Eat This, Not That: Avoid America's 'scariest' restaurant meals

These meals may seem innocent, but they're really dietary ax murderers in disguise. A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that unhealthy restaurant foods contain an average of 642 calories more than people estimate. If you're like the average American who eats out five times a week, that's 47 pounds a year you didn't know you were consuming—and will have to work off, or learn to live with.

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Now look at what our ignorance has wrought: The Freddie, Jason, and Michael Meyers of American health are heart disease, cancer, and stroke — all three of which are strongly rooted in lifestyle. It's time for us to put an end to the horror show. This exclusive list (compliments of the brand-new "Eat This, Not That 2012: The No-Diet Weight-Loss Solution") presents the 8 most cunning villains in a world filled with shadowy characters. So be wise. The next time one of these nutrition nightmares comes knocking on your door, run away and don't look back.

Eat This, Not That 2012

#5: WORST PIZZA
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza (individual)
2,310 calories
165 g fat (54 g saturated)
4,650 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 9 McDonald’s hamburgers!

Chicagoans beam with pride when claiming rights to the deep dish pizza, as if the invention of one of the world's most dangerous foods is a source of civic satisfaction. The problem starts, of course, with the crust, which is bathed in oil, rich in refined carbohydrates, and about three times thicker than a normal pizza so it can support the onslaught of toppings it invariably houses. Tack on oozing layers of mozzarella, Romano, and sausage (the "classic" topping of choice), and you have an individual pizza with more calories than you'd consume if you took down more than three Pizza Hut Triple Meat Italiano Personal Pan Pizzas. If it's pizza you seek at Uno's, turn to the admirable new thin five-grain crust to avoid total catastrophe. Another option? Craft your own pie at home using The Rules of Pizza as your guide.

Eat This Instead!
Thin Five-Grain Pepperoni Pizza (1/2 pie)
495 calories

24 g fat (10.5 g saturated)
930 mg sodium

#4: WORST APPETIZER
Outback's Hot Wings

2,060 calories

170 g fat (62 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)

5,393 mg sodium

SATURATED FAT EQUIVALENT: 62 slabs of bacon!

With wings this fatty, it’s no wonder chickens don’t fly. Actually the real problem occurs in Outback’s kitchen. The “secret blend of spices” turns out to be mostly fryer fat. Somebody needs to call PETA—This is animal abuse. Even if you split this three ways, you’ll still take in more than an entire day’s worth of saturated fat. Frighteningly enough, this is only one of many corrupt poultry creations—prepare to be shocked by The Worst Chicken Dishes in America!

Eat This Instead!

Coconut Shrimp

458 calories

25 g fat (13 g saturated, 1.2 g trans)

903 mg sodium

#3: WORST BREAKFAST
IHOP Country Fried Steak & Eggs with Sausage Gravy
1,680 calories
95 g fat (29 g saturated, 2 g trans)
4,050 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 27 scrambled eggs! (medium eggs)

This smorgasbord is an unabashed siren call to gluttons everywhere. It's an 8-ounce steak breaded, fried, and dripping with gravy; two eggs; hash browns; and two pancakes crowned with an ice cream scoop of butter and a sugary tide of syrup. Heck, this meal wears its pride in its name. You could feed a small nation with this “Country” breakfast, though doing so would be grounds for UN intervention. Searching for an ideal weekday alternative? Look no further than The 12 Best Supermarket Breakfasts.

Eat This Instead!
Simple & Fit Spinach, Mushroom & Tomato Omelette + Bacon
410 calories
18 g fat (7 g saturated)
990 mg sodium

#2: WORST RIBS
TGI Friday’s Jack Daniels Ribs
1,540 calories
69 g fat (20 g saturated fat)
2,940 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 5.5 bags of Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky! (3.5 oz bag)

Of all the foods on this list—fried food, pasta, pizza—none is more consistently catastrophic than a rack of restaurant ribs. Part of that is due to the fact that ribs comprise a nutritionally flawed cut of meat, redolent as they are with both external and intramuscular fat. But restaurant cooking methods, which invariably involve layer after layer of oily, sugar-dense barbecue sauce, only compound the problem. Want ribs? You're not going to find a decent rack at Friday’s, which just happens to make a dismal appearance as one of the 10 Best and Worst Restaurants in America. Order the sirloin instead.

Eat This Instead!
Petite Sirloin (with Broccoli and Mandarin Oranges)
520 calories

24.5 g fat (11 g saturated)

1,830 mg sodium

#1: WORST FOOD IN AMERICA
The Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta
2,730 calories
N/A g fat (78 g saturated fat)
919 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 60 Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets!

We recently named Cheesecake Factory America's Worst Restaurant for the fourth year running. No establishment better represents the confluence of factors that have saddled America with an ever-worsening obesity crisis. First, portion sizes are large enough to feed an NFL offensive line. Second, the use of cheap sources of flavor—oils, butter, cream, salt, and sugar—knows no limit. (It’s no wonder the chain is featured amid The Fattiest Foods in America.) Finally, the percentage of dishes fit for consumption is absurdly small (we count 8 on a menu of more than 200 dishes). Amidst the carnage, one dish sinks below all the rest: the Bistro Shrimp Pasta. Tangled up in these noodles are more calories than you'd consume if you ate three sticks of butter for dinner.

Eat This Instead!
Skinnylicious Herb Crusted Salmon
570 calories
35 g fat (9 g saturated fat)
687 mg sodium

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