All I know is that PORTION SIZES have gotten completely out of hand in the past couple decades. So anytime I go out to eat, I get a to-go box right away & put half of the meal in there. I rarely, if ever, have dessert (usually too full!) and rarely, if ever, have an appetizer or glass of wine. I almost always drink water w/lemon, & usually order a nice "healthy" fish or chicken meal.
So I may still be eating around 600 or so calories, but that's way better than 1500-2500 with a full meal, and it IS still healthy (I prefer some kind of baked fish, & steamed veggies) and I am a satisfied customer. I don't go out to eat that often, so I figure it is okay to treat myself once in a while.
I do watch calories & portions over-all. I have learned to stop BEFORE I feel "full". I just don't want to be my own food **** when I'm trying to have a nice meal out.
I would disagree slightly with restaurant going is voluntary. For many people who travel for business, it is a necessity.
I'll second that. Even with the best of planning, if you are meeting with a client at that client's offices and they take you out to lunch, you are eating what is offered. If you travel for business 2 or more times a month, that is a LOT of restaurant food! When I travel, I usually manage to eat breakfast at my hotel or find a healthy option on the way...after that, though, I am eating out at restaurants with clients and coworkers, and it would be threatening to my job to bow out of those types of meetings. I work in an industry where going out to dinner/drinks is an essential part of business negotiations, so restaurant going is DEFINITELY not an optional thing.
I'll second that. Even with the best of planning, if you are meeting with a client at that client's offices and they take you out to lunch, you are eating what is offered.
... I work in an industry where going out to dinner/drinks is an essential part of business negotiations, so restaurant going is DEFINITELY not an optional thing.
Absolutely. However, what you CHOOSE to eat at any given restaurant is by definition, OPTIONAL. If nothing else on the menu is on anyone's given diet, there is always the good ol'faithful SALAD. Take your dressing on the side, & load it up with fresh cut veggies... dip your fork into the dressing, don't pour it over your salad - that's NEVER bad.
Then again, who do you know that wants to eat a salad every time they go out to eat, right? Still - there are always options. It's the only thing that keeps me sane, yo!
Then again, who do you know that wants to eat a salad every time they go out to eat, right? Still - there are always options. It's the only thing that keeps me sane, yo!
And isn't it easier to choose a healthy option (with some variety) when the information is available to those who care to see it? Maybe you would see that some of the seemingly healthier salads are actually horrible for you (as has been my personal experience), or maybe you'll see that something that sounded absolutely off limits isn't really as bad as you'd feared. What's wrong with being able to make a more informed decision?
I would disagree slightly with restaurant going is voluntary. For many people who travel for business, it is a necessity.
But it is voluntary on which restaurant you choose. If you want to know the nutrition and you know that Applebees has the WW menu with the nutrition listed, and that Ruby Ts will give you a Smart Eating Guide upon request, as well as others, why would you choose to go to say Red Robin, knowing they won't? Or stay once you've asked and they refuse?
Actually, many times it is NOT voluntary; your company chooses the location for you. My husband just ran into that very problem, during a week-long stay in Long Beach, the poor baby.
But it is voluntary on which restaurant you choose. If you want to know the nutrition and you know that Applebees has the WW menu with the nutrition listed, and that Ruby Ts will give you a Smart Eating Guide upon request, as well as others, why would you choose to go to say Red Robin, knowing they won't?
Because your client picks the location, or your boss picks the location, or you ask for someplace in particular but get outvoted. It isn't always a choice.
Thats why it should be required not optional. Restaurants who have the info might get hurt vs. restaurants that dont. So they should all have it (at least over a certain size chain.)
Lol, or you live way out in the middle of nowhere and your choice is extremely limited by "places within a 30 minute drive that has SOMETHING on the kids menu that my daughter will eat"
Thats why it should be required not optional. Restaurants who have the info might get hurt vs. restaurants that dont. So they should all have it (at least over a certain size chain.)
And if they were required to have it, I bet eventually the restaurants would really and truly come up with some heart healthy foods. Now of course no one would FORCE them to do that, but in order to save business they just might have to or want to. Including Bob Evans.
You think TaraD had any idea when she started this thread that it would get almost 130 replies? I mean really who would have thunk it?
No, I didn't anticipate 130 replies, but I thought that it was an interesting topic, so I figured it would lead to a discussion with a variety of opinions. Like I said a couple of pages ago, food is basically a form of medicine. If a doctor/drug company provided a non-essential medication to you just because it made you feel good, but it had terrible side effects for your health, people would scream malpractice and sue. Food goes into your body and affects how your body functions, just like medicine! Thus, I think the food industry, just like the pharmaceutical/medical industry, has a responsibility to have some ethics, and stop trying to provide more and more things that are killing people!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara D
Although creativity is great, I just have to say I think some of the foods that we are using that creativity to make are just ABNORMAL. People have been around for thousands of years, and we are getting farther and farther away from what our ancestors ate -- real food...And it's killing us. I don't think it's "normal" to eat processed pancakes stuffed with cream cheese, trans fats, and lots of other "unhealthy" ingredients stuffed in there and on the side.
I don't think that we should take personal choice away from people, but I do think that when we serve things to people, we have to think about if we are really SERVING them. It is supposed to be the food SERVICE industry. Just because you can make more money serving something clearly unhealthy doesn't mean you should. If a doctor prescribed a medication that made you feel really good, but would lead to an early death, people would say "Take it off the market!" and start suing! Food is just like medicine...you eat it, and it affects the way your body functions!
Perhaps the food industry should channel some of that energy to create new theme giant sized burgers with mayo into creating delicious things that people will love that are closer to what our bodies would like us to have.
Like I said, I'm all for creativity, and I don't want to stifle the chefs, but some of the foods we are eating now just don't seem very normal. We've kind of forgotten what food really is.
Because your client picks the location, or your boss picks the location, or you ask for someplace in particular but get outvoted. It isn't always a choice.
It still is to an extent. You still go there. You could suggest somewhere else. And even there, everyone has salads. You can ask they leave off all the unnecessary gunk and just give you a plate of lettuce. You won't be eating out with clients who always pick the same restaurants every day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ennay
Thats why it should be required not optional. Restaurants who have the info might get hurt vs. restaurants that dont. So they should all have it (at least over a certain size chain.)
And if they got hurt, they'd learn to start providing it...on their own, without needing to be forced into it through unnecessary legislation trying to run every aspect of everyone's lives.
I guess I'll make that my last reply. No one is going to change my outlook on it anyway. I'm sorry. I just never did believe in Big Brother.
I agree with almostheaven on this topic 100%. Personal responsibility.
No, not everyone is as knowledgable about nutrition as we are here,but as Dr. Phil told a woman who was suing a fast food joint for her daughter being obese:
"You can't tell me you didn't know cheeseburgers were fattening!"
I am maintaining a very lighthearted approach about this-for one simple reason. Some people want to jog on their treadmills and eat salads with grilled chicken...other people would rather sit on their rears and eat the stuffed pancakes-no matter if they are 1500 calories or not. It is personal decision, and personal responsibility. There is a market out there for both types of people.
As with many issues, you are darned if you do, and darned if you don't. It is almost 100% likely, that whatever your thoughts are on a subject matter, that close to half of the population are not going to agree with you.
Still - there are always options. It's the only thing that keeps me sane, yo! 
