Calories on menus

[Mamacita]

I agree but the thing is, are calories on the menu really helping if they are eating out for every meal? We all know that food at home is healthier than a restaurant. We all know more calories in vs out is going to make you gain weight.


Absolutely agree we have an obesity epidemic, especially among kids. That said, I think you only have to look at women's magazines through time to know diet culture is a thing. Every magazine had/has some form of drop a dress size/try this new soup/weight watchers recipes etc. Not to mention the recent 5:2, keto, paleo, intermittent fasting, intuitive eating etc.

If it is helping people then I think that's great and I am in full support. It doesn't apply to me so I guess it's not my place to have an opinion if that makes sense?

The funny thing is, there are so many people out there arguing that more calories in Vs out is not what makes us gain weight but I guess that's off topic

Yeah that's a fair point re different diets, but maybe having calories on the .enu can help people with not having such restrictive diets that completely remove food groups. I don't know, I guess I just find calorie counting to be the best way of controlling weight.

I think people should have the option of seeing a menu without calories on if they want that.

 

[HoGi]

All it means is that I end up ordering something i don't want so the calories aren't as bad, and then don't enjoy my meal

This is what happens to me.

Take somewhere like Byron Burgers. I prefer chicken burgers always have. But because it is deep-fried it is a lot more calories than the beef burgers that are grilled. I then feel guilty ordering what I really want all because of a number printed on a menu.

I don't eat any other deep-fried food so a chicken burger once every couple of months isn't going to kill me but that number printed on the menu makes me feel like I should order the beef burger that I really don't enjoy as much.

 

[shadowcat5]

The funny thing is, there are so many people out there arguing that more calories in Vs out is not what makes us gain weight but I guess that's off topic

Yeah that's a fair point re different diets, but maybe having calories on the .enu can help people with not having such restrictive diets that completely remove food groups. I don't know, I guess I just find calorie counting to be the best way of controlling weight.

I think people should have the option of seeing a menu without calories on if they want that.

this is my intense interest at the minute - literally reading a book about it right now

Honestly, I really hope it does help people in that way. I also agree that controlling physical weight is best with calorie counting. I think I just get annoyed that people focus heavily on calories but not nutrition. Does that makes?

 

[Mamacita]

this is my intense interest at the minute - literally reading a book about it right now

Honestly, I really hope it does help people in that way. I also agree that controlling physical weight is best with calorie counting. I think I just get annoyed that people focus heavily on calories but not nutrition. Does that makes?

It does and I agree, but calories are still the key step. That's a mistake a lot of people make when they try to lose weight. They eat "healthy" but too much then give up because they're not losing weight.

When eating out, I think it's useful to be aware of calories, but i usually accept it is not the most nutritious meal and often just processed food which seems to be the main problem with people's diet today and something that has really adverse health impacts. I guess to me calories on the menu is just a tiny step towards awareness of what you're putting in your body- there is obviously a lot more to it.

If anyone is interested, Stronger by Science on YouTube or Spotify had some recent good podcasts about what a healthy diet really seems to be. They've also gone over the popular diets, like Atkins, keto, fasting etc. With pros and cons of them. Really informative for those who are very interested in nutrition

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Eating out for us is a treat that we do probably only once or twice a month.
So when we do eat out, I honestly don’t care what calories I’m consuming because it’s a one off and it’s not an everyday occurrence.

When the calories started appearing on menus, I’d find myself avoiding certain options because I’d feel guilty about the calories. I’ve had to remind myself a few times that we don’t eat out everyday and that I’m allowed to consume high numbers of calories as a one off.

 

[philopastry75]

Sugar.

I was going to say simple carbohydrates but they're pretty much the same thing.

 

[Piff paff puff]

Those who don't like it won't take any notice and those who don't mind it'll probably help. If you can't decide which meal you want you might decide to go for the one with less calories.

 

[Mamacita]

I don't mind it, I do pause and think sometimes.

I think seeing the actual ingredients would put me off some stuff though. Calories and fat are not our enemies, in the UK as a population our fat intakes have been on a decline for decades yet our obesity rates have been steadily increasing- somethings not adding up and the research backs this up!

