Calories on a menu

mariaalice

Would calories on a menu make you change your choices.

It worked on me, the Wetherspoons menu has the calorie content of all the meals displayed on the menus, so I changed what I was going to have.

I think initiative's like that are far more likely to change behaviour as opposed to television advertisement telling people to change their behaviour, plus its putting the emphasis on the individual to make sensible choices.

coffee_cake

Yeah i was thinking of getting a particular sandwich in obriens at one stage until i saw it was about 1000 cals - more, actually, iirc. So that was the end of that

Caliden

It's definitely more educational than just telling people to eat less especially when they see how many calories a regular portion of food contains.

People underestimate how many calories they're taking in yet are unable to fathom how they're not losing weight.

AnonoBoy

It worked for me once when I was going to have fish and chips until I saw that the batter was a truckload of calories so I went for a burger and chips instead which was a daycent bit less.

I knew that fish batter was high in calories already but my puny brain had forgotten it so it was nice to be reminded.

Although ironically perhaps the fish oils which I didn't consume in the end could have helped my brain function and the next time when presented with a menu that doesn't display calories I would remember that battered fish has a lorra lorra calories.

So by making the sacrifice that one time maybe I could have saved myself from making the same mistake again in a smiliar way to how they use a tiny bit of a disease in a vaccination so your body will be able to prevent you getting the full disease in the future. Of course the controversy about vaccinations still rages but I'm sure the calories on menu controversy will not be as hard fought.

Where does Jenny McCarthy stand on the issue?

stimpson

It works the opposite way for me. If I'm paying €10 for a salad and I see the steak has 3 times the calories, I'm like "fcuk that - steak please!"

Beano

AnonoBoy wrote: »

It worked for me once when I was going to have fish and chips until I saw that the batter was a truckload of calories so I went for a burger and chips instead which was a daycent bit less.

I knew that fish batter was high in calories already but my puny brain had forgotten it so it was nice to be reminded.

Although ironically perhaps the fish oils which I didn't consume in the end could have helped my brain function and the next time when presented with a menu that doesn't display calories I would remember that battered fish has a lorra lorra calories.

So by making the sacrifice that one time maybe I could have saved myself from making the same mistake again in a smiliar way to how they use a tiny bit of a disease in a vaccination so your body will be able to prevent you getting the full disease in the future. Of course the controversy about vaccinations still rages but I'm sure the calories on menu controversy will not be as hard fought.

Where does Jenny McCarthy stand on the issue?

God this post confused me. Maybe i should eat more fish?

AnonoBoy

Beano wrote: »

God this post confused me. Maybe i should eat more fish?

I'll ask Jim Carrey if that's wise and get back to you.

ColeTrain

Dominos display calories on their website per slice of pizza. To say it's shocking is an understatement but **** it's nice.

syklops

stimpson wrote: »

It works the opposite way for me. If I'm paying €10 for a salad and I see the steak has 3 times the calories, I'm like "fcuk that - steak please!"

Where are you going that you get a steak for 10 euro?

mohawk

I was in Starbucks earlier and was feeling peckish but when I saw the calories of a croissant I lost my appetite. I love calories on menus it would be great if they were everywhere.

Agricola

Yeah I find it works. Was going for something big and greasy in McDonalds once, when I saw the calorie count on the board I switched to a wrap.

suicide_circus

It does work but its annoying when you're going out to relax and enjoy some deliciousness and then you feel guilty for ordering what you want.

Sinister Kid

If I am eating out regularly, like picking a sandwich up for lunch or the likes I would take the calories in to account if they were displayed... If I was out for a nice dinner I wouldn't even look, it's a treat so I will get what I want even if there is 7 million calories

Beefy78

syklops wrote: »

Where are you going that you get a steak for 10 euro?

€9.95 on a Tuesday at The Three Tun Tavern

http://www.jdwetherspoon.ie/pdf/irish_menu.pdf

Tokyo

Agricola wrote: »

Yeah I find it works. Was going for something big and greasy in McDonalds once, when I saw the calorie count on the board I switched to a wrap.

