I recommend that you try to make your own pizzas with my suggested dough most of the time. But I know that sometimes you need to run in to a pizzeria for a slice or you are with friends who are ordering a few pies for a party. In those cases, you help yourself and your health by becoming a mindful eater. In other words, know what you’re eating. There are big fat bombs lurking out there in pizzerialand. Most of them can be found in the big pizza chains that try to lure you in with increasingly outrageous pizza gimmicks.
Remember this one? Not long ago, Pizza Hut introduced their artery-clogging, weight-loss-foiling frankenfood, the 15″ Hot Dog Bites pie—a large, one-topping pizza with pigs-in-a-blanket baked into the crust!
Unfortunately, Pizza Hut isn’t alone in offering pies that better resemble manhole covers than Neapolitan delicacies. At most popular restaurants, thin, healthy crusts have gotten thicker, more bloated with cheap-carb calories. Toppings have gotten gimmicky, so healthy mozzarella and tomato sauces are sometimes replaced with things like burger meat, ziti or chicken fingers. And serving sizes—especially for “individual” pizzas—have taken these pies to a new level of caloric callousness.
It has gotten pretty bad out there. So my friends at Eat This, Not That! decided to call out these knucklehead pizzas. The editors researched every pie in America—restaurant and frozen—and determined the absolute worst for your health and waistline. And then they offered a “best list” of pizzas that won’t go to your bottom line. Use this as a guide to steering away from the likes of Hot Dog Bites pies and toward healthier options.
Estimated per slice: 460 calories, 30 g fat (9.9 g saturated fat), 32.7 g carbohydrates
That’s the fat equivalent of 7.5 Taco Bell Soft Fresco Steak Tacos!
We’ve seen Pizza Hut do some kooky things in the past to try to woo new fans—remember the Crazy Cheesy Crust Pizza, with 16 crust pockets of five totally different cheeses? Their latest monster mashup is Hot Dog Bites Pizza—a cheesy, pepperoni pizza surrounded by pigs in a blanket instead of the standard crust. Combining two fattening, calorie-dense, all-American foods is a lose-lose situation (though you won’t lose weight)—there’s a whopping 3,680 calories in a typical, 8-slice pie, to be exact. Oh, and it’s served with French’s mustard—for dipping all those hot dogs, of course. Yum?
400 calories, 12 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 880 mg sodium, 56 g carbohydrates
810 calories, 40 g fat (15 g saturated fat), 2,180 mg sodium, 73 g carbohydrates, 36 g protein
That’s the fat equivalent of 10 slices of pan-fried bacon!
The architecture of this thing makes it less like a slice of pizza and more like a pizza-inspired Chipotle Burrito. It relies on an oversize shell of oily bread to hold together a gooey wad of cheese, sausage and pepperoni. The net result is a pizza pocket with two-thirds of your day’s fat and more than a day’s worth of sodium. And the traditional pizza slices aren’t much better; few fall below 600 calories. If you want to do well at Sbarro, think thin crust with nothing but produce on top.
410 calories, 14 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 790 mg sodium, 53 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein
The Scary Chemical Found in Takeout Pizza Boxes
Here’s another compelling reason to bake a homemade pizza: Those pizza delivery boxes can last for just about forever, which should raise some eyebrows. Unless you have a ton of extra time on your hands, you probably never wondered why. Sure, cardboard is thicker than your average paper plate, but pizza boxes have also been chemically treated with per-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to withstand the fat dripping from the cheese and meat toppings. While these chemicals help keep your kitchen counter safe from grease, they pose a number of dangers to human health.
In addition to disrupting the immune system, the chemicals may increase the risk of cancer, hypothyroidism, liver malfunction and obesity, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and international health and environmental experts. Although toxicologists have long been concerned about PFASs, they are just now asking manufacturers to replace the substances with safer alternatives. They also want products laced with the chemicals to be labeled as such to help consumers stay away from the toxins whenever possible.
On the opposing side of the issue, the Environmental Protection Agency says that the chemicals don’t pose too much of a threat to our health and are actually safer than alternative options used in the past. Since the verdict is still out, don’t expect any major changes to your pizza box any time soon. In the mean time, if PFASs concern you, minimize your exposure by taking your favorite pizza delivery place off speed dial and eating at the restaurant or making your own pizza at home.
