Most Chipotle meals are over 1000 calories and a day's worth of sodium (NYT)

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When I go to Chipotle, I have a burrito bowl, no guac or sour cream. I don't get chips, and I don't get a soda or anything. It's typically the biggest meal of the day too, since it's going to be like 600 to 1000 calories anyway.

...and it's also not something you have every day, lol.
I don't get what this article is "revealing".
 
Ray Wonder said:
No cheese, rice, guac, sour cream, or wrap? Doesn't sound like Chipotle anymore.
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I go lite on the rice and skip everything you listed except the tortilla. I'm lactose so I dont eat sour cream and cheese and I don't like guac inside my burritos/tacos thats more of dip for me that I occasinally eat. I also skip the lettuce because thats just silly inside a burrito.
 
I don't get all the "lol Chipotle is hella unhealthy" talk lately, have they ever claimed the opposite? Did they ever imply that no GMOs = healthy (in a caloric sense) food? Is it just the cool thing to complain about?

Yes I am from NorCal and said "hella"
 
Completely dependent on your toppings.

But I don't go that fancy on my chipotles - I simply go:

- chicken
- green peppers
- black beans
- brown rice
- lettuce
- tomato
- salsa

I avoid the sour cream and cheese. They have no buritto sauce so I can't get that lol. I usually get guac at other buritto places but here I don't since it's too expensive for how much you get
 
Seems to be a lot of "But Chipotle isn't actually healthy, guys!" going around lately. I find this strange.

Maybe the best thing about Chipotle is having the choice between getting a fully loaded burrito or skimping on the toppings and getting something that is actually reasonably healthy. Plenty of bowl combinations can get out of hand with calories and sodium, while plenty can clock in around 500 calories with approximately 30% DV of sodium. If I'm coming off of some monster run or something, I'll go with the former. If I've been sitting in my office for 12 hours that day, I can get that latter.
 
NoblesseOblige said:
2400 calories a day? What do you allocate to food per month. I only average 1250 a day and my food bills are already $200/month. Couldn't imagine spending almost twice that.
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If you're a non-sedentary male of average weight and height, 1250 is below your maintenance.

Rice and beans are a simple way to up your intake without costing much.
 
Chipotle is the Subway of Mexican food aka digestable but basically inedible. It's also very caloric.


Do people really think they're eating well at Chipotle? I mean come on...
 
the sodium is wacky, but lets be honest the average American eats hella sodium every day. If it aint from Chipotle, its from somewhere else.

As for the calories, besides the tips like "skip the sour cream and guac", you also need to understand that everybody has different calorie/macro/micronutrient needs. I swear the 2000-calorie a day thing was written with an average sized woman in mind. I'm 6'3'', I work out pretty intensely and have a decent amount of lean body mass. 2100 calories is my fat loss goal, lol. 2500 for maintenance. That gives me a hell of a lot of wiggle room, like a Freebirds burrito in-between my other high-protein/mid-carbs/low-fat meals of the day. Or maybe I'll eat a few spoons of Ben & Jerry's Milk and Cookies after dinner, since I got room in my macros.

There's a reason a lot of your fitness friends and gymrats go to these fast casual burrito joints. And its not like they go there every day. But these articles keep popping up every few months with calorie/sodium count to freak out people, despite being both common sense(lot of food = lot of calories!?!?) and not entirely relevant to everybody.
 
The bowl I get is freaking loaded and comes in around 800 calories. Rice, fajita veggies, double chicken, all the salsas (2x corn salsa), and lettuce just because..

Sure it's salty, but I piss all that way since I drink a fuckton of water every day.
 
People view anything that isn't traditional fast food(McDonald's, Burger King, Wnedy's etc...) as healthy. It's not anymore healthy and at times less healthy.
 
I finally ate at Chipotle a few days ago, and it started off not too bad, but the second half of my burrito just turned really soggy. It was disgusting.
 
CopperPuppy said:
Seems to be a lot of "But Chipotle isn't actually healthy, guys!" going around lately. I find this strange.

Maybe the best thing about Chipotle is having the choice between getting a fully loaded burrito or skimping on the toppings and getting something that is actually reasonably healthy. Plenty of bowl combinations can get out of hand with calories and sodium, while plenty can clock in around 500 calories with approximately 30% DV of sodium. If I'm coming off of some monster run or something, I'll go with the former. If I've been sitting in my office for 12 hours that day, I can get that latter.
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You can kind of do that with any restaurant. Take the mayonnaise out of a whopper at Burger King saves you a ton of calories.
 
I lost 130 lbs and am approaching a normal weight (still losing 3 lbs a week on 1,000 kcal a day) and I'm moderately active (10k steps a day / full body workout 3 x a week). My metabolism is 30% slower than what it should be for my height / weight due to the weight loss, but my maintenance is still ~2500 kcal / day. I'm not even that tall, either 5' 10". A 1,000 kcal meal is not a lot.
 
I don't really get why everyone is arguing that chipotle is so bad for you? If you're aiming for the average of 2000 a day it really isn't that bad. For example I'll have a banana/yogurt for breakfast, somewhere around 400-600 calories for lunch, and for dinner it might be a chipotle burrito or something else similar in size as that's generally when I actually have time to make some food or want to go out for dinner.

Also, you can eat a pretty damn healthy burrito if you actually try. My burrito order is something like black beans, brown rice, chicken, salsa/hot sauce, cheese, corn and lettuce.
 
Am I supposed to be scared that an average meal at Chipotle is around 1000 calories? I'm getting around 1000-1200 calories from the rest of my meals and snacks during the day so 1000 calories is perfect.

