SupersizeMe - Counterdocumentary

[allierw26]

Morgan Spurlock was on the Opie and Anthony radio show this past week...he said it took him 17 months to finally lose all of the 24.5 lbs he gained during SuperSize Me. Personally, I thought it was really eye-opening. Not because it targeted McD's (and I don't think that was his intention), but b/c it helped me realize what was going wrong with my eating habits.

Oh, and Jared of Subway did eat only Subway....but he was also working out a ton and eating 1200 calories a day. Whether Subway's foods are healthier than McD's or not, his diet was extreme enough for him to lose so much weight in such a short amount of time (I think it was something like 160 or so pounds in less than a year?)

[Effie]

Another comment about McDonald's vs. Subway:

The calories of a standard meal at Subway are a lot less than a standard meal at McDonald's. Sure, anyone can make the right choices at either place, but unless they're consciously trying to, they won't -- and this was the focus of SuperSize Me (which the counterdocumentary didn't seem to get). If the typical, 30-minute lunch break employees goes in to Subway and orders Value Meal #1 off the menu, it will be less calories than a McDonald's Value Meal #1. I'm not including drinks, as I figured they'd be the same at either place for the same diner:

Subway Lunch
6" Cold Cut Combo (I don't know if this is really #1 on their menu, but it's a standard nonetheless) : 410 calories
Doritos Nacho Cheese, 1.75 oz. "Big Grab" size bag: 245 calories
Total Calories: 655

McDonald's Lunch
Big Mac: 560 calories
Fries: 350 (medium) or 550 (large)
Total Calories: 1110

Calorie Difference: 455 (255 if you got the medium fry)

Let's say this diner eats at McDonald's 3 times per week, so 455 x 3 x 52 weeks in a year = 70,980 extra calories, or ~20 pounds in one year. Obviously, you could argue that eating the 12" meatball at Subway compared to a grilled McChicken with no fries would have the opposite results. And this is where I whole-heartedly agree with the woman in the counterdocumentary that said that it all comes down to personal responsibility. But my point is that most of the people eating fast food 3 times a week probably aren't carefully considering the nutritional impact of what they're about to order. They pick a number off the menu, and that's the end of it.

Edited to change the serving size of the Doritos. I originally estimated 3oz., but I found that a "Big Grab" is 1.75 oz. and a "Super Grab" is 2.5 ounces. Even with the 3oz. of Doritos, the diner would have gained 12 pounds in one year eating at McDonald's over Subway.