The Truth about Restaurants and Fewer Calorie Meals

When it comes to calories, I say bring them on because people like me who are highly active need high calories to fuel our bodies through tough workouts.  But that does not work for about 69.2% adults in America who were obese or overweight from 2009-2010 according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). For that population, more calories could literally be killer calories leading to congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Many of us tend to dine out for a good meal. There are several restaurants that feature calorie conscious meals. Those meals are a smart choice for those who are watching their calories, right. There is a caveat.

So there we were at this particular restaurant ordering from their menu. I looked at some delicious entrees on a separate menu insert. I happened to see a  meal that really awakened my apatite and sparked my taste buds. It was a beautifully seasoned chicken breast with sauteed onions, red, yellow, and green peppers, portobello mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes. Mmmm, right.  So that was what I ordered.

The entree came to the table and the aroma had everyone in our area turning their heads to see what the smell was. The waitress politely sat the dish down with a smile. I picked up my fork and knife and cut into the moist chicken breast. I slowly lifted the tender chicken up to my mouth, but not before making sure it was covered with all the beautiful array of sauteed vegetables. As the mixture of sauteed vegetables and tender piece of chicken laid on my tongue and I began to chew, I thought I was in a heaven.

I chewed slowly to concentrate on all of the wonderful explosions of flavor dancing on my taste buds. Once I swallowed the first helping, I began to notice a particular taste. At that point I was curious. The flavorful euphoria that I was experiencing was then a distant memory. I wanted to know or confirm this after-taste in my mouth. Eager to get to the bottom of this which destroyed my euphoric experience, I flagged our passing waitress. I asked her to see the nutritional content on this meal for under 550 calories.

She informed me that there was no nutritional value printout for my meal. To my surprise, she went a step further and bought a binder which looked like a manager's document binder, to the table with the nutritional values for all meals including those under 550 calories. I'm was not sure if she was able to let customers see that binder, but I'm glad she did. The waitress willingly flipped through the sections until she found my meal. Her reaction had me baffled. She nervously giggled when she saw my meal's nutritional information. I felt my
blood pressure go up.

I asked her to let me see before she could say anything. I nervously looked at my meal and to my surprise, all the numbers were good with the exception of one. The sodium content for my meal was over 1200! Not only my meal, but all of the meals under 550 calories! No wonder I felt my blood pressure go up and that was after just one bite! I knew it, I exclaimed but not loud enough to disturb other diners. The sodium (salt) content in that one meal was enough to put me over the CDC's daily recommendation. Had I eaten that whole meal, I would have not been able to eat salt all-day-long. Wow.

If you are trying to lose weight, going out to eat and ordering meals with fewer calories could be a good idea as long as you know what you are getting in return for fewer calories. Always ask to see the nutritional information on any meal you order if you haven't Googled it yourself. Be healthy and make healthy choices, but most of all, be smart about it.

As always, thank you for your time and for putting your health first. 




CDC: Fast Facts about Obesity
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm

CDC: Sodium Recommendations
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/