It seems to be mostly the combination of carbs and fat. The issue is, calories still determine whether you put on weight and fat has 9 kcal per gram versus 4 kcal for carbohydrates, so it's easier to eat a lot more calories through eating fat. But the combination of both makes food very palatable so easy to eat a lot of it.

 

[Yel]

We live in a world where 7 out of 10 adults are obese or overweight. People are more overweight than ever but also malnourished. I find being given the tools to know the calories very helpful to get the balance right.

Calories aren't bad, but having too many empty calories is. The other day at a service station I saw that cakes were 700 cals. Instead I had a pain au chocolat with a black coffee as it was 270 cals. Both I know are junk cals, but that was a huge saving for something that I enjoyed just as much. I find it so much better now you can track these things.

The human race is being poisoned, ultra processed junk foods everywhere.

Even those that don't care are still likely to have less cals as places reduce the number now they are published.

It's been years since I watched this, but I remember it being good.

It seems to be mostly the combination of carbs and fat. The issue is, calories still determine whether you put on weight and fat has 9 kcal per gram versus 4 kcal for carbohydrates, so it's easier to eat a lot more calories through eating fat. But the combination of both makes food very palatable so easy to eat a lot of it.

This, when you add sugar and fat together the body struggles to regulate it.

 

[shadowcat5]

We live in a world where 7 out of 10 adults are obese or overweight. People are more overweight than ever but also malnourished. I find being given the tools to know the calories very helpful to get the balance right.

Calories aren't bad, but having too many empty calories is. The other day at a service station I saw that cakes were 700 cals. Instead I had a pain au chocolat with a black coffee as it was 270 cals. Both I know are junk cals, but that was a huge saving for something that I enjoyed just as much. I find it so much better now you can track these things.

The human race is being poisoned, ultra processed junk foods everywhere.

Even those that don't care are still likely to have less cals as places reduce the number now they are published.

It's been years since I watched this, but I remember it being good.



This, when you add sugar and fat together the body struggles to regulate it.

Exactly this. The problem is that empty calorie food is too readily available and I personally don't think as a country, we have a lifestyle that encourages good eating habits or knowledge either.


I was hesitant to bring this up because it's a bit of a controversial topic sometimes and also not entirely on topic but I also think that other issues are not spoken about enough in the conversation of obesity. It's really easy to say eat less, move more and throw some calories on a menu but we are a nation of lonely people, we are a nation of mentally ill people, and then you have the aspects of things like poverty, opportunities, work-life balance, time, knowledge, it can end up a perfect storm.

 

[jackolantern]

Exactly this. The problem is that empty calorie food is too readily available and I personally don't think as a country, we have a lifestyle that encourages good eating habits or knowledge either.


I was hesitant to bring this up because it's a bit of a controversial topic sometimes and also not entirely on topic but I also think that other issues are not spoken about enough in the conversation of obesity. It's really easy to say eat less, move more and throw some calories on a menu but we are a nation of lonely people, we are a nation of mentally ill people, and then you have the aspects of things like poverty, opportunities, work-life balance, time, knowledge, it can end up a perfect storm.

Until we address *why* people overeat, eat less more more will never work. Yes you could argue it’s literally that simple but it isn’t is it. Many of use food as a crutch to get through life and unless you change the fact you feel like that in the first place, it would take unbelievable will power i.e. making yourself more unhappy to overcome that. Few manage to do so, absolute fair play to those who do, but there’s so much more to it all than just telling people to be less greedy.

 

[Web30]

It doesnt bother me to much but does make me rethink when my daugther asks for a dessert off the adult menu.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

For someone with high cholesterol it helps me root out the “hidden” stuff, so I agree with it

 

[Yel]

Probably massively unpopular but I don't like the "there's no such thing as a bad food" Moto. I'm sure it's being pushed by the junk food manufacturers like Kraft with their treat yourself thing.

Some foods like doughnuts and jellybeans have no nutrients and are high in empty calories. They're objectively a bad food. That's not to say you should never have them. But they should make up a small percentage of your daily calories.

With treat yourself culture some people take this to mean a couple of times a day and others a couple of times a month. It's a bit hard to actually quantify with wishy washy stuff like that.

I like the nutrient score other countries put on foods. Where they rate them from an A to E.

I was hesitant to bring this up because it's a bit of a controversial topic

This is probably the right thread for it, the title was created quickly so that another thread didn't go offtopic.

