paulskirocks
Blue Zone Compliant
Just walk into any fast food establishment and look at the people and what they are eating... The sight of a 400 pound person eating a super sized meal is enough for me...
Super Size Me
- Thread starter Mark Wein
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Chihlidog
Kick Henry Jackassowski
I've seen this movie. It freaked me out. Every time I eat at McDonald's I think about it, and I have to say that yes, it really did have an effect on the amount of fast food I eat. Not like my diet is in any way healthy, but I really watch the amount of fast food I eat. I had McDonald's yesterday, first time in months. I only eat there 5-6 times a year now, it used to be more like 1-2 times a month.
Help!I'maRock!
Mediocringly Derivative
i guess the question is, what's the difference between eating McDonalds, or an entire lunch platter from the Indian food place you like so much?
jrockbridge
Stealing Your Riffs
I thought it was a decent movie when I saw it. Of course, it is heavily agenda driven and therefore more of a propaganda piece and less of a true documentary. Luckily, I was already sympathetic to the message, so it was easy to get on board with hating McDonald's.
We used to eat at McD's about once a week because my son loves the toys and the play area. I always ordered the same thing, Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad. I actually think they have one of the better fast food salads, but I don't get the appeal of the rest of their food. I managed to break that habit for my family since January. Now, if we want a good burger, fries and shake, we go across the street to Rosie's Diner.
We used to eat at McD's about once a week because my son loves the toys and the play area. I always ordered the same thing, Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad. I actually think they have one of the better fast food salads, but I don't get the appeal of the rest of their food. I managed to break that habit for my family since January. Now, if we want a good burger, fries and shake, we go across the street to Rosie's Diner.
Chihlidog
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Like I said, I know my diet isnt exactly healthy. However, the real problem with my lunch is the portion size rather than the actual content. The food itself isnt bad, I just eat massive amounts of it. Keeping in mind, however, that I dont eat dinner for the most part, most of my calories for the day come from my lunch, and whatever soda I consume during the day (which is lately getting to be too much), my lunches really arent as terrible as the photos make them seem.
Im not in GREAT shape, but Im not much overweight, and my blood pressure is good.
Coda
Not John Watt
...Portions in this country are waaaay to big...I can usually get two or three meals out of a single restaurant serving...and I totally agree with the to much dressing thing...people will tell me they eat salad all the time, and they havnt lost any weight...but they use half a bottle of dressing...besides, eating right is only half the battle, the other half is exercise...and knowing, of course...
Gary Blanchard
beloved, local musician
I hated McDonalds way before that movie. Now I hate McDondalds and propoganda films. I sometimes wonder if movies like this will be the "Reefer Madness" of the 2050's.
Dew Knot Hump
Sausager
I forgot, American pizza's are fucking huge. Still, my point stands
The other biggie is dressings. I'm sure we're all guilty of having a nice healthy salad then smothering it in dressing
I'd say I eat my salads plain about 98% of the time, every once in a blue moon I'll have some vinagrette. I don't eat mayonaise either. It disgusts me.
Dew Knot Hump
Sausager
Eating McDonalds makes my shit smell bad.
Jake S.
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Does your shit smell good if you eat other things?
parrotheada1a
Resident Pitmaster
And there's a lot of the problem.
Something I've noticed when I've been to the US, is that portions at restaurants and such are really fucking huge (almost double of what you'll typically get over here).
You guys get accustomed/used to eating way more than you actually should. Eat slower and less, and after a few days you should get used to eating smaller portions.
A good trick here is cooking and eating at home rather than restaurants.
That, and typically at least one thing in a course will be fried (Scots are worse though, they'll deep fry anything). For a lot of the stuff you typically have fries with, we here up in Scandinavia-land will often have boiled potatoes and boiled veggies instead - way healthier, and most times every bit as good.
That said, obesity is becoming quite a big problem here as well these days. Most of it due to the combination of eating more and more fast food and little to no exercise.
Which again in most cases is because of too much work/leisure activities and just plain laziness. Guilty as charged (although I'm nowhere near overweight yet).
