Food: Making Sensible Fast Food Choices

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Making Sensible Fast Food Choices
Wednesday, August 24, 2005

What is up lately, with all the documentary films about food? Last year, Morgan Spurlock got rave reviews for his film "Super Size Me". The documentary featured his 30 day quest to eat only food from McDonald's. The results, which he detailed in his film, were weight gain, high cholesterol, and a bunch of other ailments.

Now we have SoSo Whaley's rebuttal to Spurlock's film. Hers is called "Mickey D's and me" and in Whaley's film, a steady diet of McDonald's provided her with much different results, including weight loss and a drop in cholesterol.

Why the difference? It is obvious that Whaley wanted to prove her point-- that we all must take some responsibility when it comes to food choices. The kind folks at McDonald's did not force feed the Big Macs and fries to Spurlock.

During Whaley's daily trips to McDonalds, she was careful to keep her total calorie count low enough to allow herself to lose weight. Oh, and in case you were wondering, she didn't just eat the salads that McDonald's now has on their menu-- no, a thorough look at her daily food receipts (available online) shows that she did indeed eat double cheeseburgers, Big Macs, French fries and milkshakes-- just not all at one sitting.

I have to say that I agree with Whaley's thinking. A sensible person, concerned with his or her health, can eat anywhere. There is no reason to think that we all can't enjoy our favorite foods on the run.

If you find yourself at a fast food restaurant, consider these sensible choices. Or, if you're craving that double bacon cheeseburger for lunch-- go for it and just compensate with a light dinner later on.

Breakfast: Most fast food establishments offer fruit, English muffins and pancakes in the morning. If you want to keep your calories count down, skip the sandwiches of eggs, sausage patties and cheese and eat a plain bagel instead. Coffee and orange juice won't ruin your day either. If you can't resist that big breakfast platter, then eat it and then just eat a lower-calorie lunch than you normally would.

Lunch: All of the fast food joints now have salads on their menu-- just don't douse your greens in high fat salad dressing. Grilled chicken sandwiches are a good choice, as is a plain hamburger. Skip the French fries and ask for a side of fruit instead (Wendy's has mandarin oranges, McDonalds has apple Dippers and Chick Fil A has a mixed fruit bowl). If you simply must order a Big Mac and fries, make the fries a small size and lower the calories count on you sandwich by removing some of the bread. Fountain sodas are loaded with empty calories, so switch to diet or order bottled water instead.

Dinner. Most fast food establishments offer the same menu for both lunch and dinner. The difference is, at dinner time you should eat less calories. Why? Because it's later in the day and you won't have as much time to burn off those extra calories. So if you're planning a late day trip to Burger King, that may be the time to consider eating a salad or some grilled chicken instead of some of the higher-calorie menu options.

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