I think it's important to know exactly what you are putting in your mouth, so I voted yes.

I think it's very important to know the Ingridents of what you are putting in your body, but honestly, if I would want to go out to a fast food restaurant (which I do, like once a year), I wouldn't want to know the calories b/c I would feel so guilty. I'd rather know all the ingridents. You can always look the calorie count on calorieking.com if you are watching your caloric intake. And if you eat fast food frequently, then you generally should.

I think it should be a requirement to have the info available but they don't have to place it on their menu. I enjoy a night away from calorie counting just like everyone else but I hate not being able to go to resteraunts because I can't plan what's in my diet from all the hidden fats and stuff. There are many resteraunts (Cheesecake factory, Bertuccis(only spelled right) etc.) that don't make any of that info available so I'm stuck guessing. The healthy options are nice, but they are all salads and grilled chicken, which is kinda dull after a while and I can make at home.

Sorry, rant done now.

I agree completely with princessgouveia. As far as fast food and feeling guilty though, I might as well know since I have a general idea with which to torment myself anyway.

i do understand the benefit and purpose of doing this but i have to say that when i go into places and i see that things are 500+ cals - it just makes me ill. and the thing is that it's typically things that i wouldn't eat anyway - but just seeing how bad they are for you is nauseating! i don't know how else to say it. for example when i go into sbucks - i see that the lemon cake is over 500 cals - and not that i've ever ordered it, but i think that it's just gross that someone would be willing to have that many cals in just one piece of cake - and then it makes me not even want to order my tea

I generally think it is a good idea to know what you are putting inside your body. I may not always eat the best foods all the time, but I do try for, the most part, to be conscious of my food and calorie intake. I wish every place listed the calories in the full amount of the food I order, then I could decide 1) if it is worth ordering, and 2) How much of it I should eat and save for later.

I think it is a good idea, obviously most people don't bother to do their own research as evidenced by the expanding waistlines in the USA.
I still don't trust a lot of restaurants to cook it as it should be prepared, most go way over in oil and butter etc. while cooking than what their calorie info accounts for.

I live in Ny and its really great seeing the calories in everything from food to drinks - its defiantly made me more aware of what I put in my body

It's a good start in my opinion. Obviously calories aren't the only way to judge the nutritional value of a food. I know a Big Mac & fries are bad for me, but sometimes I choose a salad when I think I'm being healthy and it's actually more calories.

I have to say, living in NYC and having to see the calories posted on virtually every menu is definitely a deterrent when selecting food. But for the most part, I've always had a good amount of will power to say no to things I shouldn't eat anyway.

i'm not sure how i feel about this..
a couple of months ago I would've been all for it and wishing they did that in my area.. but now that i've been diagnosed and pretty much trying to recover from anorexia i think i'd agree with my therapist who says this is the type of thing that encourages eating disorders.
even tho i'm still in refeeding mode and counting to meet my goal of 2000+ maintenance calories, the ultimate goal is for me to stop counting, obsessing and generally making myself miserable and enjoying life.
sometimes i wish no one had ever discovered the concept of calories. i would be able to eat like i did when i was a kid: eat when im hungry, eat what i like, eat what my mom tells me is healthy, stop when im not hungry... just be normal, you know?

I really like this idea because I'm the type of person that sometimes thinks, 'I know this isn't very good for me but I'll treat myself just this once' but if I saw that that pumpkin loaf (for example) has almost 400 calories in it, you'd better believe I'd walk away quickly!

I don't mind.

I was vacationing in NYC over the summer and saw the posted calories and thought it was a great idea. I was in a pizza joint when I first saw this and it was an eye opener. I sometimes wish we had this at home so I have the option of choosing the lesser evil.

I'd love this!

I definitely think restaurants should have the information readily available and if it's not on the menu, I can picture a scenario where you go and ask for the info, the staff are busy and they get annoyed and treat you like a problem, etc...

I just don't like being treated like the weirdo who asks for all kinds of special stuff and I get enough of that already being vegetarian.

I wish nutritional info was mandatory on packaging over here!!!!! DOn't read it if you aren't interested but seriously, I wish it was available everywhere!

I wish I had it here.

Although I can see how it could lead to being slightly obsessive (especially if you're recovering from an ED), I look at it in the same way I look at putting prices on things. You go to a store and everything's priced so you know what you're going to spend before you hit the checkout so you're not floored when they give you the total. Similarly, if you go to a restaurant and have X calories to "spend" on dinner, I want to make sure I don't go over that.

knowing a calorie count doesn't stop you from eating that sugary glazed scone with 500 calories in it, but many people think that certain items at coffee shops (think muffins) are fairly healthy when in fact are a huge splurge. knowledge is power!