A Salad or Fries? Quality Counts

I wanted to write a mini post about calorie counting and food quality. I'm sure Jodie can weigh in with more knowledge than me, but here goes anyway.

I read an article recently where it compared salads you can find in local and chain restaurants and how these actually compare to unhealthy options in terms of calories. Taking Chili's Grill & Bar as the example, their Quesadilla Explosion Salad has 1440 calories. You may as well purchase a greasy burger.

Or should you?

Photo Courtesy of article. Article can be found at Shape.com

Yes, you do need to be careful what the restaurant is classing as a "salad". The green part can't be a small addition to the plate.

But choosing a Chicken Caesar Salad (660 calories) is still ultimately going to do better for me than a Big Mac (550 calories). The quality of the food matters just as much as the calories, and I don't just mean eating a better quality burger pattie than what is found in the Big Mac. I mean that a salad or vegetables are going to be a better choice than a Big Mac. After all, vegetables and fruit contain calories. It's not as if the foods that are good for you are going to be 0 calories. Diet Coke isn't great for you and yet it's 0 calories. Many fruits actually contain sugars, so even those you still have to eat in moderation. But they are still a better choice than their sugary alternatives at the same calorie count.

It is important to consider what you are eating if you are calorie counting. A great app for that is Calorie Count. This is app is free but it also gives you an idea of how good your choice is, which My Fitness Pal does not do. When you select a food, it gives it a grade from A - F, and then you can judge for yourself whether the choice is going to be good for you, regardless of the calories.

As Jodie has often told us, use calorie counters as a guide, but not as your God. Counting calories is not the be-all-and-end-all of healthy eating. There are many other factors to consider which can considerably speed up and aid your weight loss.