Saw this snippet of trivia in a local paper a while ago:
And for a weight LOSS plan: eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep,,,, you get the picture… LMAO!
Where am I going with this? A review of sorts of Super Size Me, that pseudo documentary about this guy Morgan Spurlock who eats nothing but McDonald’s for a month. Within that month, his weight shot up, his cholesterol numbers went totally haywire… but what grossed most people out was that special feature where he conducted another “experiment,” this time on the decay of some McD foods: it freaked so many people out that the French Fries seemed to never go bad…
For one reaction, check out Adam's blog on the topic.
I saw this movie maybe 6 months ago, and while I like the idea of proving to McD that their food is not “good” food, the set-up of this “experiment" was a bit flawed, was it not?
Key ingredients to a healthy lifestyle include balanced food/nutrition, and regular appropriate exercise: Caloric input vs expenditure provides the big picture balance sheet for weight management; how much food consumed vs how much expended via activities. But choice of foods, plus exercise, also play a huge role in determining the “internal health” stuff like cholesterol & blood sugar numbers.
So let’s look at the exercise thing first:
And what about the balanced food / nutrition aspect?
How about another perspective?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of McDonald’s or any of these other fast-food chains: they are an all-too-convenient source of food that’s not good for you. Like I’d said before, I like the idea of proving to McD that their food is not “good” food.
I really do, however, object to putting the blame squarely on the corporation…
Take heed of the message of Super Size Me by all means, but please think for yourself, and make your own wise decisions…. After all, it’s no use boycotting McD only to replace that meal with KFC, or greasy fried rice, or nasi lemak, eh?
Did you know that you can work off the calories ingested with one Big Mac by sleeping?Hmmm, if I had nothing else to do, I suppose that would be a cool weight management plan: Eat one Big Mac, sleep 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat another Big Mac, sleep another 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat another Big Mac, well, you get the picture…
Of course, you would have to sleep 9 hrs 25 mins to do it lah :D
And for a weight LOSS plan: eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep 9.5 hrs, wake up, eat something of fewer calories than a Big Mac, sleep,,,, you get the picture… LMAO!
Where am I going with this? A review of sorts of Super Size Me, that pseudo documentary about this guy Morgan Spurlock who eats nothing but McDonald’s for a month. Within that month, his weight shot up, his cholesterol numbers went totally haywire… but what grossed most people out was that special feature where he conducted another “experiment,” this time on the decay of some McD foods: it freaked so many people out that the French Fries seemed to never go bad…
For one reaction, check out Adam's blog on the topic.
I saw this movie maybe 6 months ago, and while I like the idea of proving to McD that their food is not “good” food, the set-up of this “experiment" was a bit flawed, was it not?
Key ingredients to a healthy lifestyle include balanced food/nutrition, and regular appropriate exercise: Caloric input vs expenditure provides the big picture balance sheet for weight management; how much food consumed vs how much expended via activities. But choice of foods, plus exercise, also play a huge role in determining the “internal health” stuff like cholesterol & blood sugar numbers.
So let’s look at the exercise thing first:
Prior to starting the experiment, did he state clearly what his activity routine had been? Does he walk around town, or drive? Does he go to the gym? Does he take the stairs, or the elevator?
So, does he usually exercise, or not?
And if so, did he continue to do this during the experiment? From what I remember, there was no indication of the guy doing any exercise during the month in question.
This would of course skew the results of his experiment, eh?
And what about the balanced food / nutrition aspect?
We know he was dating a vegan, but had it been stated whether he followed her dietary habits, or if he was minimally carnivorous, or if he consumed meat daily? Because, lemmie tell ya, all of a sudden consuming greasy burgers and fries after being used to lighter foods certainly WILL result in some pukage, so no surprises in relation to him upchucking early on in the experiment…It’s little wonder to me that the results of his experiment came out so disastrous for his body!
Did he take diet cola, or the sugar- and calorie-laden regular stuff?
Also, he outlined the “rules” where he wouldn’t consume anything on their menu more than once (or someting like that…)… if this is so, well, I don’t recall ever seeing him eating any salads, and McD has some good salads on their menu, right?
How about another perspective?
- See HERE for someone on a McDiet who has lost weight on a more than 90-day McD diet.
- See HERE for analysis of nutrition intake of two other McDieters who lost weight during a 30 day McDiet.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of McDonald’s or any of these other fast-food chains: they are an all-too-convenient source of food that’s not good for you. Like I’d said before, I like the idea of proving to McD that their food is not “good” food.
I really do, however, object to putting the blame squarely on the corporation…
Hellloooooo, if you don’t know by now that grease-laden foods are not the best source of nutrition and should be taken in moderation, well, maybe you need to be better informed…Sure, these corporations are not blemish-free, but a line must be drawn somewhere. In this day and age, you can’t plead ignorance anymore. So please, take some responsibility, people!
If you take French fries with every single meal, is it really the corporations’ fault if your arteries are as hard as a rock by the time you reach 35?
Is it McD’s fault if you order not only a Big Mac Meal, but succumb to the server’s suggestion to supersize it? And that you eat it all????
Take heed of the message of Super Size Me by all means, but please think for yourself, and make your own wise decisions…. After all, it’s no use boycotting McD only to replace that meal with KFC, or greasy fried rice, or nasi lemak, eh?
Great post.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the documentary had different effects on different people. My wife remarked that she had a sudden craving for fillet-o-fish after watching the documentary. ;-)
He did mention that he was reducing his amount of walking to meet the average amount of walking that Americans do, and that he did walk a lot before. He also mentioned that he drank regular soda. Sensationalistic, yes, but people ARE that stupid to not realize how bad this stuff is for you. You are a highly educated, aware, information seeking person. There are a lot of people out there who aren't. Scary!
ReplyDeleteguy: LOL! knock yourself out, dude!
ReplyDeleteAdam: Hope your wife enjoyed the FoF! It was my fave item on McD's menu for the longest time, until it started to taste too ... err.. fishy!
Elisette: A-ha! *that's* probably why I remember that there was a problem with the exercise angle! Thanx for the input! And yes, scary is right!! :p