Xtreme Eating

Even if I ate nothing else in a day, if I were to walk into a Chili's and ordered the Big Mouth Bites with French Fries, I'd gain weight. That's because as I wrote here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/04/you-probably-can-consume-far-fewer.html, I can only consume about 1,700 calories a day without gaining weight (not counting any calories I burn off from exercising).


But as detailed here: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090602/larger-portions-among-restaurants-lures?src=RSS_PUBLIC, the Chili's meal has 2,350 calories. So, should I order the Big Mouth Bites, I'd exceed my caloric level for the day by some 650 calories with just this one meal.


Chili's Big Mouth Bites with French Fries is just one chain-restaurant entree highlighted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in their 2009 list of Xtreme Eating meals. Other notables include:

• Uno Chicago's Deep Dish Sundae with 2,800 calories
• The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken and Biscuits with 2,500 calories
• The Red Lobster's Ultimate Fondue with 1,490 calories
• Applebee's Quesadilla Burger with Fries at 1,820 calories.

So, if I was to indulge in Uno Chicago's Sundae, I'd have to somehow work off an additional 1,100 calories to keep from gaining weight (and that's if I didn't eat anything else that day).

If I didn't work off the excess calories from the Sundae, that extra 1,100 would translate to approximate 1/3 of a pound put on in just one day!!. And, if the Sundae was in addition to a full breakfast, lunch and dinner, the extra caloric load from the Sunday could easily mean close to an extra pound put on in just one day (remember 3,500 excess calories means 1 additional pound).

I guess I won't be going to Chili's or Uno Chicago any time soon. Besides, if I'm going to blow my caloric "wad" on a dessert, I can think of far more satisfying ways of doing so than on chain food crap.