"Super Size Me"
 

I pushed my exercise back 2 hours just to watch the documentry 'Super Size Me' and boy am I glad I did. I missed the last half an hour cuz I feel asleep (opps - I really wanted to know what happened to the guy too!) but I learned a lot from watching that and it will really make me think twice about eating fast food.

Anyway I just wanted to say that all of you need to watch this - I know for me it just added to my motivation to exercise and eat healthy and clean.

But it is time to exercise - just wanted to get in my 2 cents.

As I recall, his health problems at the end were far worse than any of the doctors predicted. I think there was a lot of irreversable organ damage, too.

I really don't eat fast food any more. It's a waste of money, and a waste of tasty. I'd rather eat good tasting, healthy food. However, I will admit that I get the Wendy's chicken caesar salad whenever I need a meal on the go. I don't use the caesar dressing or croutons, and it comes in at something like 180 calories, 27g of protein, 9g of carbs, and 5g of fat.

The movie will definitely put you off fast food for at least a few weeks (if not for life!) after you watch it, though!

Yes I agree...even my husband will no longer eat at McDonalds. He's a junk food junkie. I cant say that about all fast food restaurants cause we both love Wendys. I only eat the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwhich with no Mayo. The guy in the movie had some really bad things happen to him. Also the fry thing is really gross just imagine what it does to your body?

Yah it has sure made me feel pretty gross to think that I have eaten that stuff before - and it doesn't mean that I probably wont EVER eat it again. But I can say I will certinaly eat it a lot less! McDonalds was never really my favourtie to begin with so if I never eat there again I wont be too upset! Did made me feel pretty gross about about that slice of pizza I ate for my breakfast/lunch (it was a big piece, haha)

But nothing a good work out can't fix! haha

i havent seen this yet, but it is on my list to see on Netflix.

i have never been a fast food eater, cept maybe a stint there for a year or so but that was in my late 20's...even then it was only about 2 times a week. i probably eat fast food about once a month IF that...its actually usually after i get home from out of town, and i crave a Whataburger w/cheese from Whataburger. they have the BEST!! its almost not like fast food at all.

i am anxious to get this and see it, i might move it up in my queue.

i HAVE A COMMENT TO MAKE: I am NOT an enemy of mcdonalds.
The idiot who made this movie KNEW it was going to be a quick sell. But think about this logically-who would choose to eat all their meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner?) at a fast food joint? He didn't even RESIST once , he just ate it each and EVERY time. This is not a depiction of real life. We do make choices. And even if they were rather unwise, we don't deliberately do it all the time. He deliberately did it BECAUSE he knew it would make money and he thought he could sell mcdonalds out. Sorry to the guy who directed this, but this certainly isn't my type of movie. Because the way I see it, MCDONALDS iSN'T THE ONE TO BLAME, it is ourselves who CHOOSE to eat that stuff. And McDOnalds HAS some healthy foods. There are a lot of individuals who LOST weight from eating at McDONALDS and they sent their letters of correspondence to the company- they want to make a documentary refuting this crap "super size me" and you know what? McDOnalds wanted to fund it. It's all about the choice you make at the counter, and this guy didn't think twice- we're not that stupid to go up to the counter and say "super size it!" for every meal we eat.

Its ALL about self-control and moderation. The way I see it, someone's trying to blame their own problems on somebody else. Occasionally, I like to have their dollar menu chicken fajita with mozzerella sticks. SOmetimes even a cheesebuger. But I'm under control of my own diet, and I'm not an average "gimme the #8 without pickles". My blood cholesterol LDL is low and my HDL is high and my blood pressure is awesome and I'm really slim according to many. Yet I can take a little MickeyD's here and there. It's not "metabolic poison" as some article termed it unless you consume it constantly.

Phew, that was a mouhtful But anyway courtnie, thanks for bringing it up! (lol you probably know by now i cant stand that film!)

I've never watched this documentary, but I worked at McDonald's for 6 months. What the oil did to my shoes was enough to make me not want to eat there :P I was forced to for most of the time I worked there, though I tried picking things that were better for me.

Bottom line, this documentary is a bunch of bull. Of course eating crap food will cause health problems. If you eat cheetohs and oreos for all your meals, what do you think will happen to your body? THANK you very much :P

Edit: I forgot to mention, I lost 6 pounds in the 6 months that I worked at McDonald's. This was with eating there every day I worked (I worked 3-6 days a week).