Also, what's with the people who can't eat their Chipotle orders in one sitting? Do you guys just eat like 5 small meals a day or something?
 
Unless you have high blood pressure or are a bodybuilder or combat athlete cutting weight. Worrying about sodium is silly. Drink more water and increase potassium intake.

Sodium is a huge bogeyman.
 
gutshot said:
Also, what's with the people who can't eat their Chipotle orders in one sitting? Do you guys just eat like 5 small meals a day or something?
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I keep reading people saving half for later. Like...what? Are you a small woman?

"Can I get a to-go box for this other half of my burrito, please?"
 
BattleMonkey said:
Only if you order right.

Which frankly is no different from eating anyhwere, even cheap fast food can be relatively healthy if you order right.

Chipotle is better quality food, but it's not exactly more healthy.
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Correct. Although it is harder at burger joints. I do have my go to meals at places like McDonald's if I'm ways away from a better option.

It's usually two McDoubles and a diet coke. For a meal, that's actually not bad calorie-wise and pretty filling.

The biggest issue with burger places is the fries. Fries are killer. Also Milkshakes are calorie bombs too. Same with non-diet sodas.
 
I don't think anyone looks at a bowl stacked five inches high and thinks it's in line with any diet. Chipotle doesn't even sell themselves as such, they just talk about their ingredients being better than the mystery meat and almost egg that most fast food places serve, it's not their fault if people think that means they can go on a Chipotle diet.

1000ish calories isn't even crazy for an entire meal unless you're really trying to drop weight. I also hate that "Chipotle twice a week" fat guy picture because there's a lot more wrong with your lifestyle if you gain 40 pounds just from two burritos a week; maybe if you wake up at noon, go to chipotle, then are back in bed at 1:00 and stay there til noon the next day. I've eaten at Chipotle at the very least once a week (usually more) for the past three years and I haven't gained a pound, I haven't even worked out seriously in like two years. You'd have to forgo even the most meager activity to look like that guy from just Chipotle.

"Well when you add more food to your meal it adds calories, so my super advanced calculations tell me that if you add every available extra it equates to... A lot of calories" oh please pass on more sage-like wisdom to me, is the sky blue? Is water wet?
 
Bowl with:

Sofritas
Fajita veg
all 4 salsas
=
310 calories, 12 G Fat, 10 G Fiber, 13 G Protein.

Also 1990 MG sodium. But I give zero fucks about sodium since I don't have heart problems and am not predisposed to it.

If I'm being really naughty, I'll split a bag of chips with the husband - bag is 570 Cals/2 = 285 cals added. So I'm looking at less than 600 cals for dinner.

I'm good with this.

Mr Fahrenheit said:
"Well when you add more food to your meal it adds calories, so my super advanced calculations tell me that if you add every available extra it equates to... A lot of calories" oh please pass on more sage-like wisdom to me, is the sky blue? Is water wet?
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Also this.
 
the problem with having so much sodium is't necessarily health related, it's that it makes everything at Chipotle taste so damn salty
 
What's with all these weird anti-Chipotle articles?

No shit their food has a lot of calories, but you're not supposed to eat it every meal and it's not like this information isn't available if you seek it out.

Things like this and the Supersize Me doc a few years back just rub me the wrong way. It's your own fault if you overeat and gain weight because you don't pay attention to what you're consuming and/or don't exercise.
 
Its interesting i guess since most people just dont realize what their intake is.

At work we have a burrito bowl / taco / quesadilla station.

The last time i got a burrito bowl the guy damn well near maxed out. It must've been enough filling for almost 2 burritos. Worth the money but damn that was damm filling.
 
entrement said:
I lost 20 pounds using Chipotle as my main lunch. I got low calorie salads.

Then there's the argument that losing weight doesn't equate health.



It can be. It can also be extremely fattening. Chipotle is the choose your own adventure of fast food restaurants.
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Yup and I'm sneaking up on 35lbs lost and the main place I go out to eat is chipotle

Bowl with rice, black beans, veggies, chicken, extra mild, corn and lettuce. Under 700 calories and great macros.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't care for Chipotle mostly because they serve their food at fucking room temperature?

And god forbid you're picking up a to-go order to bring back to work or home with you: It'll be stone cold by the time you get there. And they helpfully wrap everything in foil so you can't even easily throw it in the microwave.
 
Modest Mauser said:
What's with all these weird anti-Chipotle articles?

No shit their food has a lot of calories, but you're not supposed to eat it every meal and it's not like this information isn't available if you seek it out.

Things like this and the Supersize Me doc a few years back just rub me the wrong way. It's your own fault if you overeat and gain weight because you don't pay attention to what you're consuming and/or don't exercise.
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I don't get it.

They're one of the better national chains. It's like the new thing to hate on.

I get their GMO stance issues, but who cares? I do like their commitment to better meats.
 
entrement said:
Unless you have high blood pressure or are a bodybuilder or combat athlete cutting weight. Worrying about sodium is silly. Drink more water and increase potassium intake.

Sodium is a huge bogeyman.
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Yep, the hate on sodium is bullshit. Sodium isn't bad for you
unless you go completely overboard i.e. multiple fast food meals a day, multiple times per week but then at that point it's the other shit that will be even worse for you ex: saturated fat
.

Mix in low/no sodium meals regularly, drink water, and workout (sweating) and you will be fine.
 
Why do people think high-calorie and unhealthy are the same thing? Doritos and french fries are unhealthy; mayonnaise and burritos aren't unhealthy, they're just high calorie. The only real problem is the sodium.
 
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