I am someone who struggles to make good food choices. I know I have a problem with food. And it’s not ONLY that I have two hands and just one mouth. Although that is a shame… 🙂 But I do wrestle with food issues and often lose the match. So I think the idea of putting calories on menus is a great idea.

Twitter is abuzz with differing opinions. Restaurants fearing the worst, nanny state gone mad with food policing. Then there’s comments about empowerment and best practice. There’s also a lot of talk about the fact that calorie counting is a thing of the past and that it’s the saturated fats (or the carbs – depending on what side of THAT argument you sit on!) that need to be counted.

I’ve also read comments about how fine dining is an indulgence and it would just ruin it for everyone. Apart from the fact that it would cost the already struggling restaurant owners a fortune!

You see from my perspective, I believe I have an addiction. Don’t misunderstand me. I think alocohol and drug problems are a much much bigger struggle for people and they have far more issues to cope with. But I’m a comfort eater who became a compulsive eater. But I can’t NOT eat ever again. I would love to be able to cut food out of my world, but I can’t. So anything that would help me at the moment of decision, is a help to me.

Going back to alcohol – there are %vol alocohol labels on wine bottles and I’ve never read one before buying a bottle of wine. Even if I did it wouldn’t affect my choice. (My wine choice is usually based on 1. is it Merlot? 2. is it under a tenner?!)

Let’s face it these days eating out is a treat. Not like a few years ago when it was almost commonplace! But for those who do spoil themselves a bit and maybe spend a few more quid than they really have on a meal out… they don’t want added guilt of the calorie count – I get that. Neither do I frankly!

I’ve only seen calories on a menu once. It was in the Kudos Bar in the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley and it did inform my choice. One of the dishes had a coconut based sauce (I think) and it was considerably higher than the other dish. So I opted for the lower one – it was fantastic, I really enjoyed it AND I had the benefit of feeling good that I had made a good decision.

So restaurateurs and food fans, you go fight the good fight if you don’t think this is a good thing. But I’m all for it.

After all I’m just a fat girl… sitting in front of a restaurant menu…. asking you to put the caesar dressing on the side!