In high school I was an avid Wendy's eater. It was right by my school and I could walk there. Shame on them for marketing to us youngins. It wasn't until after I graduated that they finally built a Subway right across the street....lol.

Anyways, I bought the movie Supersize Me this weekend. I've seen it before but watched it again and again this past holiday weekend. It kept me motivated to NOT give in to unhealthy eating. I couldn't believe how bad fast food really is for you. As soon as I finished watching it, I went for a run. Thoughts anyone on fast food or the movie?

Sure, fast food is convenient, but it's also horribly unhealthy! Even the stuff they market as healthy (salads!) come loaded with fried meat and fatty salad dressings, and people who don't know any better gobble it up and think they're helping themselves by doing so. It's awful. Not eating meat has made eating fast food pretty much a non-option for me, and I'm glad for it. It's sad how much people can be tricked into thinking they're doing well by eating a salad, or how ignorant they are when it comes to how many calories are in a Big Mac. If the nutritional information were posted right on the menu, I wonder how many people would stop eating it.

Oh, I work right next to a Wendy's. The smell coming from that place is atrocious. I can not eat there. However, I LOVE Arbys, Quiznos, Subway, Blimpie, Blue Sky Bagel. Pretty much anywhere I can get a turkey sandwhich.

I don't eat a lot of fast food. However, I don't think fast food chains are responsible for our choices either. About twice a year, I want an egg and bacon mcmuffin meal from mcdonalds and I don't want anything else. lol

Read the book Fast Food Nation (not the movie). Supersize Me made me avoid fast food for a while; FFN made me avoid it for life. Fast food is NOT real food... it's a food product made in a laboratory.

Original Post by kristinealaine:

Oh, I work right next to a Wendy's. The smell coming from that place is atrocious. I can not eat there. However, I LOVE Arbys, Quiznos, Subway, Blimpie, Blue Sky Bagel. Pretty much anywhere I can get a turkey sandwhich.

You should really check out their websites for nutritional information before you go touting these places as healthy because they offer turkey sandwiches.   I took a look at some of the things I used to eat at Quizno's and I'm damn glad I don't eat there anymore!!  Subway's fit menu is decent, but really -- gelatinous meats were not my thing even when I did eat meat.

In the movie extras of Supersize Me, he does an interview with the auther of Fast Food Nation. It was so awesome! I am hitting up the library for the book this weekend :)

whatever diet you're on, sometimes you gotta have a little cheat to motivate yourself to keep going ... for some people that might be a slice of cheesecake once a week, or a bag of doritos every once in a while -- for me, hitting some fast food a couple of times a month keeps me going -- its hard to resist the 1200 calories in a double whopper or the greeezy goodness of white castle.  But then when the bloated "ugh" feeling sets in, you get the willpower back to stay away for a couple more weeks.

Yeah, its gross, its unhealthy, and should generally be avoided -- but if you eat fast food as a rare "treat", instead of as a way of life, you should be okay.

i don't eat fast-food unless absolutely necessary. and when i say "fast-food" i mean like, a veggie sub on wholewheat bread from subway, with no sauce.

i don't eat fast-food, and i never want or crave it, i haven't even had a blizzard from dairy queen in a month. 

i love supersize me. i watched it in my grade 10 health class; and started my weight-loss journey THAT DAY. i watched it again a month or so ago, and it's just gross what's in that crap.

I agree that fast food is not the best way to go, but I gotta admit to loving french fries - it's a big weakness of mine.  However, I only occasionally have them for a treat.  And even then, it can only be a small amount or I'll feel bloated from all the salt. 

I saw "Supersize Me" as well, and while I agree with the point Spurlock was trying to make, it should be noted that most people, even if they eat fast food a lot, don't eat it for every meal day in and day out - it's not like that was a realistic "experiment."

On edit:  I do now recall that his ordering rules included sampling everything on the menu at least once, including the bottled water.  However, that's still not realistic.  Most people still don't restrict their diet choices like that for a significant amount of time.

Supersize me is a great film and a motivator to avoid junk food.

That being said, I think there is a bit of hyperbole in the film. First of all, you'd have to be insane to eat nothing but McD's every meal, and then to supersize everything to boot. I have a Big Mac, without the sauce and with a salad every now and then, and my weight and health are fine. Moderation is key (and eating it 3 times a week instead of 6 is NOT moderation!)

I did think it was interesting to see how long the foods kept without spoiling, though...

