 1/4lb hamburger. You're looking at two sugary white bread buns, 1/4lb of fatty ground beef, oily processed cheese, and whatever sugar condiments they add. How many calories can you seriously expect that handful to contain?

The truly sneaky foods are the salads and veggie dishes. I love mutter paneer (Indian dish with cheese curds and peas) but it's not exactly low-cal, despite being meat-free and veggie-based.

Monday, October 22, 2007, 7:36 PM

9:01 - get your facts straight

News flash 9:01...
Fat is a nutrient.
Sugar is a nutrient.
Protein is a nutrient.

To say that a small burger and fries has "LITERALLY NO nutritional value" is blatently not true. Don't get me wrong, I know that fast food is not the best and not that full of vitamins and minerals, but please at least be honest. I think that for most people on PT, a diet that is 90% healthy with room for the occasional cheeseburger is more realiztic than cuttling out ALL fast food. I know I personally am less likely to binge on a huge plate of fries if I indulge occasionally on a small portion.

Monday, October 22, 2007, 9:25 PM

Related Content: How To Lose Weight- The Basics Weight Watchers Points System The Fat Smash Diet The Eat To Live Diet The Beck Diet Solution How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight		How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer How To Burn Fat Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Tips On Using PEERtrainer Visit The PEERtrainer Community Diet and Fitness Resources
Fitness Weight Watchers Meetings Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are Writing Down Your Daily Workouts Spending Money On A Personal Trainer? How I Became A Marathon Runner		Preventive Health How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot? Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer? Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy Reversing Disease Through Nutrition
New Diet and Fitness Articles: Weight Watchers Points Plus How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program		Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne: Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough How To Delay Short Term Gratification How To Stay Motivated How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule
Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight? Are Protein Drinks Safe? Nutrition As Medicine?		Everyday Weight Loss Tips How To Eat Healthy At A Party How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight The Three Bite Rule Tips On How To Stop A Binge