Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Counting calories

Is ignorance really bliss?

Would you eat less if you knew how many calories were in each bite? NYC's Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Dr. Thomas Frieden think so. They want the calorie count right there on the menu. It won't be enough, as in some restaurants I've been in, to "star" the selections recommended for dieters or diabetics.

It may help some people, but many will just rationalize their 987 calorie lunch with, "I'll stick to just 54, like a small apple, for dinner." Then dinner-time, they'll plan the next day for the diet.

Will the restaurants have to label the calorie count for every pat of butter or dribble of ketchup?

For me, reading the ingredients in store-bought cakes takes away my appetite for them. Nowadays it's hard to find plain yogurt without additives.

Back to the calories... when my husband was recently in the states he bought us some very good chocolate. Of course it tells us that one little piece has 210 calories. I haven't had one yet, because I keep asking myself if I want one bite to be worth so many.

But to be truly honest, I must say that the calorie problem for most of us isn't what we eat in restaurants, it's what we eat at home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mayor Bloomberg ought to stop counting calories and start counting kids. I work in a building with an 1800-student capacity that currently holds over 4500.

He is the worst thing ever, worse than Rudy, for public schoolchildren. The only thing he's improved is the food.

If you have anything on education, by the way, please send it to me for the carnival before Tuesday at 6 EST.

Batya said...

Do they do double session, like I had as a kid?

Thanks for the reminder; I haven't posted for the carnival for a long time.