Should restaurants show calories? 🍝

This is a debate that has been going on for years.

I’ve been either side of the fence, and on the fence but today I think I’m firmly on the side of restaurants sharing this information where possible.

A lot of the nuances in fat loss come down to the psychology behind it.

I’m no psychologist but it really interests me and I’ve been consistently learning about the mind since I’ve realised that my mindset has been the biggest factor in, what I deem, my success and my relationship with food and my body.

Let’s consider the opposing arguments.

The main one is that some people “don’t want to know” if their food has 1000+ calories in it.

But why?

We need to stop associating shame and guilt in what we consume. Food is energy. If you take too much in for your requirements, your body will probably regulate itself naturally (unless in some cases).

We have to stop treating foods as good or bad.

There are foods that would be more conducive to your goals, but it’s hard to decide between them without more information.

Of course there is the age-old argument that counting calories is “obsessive”, and it can be. Especially if you are having too little - you’ll often find yourself thinking only of your next meal and the calorie content.

But we need to find a middle ground. All calories are estimates (especially in a restaurant!).

Having the nutritional information of a meal, however rough the estimate is, can give more freedom to somebody, when their goal is to drop body fat.

Instead of not going to restaurant because the food seems quite high-calorie, it can be helpful to know the information of the food and then make an informed decision of the buttermilk chicken burger over the pizza, because the calories are lower and protein is higher.

I also see a lot of ladies with the “can’t-track-won’t-track” attitude. It means that if they go out for food and can’t make an estimate of what they plan to have, they write off that day and consume a huge surplus.

There is nothing wrong with this, when done mindfully, but they’re more likely to stay in a calorie deficit over the week/month if they are able to estimate these figures.

As you can tell, I’m a numbers gal and I used to track everything to a tee, but I’ve seen the psychological benefits of consistency over perfection and so I’ve loosened up on the numbers and realised that estimates prevented me going into big surpluses (and then big restrictions).

I want everyone to make informed and mindful decisions to get towards their goals.

If this means more restaurants sharing more information, I’m all for it.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading,

Siobhan "Didn't want to know about the Dominos Garlic Dip though" O'Hagan