You have got to see this.

Go to the CBC Marketplace website for this story on the HUGE calories in common sit down restaurants. Veggie burgers with 778 calories - almost twice the calories as a Quarter Pounder. Add the fries, another 440 calories. That's 1281 calories, without a beverage.

Popular entrées with 1500+ calories. That's just the entrée, no appetizer, no drinks, no dessert.

Chicken fajitas - 1484 Calories. That's well over half a days Caloric needs for most adults.

I've been saying for two decades how most restaurants serve truly gluttonous serving sizes that are beyond all reason. Needless to say most of these restaurateurs don't like what I have to say. Too bad.

One restaurant had a Spinach and Artichoke appetizer with 1161 calories and a Southwest Philly Rollup with Fries entrée with 1593 calories.

If you ordered this appetizer and entrée you're at 2754 calories! And that's without a beverage or dessert.

Find out which restaurants these menu items came from, and how most sit down restaurants have more calories per plate than fast food restaurants.

Wonder why you're gaining weight? Could it be eating 1500 to 3000 calories at one sitting? You bet! And I bet you didn't know it.

Some might argue that the odd high calorie meal here and there is a "treat" or that it isn't really that bad. OK show me the evidence that eating 50% to 150% of all your calories for one day in one sitting is not unhealthy. And ask your self this, honestly, would you actually feel good about knowing that you ate such a high calorie meal? Don't play on words or use humor to cover up the issue.. Would you seriously feel good about knowing that you ate so much at one seating? I wouldn't, I don't expect many would.

Would you even order a meal if you knew it was so high in calories? Some may not care, but most people don't want to overeat.

Pad Thai chicken? Over 2000 calories! Disgusting. Disturbing. Think your common restaurant is interested in your health? You'd have to be a moron to believe that serving a 2000 calorie meal is healthy for anyone. Strong words? Undiplomatic? Hey listen, this has gone on long enough. This isn't funny, this isn't about politics, or leaving business to regulate themselves or any other overly simplistic 'avoid the issue' redirect.

This is about health. It's about making informed choices. No health professional, no dietitian, no doctor is going to agree that eating 1500 calorie meals is part of a healthy choice. We know this is bad for us. It is borderline sociopathic behavior to knowingly put people in harms way like this. Yes, overeating is a serious health risk.

Watch the Marketplace piece and how a restaurant industry rep dances around Marketplace questions about the importance of placing calorie values on menu items.

It's time to set higher standards for your self. Don't eat obesogenic meals, and ask for calorie counts on the meals you order. Let restaurants know you are concerned about your health and that you want to make an informed decision about what you eat.

Restaurateurs; people won't stop coming to your restaurants if you list the calories on your dishes, they will tend to order dishes with healthier caloric values. You then simply eliminate the high calorie meals that aren't ordered anymore or reduce the caloric value. Just do it.

Click here for the CBC Marketplace story

Do you know of a restaurant that actually serves healthy meals with reasonable calorie counts? Tell me about it and I'll post it. Let's build a list of restaurants that we can eat at without busting the calorie budget.

Send me an email at clabossiere@rhinofitness.ca