The goddess of weight loss, Dottie, runs Dotties Weight Loss Zone. She posted limited info from IHOP at the following link. Some restaurants are forthcoming, or at least have item nutrition info listed on a web site. Even McDonalds lists theirs on the web. Others won't come forward. Even WW has had some companies refuse to provide all three nutritional categories (i.e. Fat grams, fiber and total calories). I see "egg" crepes on Dottie's list, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing.

I tend to eat at restaurants that are listed in my WW book, just to make life easy. I like it that so many are getting on the diet bandwagon. Applebees now has WW choices, and TGI Fridays is starting to serve Atkins choices. At McDonalds I am now able to order apple juice for my daughter. Wow! I hope the trend continues!

Here is a link that might be useful: DWLZ IHOP link

Thanks, TREKaren.

Today's Los Angeles Times has a front-page article(1/3/04, "War on Fat Gets Serious") about the problem of obesity and what is being done on several fronts.

I think that if we all demand nutritional information from restaurants we can make a difference. And lets share our successes and failures!

Hey look at this news article published in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution:

McDonald's adds nutrition data

New York --- With Americans fattening up and fast food on the defense, McDonald's this week began telling dieters in the New York area how much fat and carbs are in some of its meals. New posters and brochures, prominently displayed in restaurants in New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut, tell customers how to modify McDonald's existing menu --- by leaving out the bun or cheese, for example --- to reduce their intake of fat, carbohydrates and calories. But Christiana Vilella, regional marketing director, said there is no plan to make such information available outside the area.

Speaking of McDonalds check out the info they have in a plastic rack. I picked up nutrition info there. If you do internet searches sometimes you can find what you need. I did that when going to Olive Garden (what a challenge!) and Texas Roadhouse. They were hard to find but they are out there somewhere. Kathy

I have a confession: tonight I went to a restaurant with coworkers and forgot to ask about nutritional information for the food I ordered. Bad, bad, bad.

We need to remember to make waves every time we enter a restaurant. And to compliment the restaurants who provide the information we need.

Hotels are notoriously unhealthy -- the one I stayed in offered waffles from scratch -- and raisin bran but it's hard to choose raisin bran day after day LOL when faced with a belgian waffle!

Anyway, here is a new restaurant joining the bandwagon of at least offering good choices!

With an estimated one out of every four Americans participating in a low-carbohydrate diet, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts will introduce two new offerings, called Low-Carb Inspirations, to its breakfast menu starting Jan. 12. The hotel brand recently introduced its new 'Morning Matters' service which provides guests with an estimated service time on a guest's order, coffee carafes delivered to each table and to-go cups before guests leave.

Just found a great website with a big list of restaurants with nutritional information:

Dotti's Weight Loss Zone
www.dwlz.com

I'm so grouchy about this. I went to Applebee's the other day and ordered the WW Italian Chicken Portobello Sandwich, thinking WW would have to be good compared to others. They say it's 320 but it's almost 400 calories (395)!!!!!

And, it's dry bread, dry chicken, dry mushrooms with tomato sauce on the side. Of course, the fruit served on the side was not included in the calorie count either.