Good post, Lydia! I certainly don't "support" eating at McDo's but this documentary is crap, I agree. This guy intentionally went there to see how much fattening stuff he could stuff his face with. You could easily do the same thing at home LOL. AND if you really tried you could eat stuff at McDo's without gaining weight. I certainly don't PLAN to as I still think the food is crap.. but you COULD, as you have proven!! :)

I agree......Who eats Mcdonalds for breakfast lunch and dinner every day? Of course they would get sick. I guess it wasn't a big deal to me since I rarely eat fast food anyway.

i saw him on an interview several times and well it wasnt a slap to mcdonalds but to the CHOICES we do make involving bad food and any fast food place. McDonalds just happen to be his choice of establishment to use in his movie. some people DO eat like that probably 4 out of 7 days of the week if not more! especially our youth, who in the long run may suffer side effects of this much unhealthy eating! maybe not just at mcdonalds but with a variety of the same kind of joints. its already been proven that the number one vegetable people eat over 50% of their time a week is FRENCH FRIES!! sorry but i dont think french fries qualifies as a veggie, and would probably be embarrassed to even suggest that it was to anyone that was tracking that statistic.

and your argument about people making choices, moderation and self control? then why are so so many folks out there suing those exact type of establishments for their obesity and health issues? or even burning themselves because they put a damn cup of coffee between their legs? if people CHOOSE to eat that way then DEAL WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS and quite blaming society or our culture on your downfall.

i feel the same way about those folks as the ones who choose elective surgery for cosmetic reasons (KNOWING FULL WELL THE HEALTH RISKS) but then sue for astronomical amounts of money.

of course we all have choices and some use it wisely and some dont.

again i dont think the average american thinks that this movie was about any of that really, but to expose the fact that that food is worthless and of little nutritional value and if not properly ingested would and could cause side effects such as weight gain, overall way you feel and are able to function and yes some serious long term health risks if you arent careful.

even though i havent seen it, i have seen enough of the interviews and press to know what the point of the movie actually was.

and yes i have seen the interviews of some of those that say they lost weight on mcdonalds, and they ate salads, the childs hamburgers plain, diet cokes and the yogurt parfaits, things along those lines.

to me they were capitalizing off the success of SuperSize Me.

i dont think anyone that enjoys fast food once a week, twice a month or more, should take offense to this movie for goodness sake.

its a documentary. i am sure it wasnt meant to offend you in particular.

i commend him on his efforts. this culture of fast food eating is harming our youth as i said. and that is just MY opionion.

Points well taken, JuneBug, and very good... BUT IMO the problem is when someone does this and DAMAGES someone else's business in the process! This documentary DID come across as a slam to McDonald's -- and while I certainly don't think it is wise to partake of most of their food on a regular basis if at all, it is NOT right IMO to make THEM take the heat for our bad choices, in terms of lost business.

For what it's worth.... that is MY opinion. :)

I think he is a brilliant filmmaker. I also used to work at McDonald's, and I don't plan on ever going back after that. If I do eat there, it's only salads or their fruit things. I knew that stuff had to be terrible for you when I had to make fries for a half an hour straight. My hands were so disgusting. Even the frozen fries are covered in grease. It's disgusting.

Sure, nobody actually eats there for every meal for a month, but there are people who eat there every single day. Having worked there, I saw it. We had our "regulars". Also many of the people who worked there eat fries and burgers everyday. These people either don't know or don't care.

He was basically proving through this film what a poor diet will do to you. He felt sick, he had no energy, he became addicted to it... For those who are dieting, or have began a "lifestyle change", haven't you noticed how much better you feel since you've begun eating right? I know I have. That was his point. Not only is it just plain bad for you to eat junk food all the time, but you'll feel a whole lot better if you eat right.

So, to put it simply, fast food shouldn't be consumed more than once or twice a month, or if you do eat there make healthier choices. At McD's or Burger King, get a plain hamburger or a salad. At Taco Bell, get refried beans minus the cheese. At Subway, get whole grain bread, choose from their low fat sandwiches, and skip the mayo and cheese. It's that simple. As a teenager, I've proven that you can eat out a lot and still lose weight. I ate out for nearly every meal during my school trip to New York and I lost two or three pounds while I was there. I ate right, and when I didn't have many choices I made my own peanut butter sandwiches on whole grain bread or ate wheat crackers.

