Calorie Shockers

Most mornings I run out the door and am lucky if I can grab some toast (whole grain, of course), so actually packing a healthy lunch is totally out of the question. Which results in a Subway run or eating lunch somewhere with Kent. Yesterday we ate at Jason's Deli which is impossible to know your caloric intake. Does that mean I get to eat 7 ginger bread muffins? Because I did. Oops.

A couple days ago I saw an advertisement for Taco Bell's new "Fresco" items. They said all "Fresco" items were low calorie and they looked like they might taste halfway decent, so naturally I was excited. Come on, everyone likes a LITTLE Taco Bell now and then.

Britney likes Taco Bell - which was obvious when she performed last year at the VMA's... (I know I am more interesting than Britney, but I didn't think to take a pic at the time!)

Confession: Two months ago I would have ordered these greasy nachos and enjoyed their yummyness without feeling a ping of guilt. I cannot do so any longer because I now know that they have 770 calories. (Jillian Michaels just whispered in my ear that more importantly, these nachos have ZERO nutritional value.) Since I downloaded the "Resturants" application on my iPhone I think I have lost a couple pounds. At least that is what my favorite pair of Sevens told me. I will literally pull in line to a fast food joint, pull up the application while in line, realize they have NOTHING under 400 calories and pull out of line... and drive across town to Chick-fil-A. Again. It is really the only place that I know 100% how many calories I am getting. Their grilled chicken sandwich on wheat bun has 280 calories (with no mayo). It is pretty hard to mess that up - it is a pre-cut piece of chicken. Sometimes I splurge and get a cup of fruit. Watch out!

Okay, back to Taco Bell. I did try the Fresco Soft Taco which was advertised as only having 160 calories and it was pretty good. Basically it is the same thing as the regular soft taco without cheese. Which led me wonder... how do I know if it is REALLY 160 calories?

THEN I found this: http://www.wxyz.com/sites/wxyz/images/themenutest/RestaurantComparisonChart.pdf

YIKES! A tv station in Detroit featured this story where food was ordered off the light/low cal menu, taken directly to a labratory and the lab tested the serving for the ACTUAL calories - not the ADVERTISED calories. For example, Taco Bell's Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco was advertised as having 160 calories - not bad, right? At that rate I can afford to eat two soft tacos! However, when it was tested it ended up having 297 calories! Amazing. It wasn't that they lied, it was that the person preparing the different items was making the portion much larger than they should have.

So I am back to Subway.... maybe I will even start making my lunch right before bed - I really need to lose my extra butt.

P.S. Did you see the calories in the bread & butter basket at the Cheesecake Factory? 1428 calories & 65 grams of fat. Oh. My. Lord.