I'm pulling this thread up again because I actually did go to see "Super Size Me" last night and it was FANTASTIC! I walked out of there saying, "I will never eat fast food again!" I highly recommend it.
I saw Super Size awhile ago, and while there does seem to be an anti-fat spin on the whole thing, I've got to say, it was definitely worth seeing. The whole problem with fast food places is that you CAN'T make a healthy choice! Even when you think you are, you aren't. I dropped fast food entirely, and I remember that before I did this, I used to go out with friends to fast food, have a sandwich and a diet soda, skip the fries, and think I was being healthy. NO, I was NOT! Even things that LOOK healthy in fast food places, chicken sandwiches, the Arby's 'Market Fresh' are DRIPPING in calories, it's scary to find out how many. Look up your favorite 'healthy' fast food's calorie content online--you'll be shocked.
Yeah, I think that was one of the points he was trying to make. A lot of Americans think they are making healthy choices, but aren't. (He used some of the salads as a perfect example. There was one that has as much fat as a Big Mac!) I mean, even most of the nutritionists were saying you should NEVER eat fast food. Not "seldom"...not "occassionaly", but NEVER.
I see your point-but I know that nutitionists overall are not as concerned with fast food. as they are with the amount of exercise we are getting and also how much food we consume.
The biggest thing I took out of the film was the segment on school lunches. As parents we are the ones setting examples (aside from giving them their lunch money) and it amazes me that some folks don't have the foggiest what their kids are eating.
love2live - I completely agree about the school lunches! I teach in a public school and it's just insane the amount of starchy foods they have in school lunches. The cafeteria will serve pizza and a big ol' dinner roll and corn, for example. Because we're a Title I (economically depressed population) school, we also have a federal breakfast program and it's just as bad. A typical breakfast might be a big cinnamon bun, a biscuit, and some apple juice.
One thing different about my school is that kids cannot pick and choose. They must take what is offered. They don't have to eat it, but they have to take it.
There are a couple of people that I read about in the newspaper that are doing the same thing as this guy, eating McDonald's exclusively for 30 days and they have LOST weight. It is all about choice. You can have a Big Mac combo supersized or you can have one of the yogurt parfaits. Obviously most people are going to take the Big Mac combo, if I want a yogurt parfait I could probably make it at home but nothing made at home is going to be the same as a Big Mac and fries if that is what I want. I really and truly do not blame any fast food place for the fact that I am morbidly obese. I made the choice to put their food in my mouth instead of taking 20 minutes at home to make something healthier.
Yes, and he talked a lot about the personal responsibility issue in the movie. What he was TRYING to do was eat the way MOST Americans do when they order fast food.
Right on gals-but I don't think the sheer amount he was consuming was normal. I mean I know our stomachs expand as we eat more (just the dynamics but I've never eaten to the point of throwing up, yuck!
School lunch though Jenelle-parents really should be there teaching them along the way about nutrition and also portion control. Growing up we had soda, etc. as treats and now it seems that folks have made it an easier route so they don't have to cook at home. It's no doubt kids learn their bad habits from you know who.
I think if more parents knew what school lunches looked like, they'd protest louder. It's kind of par for the course, though; parents send kids to my classroom every day expecting me to raise them for them.
I finally got it. It finally dawned on me why there's such a disconnect here.
I am not a "normal" American. I am an American with a lifelong, moderately severe eating disorders alternating between anorexia and compulsive overeating. For me, the whole food experience is on a completely different level emotionally, physically, and psychologically than many other Americans.
I HAVE eaten that much food. I have, in one sitting, eaten a half a loaf of bread, an entire package of bolonga, a sleeve of crackers, and half a bag of Oreos. I HAVE eaten to the point of becoming physically ill. So, for me, watching Morgan Spurlock puke a supersize meal out his car window wasn't a particularly shocking moment, 'cause I've been there.
Ok I finally watched this and will have to take back some of what I siad. I myself am in a different place right now and can also see the point he was trying to make in his film. I still do not agree with people blaming fast food for there bad choice but on the other hand I do see a need for these places to make healthy options available along with there nutritional information. Sure makes you think about going and getting a burger. By the way I have not had one in close to 2 months now.
This was really a movie that made you sit back and say wow.
I used to eat McDonalds at least 1ce a day, usually breakfast which I fooled myself into thinking was not as bad for you. (In the movie they tell you that McDonald's fattiest sandwich isn't the big mac, it's the McGriddle breakfast sandwich )
Anyways, I now try to avoid McDonalds completely, but it's sometimes hard when you need something fast and on the run. So now I make much healthier choices when I do have to go (today for example grilled chicken sandwich no mayo, and a diet drink), but overall I stay away.
I don't blame McDonalds for making myself fat tho, it seems kind of a ridicilous notion because I was the one putting the food in my mouth.
If anyone hasn't seen the movie, it's been playing pretty regularly on the movie channels, it's a great movie for any dieter.
I still haven't seen it and don't really plan to...I can't say that I want to see someone barfing out their car window. Still I can't believe that anyone thinks that McDonald's is diet friendly unless you order the really small stuff ie plain hamburger or the salads or whatever they've put on the menu lately that is supposed to be 'diet friendly'. Don't they have some kind of protein platter for those on low carb diets? We've been going about once a week because it was like a treat to go there for lunch on Saturdays but I don't think we are going anymore. My son just doesn't want to eat it anymore, I think he wants it mostly for the happy meal toy!
DH and I want to set good examples for our dd and be a better influence on her.
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