As a wannabe filmmaker, I think that guy was brilliant and I'd like to make a film like that which has a profound effect on society. Since the release of that film, McD's no longer has a super size, they have nutrition facts on the backs of every tray liner, and they've just released this new "Get Active" meal. You buy a salad and a bottle of water and they include a short workout DVD. Obviously they're trying to get a better reputation, but when it comes down to it, it's all about personal choice.

I did see this movie. The point it drove home to me, was how much fast-food companies spend literally billions on advertising to get young kids to want to go there. I am also concerned of the health risks to those who eat there frequently. Myself, I could care less if I ever have junk food again, but even when faced with having to eat at a fast food place, I choose a grilled chicken salad and a diet coke or unsweetened tea. As adults we're responsible for our own choices. Some people simply don't think about or don't care what they eat. I can't play miss holier-than-thou, because I ate this crap too before I learned my new way of eating.

Though I think it was ridiculous for him to eat there for a month I don't think the documentary was crap at all.

I thought his diet was the BACKDROP to the real issue which was the rising levels of obesity in the western world and helped showcase terrible eating habits within the younger generations, proving that this issue will only get worse. I'm in my second year of university and in highschool 95% of the food they served in the caf was CRAP(and most people ate there everday) and awful for you, and in university it's even worse!! I think the movie also did a good job in showing us how PERVASIVE fast food companies are at targetting the youth market to eat there. You don't see commercials for carrots on TV boasting that they come with a toy!

And while I think his diet was ridiculous I think it made a good point: food at McDonalds is BARELY food once they're through with it. Their hamburgers are not just ground meat that you buy at a store; they're chock full of MSG and preservatives and sugar. Their chicken nuggets are bottom of the barrell scraps with more unfamiliar ingredients than should ever be allowed in a food claiming to be chicken! A lot of people don't realize what they put into that stuff.

I agree that moderation and good choices are key and I don't think that movie ever made any statements otherwise.

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

I haven't seen the movie, but I don't really see the point in it. Sure if you eat too much you will gain weight but I would be more likely to do that with better quality food than the crap they are serving at McDonald's. I work a block from a McDonald's, but I am not tempted by it at all because, IMHO, it isn't worth the calories for such poor quality food. The hamburgers from Billy's may cost three times as much but they taste ten times as good, so they are much more dangerous to me than McDonald's.

If I was forced to eat at McDonalds for a month I would probably lose several pounds.

I have to agree with JuneBug - I think the documentary more than made a point and had a lot of validity. I don't know how many people eat there specifically 2-3 times a day but we didn't all get to be 200-300 pounds by eating apples either. The overall point that if you take a healthy person and feed them crap (whether it be mcdonalds, or fried chicken and gravy at home) that they will have all these horrible health effects (beyond a larger jean size) is really motivating, to me at least. I also think, sure he ate it 3 times a day and had poor health after just a month, but isn't it the same thing if we eat poorly twice a week and have bad health after years of doing it? I heard an interview with him and he was syaing how he could have just as easily done the documentary with any fast food establishment - so I don't see it as a direct McD's slam. The message to me is that you can make poor choices at home or at any fast food place and face the same bad consequences....

Part of the reason he chose mcDonalds was because of the results of the court case where they said that a diet exclusively of Macs wasn't bad for your health.
But he could have chosen any other fast food place to prove his point.
I too worked for McD's for 6 months in high school and I remember the feel of the grease off the floor rotting the soles of my shoes.
Even if you eat McD's while you are working there you can't help but lose weight because of the fact that it is such a workout working there, you are on your feet constantly and moving heaps especially if you are on front counter or lobby.

Originally Posted by JustJuneBug:

and your argument about people making choices, moderation and self control? then why are so so many folks out there suing those exact type of establishments for their obesity and health issues? or even burning themselves because they put a damn cup of coffee between their legs? if people CHOOSE to eat that way then DEAL WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS and quite blaming society or our culture on your downfall.

As for those that filed lawsuits for obesity, they never won. The two girls who did file them wasted a lot of time. Even the press said they should be ashamed for blaming their obese state on McDOnalds.

As for advertisements, theyre meant to SELL to people. If one is dumb enough to buy, one deserves the fall. As for the kids, parents should educate them. Even as a 6 year old, I never ate MCDOnalds as much as I wanted to, I knew it was bad for me. Heck I wanted to eat healthy since I was 10 but I didnt make my food then.

