Comments on: TMI, Panera

By: meg

meg — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:57:55 +0000

I currently work at a sister company to Panera, Paradise Bakery. We are switching to the calorie included menus starting in 2012. I know what is in everything so choosing an item is hard enough. Now, having the calories staring at me is only going to make the ED stronger and my decision making time a dreaded experience. I can understand that it is helpful for some people and probably beneficial to the majority but what about the rest of us who really don’t need to see that?! I think a nutrition pamphlet would be a better idea.

By: paedophage

paedophage — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:59:35 +0000

i find it so ridiculous that supermarkets and now cafe’s and restaurants are bacoming obsessed in the calorie count of foods. i believe the introduction of large, in-your-face labelling in the UK has really fuelled my eating disorder for the very reasons you state, that obsessing; not to mention the control that is standard in most eating disordered persons.

my dietician has made it clear from out first metting a couple of months ago that calories are not the focus – sure she looks them up and calculates my intake to make sure i am going to put on enough weight on a negotiated meal plan, however, we never speak about them; instead we focus on nutrition. not as in calories, fat, cholesterol etc… more like “is that balanced nutritionally?”

we continually refer to the eat well plate. ensuring a meal contains carbohydrate, salad/veg, protein and fat which is essential to live a healthy life.

society is fucking with peoples heads by taking the focus away from a healthy diet. by promoting low-calorie meals; a person will inevitably miss out on the minerals and vitamins that they need.

cheese bagel sounds pretty fucking good! sod calories, it’s good for you!

By: lana

lana — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:58:01 +0000

I have just become incredibly grateful that we dont do this (yet!) in New Zealand.
I find that I have less trouble eating out than at home simply because I dont know how many calories are in the food I order, goes without saying I usually opt for the healthiest (ok honestly the least fatty looking) thing on the menu, but I can order and eat what is for me a decent sized meal. yeah id still think about the cals but there would be no way of finding out right then. cooking at home its way too easy to jump onto the internet and google everthing in my meals. safe to say Im still very much in the grip of my ed.
if I saw the calorie content on the menu maybe it wouldnt remove all of my choices, but it could mean I wouldnt order what I actually wanted to.

By: PTC

PTC — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:30:52 +0000

I don’t know. I think I would have gone with the one with sprouts and lettuce and stuff like that, which actually had the same amount of calories as the sandwich I got, but mine was much more tasty, I’m sure. I would have chosen the option that I thought had the least amount of calories.

By: greythinking

greythinking — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:00:27 +0000

Jane –

Glad to have you reading GT!

Being “bludgeoned by the menu board” is exactly it. It’s tiring, really, trying to come up with the best choice. You get to a point where it just all seems like a bad idea.

Thanks for commenting, and take care!
grey

By: greythinking

greythinking — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:57:21 +0000

BL –

Interesting, I hadn’t thought about the insulin thing. Somehow I think that a VERY small percentage of the population would actually use it for such. I think that most of the people concerned with the carb count would be because he/she was doing some low-carb diet.

I wonder if DD does that on purpose — list the calories for a whole box of munchkins — so that people are less likely to not order something because of the calorie count. Meaning, when I see 1900 for a whole box, that does’t mean a lot to me. However, if I divide that by 25 and realize there are 75 for each one, then I start to rethink my choice.

By: greythinking

greythinking — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:51:37 +0000

J: Guess it’s a good thing (for both of us) that we don’t live in NYC.

By: greythinking

greythinking — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:50:27 +0000

Wei-Wei:

I know what you mean. For disordered reasons it’s a relief to have the calories there, but healthily, I know it’s not a good idea for me…

Thanks for your comment!

By: greythinking

greythinking — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:49:19 +0000

PTC –

If there were NO calories on the menu, do you think you would have been more likely to order one of those sandwiches that had the nutrition facts blocked? Just curious

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:15:04 +0000

Thank you so much for making this post…I thought I was going crazy. It seems like a lot more places are doing this now (posting calorie counts on menus) and while I can agree with the health/awareness rationale, it is not making my life easier *at all.*

You’ve succinctly outlined the issues that sent me into a minor (silent) tizzy at Panera today. It felt like I was being bludgeoned by the menu board — I had my choice picked out, but then:
(Wham!) “Woah, that many calories?’ and (Bam!) “Wait, that one’s less!” but (Smack!) “There’s no veggies and I want those” but (Whack!) “There’s just too many numbers, oh crap…”

I hate this *especially* because I hate counting/obsessing over numbers. I never used to do this before ED, and I still can’t quite recognize myself when I get into obsession-mode; like a crazy lady took over my head and I’m stuck waiting for her to draw all her minute calculations out before I can get my freakin’ lunch.

This is the first time I’ve ever posted a comment. I stumbled on your site and it seems amazing; an actual place of support and hard-won wisdom. Have been having a rough time, so thanks also for…just being here, I guess.