I have been shopping at McDonald's most often lately. I find that the calorie count helps me to make better decisions while eating at a fast food restaurant. What about any of you, do you find the calorie count on the menu helps you to make better eating decisions when eating out?
I changed my snacking habits when Starbucks added the calorie count to their display case. I never even considered that a slice of banana nut bread would be 490 calories. Ouch! I stopped getting a slice of bread with my tea. Most restaurants and fast food places in California have the calorie count. I really have stopped eating out.
I think everyone knows McDs is bad for them. But sometimes the calorie count, or even the fat or salt can shock people into making a change. Sometimes when I see it as a % of how much I am supposed to have in a day, I get fairly shocked, and then do not eat it!
The counting of calories is an effective strategy for the control of our nutrition. If we know the calorie content of the food that we consume, we can choose each of these options in full awareness of the food we eat. I believe that in the area of consumer education, nutrition information of food is a mainstay. Maybe we commit an excess in the intake of calories, but at least in this way we are fully aware of the possible nutritional risk to which we are exposed. I think that should be a widespread policy in all fast food restaurants.
I do appreciate the fact that they have the calorie count now. I was amazed at how many calories are actually in one of their salads. And this is not even counting the dressing fat and calories. But one good thing I found was there parfaits are not that bad for you. It turns out they are relatively healthy. Other than that, it never ceases to amaze me how much fat is in some of these burgers. At least McDonalds is now being held accountable for the unhealthy food they are serving to people. No, I know nobody is being forced to eat the food. It is their own fault they choose to eat this food that is so bad for you. But at least it is perfectly clear now. It is written in black and white how much fat content there is.
Although I cannot agree with eating at places like this. I will say that it helps having the calorie counts. The only thing is once I learned what was in that food I haven't been back. The good thing is that they have some healthier choices if you must eat at McDonald's. Choices like the fish or the chicken and then the salads are much better than the burger choices. But then you have to decide for you. Calories alone are not what you have to worry about, but the fats are what gets you, as well as what the stuff is made from.
I'm with attagirl.. calories are a small part of why people shouldn't be eating that garbage. I get the "on the go" factor, but if it's a regular in your diet, you deserve good health and should probably learn more about food and proper nutrition. Anyway, lectures aside.. I wasn't aware they were doing this, I haven't been to a McDonalds in years. Are calories the only thing listed? Because it doesn't matter that the calories are down if the other numbers are up. I wouldn't even touch a salad in that place.
It is good that restaurants are now required to provide their nutritional information. Most of the items have more calories than it would if you made it at home. Even if you are being smart with calories there are so many additives and fillers in fast food I don't think it is worth eating at all. Some one has been doing a project where they photograph a McDonald's hamburger every day to watch it decompose. They are now 3 years in and the burger looks exactly the same! The fillers and preservatives in the food that is not good for you despite how many calories may be in it.
It definitely helps, I think. I mean, if you're trying to watch your calorie intake, McDonald's isn't the best place to go. But knowing which choices are the healthiest can make it not so bad.
Yeah, we do all know that it's bad for us, but I think like Parker mentioned, we may not necessarily realize HOW bad until we see some of those numbers. If I'm at a McDonald's, I'm clearly already making a bad choice and am okay with it....but I might choose a lower calorie option instead of the highest calorie option after seeing the numbers.