And for the woman who won the lawsuit with the coffee, I think she disputed that the lid was loose? I'm not sure, but I do remember seeing on the side of the cups "HANDLE WITH CAUTION: EXTREMELY HOT".


It's just the public. There's material everywhere to self-educate on health (diet and exercise) and the government tries very hard to make them accessible. WHats funny is that the government actually though placing SURGEON GENERAL's warning on french fires would help. People buy--> demand for fast food--> McDOnalds delivers--> people buy again.

I still agree with Lydia and Misti, this movie is not worth a single thing except for shock value.

Originally Posted by happydaisy:
The overall point that if you take a healthy person and feed them crap (whether it be mcdonalds, or fried chicken and gravy at home) that they will have all these horrible health effects (beyond a larger jean size) is really motivating, to me at least.

But do they literally take healthy people from the streets and spoon feed them while they take money out of their pockets? DO they force people?

I never fell for that crap. Apart of it is just KNOWING whats good for you. Should I sue McDOnalds because I have such weaknesses and I can't control myself? That I never bothered looking at the calories? Absolutely not. There's fine print in everything. This is what matters in court. People don;t read the fine print but they sign, they lose.

Its everyone's job to take responsibilities of their actions. Yes, they do advertise to kiddies and whatnot, but an advertisement can;t force you out the door and to the counter of a fast food joint.


I'm not saying that this movie didn't serve a point. Yes, it made a few people turn heads for its shock value. It couldve changed people's minds. But this is my take from it (mine and no one elses) : does it tell me anything about myself or does it even help me? No, because I was never like the guy in the film, and under no circumstances would I have ever done what he did unless I was completely forced. And was I? Nope. I don't see McDOnald's employees pointing guns to my head, so I guess I do have a choice to eat heathily.

Im annoyed that MD's relaunched their ad campaign saying they now use 100% chicken in there nuggests, less salt etc They are still fried!
I do like that they have put more options into an happy meal, like fruit, carrots, yogurt etc.
The docum did make me actually realise that there are many people who use MACDs as their daily dining room! Hopefully some of those people watched it and realised what this is doing to there weight and health.

Originally Posted by chaarli:
Even if you eat McD's while you are working there you can't help but lose weight because of the fact that it is such a workout working there, you are on your feet constantly and moving heaps especially if you are on front counter or lobby.

That's quite true. I worked in a Walmart McDonald's, so there were only 3-6 people working at any given time. Everybody did everything (just about). Normally I'd do stocking, cleaning (both the lobby and the work area), cashiering, cooking, you name it. But I still ate a lot of their food, drank a lot of their soda (3-5 large sodas in an 8-hour shift) without gaining weight. But the work wasn't hard (as in physically challenging) most of the time. Not really a big deal standing there taking orders. Probably an hour out of 8 was spent actually doing physical work. Working 3-6 days a week, that's about as much exercise as I'm getting now. My diet was even worse at home, but I still lost weight. It's odd.

I wont make this a long drawn out post. But.. In my opinion.. Fast Food = Crap food. Also, I think his point was to show that it IS addictive.

All I know is.. the only thing I will pull from a drive thru window ever.. will be a milk shake and I havent even had one of those in almost a year.

You may be able to lose weight off eatting somethings at McDonalds or ANY FAST FOOD JOINT, but you wont be as healthy as you COULD be on the inside. Again.. just my opinion.

Originally Posted by LadyFirelyght:
I've never watched this documentary, but I worked at McDonald's for 6 months. What the oil did to my shoes was enough to make me not want to eat there :P I was forced to for most of the time I worked there, though I tried picking things that were better for me.

Bottom line, this documentary is a bunch of bull. Of course eating crap food will cause health problems. If you eat cheetohs and oreos for all your meals, what do you think will happen to your body? THANK you very much :P

Edit: I forgot to mention, I lost 6 pounds in the 6 months that I worked at McDonald's. This was with eating there every day I worked (I worked 3-6 days a week).

Yes, it is crap- though it did have some eye opening information on what schools are feeding America's kids, and how small the "healthy eating" adds' budgets are compared to fast food joints and chip bags .

I stopped buying school lunch after watching Super Size Me[ I'm in highschool]. Two weeks later my pimples were gone and I lost five pounds without even exercising. :lol3: The scary thing is that I'm not joking.

