There is nothing wrong with indulgences, as long as you KNOW what you are doing!
There’s that saying: You are what you eat. Love it or hate it, I suppose there’s some truth to it. Americans are often consuming packaged, easy to prepare food. Not only is it accessible, it usually tastes good, and as a culture, we tend to work long hours and prioritize our jobs and making an income. It’s no wonder fewer and few Americans actually cook their own food or have any real understanding of basic nutrition. And let’s face it – ignorance is bliss. America is full of blissfully ignorant people. This isn’t to say we are stupid. It’s that if we are in denial, we can always point blame or accountability elsewhere.
Personally, I rarely eat at chain restaurants. In NYC we have so many restaurant options, and I tend to gravitate towards the privately owned, Ma and Pa places. But the awesome thing about chain restaurants in NYC is the following: they are REQUIRED to list nutritional info on the menu. This eliminates ignorance. You have the calorie content of your future meal in front of you before you order. For someone wanting to watch their nutrition, sticking to chain restaurants would be a way to honestly make educated choices for every meal consumed. On a rare occasion, I dined at a chain restaurant last weekend. America, we have a problem.
Chris and I sat down to dinner at Pizzeria Uno in Astoria, right across the street of the movie theater. We wanted to grab dinner before seeing Jurassic World, and didn’t have time to really wander and make the movie in time. I haven’t eaten at a Pizzeria Uno in probably 10 years, and so there was something exciting about eating there. I realize that to Suburbanites, that probably sounds strange. I opened the menu, and was in shock. We could only find 1-3 entree options on the menu for UNDER 800 calories. This isn’t including calories in bread, appetizers, drinks, or dessert. Ironically, all of the salads were over 1000 calories. The pizzas, designed to be shared, topped the chart at 3500-4500 calories.
After a good ten minutes of searching the menu pages and weighing my options, I opted for a soup and side salad for dinner – still combined over 500 calories. Chris and I then split the 1300 calorie cookie sundae, bringing my total calories for that meal to about 1000.
Now here’s the thing: it was REALY HARD to find something to eat that wasn’t half of my recommended daily calories. If it’s that hard to make good choices, no wonder America is so obese. And sure, as someone who is usually incredibly active, eating a 3000 calories dinner here or there isn’t going to kill me, but I am pretty sure my lifestyle is not the norm. Having just come back from vacation (in other words: no exercise and all the guacamole and pina coladas I could stomach), I was looking to eat lighter and get back to my normal diet. Knowing how much Americans eat out, and how few cities and states require nutrition information on their menus, of course we are a fat nation. If I ate out at a place like Pizzeria Uno 3-5 times per week, even training as I do, I would probably be a good bit heavier. If you are someone looking to drop weight, you will NEVER DO IT if your lifestyle involves this kind of eating.
Chris and I asked ourselves if seeing the nutritional info before placing our orders affected our ultimate decisions, and the answer for both of us was: YES!!!!! Chris joked that the nutritional info ruined dinner for him, and I can agree – no deep dish pizza, appetizers or really ANY entree made it in front of my face.
If you are unhappy with your weight, be honest about your meal choices. Nobody is forcing any of us to eat out all the time. If you are needing or wanting to drop weight, the first thing you should do is stop eating out and start cooking. You’ll save calories, money, and KNOW what you are putting on your plate. Learn about nutrition – simply the basics will help. Measure and weight ingredients and know the calorie total per serving. Does this take some fun out of eating? Probably. But will you be healthier, lighter, and wealthier? Yes.
Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power. The informed are always the successful ones. You have two paths to choose from, and the choice is yours.
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