I definately believe in having a treat but it can be done wisely - try saving calories during the week for that night out at the weekend. There are always exceptions though. I would always let my hair down on my Birthday and on Christmas Day / Boxing Day - we are human after all and we deserve to be able to relax. If you stick to it the rest of the time, you’ll do OK.

I’ve always been the picky one when eating out since I’ve got a lot of food allergies and am a vegetarian. But now I will only eat at places where I can look at their menu and nutritional info online before I come. I do this so I can figure out what I can eat and how much. If they don’t have the info online then I won’t go there. There are plenty of establishments that provide the nutritional information out there, so those are the ones that get my business. There are healthier options out there, you just have to find them. Of course this takes time and some pre-planning on my part but at the end of the day it’s worth it to me. I at least have some form of estimate of what I’m putting into my mouth.

I think the nutritional information should be more readily available. Whether it’s putting it next to items on a menu, having an insert in the menu, or printing the calories next to each item on the receipt. But the other problem is a lot of people just don’t have the information on how to be healthy (whether it’s their own fault or not). I would like to think if people had the proper education about their bodies things might be different. But we all know some people just don’t care and will live their life feeling there are no consequences.

I personally want to know how many calories are in my favourite meals. While it’s okay to reward ourselves, I think ignorance can get out of hand.

I’m Australian so I don’t presume to know what goes on on the American dinner table. All I know is that when I was in your great country was I was blown away by the amount of great organic produce that was available everywhere I went. And it was very very cheap. So much so that when people asked me about the food I raved about it. It really was great.

Once again, I’m sorry to have caused any offence. Australian’s are now the fattest nation on earth so this is a real concern to me as well.

I don’t cook. I can, I just don’t. That doesn’t mean that when I eat out (which I do for most meals) that I am a slave to the menu. Yes, restaurants typically create meals much higher in fat and salt than you might, but not all of them. The onus isn’t on the restaurant to offer the healthiest choices, the responsibility lies with the consumer.

The idea behind posting calories is just that: give the consumer the information and let them decide.

As a general rule though, restaurants use more fat and salt in their food than you would generally use at home. That’s how they make the food look and taste so great.

I think what comes out of this really is that eating out should be an occasional special thing. We have become so lazy about our food that most of the time we can’t even be bothered preparing it for ourselves.

Preparing your own food puts you in control of what goes into your body especially how much salt, fat and sugar goes into your food. I also believe that preparing your own food educates you about how food is prepared so when you do eat out, you can make more informed choices.

And in the words of Baz Luhrmann

“Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Calorie count initiatives are meant to educate people. When someone gets incensed over this issue, I have to wonder why? Do they not care to be reminded of what they are doing to their health, their body? As a previous poster said, “ignorance is not bliss.” Eating with abandon and without care to what it means to your bottom (line) is the quickest way to type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and others caused by insulsin issues, high sodium, and high fat.

Keeping in mind that posted calorie counts are estimates anyway, I think it’s a great idea to make that information available. By bringing awareness to the American diet, maybe we can some strides towards combating the one disease over which we have the most control: OBESITY.