I have heard many people ask "yeah, but who eats fast food all the time? 3 meals a day?" My fiancee. He has for years. He's 28 years old and doesn't even own dishes. He eats at different fast food restaurants for each meal, but he does it 3 meals a day every day. I've tried talking to him about it, and explaining that he's harming himself, but for him, it's a convenience thing. He would rather eat fast meals and not have to go through the bother of cooking for himself. What can ya do?

And I agree with hotnewspirits, that this film was more about the rising levels of obesity than anything else. He focused on meals in school cafeterias, and the availability of pop and junk food to kids, as well as the marketing to kids of all fast food chains (not just McD's). I agree that McD's did take the brunt of looking bad after this film came out, but it was an experiment, and one restaurant or another had to be the "bad guy".

I found it a disgusting film, and it did pack a lot of shock value. But there were a few good points made, I thought. Just my 0.02.

one other thing...

It's possible to lose weight and get less healthy, don't forget. There are olympic athletes who are medically "obese"... they're in excellent shape (as in normal BP, normal cholesterol, etc.), but they're technically overweight. This goes the other way too. You may be able to lose weight eating fast food, but you're almost certainly doing damage to your health. I could eat 4 snickers bars a day and nothing else... I'd lose weight, but I'd also be doing myself damage health-wise, right?

I agree, aerotigergirl... I hear so many people say that all you need to do to lose weight is eat less and count calories. While technically that may be true... it WILL make you lose weight... but it certainly will not make you healthy, which is my goal! Besides... you GET a lot more for your calories if you are eating "good stuff" rather than junk! It's really a good deal all around!! :carrot:

What I liked about this movie was its effect on people I knew who hadn't thought too much about their diet. Most of us here are trying to eat healthy, so we think about the implications of fast food. But a lot of people don't. The movie helped people I know rethink their eating habits.

For those of you who liked Supersize Me, you might like the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, by Eric Schlosser.

I have to echo aerotigergirl.. there are "light" people who are fat. If that makes any sense. Meaning their body fat percentage is too high. Its scientifically possible, and happens alot that people who diet actually end up fatter than when they started, yet they are lighter. Doesnt sound right.. but scientifically it makes sense. What you weigh is not what is important at the end of the day. Its your stats.. as far as BMI and BF %

I did especially like the segment on the school lunch problem. My daughter's school serves pure junk to the kids. She takes her lunch most of the time because at 13 she is now very conscious of her weight and health. (she's my little walking partner). They get away with serving these poor lunches because they have a salad bar and say the kids can always choose that. Not many kids I know of could stand salad Everyday.

Originally Posted by TBJ333:
What I liked about this movie was its effect on people I knew who hadn't thought too much about their diet. Most of us here are trying to eat healthy, so we think about the implications of fast food. But a lot of people don't. The movie helped people I know rethink their eating habits.

EXACTLY!! That's exactly what I think the value of this is. There are certain perceptions in the public that I think counteract a lot of the health advice they also see. This movie's "shock value" may make some make healthier choices and for that reason I don't see it as a total waste. Someone asked if I thought we should all sue; no I most certainly do not and have never suggested it. I completely agree with people taking personal responsbility for their actions and their weight. My point was many Americans do eat like "crap" whether fast food or not and this movie showed, in an accelerated way, what happens to your body when that is the fuel it gets.

to veggie lover:

i think you are a little confused on the point of the film and also what he was attempting to accomplish by eating mc donalds. if you pay attention in the beginning of the movie he explains why he chooses to eat it for breakfast luch and dinner.

it was because, according to the courts, in the case of the people who were suing mcdonalds (which also explains why he chose mcdonalds to begin with) that mc donalds could be held liable in thier case if it could be proven that eating thier foods for 3 meals a day on a daily basis could be shown to be harmful. which it obviously was shown to be quite harmful.

the experiment that he was doing was not to resist mcdonalds, but to eat it consistently, and to biggie size only if he was asked to. i think the point that he was making is that if the food was healthy you could eat it three meals a day every day and suffer no consequences. and that if it causes a person such bad health effects in just one short month, think what it does to your body over a lifetime.

you seem pretty perturbed over his seeming lack of good "Choices" by eating the "unhealthy" items on the menu. but in reality, as part of his experiment he required himself to eat everything on the menu at least once. therefore, he HAD to eat all of the items, even the really bad ones. so he did make choices from the menu, but he also had to adhere to the rules of the experiment. besides, i find it doubtful that there are enough low fat and low calorie items on the menu that one could realistically eat "healthy" at mc donalds for every meal anyways.


