I happened to be visiting New York City in early July. A friend and I walked everywhere! By mid-afternoon, we were tired and hoped to find a local coffee shop but weren’t having much luck. So we settled on getting something from Starbucks. It may not have been our first choice but hey, it was hot, and we were thirsty as well as tired.

We approached the counter to place an order. I was startled to see the calorie counts listed on the menu board for each item! Wow! I was impressed.

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You see, I had forgotten that New York City had passed a regulation requiring chain restaurants to make available the calorie content of the food they offer right on the menu. I thought to myself “What a relief! I don’t have to guess the calorie count or opt for a sure winner with something like plain tea or coffee with no sweetener.”

For anyone who is serious about keeping calorie counts under control this is a real blessing. However, will knowing the calorie count of foods make you change your habits?

When you purchase food from the grocery store to cook or prepare at home, many of the products have mandatory FDA nutrition labels. But not everyone takes the time to actually read those labels and act on the information provided. Still it is there and we do have a choice.

That hasn’t been true for restaurants until the recent change in New York City and even then, only for restaurants with more than 15 chains. Evidently there are similar calorie labeling laws scheduled to go into effect sometime later this year for a few other places such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. Quite a number of other cities, counties, and states are working to pass such legislation.

Will knowing calorie counts make a difference?

After the changes took effect in New York City, many people were shocked to learn the calorie counts of some of their favorite foods and drinks. Evidently some people have been motivated to make better choices whereas others have been annoyed or even angered.

I believe we should be informed right up front. Then we can make a choice as to whether or not we want to take the information into account when making our selections. The reason I feel so strongly about this is because studies have shown that people can underestimate the calorie count of the food they eat by as much as 50%, especially when it is perceived as being healthy food.

Unfortunately, the calorie labeling will not apply to all restaurants. And meals ordered at sit-down or family style restaurants often have more calories than typical takeout fast food. Why? Food is often served on very large plates making the portion sizes unreasonably big.

As hard as it is, your best bet is to get a sense of which restaurants serve healthy foodand then know about how many calories are in a serving before you head out to eat. The only way to do this, in most cities at this time, is to check the calorie counts for those restaurants that have the information available online.

Another issue to keep in mind even when calorie counts are provided is whether or not the counts are accurate. I was surprised to read that the Scripps Howard News Service tested the calorie and nutrient count of the food served in a number of chain restaurants and learned that the information consumers are provided can be significantly off.

The restaurant chains may be doing their best to comply with a standard method of preparation to assure uniformity in calorie and nutrient count. However, no two meals will be prepared in exactly the same way or will have portions exactly the same size. Add to that, the tendency for consumers to customize the food they order and you have a real dilemma.

The only solution that I can see is to gain a sense of how much is enough. This means knowing what is enough with respect to the amount (portion size) but also, and just as importantly, eating slowly and mindfully so that you are aware of when you have eaten enough. All too often portion size has little to do with the number of calories in a dish.

Many prepared foods have “hidden” calories. But that’s a subject for a post on another day. Let me know what you think about having the calorie count listed on the menu boards at chain restaurants. Do you like the idea or not? Do you have thoughts about how it might be handled differently?

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared a new 1200 calorie diet menu. Yesterday I tested some mini meals to include on a new menu. My husband was out of town so I had more leeway to have fun with this and try what I wanted!

I love simple easy to prepare low-calorie meals. I think you’ll find what I have to share today to be easy yet surprisingly tasty and nutritious as well as low calorie. It is a high iron menu due in part to the Wheat Chex cereal I chose to include for breakfast. If getting too much iron is a potential problem for you, I would encourage you to substitute a different cold cereal.

I’ve been keeping up with my daily walking quite well. So I was able to add an additional 200 calories to my meals and snacks for this basic 1200 calorie menu. Getting to eat more food is a good reward for exercise in my opinion! What do you think?

Do you remember to take into account the calories you burn with exercise? If you want to learn more about your total calorie needs when on a low calorie diet or if you need a refresher, you may want to review my article: 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started. That article will give you all the basics. Or if you want more in depth information you may want to read another article of mine: 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Make it Work for You!

Sample Menu for 1200 Calories #14

Breakfast

1 bowl Wheat Chex Cereal (3/4 cup ~160 calories)

1/2 cup blueberries

8 oz. skim milk

1/2 cup orange juice

Snack

1 stick mozzarella string cheese (80 calories each)

Lunch

Easy Pizza:

[1 Honey Wheat Pita (about 6 inches in diameter, 180 calories)

1/2 medium tomato (about 1/2 cup) very thinly sliced tomato (layer on top of the pita bread)

6 slices turkey breast (Oscar Mayer, shaved slices 50 calories) chop into smaller pieces and scatter on top of the tomato slices

1/4 cup Reduced Fat Shredded Mozzarella (Sargento, 80 calories) spread over the turkey and tomato slices. Instead of the mozzarella you might try the Sargento low fat 4 cheese reduced fat shredded Mexican also 80 calories for 1/4 cup. I think I tried this once for a small homemade pizza topping and it had more flavor and appeal than the reduced fat mozzarella.

Season with oregano or pizza seasoning. Bake about 15 minutes or so at 375 degrees in a toaster oven.]

water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet soda

Snack

Low Fat Peach Yogurt (or flavor of your choice, Stonyfield Farms, 130 calories)

Supper

Veggie Frittata:

[1/2 cup egg substitute (99% egg whites, 60 calories)

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

About 1 cup of mixed vegetables lightly steamed or cooked in a microwave (chop up fresh or use a frozen mix) See link below for more information.

Seasoning (I used an organic season-all blend with sea salt.]

1 cup Sweet Cherries

If you would like directions on how to make a basic frittata, I ran across a good article on the New York Times yesterday: How to Make a Frittata Hopefully the article is still accessible without you having to log in. I joined the site a while ago because I like to stay informed with their health and fitness information. It’s free to join.)

water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet soda

(Always remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.)

Total Calories = 1206

Total Fiber = 23.6 grams

Fat = 17%

Carbs = 60%

Protein = 23%

Calcium = 1235 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 mg a day)

Iron = 22.2 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg)

1500 Calorie Diet Menu

Modify the 1200 Calorie Diet Menu. As I mentioned earlier, this menu is high in iron. So if you are post-menopausal you may want to substitute a breakfast cereal that has less iron. Otherwise this is a well-balanced menu. You might increase the amount you eat (portion size) or add whatever you might like for the additional 300 calories that will fit your needs.

Both the frittata and the pita bread pizza offer a lot of possibilities for variation. Choose healthy ingredients and create your own unique versions. Let me know how it works out!

Till next time, watch your calories and eat healthy!