Here's a frightening thought -- pretty soon, we'll be able to see the calorie counts on the menu boards of several fast food joints falling under the parent company Yum Brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, according to recent reports. Don't get me wrong -- I think we all agree that calorie counts on menus are a great idea. What frightens me is knowing how many calories are in a stuffed crust pizza, deep fried chicken thigh or cheesy taco crunchwrap supreme. The horrors.

Still, this is a definitely a step in the right direction for people trying to lose weight. No longer can you plead innocence after downing that bucket of original recipe chicken -- the 'I just didn't realize it had 10 billion calories' excuse won't work anymore. And for those of you who are counting calories, now you'll know exactly how much of your daily intake you've blown in one meal.

What do you think about calorie counts on menus?

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Are you a fan of calorie counts on menus? Do you check out the online nutritional info. before heading out to a restaurant so you can make sure you order the healthiest thing on the menu? If you answered yes to either of these, how upset would you be if you found out that the nutritional information listed wasn't true? Let's say, for instance, the dish you ordered was listed to be around 400 calories and you later found out it was 600? You'd be pretty mad, right?

That's just what happened to some people dining at Applebee's, and they're taking their anger all the way to the courtroom. In Kansas City, the restaurant chain, along with Weight Watchers and DineEquity are being sued for providing false information on their 'diet' menu after it was found that some so-called 'healthy' dishes ha twice as much fat and 25% more calories than indicated. You can read more here.

I suspect this won't be the last lawsuit we see of this kind -- what do you think?

(via CalorieLab)

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If you're someone who take calorie counts to heart, especially when eating out, read this. It follows the adventures of a chef who, in an attempt to re-create fast-food favorites, did in-depth studies of items found at popular eateries. She found that the nutritional data provided was unreliable at best, and in some cases, the food she ordered had up to twice the amount of fat and calories than advertised! 50 calories here or there is one thing, but an extra 100 or 200 calories can really add up. Her article is pretty eye-opening and I suggest you read it.

So the moral of the story is: You never really know what you're getting unless you make it yourself. Am I right?

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