This past weekend, we were heading down to Memphis for the St. Jude Country Cares seminar. We stopped at Steak N Shake. I scanned the menu and opted for chili and grilled cheese.

If you know anything about me, I TRY to eat healthy and have lost about 50 lbs this past year. So, I figured a bowl of chili would have, at the most, about 300 calories with the average restaurant chili only containing 214 calories. Wendy's large chili only has 250 calories. Because of the low caloric content, I cheated a little and got a grilled cheese. My estimation was 300 calories, give or take.

Imagine my SURPRISE when after a quick check of my SparkPeople app, I realized I had just ingested 1290 calories with the chili making up 880 of that! I almost threw up then and there. Keep in mind, I only eat about 1,500 calories which is the HEALTHY amount for someone of my size and body type.

No wonder there is an obesity problem in our country. I am pretty good at keeping up with my nutritional intake and was completely blindsided. And, Steak N Shake isn't the only culprit.

I checked out one small sliver of Bob Evans coconut cream pie the other day. Say hello to 515 calories - they will be staying with you for a while. Think Subway is all health food? Think again - A footlong Subway Chicken, Bacon, & Ranch has 1,160 calories. Even designer coffee drinks from Starbucks go up to 670 calories. And, the list goes on and on. You don't have to down a triple bacon burger to get the fat and calories.

My hope is that restaurants evaluate what they serve and find ways to make healthy, low calorie foods that still taste good and post nutritional info on the menu. In the meantime, I'd urge you to download a nutrition app on your smartphone and use it BEFORE you order food. You might be unpleasantly surprised.

Steak N Shake
Steak N Shake
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Steak N Shake
Steak N Shake
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