Supersize Me isn't just about the 3-meals-a-day at McDonald's diet. It's about how shrewd fast food companies are and how they just want to squeeze every possible dollar out of their customers, ignoring the fact that their product is 100% junk food. They market to children so they can get customers for life. They make their food in a lab so they can sell the cheapest food possible for make the most profit. Their fries taste so good because they have scientists who have formulated them to taste the same in every restaurant. 

Oh my udokier. When I watched that extra clip, woah. Yeah, watching those foods spoil was the funniest thing ever. And yet, those fries. I think they'd make it through a nuclear blast....

Original Post by udokier:

I did think it was interesting to see how long the foods kept without spoiling, though...

 That was my favorite part.  Despite the unchanging nature of the french fries, I still love 'em! (hot and fresh, of course...) 

Funny... I just finished eating Wendy's for lunch.  First time in 4 months and I opted for a single cheeseburger and a large fry and drank water instead of soda.  Funny how I say "opted" as if I were actually eating well... but it's better than a double cheeseburger with a large coke and fry.  Even so... lunch today shot me 300 calories over my usual post-lunch mark.  Bit of a cheat day I suppose, guess I better get some activity in and eat a smaller dinner.

Honestly, some meals from McDonald's have less calories than an appetizer at a chain resturant. Fast food gets a terrible rap, but then those people go eat at Quizno's or Outback or Chili's.
What was it, a bloomin' onion at... Chili's maybe? that had like 1100 calories or some nonsense.

A small fry and burger from McDonald's isn't as bad as "dieters" make it out to be.

Note: Even when I didn't care what I was eating, I still never ate fast food. it's just not my thing, but I still think it isn't as terrible as it's made out to be.

The only time I walk into a fast food chain is if my family is hungry and I happen to be stuck with them on an outing (and even then I just order a water and wait till I get home) or I am going to McDonalds to satisfy an ice cream craving so I do not go out and eat a whole pint of bluebell. I also detest going to sit down restaurants. So I am way against fast food. As for the movie: I was already against fast food before I watched it but after I watched it I was just even more thoroughly disgusted.

Yes, some chain restaurants are just as bad as McDonald's nutritionally but they aren't "fast food" restaurants and aren't as easy to grab every day.

I don't crave fast food, and I rarely eat it anymore, but it's good to have some familiarity with the common fast food chain menus and nutritional information. I know that when I'm away from home, and don't have the option of anything but fast food, I like knowing that I can order something relatively harmless at pretty much any fast food place.

I lie. The only fast food I still crave is McDonald's ice cream cones, just like vmcbutterly. I haven't had McDonald's food in over 8 years, but I stop for their ice cream a few times a year.

Original Post by starcrossdlovex:

Honestly, some meals from McDonald's have less calories than an appetizer at a chain resturant. Fast food gets a terrible rap, but then those people go eat at Quizno's or Outback or Chili's.
What was it, a bloomin' onion at... Chili's maybe? that had like 1100 calories or some nonsense.

A small fry and burger from McDonald's isn't as bad as "dieters" make it out to be.

Note: Even when I didn't care what I was eating, I still never ate fast food. it's just not my thing, but I still think it isn't as terrible as it's made out to be.

I completely agree with you!  Chain restaurants are just as guilty as fast food for fattening up people everywhere.  Their food is loaded with calories and fats and even things that might seem like a healthy option are loaded up with salt, fattening sauces, or fried in tons of oil.  It's terrible, and no one seems to care.

All things in moderation.  Remember the prison guard in Super Size Me who ate nothing but Big Macs.  He looked OK, but that's all he ate.  Your pet dog looks OK eating the same kibbles every day, too, as long as you don't overfeed him.  Glad it's not my diet, and I appreciate McDonalds for their coffee and bathrooms only.

Fast foods I like that are pretty healthy....Culvers Snack Pack (single burger and bowl of soup), Subway 6" sandwiches with all the veggies, a plate of hummus/pita/baklava with arabic coffee, a couple of pumpkin pancakes at the local diner, half a Panera turkey sandwich.  But all things in moderation - no chips or fries or sugary sodas, and only about once a week.

Original Post by madetoshine:

 It's terrible, and no one seems to care.

 Huh?  The restaurants may not be changing at a fast rate, but they're still offering more healthy options than, say, 5 years ago.  And the number of people posting on this forum, not to mention the number of stories that come out about restaurant stats, indicate that somebody does care.

Believe me, if it starts hurting their bottom line hard enough, restaurant owners are gonna care.