furthermore, many of those low fat items only came about after the litigation. before the law suit, they didn`t give out pedometers with thier "adult" happy meals, or have nearly as many salads. also, i think you are missing a point here too: there ARE people out there who DO eat fast food 3 meals a day. and yes, i fully agree that life is about choices, and that your food is no different. but the movie did have merit and there was definitely a point to it other than trashing mcdonalds.

also, you need to consider that these companies are peddling that crap at schools to our children, and look at what its doing to them: they are overweight, they have vitamin deficiencies, and diabetes is rising. i dunno if you have ever seen anyone who has just had thier leg amputated above the knee from poorly controlled diabetes, but i have, and i wouldn`t wish that on anyone.

and, i don`t understand why you are defending mc donalds so much when it is apparent even before the movie came out that the food served there is by and large BAD for you. even thier fruit parfaits are loaded with huge amounts of calories and sugars. and yes, there are other chains that serve food that is equally as dispicable, however, mc donalds is the largest, best known, at the time was embroiled in publicity over a law suit, and for his sake in purely practical terms, the most abundant in manhattan where he lived.

furthermore, the movie didn`t miscontstrue fact. for instance, he was fully evaluated before he began the experiment and found to be a completely healthy person. at the end, he was tired all the time, depressed, overweight, his liver was having significant issues as were other organs. i think we can all agree that anything that makes us feel that crappy is probably something we should avoid.

also, another important point of the film was to point out how little education is available by the establishment in regards to what exactly is IN the food. in the film, he visits every mc donalds in manhattan ( i think there were close to 100 stores) and only a handful had a wall chart displaying nutrition info and even less had a take home pamphlet. if the food was good for you, wouldn`t a company prefer to use that as a selling point? instead, mcdonalds sweeps it under the mat. does it give you the feeling that they don`t WANT you to know?? it does to me.

i think considering that we are all here because we have had one too many big macs ourselves in our lifetimes (i can feel the flame already) that arguing that mcdonalds is a healthy choice for a meal is pretty ludicrous. i know, everything in moderation yada yada yada. but obviously, we and millions of others in america don`t abide by that concept, judging by the fact that americans on average are far too fat for thier own good. personally, i think it was a huge and much needed wake up call. i am glad he chose to put himself through all of that to show the american public just what eating those foods does to your body. and if mcdonalds feels slighted in the process, well, maybe they better get busy searching for thier jared...after 50 some years there should be SOMEONE out there who has lost weight eating at mc donalds, right??

Meeegun, great post. :cp:

Well if you live on Hershey bars and nothing else you won't be very healthy either. So does that mean we should sue Hershey company for making them? You could say that about just about anything! I don't think there are really that many people who are stupid enough not to know that eating fast food 3 meals a day every day is not good for them. If they are, the problem is their own laziness and personal responsibility; not suing the fast food places. I don't eat at McDonald's because I think the food is crap; but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have the right to sell it. Of course we should avoid it; but do we really want to live in a communistic society where we are FORCED to avoid it and to eat only what we are told? I don't and certainly not by the government!

Who do you mean by "the establishment" in terms of education? Who is supposed to teach everybody that junk food every day is unhealthy? What ever happened to expecting people to use a bit of common sense? Who exactly is supposed to spend their zillions of dollars to "educate" people. You can't educate people who don't want to be educated. If the American public is really that stupid not to KNOW that eating all the time at McDo's or ANY fast food place is not good for you, this documentary is not going to change that. I doubt if many people have really stopped eating there over it.

And it is the responsibility of the SCHOOLS not to serve this crap to the kids!!! And what ever happened to the responsibility of parents to see that their kids have decent lunches?

I guess I should sue Sara Lee because of all their cheesecakes I have eaten...??? :nono:

Originally Posted by veggielover:
i HAVE A COMMENT TO MAKE: I am NOT an enemy of mcdonalds.
The idiot who made this movie KNEW it was going to be a quick sell. But think about this logically-who would choose to eat all their meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner?) at a fast food joint? He didn't even RESIST once , he just ate it each and EVERY time. This is not a depiction of real life. We do make choices. And even if they were rather unwise, we don't deliberately do it all the time. He deliberately did it BECAUSE he knew it would make money and he thought he could sell mcdonalds out. Sorry to the guy who directed this, but this certainly isn't my type of movie. Because the way I see it, MCDONALDS iSN'T THE ONE TO BLAME, it is ourselves who CHOOSE to eat that stuff.

