And *this* is why we're fat, America.

Janet comes through again, with some mighty ugly facts. Thanks, Janet! You’re a peach!*

Yeah, yeah, fast food is bad for you. We all know it, and we all still eat it from time to time. For some of us that means from when we get up, and when we go to bed. However, eating at a regular resturaunt, or as I like to call them “knife and fork joints” should be better for you overall, right.

Riiiiiight.

Take a gander, loyal readers.
Xtreme Eating Awards go to restaurants' diet saboteurs

Let’s look at just what I would eat, for example:

•Chili's Big Mouth Bites, four bacon cheeseburgers with sides of fries, onion strings and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. The tally: 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, 3,940 milligrams of sodium.
Ok, so I’d skip the cheese, and probably mayo as well. So what, maybe 2200 calories? Jesus, that absolutely criminal. I’m willing to make a bet that 4 White castles, fries and onion rings is better for you than this. I mean, not by a hell of a lot, but better!


•The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken and Biscuits, a chicken breast served over mashed potatoes with shortcake biscuits, mushrooms, peas and carrots and covered with country gravy. Total: 2,500 calories. It's almost equal to eating a KFC 8-piece Original Recipe bucket plus five biscuits, which has 2,380 calories and 56 grams of fat.
Really, I could do without the mushrooms, but this sounds pretty good. Chicken, potatoes, some veggies, how bad could it be, right? Sweet Fancy Moses, I think I’d rather have the KFC option and suffer the inevitable gastric distress for the next two days.


"It's as if restaurants are on a mission to make bad food even worse," says Jayne Hurley, a CSPI nutritionist. Fifteen years ago, restaurants entrees or appetizers might top out at 1,000 calories, and now we are finding in them in the 2,000 calories range."


This makes a lot of sense. If you keep the fat people eating there fat, they will come back for more of your Godzilla-sized portions. Both for “value” and because they are fat, they need to eat a lot more to feel satisfied. A win/win for Café Feedbag, a lose/lose**. You don’t need the healthy, picky customers. It’s nice to get them, but like everything else you serve, it’s mostly gravy.

Think about it. If John Q. Chubbington and Mrs. Chubbington take their round little brood out to eat, they want as much bang for their buck as possible, especially in this economy. So, you load up their plate with a pile of food, at least two sensible meals worth, and you feel stupefyingly full after you leave (because you had a 2,000 calorie meal, 700 calories of appetizer and like a thousand more calories of desert) so you think you got a good deal. Menwhile you have to roll out to the lot to get to the Minivan.

I like to eat out, but seldom do anymore. It’s one of the reasons I am in the shape I am today (bad/round, whatever, you pick, they both apply) and having cut that out I can see a difference.

I ate at Ruby Tuesday in Florida a couple months back. I like that place because I can have salad, and remain reasonably healthy with my choice***. I also got the lunch version of the Mini Burgers. That’s two little burger and some fries. There are times, kids, where I would go to lunch with a friend and she’d get two made like she likes ‘em and two made like I like ‘em and sure as a duck quacks, I’d end up eating six of the goddamn things!

But, hey, they are good, right? I’ll tell you what, though, they are salty as hell now that I am not eating stuff like them all the time. Urgh! It’s astounding how much food tastes different after your taste buds adjust to a healthier menu.

My favorite fact about the minis is that, sure enough the “healthier choice” of Turkey minis is actually worse for you. Only in America, right?


* I can almost guarantee this will prompt an email where she asks if I meant that she has a big ass by that crack. Hee hee. I said “crack.”

** Ok, more of a “gain/gain” or a "lose/gain" prospect, but you get my meaning.

**I mean, what’s a couple of bacon bits in the grand scheme, right?



Full story below. Reprinted without permission.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-06-02-extremeeating_N.htm


Xtreme Eating Awards go to restaurants' diet saboteurs



Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY Some oversized appetizers, entrees and desserts at chain restaurants are nutritional train wrecks, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
On Tuesday, the Washington, D.C.-based consumer group announced its 2009 Xtreme Eating Awards. These are some of the dishes, with nutritional data attached, that the group identified as packed with calories and artery-clogging saturated fat:

•Applebee's Quesadilla Burger, a beef patty with cheddar cheese, pepper-Jack cheese, bacon, Mexi-ranch sauce, pico de gallo tucked into two white flour tortillas served with fries. It packs 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat and 4,410 milligrams of sodium. The chain suggests diners can top the dish with fries with chili and still more cheese.

•Chili's Big Mouth Bites, four bacon cheeseburgers with sides of fries, onion strings and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. The tally: 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, 3,940 milligrams of sodium.

•Uno Chicago Grill's Mega-Sized Deep Dish Sundae, a monster chocolate chip cookie topped with a large portion of ice cream and covered with whipped cream and chocolate sauce drizzle. It has 2,800 calories and 72 grams of saturated fat.

•Olive Garden's Tour of Italy with lasagna, lightly-breaded chicken Parmigiana and creamy chicken alfredo served in one entree for 1,450 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat and 3,830 milligrams of sodium. The tally goes up if diners add breadsticks for 150 calories each and a plate of garden fresh salad with dressing for 350 calories.

•The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken and Biscuits, a chicken breast served over mashed potatoes with shortcake biscuits, mushrooms, peas and carrots and covered with country gravy. Total: 2,500 calories. It's almost equal to eating a KFC 8-piece Original Recipe bucket plus five biscuits, which has 2,380 calories and 56 grams of fat.

•The Cheesecake Factory Fried Macaroni and Cheese, crispy crumb-coated macaroni and cheese balls with a creamy marinara sauce. It equals 1,570 calories, 69 grams of saturated fat and 1,860 milligrams of sodium. You might be better off eating an entire stick of butter with 57 grams of saturated fat and 800 calories, the group says.

"It's as if restaurants are on a mission to make bad food even worse," says Jayne Hurley, a CSPI nutritionist. Fifteen years ago, restaurants entrees or appetizers might top out at 1,000 calories, and now we are finding in them in the 2,000 calories range."

Mark Mears, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for The Cheesecake Factory, says, "With over 200 items on our menu, we have literally something for everyone. We have items that are very healthy, and we have some items that are more indulgent. The portions at The Cheesecake Factory have always been generous. They are perfect for sharing and/or taking home for a second meal, which dilutes the effects of the nutritional information."