Portion Distortion
I didn't find the article that mentioned 4,500 calories, but I did find this one at todaysTMJ4.com
Portion Distortion
Shelley Walcott
Going out to eat? Better bring a huge appetite. Portions keep getting bigger. Just how big? That's what we wanted to find out.
We love a bargain. The more food the better, right? We wanted to find out just how many calories-- carbs and fat-- restaurants are serving. The results: You're either gonna want to bring a doggie bag, or plan a day of fasting.
Plates piled high with pasta.... mountains of mashed potatoes... And salads as big as your backyard garden. The Cheesecake Factory is renowned for its huge meals and decadent desserts.
"I think they tend to serve larger portions than an average person needs," one fan told us.
"I don't finish the whole thing. I don't," another said.
We picked up dinners from restaurants all over the area. From the Cheesecake Factory... Jambalaya and a BBQ salad.
From Maggiano's Italian restaurant... lasagna.
Chicken Tequila Fettuccine from the California Pizza Kitchen.
And a huge burrito from Pedro's in Brookfield.
We took our enormous lunches to SF Labs in West Allis to have them analyzed.
The initial response from our food scientist Mark Meuer: "Man this could feed a family of four."
When we asked him to guess the weight of a particularly large entree, he told us "That's over two pounds at least. You can see that, and then this is supposed to go with it too?"
As for our salad, he guessed we'd find plenty of fat hidden among the greens.
The BBQ Chicken salad weighed in at 1,100 calories, and two pounds. A full day's worth of fat too.
The jambalaya: 1,500 calories and 100% of your fat for the day.
Maggiano's lasagna... just like mom used to make? Maybe. If Mom served two pound slices with 1,700 calories and nearly two days worth of fat.
The pasta from California Pizza Kitchen is a relative lightweight, at 1,300 calories and 135% of your day's fat.
But the big kahuna: the aptly-named three pound burrito from Pedro's. Weighing in at 2,700 calories and two full days worth of fat in one meal.
So, you think, you'll just have an appetizer? Think again. Chili's famous Awesome Blossom has as many calories as the burrito: 2,700. And three days worth of fat!
Outback Aussie cheese fries? Better plan to share! 2,900 calories, and another three days worth of fat.
At this point, maybe you want to skip dinner and just have dessert. Just one piece of cookie dough cheesecake has 1,100 calories-- ouch-- and a more fat than you need in the whole day.
"The bigger the portion the more we eat and the more we eat the bigger we get," dietitian Laurie Meyer points out.
Meyer says we've forgotten how to feel full. So instead of eating the whole portion... "Ask for the doggie bag right at the start of the meal, cut your portion that you're gonna eat, put the rest in the doggie bag, and now you might have a couple of meals left for you at home."
But as we found... sometimes it's too hard to resist, that last delicious bite.
Cheesecake Factory says it's known for large portions, but is always glad to wrap up leftovers.. 80-percent of their guests take home a doggie bag.
Some restaurant offer low-cal options. Ruby Tuesday's, a chain new to our area, offers full nutritional information for all its entrees. Applebee's has a Weight Watchers menu that clearly spells out calories, fat and carbs in its items. We tested those for accuracy-- and they're dead on.
Portion Distortion
Shelley Walcott
Going out to eat? Better bring a huge appetite. Portions keep getting bigger. Just how big? That's what we wanted to find out.
We love a bargain. The more food the better, right? We wanted to find out just how many calories-- carbs and fat-- restaurants are serving. The results: You're either gonna want to bring a doggie bag, or plan a day of fasting.
Plates piled high with pasta.... mountains of mashed potatoes... And salads as big as your backyard garden. The Cheesecake Factory is renowned for its huge meals and decadent desserts.
"I think they tend to serve larger portions than an average person needs," one fan told us.
"I don't finish the whole thing. I don't," another said.
We picked up dinners from restaurants all over the area. From the Cheesecake Factory... Jambalaya and a BBQ salad.
From Maggiano's Italian restaurant... lasagna.
Chicken Tequila Fettuccine from the California Pizza Kitchen.
And a huge burrito from Pedro's in Brookfield.
We took our enormous lunches to SF Labs in West Allis to have them analyzed.
The initial response from our food scientist Mark Meuer: "Man this could feed a family of four."
When we asked him to guess the weight of a particularly large entree, he told us "That's over two pounds at least. You can see that, and then this is supposed to go with it too?"
As for our salad, he guessed we'd find plenty of fat hidden among the greens.
The BBQ Chicken salad weighed in at 1,100 calories, and two pounds. A full day's worth of fat too.
The jambalaya: 1,500 calories and 100% of your fat for the day.
Maggiano's lasagna... just like mom used to make? Maybe. If Mom served two pound slices with 1,700 calories and nearly two days worth of fat.
The pasta from California Pizza Kitchen is a relative lightweight, at 1,300 calories and 135% of your day's fat.
But the big kahuna: the aptly-named three pound burrito from Pedro's. Weighing in at 2,700 calories and two full days worth of fat in one meal.
So, you think, you'll just have an appetizer? Think again. Chili's famous Awesome Blossom has as many calories as the burrito: 2,700. And three days worth of fat!
Outback Aussie cheese fries? Better plan to share! 2,900 calories, and another three days worth of fat.
At this point, maybe you want to skip dinner and just have dessert. Just one piece of cookie dough cheesecake has 1,100 calories-- ouch-- and a more fat than you need in the whole day.
"The bigger the portion the more we eat and the more we eat the bigger we get," dietitian Laurie Meyer points out.
Meyer says we've forgotten how to feel full. So instead of eating the whole portion... "Ask for the doggie bag right at the start of the meal, cut your portion that you're gonna eat, put the rest in the doggie bag, and now you might have a couple of meals left for you at home."
But as we found... sometimes it's too hard to resist, that last delicious bite.
Cheesecake Factory says it's known for large portions, but is always glad to wrap up leftovers.. 80-percent of their guests take home a doggie bag.
Some restaurant offer low-cal options. Ruby Tuesday's, a chain new to our area, offers full nutritional information for all its entrees. Applebee's has a Weight Watchers menu that clearly spells out calories, fat and carbs in its items. We tested those for accuracy-- and they're dead on.
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