When you're cruising to the drive-thru, you're probably mentally prepared for a bit of a calorie hit.
These days, however, many fast-food restaurants offer ostensibly healthier options for customers who are looking for something on the lighter side. That means it should be easy to keep your calorie consumption to a minimum when stopping for a quick bite on the go, right?
Unfortunately, there are quite a few sources of hidden calories you should watch out for when you're dining on fast food. Here are some of the sneakiest ways you could be consuming more calories than you think.
The nutritional labeling on fast-food items can be inaccurate.
Though many restaurants have begun publishing the calorie counts of their food items, testing has shown that the actual number of calories in those items varies. Sometimes by a lot.
Business Insider used a bomb calorimeter, the most accurate way to count calories in food, to test four popular fast food menu items. The results were mildly terrifying.
A chicken burrito at a major chain restaurant was advertised as containing 1,315 calories but was actually found to contain 1,670 calories. Similarly, a double-patty burger with toppings at a legendary fast food jointwas found to contain 702 calories, even though it was advertised as containing just 540 calories.
Your salad dressing could be hiding a boatload of calories.
If you're drizzling a pouch of salad dressing over your meal, you could be adding hundreds of calories.
Just two tablespoons of Caesar salad dressing (which may be way less than you would actually use) will add159 calories to your meal, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). If you double-up on your dressing and grab an extra pack, you could be looking at over 300 additional calories. That's likeadding a small burger to your order.
That fruit and nut topping could be more caloric than you think.
If you think you're choosing a low-cal option when you opt for a trail mix topping on your salad or yogurt, think again.
A half-cup serving of trail mix containing nuts, seeds, and dried fruit might contain about 346 calories, according to the USDA.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider