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How was your weekend, did you eat out at all?

If you ventured into a restaurant or pub chain — you'll have noticed a new, hugely controversial addition to the menu. Calorie counts. 

Earlier this month, all of those employing more than 250 people were required by law to report the calorific content of individual dishes. 

It's been a divisive move.

The Department of Health claims it will help us make healthier decisions, but restaurateurs say it'll turn an occasional treat into a guilt trip. 

Many women are likely to fall in the latter camp: when flagged up on the menu at more than 850 calories, that delicious pub roast suddenly seems less small indulgence, more full-blown splurge. 

Because the truth is, millions of women still swear by calorie counting, either as a means of losing weight or just not gaining it.

Women who could claim calories as a specialist subject on Mastermind. Lowest calorie alcoholic drink? Vodka, soda and lime at 106! Best low-cal sweet treat? A Freddo chocolate bar at 95 calories.  

While detractors argue against the effectiveness of this dieting method because not all calories are created equal — those in nuts aren't as fattening as the ones in cake, for example — old-school counters love its simplicity in the face of today's increasingly complicated diet and fitness culture. 

TESCO 

Of course, if you're eating at home, ready meals have long come with a calorie count — and for anyone doing diet-maths they're often seen as a godsend.

Almost every supermarket has them, complete with reassuring range names — Count On Us, Be Good To Yourself — and the calorie count on the front. The presumption is that they've done all the hard work for you. 

As the restaurant industry sighs in frustration at having to include them, for the diet ready meal business, it's what makes us buy their products. 

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS femail" data-version="2" id="mol-955ec4f0-b8ff-11ec-afd3-89178a5c48c7" website truth about those calorie-counted supermarket meals!