Tipping my hat to ya. You took the words right out of my mouth.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we can make just as many bad choices at home as we can in a restaurant. For that matter, we can make bad choices at the grocery store as well.

Fast food didn't make me fat and ruin my health. *I* made me fat and ruined my health.

Originally Posted by meeegun:
to veggie lover:

i think you are a little confused on the point of the film and also what he was attempting to accomplish by eating mc donalds. if you pay attention in the beginning of the movie he explains why he chooses to eat it for breakfast luch and dinner.

it was because, according to the courts, in the case of the people who were suing mcdonalds (which also explains why he chose mcdonalds to begin with) that mc donalds could be held liable in thier case if it could be proven that eating thier foods for 3 meals a day on a daily basis could be shown to be harmful. which it obviously was shown to be quite harmful.

the experiment that he was doing was not to resist mcdonalds, but to eat it consistently, and to biggie size only if he was asked to. i think the point that he was making is that if the food was healthy you could eat it three meals a day every day and suffer no consequences. and that if it causes a person such bad health effects in just one short month, think what it does to your body over a lifetime.

you seem pretty perturbed over his seeming lack of good "Choices" by eating the "unhealthy" items on the menu. but in reality, as part of his experiment he required himself to eat everything on the menu at least once. therefore, he HAD to eat all of the items, even the really bad ones. so he did make choices from the menu, but he also had to adhere to the rules of the experiment. besides, i find it doubtful that there are enough low fat and low calorie items on the menu that one could realistically eat "healthy" at mc donalds for every meal anyways.


furthermore, many of those low fat items only came about after the litigation. before the law suit, they didn`t give out pedometers with thier "adult" happy meals, or have nearly as many salads. also, i think you are missing a point here too: there ARE people out there who DO eat fast food 3 meals a day. and yes, i fully agree that life is about choices, and that your food is no different. but the movie did have merit and there was definitely a point to it other than trashing mcdonalds.

also, you need to consider that these companies are peddling that crap at schools to our children, and look at what its doing to them: they are overweight, they have vitamin deficiencies, and diabetes is rising. i dunno if you have ever seen anyone who has just had thier leg amputated above the knee from poorly controlled diabetes, but i have, and i wouldn`t wish that on anyone.

and, i don`t understand why you are defending mc donalds so much when it is apparent even before the movie came out that the food served there is by and large BAD for you. even thier fruit parfaits are loaded with huge amounts of calories and sugars. and yes, there are other chains that serve food that is equally as dispicable, however, mc donalds is the largest, best known, at the time was embroiled in publicity over a law suit, and for his sake in purely practical terms, the most abundant in manhattan where he lived.

furthermore, the movie didn`t miscontstrue fact. for instance, he was fully evaluated before he began the experiment and found to be a completely healthy person. at the end, he was tired all the time, depressed, overweight, his liver was having significant issues as were other organs. i think we can all agree that anything that makes us feel that crappy is probably something we should avoid.

also, another important point of the film was to point out how little education is available by the establishment in regards to what exactly is IN the food. in the film, he visits every mc donalds in manhattan ( i think there were close to 100 stores) and only a handful had a wall chart displaying nutrition info and even less had a take home pamphlet. if the food was good for you, wouldn`t a company prefer to use that as a selling point? instead, mcdonalds sweeps it under the mat. does it give you the feeling that they don`t WANT you to know?? it does to me.

i think considering that we are all here because we have had one too many big macs ourselves in our lifetimes (i can feel the flame already) that arguing that mcdonalds is a healthy choice for a meal is pretty ludicrous. i know, everything in moderation yada yada yada. but obviously, we and millions of others in america don`t abide by that concept, judging by the fact that americans on average are far too fat for thier own good. personally, i think it was a huge and much needed wake up call. i am glad he chose to put himself through all of that to show the american public just what eating those foods does to your body. and if mcdonalds feels slighted in the process, well, maybe they better get busy searching for thier jared...after 50 some years there should be SOMEONE out there who has lost weight eating at mc donalds, right??