Let me add a couple things since I worked a a chef for a few years... perhaps from a different perspective. Food service has always been a scapegoat for overeating, and restaurants only stay in business by selling what their clientele like. Part of portion sizing & menu content depend on what people expect to pay in a restaurant and how much food they expect to be served at the table. Most people have gotten accustomed to eating bigger meals because it's become normal since WW2. My dad was a WW2 combat vet and he grew up during the depression. I remember my dad telling me that you cleaned your plate because food was much more expensive, and was often scarce back then. Not to mention, it was considered very rude to not do so if invited to someone's house for a meal. You ate what was put in front of you and that was that. It's only because food has become relatively inexpensive that we can cook so much & throw it away. Or eat it as the case may be.
Today's lifestyle is much fast paced compared to 50 or 100 years ago. Few people have time for a sit down meal that isn't hurried. Fast food is popular because it's A: convenient, B: inexpensive, and C: tasty. Timing is important too, because people do not like waiting to eat when they are hungry, and will not hesitate to walk out of a restaurant because they have time constraints. Most people realize that something like a steak will take 15 to 30 minutes to prepare and plan accordingly. Convenience plays a huge part, in that working people often do not have the time for anything but a quick meal. Inhale and go back to work. I know people who drive 10 minutes to get a sandwich, eat it on the 10 minute drive back to the shop, and spend another 9 1/2 minutes chain smoking in the parking lot befor it's time to punch back in again. Eating habits are extrordinarily hard to break whether they be good or bad... there is a guy I work with who mostly eats nothing but snack food all day because it's convenient. Multiple bags of potato/ corn chips, popcorn, cookies, mebbe a few packs of pop-tarts and at least a sixer of various kinds of sodas. I don't think I've ever seen him eat a piece of fruit or have plain water to drink.
Dude Indian food is loaded with fat and calories.
jrockbridge
Stealing Your Riffs
People make such a big deal about fat while ignoring sugar and carbohydrates. Fat does NOT make you fat! In fact, the human body burns fat very well as part of it's fuel. Meanwhile, sugar and carbohydrates cause the human body to produce a lot of insulin which triggers hunger and leads to overeating. This cycle of carb loading is the leading cause of obesity and diabetes in humans.
The best strategy to good health and weight loss is to eliminate sugar and reduce carbohydrates. Get rid of sugar foods and replace high carb foods with low carb alternatives. Avoid fries, potatoes, stuffing, breads, pasta, rice and other starches while eating low carb tortillas, wraps and low carb pita bread. Then, once you lose all the extra body weight, you can concentrate on tweaking your diet to include good fats while eliminating some of the bad fats. But, it's pointless to eliminate saturated fat if you eat lots of sugar and carbs.
Thanks!
Right now I'm trying to cut the fast food out and make some better choices (and portions) at home. Weight loss is really more of a lifestyle change for me and it is really difficult. I also need more exercise.
Flamencology
You don't deserve koa.
You can notice this as soon as you cross the border. You go to the same franchise, and order the same size drink or same size fries, but in the U.S., you'll end up with at least 4-7oz. more, in either case. It's strange. I mean, cheap food is good, I guess... but...
StringJunky
COIN Collector
Mrs Junky and I went to IHOP last week. I had the country fried steak and eggs b'fast. It was an 8 oz country fried steak, 3 fried eggs, hash browns, and 3 buttermilk pancakes. When I ordered it, they asked me if I wanted the "big" steak. Apparently you can get that bad boy with a 12oz. cut of country fried steak. I coulbn't help but wonder: who looks at that 8 oz. version and thinks "yeah, this is nice and all, but I need moar!" 
Flamencology
You don't deserve koa.
Mrs Junky and I went to IHOP last week. I had the country fried steak and eggs b'fast. It was an 8 oz country fried steak, 3 fried eggs, hash browns, and 3 buttermilk pancakes. When I ordered it, they asked me if I wanted the "big" steak. Apparently you can get that bad boy with a 12oz. cut of country fried steak. I coulbn't help but wonder: who looks at that 8 oz. version and thinks "yeah, this is nice and all, but I need moar!"
People who've stretched their stomachs by consistently opting for large portions.