Pizza Calories |
Pizza Calories
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There's a reason they call it pizza pie.
The thing is, though, everyone knows what a reasonable portion of dessert pie is. A slice! Maybe less!
But what comprises a reasonable portion of pizza? (After seeing the Pizza Hut pizza buffet, I'm not sure "reasonable" is a word that anyone applies to pizza anymore!)
If you go to a burger joint, you know that two burgers is overdoing it. But when you go out (or order in) for pizza, do you have a preconceived notion of how much is enough?
You should!
My husband comes from Chicago
Chicago, of course, is the home of deep-dish pizza. What looks to him like a pizza looks to me like a wedding cake! Isn't pizza supposed to be flat?
I use the words "hidden calories" to describe those foods and situations where you're least likely to know just how much you're eating. Hidden calories are a major enemy of weight loss and weight maintenance.
Pizza calories aren't just hidden, they're downright sneaky! Not only do you have to consider how many slices you're eating, but also how big those slices are, how thick they are, and what toppings are on them.
I'll use Pizza Hut as an example.
According to their website, a single slice of their large "Meat Lover's" pan pizza with extra cheese and extra sauce (to balance all that extra crust) contains 580 calories, 35 grams of fat (53% of your recommended daily total) and 13 grams of saturated fat (65% of your daily recommendation).
On the other hand, one slice of a medium thin crust pizza with green pepper, onion and mushrooms has only 180 calories (and much lower fat and saturated fat content).
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If you're eating the meaty pan pizza, you've just eaten 1740 calories - never mind the soda and the breadsticks. You've also eaten nearly two days' worth of saturated fat.
(Want to learn more about Pizza Hut pizza calories and nutrition?)
I have nothing against pizza
It's yummy. And with a grainy crust, low fat cheese, tomatoey sauce and vegetable toppings, it can make for a well-balanced meal. But three (or more!) slices at a cost of 500 pizza calories per slice isn't a well-balanced or reasonable anything. It's a dietary disaster and it pretty much makes losing weight impossible.
(Here's a page that compares nutrition information from a number of different national pizza chains.)
Take control of your pizza intake and take those calories out of hiding. Here are some tips and tricks:
Make your own pizza. When you control the ingredients, you control the nutrition.
Buy healthy frozen pizzas. Nutrition labeling means you know exactly what you're getting. Do some math to figure out a reasonable portion size for your weight goals.
If you're going out, order vegetable toppings only and decide in advance how many slices you're going to allow yourself. You would never order 2 burgers, so don't eat 6 slices!
The thinner the crust, the fewer the calories. Also, the pan that they make pan pizzas in tends to be loaded with oil. After all, you can't really stick a spatula under a steep-sided pan. Oil is what they use to get the pizza to slide out! Stick with thin, crispy crust. Yum!
And remember: breadsticks in addition to pizza crust is just plain silly!
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Where else might your calories be hiding?
More on weight loss.
Contact me for professional help from a registered dietitian.
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