Are You Estimating Calories Correctly?
A study from Cornell University showed that people eating lunch in various fast food restaurants underestimated the caloric content of a large meal by 38 percent. Conversely, they overstimated small meals by 3 percent.
I usually err on the side of caution and overestimate large meals, especially if they’re high in fat. Remember that fats like various oils or butter are around 100 calories per tablespoon, and they’re used liberally in fast food and other restaurants.
If you underestimate calories by 38 percent, you could be eating almost an extra 400 calories for a 1,000-calorie meal (although it’s better not to eat that much in one sitting). Over time, that could lead to major weight gain - heck, even in a week or two.
To give you an example of how fast calories add up in fast food restaurants, here’s the calories from a few items at Burger King:
Double Whopper - 900 calories
Medium chocolate milkshake - 690 calories
Large french fries - 500 calories
Even the French Toast Kids Meal has 670 calories.
To minimize the extra calories that can come from a restaurant meal, try cooking your own meals at home. You can cook on the weekend and put a weeks’ worth of meals in the freezer. Or, if you’re eating out, stay away from pitfalls like big salads (some are over 1,000 calories) and pasta with creamy sauces.
Claire
(Image from GaramChai)
Tags: Burger-King, Calories, fast-food, french-fries, milkshake, weight-gain, WhopperRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Claire
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