Casually ignorant of the nation’s obesity epidemic, American restaurants continue to give a damn to — healthier options, fresher ingredients, more transparency. In an effort to outdo each other, restaurants and fast-food chains are ratcheting up their efforts to create the craziest, most calorically damaging menu items we’ve ever seen. And succeed they are. The battle of the bulge has been taken to a whole new level, so protect yourself from the enemy by avoiding these 10 destructive dishes.

1. The Worst Food in America: Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta

2,727 calories; 78 g saturated fat; 1,737 mg sodium

The ugly truth is that the entire list of America’s Worst Foods could be fueled solely by the Cheesecake Factory’s menu. No restaurant combines elephantine portion sizes with a heavy-handed application of cheap cooking fats more recklessly than the Factory folk, resulting in dishes like the 2,582-calorie Chicken and Biscuits and the 2,455-calorie French Toast Napoleon.

Order This Instead: Grilled Mahi Mahi(237 calories; 1 g saturated fat; 364 mg sodium)

2. Worst Dessert: Uno Chicago Grill Mega-Sized Deep Dish Sundae

2,800 calories; 136 g fat (72 g saturated); 272 g sugars

Uno Chicago Grill has a dangerous obsession with deep dishes. Not content merely serving the worst pizza in America from those calorie-collecting troughs, they use the same vessel to dish out the worst dessert in the country, too. The crust is replaced with an enormous cookie, the tomato sauce with a thick river of molten chocolate, and the cheese with a mountain of vanilla ice cream. Though, Uno encourages sharing, and you split this dessert four ways, you’ll still take in more than twice as many calories as you would with a hot fudge sundae at McDonald’s.

Order This Instead: Mini Hot Chocolate Brownie Sundae(370 calories; 16 g fat (8 g saturated); 38 g sugars)

3. Worst Pizza: Uno Chicago Grill Classic Deep Dish Pizza (individual size)

2,310 calories; 165 g fat (54 g saturated); 4,920 mg sodium

This pizza from Uno’s is the only item to never budge from the hyper-caloric countdown. With a day’s worth of calories, more than 2 days’ worth of sodium, and nearly 3 days’ worth of fat, bread, cheese, and sauce have never been stretched to such extremes.

Order This Instead: Cheese and Tomato Flatbread Pizza (1/2 pizza) and a house side salad(495 calories; 22 g fat (8 g saturated); 1,065 mg sodium)

4. Worst Ribs: Outback Steakhouse Baby Back Ribs (full rack)

2,012 calories; 160 g fat (59 g saturated); 2,600 mg sodium

Don’t get shocked, just yet! The meal comes with an addition of Aussie Fries, free brown bread and salad that comes with every entrée order. For all that you can factor in an extra 800 calories or so, bringing the total damage dangerously close to the 3,000-calorie threshold. Imagine, if you start eating this meal once a week, 1 year from today you’ll have 41 extra pounds of baby-back body fat hanging from your midsection.

Order This Instead: Outback Special (9 oz)(445 calories; 23 g fat (11.5 g saturated); 610 mg sodium)

5. Worst Salad: TGI Friday’s Santa Fe Chopped Salad

1,800 calories

This average entrée-size salad packs a walloping 1,216 calories, making it one of the most dangerous sections of an already-disastrous menu.

Order This Instead: Cobb Salad(361 calories)

6. Worst Sandwich: Cheesecake Factory Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Club

1,746 calories; 28 g saturated fat; 2,306 mg sodium

This grilled-shrimp sandwich, even a triple decker with a hefty load of bacon on top, surely packs more calories than three Big Macs. Your safest bet is to skip the place entirely. Failing that, pass on the sandwiches and pastas ; instead, look to split a pizza with a friend or take half home in a box.

Order This Instead: Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Pizza (1/2 pizza)(663 calories; 12 g saturated fat; 1,210 mg sodium)

7. Worst Food Hybrid: Domino’s Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl Pasta

1,480 calories; 56 g fat (24 g saturated); 2,220 mg sodium

Nothing defines gluttony better than an edible breadbowl. Imagine, refined carbs (pasta) served inside of refined carbs (white bread). It’s kryptonite for diabetics; consumption of more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, 92% of your sodium allotment, and a punishing bout of calories. Jut stick to what Domino’s is known for: pizza.

Order This Instead: Hand Tossed Pizza with grilled chicken, green peppers, and shredded parmesan (2 slices, medium pie) (430 calories; 16 g fat (7 g saturated); 1,030 mg sodium)

8. Worst Side: Five Guys Large Fries

1,464 calories; 71 g fat (14 g saturated); 184 g carbohydrates; 213 mg sodium

Yes, NO FRENCH FRIES ARE GOOD! But Americans consume more French fries than any other single vegetable. Five Guys make it sure that it stays that way. There are no other sides on the menu, and the “regular” order still has more calories than their little bacon burgers. You’re better off ordering two “little” sandwiches and skipping the fries.

Order This Instead: Grilled Cheese Sandwich (470 calories; 26 g fat (9 g saturated); 715 mg sodium)

9. Worst Fast Food Burger: Wendy’s Triple Baconator

1,350 calories; 90 g fat (40 g saturated, 3.5 g trans); 2,780 mg sodium

America’s bacon fever, is certainly proved in a market flooded with bacon-infused chocolates, bacon salts, and yes, even bacon sprays (spritz yourself with the essence of pig!). Consider the recipe here: 3 quarter-pound beef patties interspersed with 9 strips of bacon, 3 slices of cheese, and a big smear of mayonnaise. It’s fat on top of fat on top of fat, 10 layers in all—a tower of nutritional terror.

Order This Instead: Double Stack with Bacon (400 calories; 21 g fat (9 g saturated); 990 mg sodium)

10. Worst Kids’ Meal: California Pizza Kitchen Kids Curly Mac ‘n’ Cheese

1,038 calories; 38 g saturated fat; 1,651 mg sodium

This bowl represents about 70% of the calories the average 6-year-old should consume in a day and horrifically, it delivers as much saturated fat as an adult should consume over the course of 48 hours.

Order This Instead: Kids Hawaiian Pizza (463 calories; 8 g saturated fat; 1,165 mg sodium)

This is only a condensed post; the original list is 20-items long and includes drinks, burger, breakfasts, all breaking the calorie-barrier, by miles. Click here for the original article: 20 Worst Foods in America: 2011