Counting Spoils the Fun

Bjs is a popular restaurant known for the fact that they brew their own signature beers. However, there food should not be ignored because they have some tasty dishes to offer as well. When I ate out here last week I was really excited to have a glass of beer, specifically the cider beer blend which consist of Guinness and berry burst cider, and their infamous white shark pizza. The pizza has a thick layer of cheese and chunks of chicken and mushroom. It never fails to satisfy my taste buds, but this time I finally got to take a look at the amount of calories I was about to consume. The problem with Bjs menu is that instead of showing how many calories are in the dish right next to the name of the food like most restaurants, they offer their nutritional menu at the very end of the menu. This causes consumers, like myself, to get excited about what they are about to eat and then instantly feel guilty because they can now see how many calories and grams of fat are included.  This made my dining experience not so great because the excitement of wanting to indulge in my favorite meal at BJs was replaced by the feeling of not even placing my same order. Instead I ordered grilled balsamic chicken that was pretty good as well, but not what I originally craved for.

Lately most restaurants have been showcasing the amount of calories contained in their food. This has occurred because of the ever-increasing prevalence of obesity in our society today. This ongoing trend of obesity has somewhat made people live in a life of fear, fear of becoming obese. Due to this paranoia, counting calories has been a significant way that people can stray away from eating too much within a days period. Usually people should only consume 2000 calories a day, but sticking within this limit is not an easy task to do. However, one problem that occurs from doing so is that it causes people to not really enjoy food like they did before. Instead of noticing the wonderful flavors of the meal, some may focus on how badly they want a certain dish, but feel guilty while eating their food because they know it s not the healthiest thing to eat. Or it can often cause people to not even enjoy the food they want to because they might not even order it after seeing how much they are consuming. Yes it may be an effective manner in reducing the amount of calories and fat content one eats, but I believe that enjoying the small things in life, like food, should be important as well. However, with how judgmental our society is today, it is easier said than done to not care about one’s weight. Media especially puts these pressures on young adults to look a certain way and that is why there is such a craze to be skinny. It is sad to say, but it is the truth that most teenagers face so along with a fear of being obese it can also lead to bulimia and anorexia. Hopefully people can learn that it is not all about weight and that with the limited time in our lives we should all be worrying about more serious things, like spending time with our family and friends.