The Skinny on Restaurant 'Diet' Menus

May 22, 2008 — -- Think you're being good when you order off the diet menu in restaurants? An investigation by several TV stations suggests that you may be getting more calories and fat than you think.

Eight TV stations owned by Scripps tested a small sample of diet menu dishes (one sample of 23 different items) from popular chain restaurants including Chili's, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Applebee's and the Cheesecake Factory.

Reporters ordered off the low-calorie, low-fat menu. The food was then tested by lab technicians, who weighed each sample, extracted the fat and then figured out the calories in each meal.

Of the 23 items tested, 78 percent exceeded the fat limit listed on the menu and almost 69 percent of the samples went over the calorie count listed.

The guiltless grilled salmon at Chili's promises a dish that's 480 calories and 14 grams of fat. But the tests revealed the dish was actually 664 calories and 35 grams of fat.

In fact, every "guiltless" item tested from Chili's contained more fat and calories than what was listed on the menu.

"I have clients who order off the guiltless menus and many of them are not losing weight. This could explain why," said clinical dietitian Chrissy Barth.

Chicken fajitas from On the Border Mexican Grill's "border smart" menu are listed as containing 570 calories and nine grams of fat.

The serving tested weighed in at 654 calories and 26.5 grams of fat. And the dish came with a free "sample" of queso dip, salsa and chips that would add an additional 2,067 calories and 117 grams of fat.

The skinny chicken at the Macaroni Grill is supposed to be 500 calories and six grams of fat.

Not bad at all, but if you eat the huge piece of bread they include, you get twice the calories and eight times the fat.

These three restaurants are owned by Brinker International. In a statement, they apologized to their customers and said they "strive to ensure nutritional information … is accurate."