3/05/2005

Biggie Super Value Combo, Please

I just finished watching, and reviewing, "Super Size Me", the documentary in which a guy eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days to see what happens to his body.

I was afraid it would be gross, that there would be lots of digestive details with photographic evidence. On that measure, I was pleasantly surprised. I only had to peek through my fingers during the gastric bypass scene.

I've heard people say that this film turned them off of fast food. No such luck here. If someone walked into the room with fries right now, they would have to share.

It's funny how your tastes change. If I'm going to eat a burger nowadays, I usually choose a Wendy's or a Steak 'n Shake over a Big Mac. That was certainly not always the case.

Watching documentaries makes me hungry for knowledge as well as cheeseburgers. So, I decided to do some research. I wondered if my tastes wandering away from the Golden Arches was a modern vestige of the survival instinct; perhaps, sensing my own mortality, I am naturally seeking out healthier foods?

Before the Internet, kids, this would have remained a harmless theory, and I would have been permitted to feel smart and insightful. In this, the golden age of information, I can prove myself wrong in mere seconds.

Using the handy nutritional calculators provided on the fast food chains' websites (try it - you'll like it), I compared my typical meals at Wendy's, McDonald's, and Steak 'n Shake.

I understand that the goal of scientific experiments is to preserve objectivity wherever possible. Puh. I was rooting for Steak 'n Shake. I've been craving a Steakburger, in fact was planning to get one tomorrow, and really wanted to learn that it in fact contained no calories whatsoever.

But here's the awful truth, from least to most damage:

WENDY'S: 1,290 calories, 53g fat, 1,590mg sodium
(single with cheese, Biggie fries, biggie Coke)

McDONALD'S: 1,420 calories, 55g fat, 1,560mg sodium
(Big Mac, large fries, large Coke)

STEAK 'n SHAKE: 1,529 calories, 67.5g fat, 1,901mg sodium
(single w/cheese, large fries, large cherry Coke)

The fries are by far the worst offenders. But silly wabbit -- fruit cups are for kids, and life is short.

And delicious (smack!).

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