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Yes I made myself fat and in no way am I saying that these girls had the right to sue McDonalds because they were overweight. All I thought was so good about this was the points that meeegun said above. The food serverd in highschools is CRAP. In our High School we had vending machines everywhere. The lunches sold CAME from McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Wendy's and everyday you could go and get another deal from another place.

Remeber when McDondalds used to have their 50 cent hambuger days? Well we had a McDonalds right by the school and you would go there and their would be like 100 kids waiting for the 50 cent hambuger. After all - what else can you buy for 50 cents to eat for their lunch? They were too lazy to pack themselves a lunch and most of them didn't want to look uncool by doing so or eating a salad. I mean at that time the healthiest thing on the menu was probably a diet coke! And about this "healthy" food McDonalds servers... a salad from there can still have as much as 300 calories and 12 grams of fat before any dressing... not saying a buger isn't worse for you but I can go to subway and get a sub that has less fat then that.

YES I KNOW they MADE THAT CHOICE! So I am not slamming McDonalds in anyway. I used to work for Taco Time - for TWO YEARS! I ate there or another fast food place at least once everyday that I worked. YES I gained 30-40 pounds AFTER I stopped working there EVEN though I stopped eating all that stuff. Why? Because the job requires you to be active! BUT I would hate to see what it did to the inside of my body. I was 17/18ish at the time and I never thought twice about what I was eating. NEVER even THOUGHT about it. All I thought was I hope I don't gain weight. I wasn't chowing down on my fries going "jeez, I wonder what this is doing to the liver and my blood pressure, etc." Why didn't I think like that? BECAUSE I didn't KNOW ANY BETTER! Why didn't I know any better? Because no one ever told me. Now you might say that is common sense that a person knows that, and sure it is common sense to me now. But it wasn't a few years ago.

Do I blame Taco Time because I ate their everyday? Or New York Fries? Or KFC? No I do not blame any of them - I blame the school system and/or my parents for not making it more clear to me how unhealthy this stuff really is.

Yes this film had added shock value - but it also had some very valid pieces of information.

There must be some kind of misunderstanding going on because about half the people seem to be saying "no one forced me, I made my own choice" but I don't hear anyone saying they were being forced. The other side of the debate is simply that the movie makes it harder to rationalize to yourself that that cheeseburger isn't "so bad." That's the value in the movie for me. It makes denial over the negative health effects of that kind of food (besides weight) more real to me. I would never suggest and I don't think anyone else here would either that anyones weight problem is anyone's fault other than their own.

Originally Posted by happydaisy:
There must be some kind of misunderstanding going on because about half the people seem to be saying "no one forced me, I made my own choice" but I don't hear anyone saying they were being forced. The other side of the debate is simply that the movie makes it harder to rationalize to yourself that that cheeseburger isn't "so bad." That's the value in the movie for me. It makes denial over the negative health effects of that kind of food (besides weight) more real to me. I would never suggest and I don't think anyone else here would either that anyones weight problem is anyone's fault other than their own.

It is because the girls blammed it on McDonalds. That is why the point keeps coming up.

Originally Posted by Misti in Seattle:
I guess I should sue Sara Lee because of all their cheesecakes I have eaten...??? :nono:

This is the kind of post I don't understand. (I kind of understand what you're getting at Misti, and I totally support and agree with personal responsibility. I think the people who sued over their weight represent the ultimate in spoiled brat nothing is my fault mentality. I just haven't heard anyone here on 3fc support that kind of attitude.) I have heard no one in this thread suggest sueing Mcdonalds or any other establishment. I haven't heard anyone not wanting to take responsibility for their weight. For the one's that liked the movie it was just a wake up call as to how bad that food is. Yes, you can eat poorly at home. But I'd have to work to make a 1200 calorie burger or an 800 calorie milkshake. When I started this journey it was a rude awakening for me how many calories were in some of the things I was eating, and that was assuming I was eating a portion! There are enough calories in that food for a day in one meal. That's something that those of us newer to weight loss need to know.

Originally Posted by happydaisy:
I have heard no one in this thread suggest sueing Mcdonalds or any other establishment.

But people ARE suing fast food chains and making mega bucks for not taking personal responsibility for their own actions.

And I think my quote was taken out of context of my entire message... MY point was that I think it is WRONG for anyone to pick out one business and intentionally set out to do something that is designed to damage their business.

And actually there ARE other mentions of suing over such in this thread... including -- but not limited to -- your comments. :) There were such comments in several messages; perhaps you need to reread the thread. :cbg: