Nutrition Frenzy

Avoid these 8 diet-sabatoging, waistline-expanding meals

Worst side dish
Burger King Hash Browns (large)

620 calories

40 g fat (11 g saturated; 13 g trans)

1,200 mg sodium

60 g carbs
Calorie equivalent: 12 chicken wings

Yes, you’re ingesting more than a meal’s worth of calories from a side dish, but the real cause for concern here is that these little potato cakes pack seven times more trans fats than you’re supposed to eat all day! Until BK learns to cut out the partially hydrogenated oils, avoid encounters with potatoes of any kind at that fatty food joint.

Eat this instead!
Burger King Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich

300 calories

17 g fat (6 g saturated; 2 g trans)

740 mg sodium

26 g carbs

Worst breakfast sandwich
Hardee’s Monster Biscuit

710 calories

51 g fat (17 g saturated)

2,250 mg sodium

37 g carbohydrates
Sodium equivalent: 6 large orders of french fries

When they say “Monster,” they mean it. This 700-calorie behemoth should be enough to scare anyone: It contains nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat. Instead try the Sunrise Croissant with Bacon. It’s not exactly diet-friendly, but if you’re stuck at Hardee’s, it’s a way to escape without too much damage.

Eat this instead!
Hardee’s Sunrise Croissant with Bacon

450 calories

29 g fat (12 g saturated)

900 mg sodium

28 g carbs

Worst kid’s meals
Denny’s Big Dipper French Toastix with margarine and syrup

770 calories

71 g fat (13 g saturated)

107 g carbs
Fat equivalent: 23 chicken nuggets

As important as it is for mom and dad to eat a good breakfast each morning, it’s even more critical that their kids do. After all, breakfast affects their energy levels, metabolism, and performance in school. We highlight a lot of breakfast blunders in our new book “Eat This, Not That! For Kids!” –none worse than these dubious little sticks.

Eat this instead!
Kid’s D-Zone Smiley Alien Hotcakes

340 calories

12 g fat (5 g saturated)

49 g carbs

Worst pastry
Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll

813 calories

32 g fat (5 g trans fat)

117 g carbs
Calorie equivalent: 7 bowls of Froot Loops

You wouldn’t start your day with three brownies, would you? As far as your body knows, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing if you wake up with this cinnamon-swirled disaster area. In fact, because Cinnabon offers no healthy alternatives, you’ll have to invite friends (or enemies?) to share the risky roll, or steer clear of Cinnabon altogether.

Worst smoothie
Smoothie King Grape Expectations II (40 oz.)

1,102 calories

256 g sugars

740 mg sodium
Sugar equivalent: 12 Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Bars

Why Smoothie King would even offer a 40 oz. serving size is beyond us. With more than half the calories you need in a day and the sugar equivalent of 12 Haagen Dazs ice cream bars, few beverages better underscore the importance of drinking responsibly. Luckily, Smoothie King provides plenty of ways to do just that.

Drink this instead!
Smoothie King Low Carb Strawberry Smoothie (20 oz.)

268 calories

3 g sugars

176 mg sodium

Worst combo meal
McDonald’s Deluxe Breakfast

1,360 calories

64 g fat (22 g saturated)

2,325 mg sodium

160 g carbs

49 g sugars
Saturated fat equivalent: 22 strips of bacon

With four vehicles for refined carbohydrates (biscuit, hash browns, hotcakes, syrup), this “deluxe” disaster will send your blood sugar soaring. Why blow nearly an entire day’s calories under the arches, when a perfectly satisfying Egg McMuffin will save you more than 1,000 calories?

Eat this instead!
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin with coffee

310 calories

12 g fat (5 g saturated)

820 mg sodium

30 g carbs

3 g sugars

Worst omelet
IHOP Big Steak Omelet

1,490 calories
(No additional nutrition information available)

Calorie equivalent: More than 7 glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts
IHOP doesn’t provide nutritional information aside from calorie counts, but with a boatload of steak, a bucket of cheese, and handfuls of hash browns, this omelet’s fat and sodium numbers are surely just as appalling.

Eat this instead!
IHOP For Me Garden Scramble

440 calories

Worst breakfast in America
Bob Evans Stacked and Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes

1,543 calories

77 g fat (26 g saturated; 9 g trans)

2,259 mg sodium

198 g carbs

109 g sugars
Saturated fat equivalent: 26 strips of bacon
Sugar equivalent: 12 chocolate chip cookies
Sodium equivalent: 12 small bags of potato chips

It’s not a good sign when it takes you nearly five seconds to spit out the name of your breakfast. This bad boy packs in more than 75 percent of your calories for the day, along with more sugar and fat than nine glazed Dunkin’ Donuts, and nearly as much sodium as five Bloody Marys.

Eat this instead!
3 Scrambled Egg Beaters with 2 slices of bacon and fresh fruit

314 calories

19.5 g fat (5 g saturated)

700 mg sodium

21 g carbs

18 g sugars