 

[Mamacita]

Probably massively unpopular but I don't like the "there's no such thing as a bad food" Moto. I'm sure it's being pushed by the junk food manufacturers like Kraft with their treat yourself thing.

Some foods like doughnuts and jellybeans have no nutrients and are high in empty calories. They're objectively a bad food. That's not to say you should never have them. But they should make up a small percentage of your daily calories.

With treat yourself culture some people take this to mean a couple of times a day and others a couple of times a month. It's a bit hard to actually quantify with wishy washy stuff like that.

I like the nutrient score other countries put on foods. Where they rate them from an A to E.

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This is probably the right thread for it, the title was created quickly so that another thread didn't go offtopic.

I agree with you but the way I usually understand the bad food thing is that you can't look at a food separately. It must be looked at in the context of the whole diet. Objectively, chicken and broccoli could be thought as good food, but if someone only eats chicken and broccoli, they are likely to have nutritional deficiencies.
I just don't think labelling foods as good or bad is that helpful. It would be more helpful to label them as nutritious food and treat food or something similar.

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

The majority of the time I totally hate having coeliac disease as it’s so restrictive, but sometimes a small part of me is actually grateful that I can’t eat the majority of the unhealthy food that is available.

I think there is an ad on the radio every hour for McDonald’s and it makes me crave nuggets & burgers so badly, but I can’t have it. Instead I end up going home, grabbing the mince out the fridge & making my own burger.

There’s adverts, social media pictures & signs everywhere promoting unhealthy foods. I don’t know if I want these things more because I can’t have them, but I can’t imagine what weight I’d be if I could eat whatever I wanted because there is so much temptation everywhere.

I’m slightly overweight, I’m 10 stone 10 pounds, I should be more than around 10 stone really. I think that’s mainly down to a lack of exercise though really more than diet.

 

[Yel]

I agree with you but the way I usually understand the bad food thing is that you can't look at a food separately. It must be looked at in the context of the whole diet. Objectively, chicken and broccoli could be thought as good food, but if someone only eats chicken and broccoli, they are likely to have nutritional deficiencies.
I just don't think labelling foods as good or bad is that helpful. It would be more helpful to label them as nutritious food and treat food or something similar.

Yeah I agree bad is unhelpful. As I'm all for quantifiable stuff I'd say something like "no more than 5% of your daily calories from foods rated E" although that's totally unworkable.

Can problematic labeling foods as treats and making the link between junk food and rewarding yourself. Food often seems like medication.

 

[Mamacita]

Yeah I agree bad is unhelpful. As I'm all for quantifiable stuff I'd say something like "no more than 5% of your daily calories from foods rated E" although that's totally unworkable.

Can problematic labeling foods as treats and making the link between junk food and rewarding yourself. Food often seems like medication.

That's true too I guess to me, it's a treat in a sense that I wouldn't have it often, but I'm not rewarding myself for anything. I'm just having it. Maybe there's just no one size fits all for this, everyone will interpret these things differently and there will always be people getting 'triggered' by one label or another

 

[shadowcat5]

the interesting thing about good vs bad food is that Europeans who seemingly have little issues with obesity especially among kids is that they dont eat notoriously healthily either (besides maybe the med). The Germans certainly don’t. It’s mostly processed meat, bread and cheese from my experience. The noticeable difference I would say is that they have significantly (and from my own experiences of living there I mean significantly!!!) less fast food restaurants and take away outlets than we do.

 

[SophSpinsSillyStories]

All it means is that I end up ordering something i don't want so the calories aren't as bad, and then don't enjoy my meal.

Also, an obese person can eat far more calories than a slim one (or a tall person can etc) what I would REALLY like is the option to reduce the portion size, I'm often stuffed when I go out to eat and think, I could have done without all those chips but I ate them because they were there and i hate waste. For pizza I can take half away and it will still be as good, but for many meals this doesn’t work. It would be great if I could ask for a 2/3rds portion of the curry or a half serving of chips, so I get what I fancy without the enormous portions. Of course, that's probably a nightmare for the restaurant.

This is actually a great suggestion!! As restaurants are trying to reduce food waste, I think many will welcome it (those that don’t serve pre portioned ping and ding type dishes that is).