1,420 calories, 59 g fat (28 g saturated fat), 2,970 mg sodium, 149 g carbohydrates
That’s the calorie equivalent of almost 17 Eggo Confetti Waffles!
That is not a typo: Romano’s loudly advertises their “fatbread”—baked dough smothered with cheese and toppings—as being “fat on crust, fat on toppings and fat on flavor” but they should have added “fat on you.” Consuming more than half of your daily calories in one sitting is just asking for a 3 p.m. desktop snooze and a fatter tummy. Skip them and choose a simpler pasta instead. (But beware: Ravioli alla Vodka and the Penne Arrabbiata are 2 of only 4 lunchtime pastas with fewer than 1,000 calories.)
660 calories, 37 g fat, (20 g saturated fat), 1,440 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrates
380 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 880 mg sodium, 60 g carbohydrates
That’s the carb equivalent of shotgunning more than 4 slices of Wonder Bread!
Macaroni and cheese pizza? While it might seem like the best idea ever to kids the world over, this cute concept is potentially disastrous for your health—and your children’s. Why top an already carbohydrate-heavy dish with more carbs, not to mention fat? While the calorie count doesn’t register as high as most problematic pies on this list, that’s only because the slices are tiny; believe us, in CiCi’s all-you-can-eat environment, the damage can add up quickly. But if you bring one of their pizzas home, celebrate their smaller slices as built-in portion control—and go with flatbread. The kids will love the crunch.
200 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 380 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrates
680 calories, 31 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 1,740 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrates
That’s the fat equivalent of 442 large shrimp! Really.
Fare from the sea is typically a healthy way to go, but sprinkle it over a bed of starchy dough and fatty cheese and you have a different story altogether. Billed as a starter, this Lobster Pizza is the only pizza on Red Lobster’s menu—luckily it shares space with one of the world’s greatest appetizers: shrimp cocktail.
120 calories, 1 g fat, 590 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrates
720 calories, 30 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 1,400 mg sodium
That’s the sodium equivalent of dumping 5 salt packets into your mouth!
Papa John’s seasonal concoction of pizza, beef chili and yes, Fritos is an insult to almost every cuisine known to man. By our estimates, a whole pie would come salted up with nearly 6,000 mg of sodium! A better defense is a good offense, so start your meal off here with a few pieces of belly-filling protein in the form of wings or chicken strips. Consider it insurance against scarfing too many slices later on.
400 calories, 26 g fat (8.5 g saturated fat), 1,060 mg sodium
2,300 calories, 164 g fat (53 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat), 4,910 mg sodium, 119 g carbohydrates
That’s the sodium equivalent of 27 small bags of Lay’s Potato Chips!
The problem with deep-dish pizza (which Uno’s knows a thing or two about since they invented it back in 1943) is not just the extra empty calories and carbs from the crust, it’s that the thick, doughy base provides the structural integrity to house extra heaps of cheese, sauce, and greasy toppings. The result is an individual pizza with more calories than you should eat in a day. Oh, did we mention it has nearly 3 days’ worth of saturated fat, too? The key to (relative) success at Uno’s lies in their flatbread pies—and share them!
490 calories, 23.5 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 1,290 mg sodium, 48 g carbohydrates
11 BELLY-TIGHTENING TIPS FOR PIZZA DIET SUCCESS
Easy Extra Efforts Can Speed the Results of Your Weight Loss
1. Eat Mushrooms, Drop Pounds
If you substituted portobello or white button mushrooms for beef just once a week, you’d save more than 20,000 calories and roughly 1,500 grams of fat (and shed more than five pounds!) over the course of a year without changing anything else about your diet. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center found that choosing low-energy-density foods, specifically white button mushrooms, instead of high-energy-density foods such as ground beef, can help prevent obesity. For four days, their study subjects saved 420 calories and 30 grams of fat per day by eating mushroom lasagna, napoleons, sloppy joes, and vegetable chili entrees. “The best thing about using mushrooms as a dietary substitute is that you typically won’t compensate for the lower-calorie meal by eating more food later in the day,” says study author Lawrence Cheskin, MD, director of Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center.
