(PCM) How many times do you eat out a week? Once, twice, maybe three times a week? If you answered with any of those numbers, you’re in the minority. The average American eats out five times a week, according to Eat This, Not That. Not only does this take quite a hit on your wallet, it’s also likely to hurt your waistline and overall health. Let’s face it, restaurant food isn’t exactly known for being healthy or weight-loss friendly.
But the dishes themselves aren’t just what’s problematic; there’s the added issue of underestimating the calories in restaurant foods – whether out of denial or just sheer ignorance. In fact, studies have shown that Americans underestimate the calories in restaurant meals by more than 600 calories!
Underestimate by 600 calories, 5 times a week, and you’re looking at an additional 3,000 calories unaccounted for. That’s nearly a pound of weight gain a week!
If you can’t distinguish between healthy and unhealthy choices on a menu then you should probably at least know 2012’s 20 Worst Foods in America! Thank you ‘Eat This, Not That’!
20. Worst Side Dish
TGI Friday’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes – 930 calories
These aren’t your usual mashed potatoes. TGI Friday’s doesn’t reveal their fat stats, but with butter, cream, cheese and bacon, we’ll leave it to your imagination.
19. Worst Supermarket Meal
Hungry-Man Pub Favorites Classic Fried Chicken – 1,030 calories, 62 g fat (14 g saturated) 1,610 mg sodium
Fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and a brownie add up to one full pound of a processed, trans-fatty frozen dinner.
18. Worst “Healthy” Sandwich
Quizno’s Veggie (large) – 1,090 calories, 61 g fat (19 g saturated), 2,540 mg sodium
You would never guess a veggie sandwich could be worse than a whopper!
17. Worst Fast Food Breakfast
Burger King BK Ultimate Breakfast Platter – 1,310 calories, 72 g fat (26 g saturated, 1 g trans), 2,490 mg sodium
This concoction of pancakes and syrup, buttered eggs, fried potatoes, gristly sausage, and a trans-fat-filled biscuit is just a heart attack waiting to happen.
16. Worst Frankenfood
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Burger – 1,540 calories, 92 g fat (35 g saturated), 2,490 mg sodium
This burger has a day’s worth of calories for some, and twice the amount of fat you should eat in a whole day.
15. Worst Salad
California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing – 1,561 calories, 31 g saturated fat, 1,821 mg sodium
Watch out for this sneaky salad. It doesn’t sound so bad on the menu – field greens, fresh grapes, sliced apples, candied walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, and blue cheese dressing – but the last three ingredients turn it into a salad you’d have to run nearly 15 miles to burn off.
14. Worst Fast-Food Burger
Sonic Ring Leader Loaded Burger Double Patty – 1,660 calories, 120 g fat (44 g saturated; 4 g trans) 1,450 mg sodium
This burger definitely leads the pack with a half pound of beef, two slices of cheese, bacon, onion rings and extra mayo, providing nearly a day’s worth of calories and nearly 3 days of fat.
13. Worst Chinese Entree
PF Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo – 1,820 calories, 84 g fat (8 g saturated) 7,692 mg sodium
7,692 mg of sodium makes this the saltiest dish in America, with a whopping 5 days worth of sodium.
12. Worst Sandwich
The Cheesecake Factory Grilled Shrimp & Bacon Club – 1,890 calories, N/A g fat (24 g saturated) 2,964 mg sodium
“Charbroiled Shrimp, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato with Our Special Dressing” sounds pretty health, right? Wrong! Cheesecake Factory is known for its rich, calorie-dense menu, so stick to their new light menu and you’ll avoid tricks like this.
11. Worst Dessert
Baskin-Robbins Fudge Brownie 31 Degrees Below (large) – 1,900 calories, 80 g fat (39 g saturated, 1.5 g trans), 1,350 mg sodium, 225 g sugar
Wow. Talk about a sugar rush. And some clogged arteries.
10. Worst Fries
Chili’s Texas Cheese Fries with Chili and Ranch – 2,120 calories, 144 g fat (69 g saturated) 5,920 mg sodium
Deep fried potatoes smothered in mounds of chili, cheese, and ranch make these Chili’s fries the worst fries in the nation.
9. Worst Mexican Meal
On the Border Dox XX Fish Tacos – 2,150 calories, 144 g fat (31 g saturated), 3,740 mg sodium
Fish tacos sound healthy, and if you made them at home they probably would be. But not these bad boys!
8. Worst Fish Meal
Culver’s North Atlantic Cod Filet Meal (3 pieces) – 2,156 calories, 140 g fat (21 g saturated, 2 g trans), 2,378 mg sodium
Once again, something that should be healthy is turned into one of the worst meals you can eat. The fish is battered and deep fried, and served with a heaping side of cole slaw, fries, tartar sauce, and a dinner roll.
7. Worst Burger
Chili’s Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Burger with Ranch – 2,210 calories, 144 g fat (46 g saturated)6,600 mg sodium
The average burger should be somewhere between 300-500 calories. This is more than 4 times that amount. Not to mention the fat and sodium levels are equivalent to 3 days worth of each.
6. Worst Pizza
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (individual) – 2,310 calories, 165 g fat (54 g saturated), 4,650 mg sodium
The deep dish crust is three times thicker than a normal crust, and of course, bathed in oil. It has more calories than an entire extra-large Domino’s Thin Crust chorizo pie!
5. Worst Appetizer
Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler – 2,430 calories, 166 g fat (48 g saturated), 6,070 mg sodium
This pile of deep-fried, processed food should be shared … by 4 people.
4. Worst Breakfast
IHOP Big Country Breakfast with Country Fried Steak & Country Gravy – 2,440 calories, 145 g fat (56 g saturated) 5,520 mg sodium
Meet the worst breakfast in America: A 12-ounce steak breaded, fried, and dripping with gravy; three eggs; hash browns; and three pancakes crowned with an ice cream scoop of butter and syrup!
3. Worst Ribs
TGI Friday’s Caribbean Rockin’ Reggae Ribs – 2,450 calories, 52 g saturated fat, 3,810 mg sodium
Order something else – anything else – and save the ribs for your own grill.
2. Worst Chicken Entree
The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits – 2,580 calories, N/A g fat (68 g saturated), 2,621 mg sodium
Skip this entree (it provides a day and half worth of calories), and make your own lightened up version at home! Throw skinless chicken breast in a crockpot with mixed vegetables, potatoes, chicken broth, and serve alongside some warm biscuits for a hearty, and healthier version of this disaster!
1. The Worst Food in America
Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta – 2,730 calories, N/A g fat (78 g saturated fat), 919 mg sodium
The Cheesecake Factory does it again! For the 4th year in a row, the Cheesecake Factory has earned the title of America’s Worst Restaurant, with their Bistro Shrimp Pasta taking the title Worst Food in America.
Reference & Photo Credit : Eat This, Not That
