Sometimes when you walk into a restaurant, even if you're looking for healthy choices, it's a matter of choosing the least of all evils on the menu. To make your choices a bit easier, I've sleuthed some of the worst of America's dining-out disasters.

Keep in mind that to maintain current weight, the average person should consume about 2,000 calories per day. To more accurately determine your own caloric budget, go to www.dietdetective.com/tools/calorieCalculator.html.

BURGER KING

Triple Whopper with cheese: 1,230 calories, 82g fat, 52g carbs

Chocolate milk shakes (king size): 1,260 calories, 38g fat, 204g carbs

Enormous omelet sandwich: 730 calories, 45g fat, 44g carbs

Double Croissan'wich with sausage, egg and cheese: 680 calories, 51g fat, 26g carbs

Tendercrisp chicken sandwich: 780 calories, 44g fat, 73g carbs

When it comes to fast food, there's really nothing more over-the-top than the Triple Whopper. Do you really need three slabs of meat?

MCDONALD'S

Double quarter pounder with cheese: 740 calories, 42g fat, 40g carbs

Deluxe breakfast with large biscuit: 1,280 calories, 65g fat, 139g carbs

Hotcakes and sausage: 780 calories, 33g fat, 106g carbs

Chocolate triple thick shake (32 ounces): 1,160 calories, 27g fat, 203g carbs

Chicken selects premium breast strips (10 pieces): 1,270 calories, 66g fat, 92g carbs

I was surprised that the breakfasts and the chicken selects all pack more calories than the double quarter pounder. But the worst choice of all is probably the shake.

WENDY'S

Large fries: 540 calories, 26g fat, 69g carbs

Chicken club sandwich: 650 calories, 31g fat, 56g carbs

Chicken BLT salad with homestyle garlic croutons and honey mustard dressing: 690 calories, 46.5g fat, 37g carbs

Southwest taco salad with reduced-fat sour cream, seasoned tortilla chips and ancho-chipotle ranch dressing: 710 calories, 41g fat, 51g carbs

Bet you thought salad was a healthy choice. Not so fast. Also, at 650 calories, the chicken club is not a great choice.

SUBWAY

Double meat meatball marinara (6-inch): 860 calories, 42g fat, 82g carbs

Double meat Italian BMT (6-inch): 630 calories, 35g fat, 49g carbs

Although Subway offerings are very good, there are exceptions. Case in point: the double meat meatball marinara sandwich, which has more calories than a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonald's.

KFC

Crispy twister: 650 calories, 34g fat, 56g carbs

Famous bowls — rice with gravy: 610 calories, 27g fat, 67g carbs

Famous bowls — mashed potato with gravy: 720 calories, 34g fat, 79g carbs

Chicken pot pie: 770 calories, 40g fat, 66g carbs

Be especially cautious about the famous bowls — the rice and gravy and the potatoes and gravy will send your count soaring.

STARBUCKS

White chocolate frappuccino blended crEme with whipped cream (24 ounces): 760 calories, 21g fat, 121g carbs

Strawberries and creme frappuccino blended creme with whipped cream (24 ounces): 750 calories, 15g fat, 135g carbs

You're consuming a meal's worth of calories with no real food to show for it. These drinks are not substitutes for coffee — they're substitutes for banana splits and ice cream sundaes.

P.F. CHANG'S

Chang's spare ribs: 1,280 calories, 79g fat, 47g carbs

Kung pao chicken: 1,240 calories, 80g fat, 58g carbs

Tam's noodles with savory beef and shrimp: 1,700 calories, 94g fat, 144g carbs

Great Wall of Chocolate: 2,240 calories, 376g carbs, 89g fat

Chinese food is almost never a great bet for dieters, but if you're going to indulge, at least steer clear of calorie disasters like the spare ribs — which are actually just an appetizer.

RUBY TUESDAY

Fresh chicken & broccoli pasta: 2,061 calories, 128g fat, 109g carbs

Colossal burger: 1,943 calories, 141g fat, 74g carbs

Spinach artichoke dip: 1,328 calories, 80g fat, 108g carbs

Carolina chicken salad: 1,025 calories, 72g fat, 38g carbs

Kudos to Ruby Tuesday for providing nutrition information, but all I can say is: Wow! Don't be fooled by words like "spinach," "broccoli" and especially "salad" — in this case they are all Calorie Rip-offs.

PIZZA HUT

Stuffed crust meat lover's pizza (1 slice, 14-inch pie): 520 calories, 29g fat, 38g carbs

6-inch personal meat lover's pan pizza: 890 calories, 49g fat, 70g carbs

The stuffed crust meat lover's pizza might just be the worst pizza out there for a dieter. Two pieces and you're looking at 1,000 calories — and if you kick off your meal with breadsticks and wash it down with a soda, you'd better prepare yourself to get off the couch the next morning and do something to burn those calories.

CHILI'S

Awesome Blossom: 2,710 calories, 203g fat, 194g carbs

Fajita steak quesadilla with guacamole: 2,020 calories, 111g fat, 150g carbs

The Awesome Blossom is about the worst appetizer on any menu. And none of the quesadillas are safe bets..

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public-health advocate, and author of "Breaking the FAT Pattern" (Plume, 2006). Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter at www.dietdetective.com.