The Effects of Fast Food

In my quest to loose weight I have stumbled onto a different personal challenge. Fast food. Before 2010 I probably ate fast food at least 3 times a week. Maybe more. I would eat it for lunch a lot. I have not had ANY fast food in the last 42 days. At first it was because I didn't trust myself enough to order something healthy, now it is a personal challenge. How long can a person go without HAVING to stop at a fast food place? Not WANTING to but HAVING to? I am determined to go as long as possible. It has nothing to do with weight lose at this point, it is just a personal challenge I have set for myself.

I watched the documentary, Super Size Me, yesterday. It was entertaining and a little eye opening. It will for sure make you look at McD's in a different way. I am not picking on McD's. I am boycotting any kind of fast food joint. In the documentary, he focused on McD's specifically. He, Morgan Spurlock, at nothing but McD's for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days! He ate everything on the menu at least once and if they asked him to super size it, he automatically said yes. He had blood work taken at the beginning and end of the experiment and he was weighed often. He ended up gaining 25lbs in the 30 days and his blook work indicated he went from a very healthy person to a very sick person. It was very interesting, but extreme and a little unrealistic. The thing that hit home to me more than the fast food was that he visited a few school cafeterias around the country. It was horrible what the kids were eating for lunch. One cafeteria he visited gets their food directly from the goverment for a cheap price. It is all pre-cooked and frozen. All they do is heat it up everyday. The closest thing they had to a vegetable was tater tots. The documentary is worth watching just to see the part about the school cafeterias. Very eye opening....

I also watched this documentary called McLibel. It is about a British group that takes McD's to court over serving junk food. It was interesting. I think it is a little ridiculous to sue a fast food place because of what they serve. Just don't eat there!!! I also watched a special about 12 year old girls who are getting full body liposuction because they can't quit gaining weight. Scary!!!!

Here are some interesting facts about 2 popular fast food places, McD's and Taco Bell (info taken directly from company websites):

• A Big Mac has 540 calories, a McD's Crispy Salad with Ranch Dressing has 700 calories
• The highest calorie item at McD's is a large chocolate shake: 1160 calories
• The lowest calorie item on a McD menu is a side salad no dressing: 20 calories
• Highest Calorie at Taco Bell, Volcano Nachos: 1000 calories
• Lowest at Taco Bell, Fresco Crunchy Taco: 150 calories