Friday, April 18, 2008

But it looked so healthy!

As someone who's been dieting on and off for at least the past 10 years, I've started to consider myself somewhat of a pro when it comes to eating out...eating out is a way of life for me and when I'm really "in the zone" of eating well, I can go out to eat, pick the healthy stuff and truly enjoy the company.

I know all the "danger" words to avoid on a menu. Anything that's described as "creamy," "cheesy," or "crispy" is usually very tasty--but very bad for you. "Grilled" and "steamed"--those are things that are going to work.

So I felt pretty confident the other day when I made a run to Wendy's for lunch. I like the occasional Wendy's run--the chili is low-fat and pretty filling. Their grilled chicken sandwich is pretty good too (And I make it even better by getting it sans mayo and instead, putting some hot sauce on it. I'm a sucker for spicy!)...and that's what I intended to get when I pulled up to the drive-thru.

Until I saw the new Wendy's Go-Wraps on the menu board. Okay, I knew the fried and homestyle one were out the window. But the grilled one didn't look so bad. Especially, since in trying to analyze the picture, I saw it had little orange sticks mixed in with the lettuce. Carrots? YUM!

I ordered it, instead of my normal grilled chicken sandwich, and was happy as could be.

Until I got back to my office and opened the wrapper...those orange sticks I thought were carrots? Nope, gooey, yellow melted cheese. (In all seriousness, I'm not kidding. I really did think it was carrots--the kind that gets added in pre-packaged salads). Making it worse, it was slathered in ranch dressing.

I looked up the nutritional damage...260 calories, 11 grams of fat...for what's supposed to be an "add-on" item? (Cause let's be honest--I didn't think it was big enough to be a meal.) Eep! I peeled the cheese off, tried to scrape as much dressing off as possible, trashed the flour tortilla and ate the chicken breast and my chili. Needless to say, I was predictably hungry later.

I know now I should have gone with my usual--something I knew the nutritional stats for going in--but I got sidetracked. By something I thought was healthy and later learned wasn't.

I absolutely hate when that happens. When you think something's good for you only to learn later it's not? This has happened to me on certain occasions too--restaurant salads fall into this category and it's maddening.

It wasn't a diet disaster moment, but just one of those reminders that you really do need to be careful when you eat out--no matter how much you think you know about a menu or what you're eating. Looks can be very, very deceiving!

10 comments:

Melissa said...

omg i picked up a garden salad and minestrone soup at olive garden yesterday. when i added up the pts, it came to...8.5 for soup and a salad (no croutons, no cheese, no fun stuff at all!). totally effed up! :X

Kris said...

Your post made me laugh because I probably would have went ahead and eaten the thing...cheese and all. Great job trying to make it more figure friendly.

Unknown said...

I hate it when I have to learn the hard way! That sucks!

How is the trainer?

Alli said...

OMG i know exactly what you mean!!! Like Zaxby's salads.. how the frick can a grilled chicken salad be 26 points?
AND I hate when sometimes I get a pack fo diet sodas and start drinking one only to realize I picked up the REGULAR soda by accident because the boxes look so damn similar. HATE IT!

You rock still makin it work. That is hilarious the picture looked like carrots!

Grumpy Chair said...

I too, would have eaten it.

I like Wendy's chili and plain baked potato. I like to pour the chili over the potato and it is very filling.

Have a great weekend.

Healthy Pear said...

Funny, I was just going to say the same thing that "Grumpy's Chair" said. The baked potato with the chili is VERY filling and most likely lower in pts too!
You did very well though despite the cheese laden wrap you were given.

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

I've gotten caught like that, too, and even had the reverse happen: something I thought was awful turned out to be not that bad (mini-bagel chips, which I ate like they had 0 calories. Turns out it was about 130 cals.*G*)

One thing I like about my iphone is that I can look up calories on the we browser while I'm in the restaurant. If I remember that. :)

All in all, your wrap wasn't a deal breaker, but I'm sorry you went hungry. :(

Heather said...

wow that sucks! I have been in that situation before, where you are trying your hardest to do the right thing and somehow still end up consuming more than you thought! but I think it could have been worse and I woudlnt be too hard on yourself. Im sure it didnt do too much damage.

Unknown said...

Woohoo for feeling the pain from the trainers workouts. That means you are burning fat and defining those muscles. Great job!

Fairy Princess said...

It's so true...food out can be tricky! They never really give you accurate clear pictures sometimes I feel like I am flying blind. A lot of times I use www.dwlz.com She give WW points for thins but also a lot of them have all the calories, fat and fiber for those not following WW. Just found your blog. I will be checking in. :)