2. Decorate Your Plate
A 14-year study found that men whose diets were highest in colorful fruits and vegetables had a 70 percent lower risk of digestive-tract cancers. How to reach your quota: Never eat a meal that doesn’t contain a vegetable or fruit. And no, fries don’t count. The color of produce can tip you off to its nutritional value:
Below are five color categories of fruits and vegetables and their known health benefits. Get at least five servings a day. (One serving equals 1 cup raw or ½ cup cooked.)
Blues and Purples: Blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, plums, raisins, eggplant. Benefits: Keep memory sharp and reduce risk of many types of cancer, including prostate cancer
Greens: Kiwi, honeydew, spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, cabbage. Benefits: Protect bones, teeth, and eyesight
Whites: Pears, bananas, mushrooms, cauliflower, onions, garlic. Benefits: Lower LDL cholesterol and reduce risk of heart disease
Yellows and Oranges: Oranges, grapefruit, peaches, cantaloupe, mangoes, pineapple, squash, carrots. Benefits: Boost immune system and help prevent eye disease
Reds: Watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, tomatoes, radishes, red apples. Benefits: Help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and improve blood flow to the heart
3. End Your Workout with a PB&J
According to nutrition scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, the perfect post-weight-training meal contains 20 to 30 grams of protein (to build new muscle) and 50 to 65 grams of carbohydrates (to repair muscle) and about 400 calories. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich hits that formula deliciously.
4. Extinguish Overeating
Have trouble cutting yourself off after you’ve eaten your fill? Light a candle when you sit down to the dinner table and blow it out after you’ve finished your meal. This simple action sends a message to your brain—and your mouth—that it’s time to stop noshing. Not only will this strategy keep the temporary food baby that develops when you overeat at bay, over time, eating fewer calories adds up to major weight loss.
5. Eat Oats for Energy
Eat a power breakfast of steel-cut oats topped with chopped walnuts, raisins, and flaxseeds and low-fat milk. The long-burning carbs and protein will fuel your body and brain for hours. Wash it down with orange juice. A University of Alabama study found that getting 400 mg of vitamin C per day significantly reduces the secretion of energy-draining stress hormones.
6. Put a Fork in It
Eat slower and you’ll likely eat less because you’ll give your belly time to signal your brain that you are full. Do it by holding your fork in your nondominant hand. Bring plenty of napkins.
7. Save 400 Calories with This Dessert
Love your apple pie à la mode? Try this instead: chop up a large crisp apple, dump in in a bowl and top it with 1 cup of plain yogurt (Greek or regular). Sprinkle cinnamon on top. You’ll save yourself at least 400 calories and get a healthy dose of protein by avoiding that ice-cream-covered sugar bomb.
8. Eat Cottage Cheese Before Bed
For some people, completely avoiding food before bedtime can actually be bad for their weight-loss goals. First, going to bed with a rumbling tummy makes falling asleep difficult. Second, people who wake up feeling hungry are far more likely to pig out on a big breakfast. Have a little cottage cheese before bed. Not only is it rich in casein protein, it also contains the amino acid tryptophan.
9. Don’t Forget Your Lunch
Thinking about what you ate for lunch could keep you from bingeing on afternoon snacks. In a study, subjects were told they were taste-testing three different types of salted popcorn. They were encouraged to eat as much as they wanted. Interestingly, those who were first asked to recall exactly what they had eaten for lunch consumed 30 percent less popcorn than those who didn’t review their lunch menu beforehand. The researchers say that taking a few seconds to remember what you had during a recent meal might enhance awareness of how satiating the food was, which then might reduce future noshing.
10. Chew More, Weigh Less
Replace a glass of apple juice with a whole apple. A study in the International Journal of Obesity reports that people reduced their daily calorie intake by up to 20 percent when they substituted a piece of fruit for fruit juice with their lunch. The researchers say that chewing stimulates satiety hormones, and whole food takes longer for your intestines to process, helping you to feel fuller longer and consume less.
11. Go Heavy on the Vinegar
Enjoy that submarine sandwich, even with all that Italian bread, by adding extra vinegar. The acetic acid in the vinegar interferes with enzymes that break down carbohydrates, keeping blood sugar levels from rising quickly, say nutritionists at Arizona State University. You can also get the same result by starting a high-carb meal with a salad drizzled with vinaigrette.