Was going to post the same thing. McDonalds have been doing this for a while now, and I think that (a) quite a few people were surprised to see just how many calories they were taking in, and (b) it encouraged McD's to try to reduce the calorie count in their meals, and offer healthier alternatives on their menus.

shruikan2553

It makes 0 difference to me, I pay so little attention to them I couldn't tell you if places I eat at regularly have them on the menu.

I'm there to enjoy the food I want, if I wanted to be careful about what I was eating I would have stayed at home.

Schwiiing

The 'healthy' stuff in McDonalds is more than likely then most expensive to buy.

snubbleste

Sure you put 10 litres of petrol in a car..
You know it's petrol, you know how many km/l you will get
yet
...

stimpson

syklops wrote: »

Where are you going that you get a steak for 10 euro?

Wetherspoons. Steak and a pint for €12 on a Tuesday.

Or salad and a pint. But you don't win friends with salad.

stimpson

I love the fact that my Steak posts are being thanked by Beefy78

osarusan

Many many places in Japan have them. I think they are great and have made me much more aware about calories than previously, not just in a restaurant but making similar food at home.

AnonoBoy

mohawk wrote: »

I was in Starbucks earlier and was feeling peckish but when I saw the calories of a croissant I lost my appetite. I love calories on menus it would be great if they were everywhere.

I'd love if they were on roadsigns.

mariaalice

stimpson wrote: »

It works the opposite way for me. If I'm paying €10 for a salad and I see the steak has 3 times the calories, I'm like "fcuk that - steak please!"

What's happening there is the risk/balance rewards isn't working for you, in your head a steak is more that 3 times as tasty as a salad, so its not worth if for you to choose a salad.

robinph

Calories are a nonsense way of measuring the quantity of food that you are eating. It's a measure of energy in something, but has nothing to do with how good the food is for you or not.

There is 7000 calories in 1kg of coal, I'd personally rather each the pizza with extra topping though.

http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/coalequivalent.htm

Billy86

ColeTrain wrote: »

Dominos display calories on their website per slice of pizza. To say it's shocking is an understatement but **** it's nice.

I like pizza but Domino's is absolutely rank, in fairness. :pac:

mariaalice wrote: »

What's happening there is the risk/balance rewards isn't working for you, in your head a steak is more that 3 times as tasty as a salad, so its not worth if for you to choose a salad.

Depends on the salad, really.

Tony EH

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah i was thinking of getting a particular sandwich in obriens at one stage until i saw it was about 1000 cals - more, actually, iirc. So that was the end of that

1000 cals in a sandwitch?

What?

WTF was in it? A whole cow?

That's half your daily calorie count (if you're female).

Billy86

Tony EH wrote: »

1000 cals in a sandwitch?

What?

WTF was in it? A whole cow?

That's half your daily calorie count (if you're female).

Check out this one which has 831 calories, you might be surprised. http://pfiesterpfit.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/schlotzkys_rf_photo_of_turkey_sandwich.jpg

kylith

Tony EH wrote: »

1000 cals in a sandwitch?

What?

WTF was in it? A whole cow?

That's half your daily calorie count (if you're female).

If it's my favourite O'Brien's sandwich I'll cry if there are that many calories in it.

mariaalice

robinph wrote: »

Calories are a nonsense way of measuring the quantity of food that you are eating. It's a measure of energy in something, but has nothing to do with how good the food is for you or not.

There is 7000 calories in 1kg of coal, I'd personally rather each the pizza with extra topping though.

http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/coalequivalent.htm

But I didn't say anything about the quality or nutritional value of the food its about whether seeing calories on a menu prompts them to make a different decision about what they purchases.

miezekatze

It made me change my mind in Starbucks a few times. It's shocking how high in calories some of their drinks are, but I guess a lot of them are very sugary and milky. I think it's a good thing anyway to have this information.

DoYouEvenLift

As long as they actually include what the calories are and how many grammes of each there are then definitely, this is especially helpful for athletes and health enthusiasts who weigh and maintain certain amounts of carbs, proteins and fats in their diets.



Another possible surprise for anyone who thinks salds with sauce are the healthier option, lots of the sauces and flavourings you can put on salds are very calorie dense, usually simple carbs/sugars