One of the pitfalls of blogging that I've noticed since I started doing this nearly two years ago is the fact that there are brand new readers who find out about you for the very first time each and every day. Quite literally, tens of thousands of new readers stumble upon and read the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog each month and I am extremely grateful for that.
But what inevitably happens is someone will read a single column that I have written without knowing who this Jimmy Moore fella is and the context of the more than 1,400 blog posts I have written since April 2005. Many of these critics wonder how I came up with my opinions and sometimes misunderstand what I have written. It happens ALL THE TIME and I've really come to expect it.
Generally I kindly reply back to the person who e-mailed me providing links to other blog posts I have previously written as well as clearly explaining where I am coming from. Do I HAVE to do this? Of course not. Yet in the context of sharing ideas and attempting to educate people on my perspective, I cheerfully do it.
Today I received another one of these kind of e-mails from a man who is obviously a brand new reader since he said he "spotted" my blog post from Thursday about a McDonald's restaurant closing down because of competition from the neighborhood farmers' market. To answer this critic and help educate the public, I will individually respond to each of his criticisms about my column much in the same way I would in a typical e-mail reply.
"I don't know you but I am having difficulty understanding why you seem to have so much hostility toward McDonald's."
Hello and THANK YOU for sharing your feedback with me. I enjoy reading comments from people who come across my blog for the very first time. Welcome to the debate of ideas about diet, health, nutrition, weight loss, and, of course, low-carb. Please feel free to navigate around my blog and read the more than 1,400 blog posts that have come before the one you cited.
Regarding your assertion that I have "hostility toward McDonald's," nothing could be further from the truth. My regular readers will tell you that I am all for letting a business do what it has to do to turn a profit. That's the American way and NOBODY should force a business to do anything that would stand in the way of their economic success.
I believe in the power of a democratic society without the use of strong-arm tactics like unnecessary government-forced rules and regulations. For example, I was opposed to the recent ban of trans fats in New York City. Does this mean I approve of the use of trans fats in the food served at places like McDonald's? Not hardly. Instead, I am a strong proponent of personal responsibility for weight and health problems rather than blaming it on a disease or making it the fault of fast food companies.
"I read that you lost a lot of weight. Congratulations on that accomplishment but the rancor in your article gives me the impression you blame McDonald's for being overweight."
THANK YOU for your compliments about my low-carb weight loss success which I chronicled in my 2005 debut book release Livin' La Vida Low-Carb. However, where was the "rancor" in my article? If you have read any of my previous blog posts then you will quickly discover that I generally write in a very direct manner fueled by the personal experiences I have encountered as part of my miraculous weight loss experience. My intense passion should not be mistaken for opposition.
I make no apologies for my writing style and can't be held responsible for your misinterpretation of what I wrote. With that said, I can without a shadow of a doubt tell you that I don't blame McDonald's for my obesity or anybody else's. Again, it goes back to my philosophy that the individual has the power to change.
When there was a move earlier this year for McDonald's and other restaurants to cut back on their portion sizes and calories in their menu items, I stood up for them against such a movement. Additionally, when they voluntarily decided to put the nutritional information on the packaging, I applauded their efforts. I'm not anti-McDonald's from a business standpoint and believe they could be a good company for people living a healthy lifestyle. All it would take is for them to provide better and healthier choices for their prospective customer base.
"The last time I visited McDonald's there were salads, fruit, low fat yogurt, grilled chicken, orange juice and milk. So, what is your real problem with the brand?"
LOL! Now that's funny! Do you think all of that makes McDonald's a "healthy" place to eat? Okay, I'll give you the plain salads and grilled chicken (although, even THAT is suspect!), but clearly the rest of their so-called "healthy" menu is loaded with too much sugar and carbohydrates to be deemed good for you.
Fruit? Oh, do you mean those little apple slices that come with a container of caramel dipping sauce just LOADED with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Oh yeah, that's REALLY healthy! Many of the salads at McDonald's have sugar in them, too, which make them decided unhealthy for people who are livin' la vida low-carb.
Low-fat yogurt? You've got to be kidding, right? OJ? Milk? Have you looked at the carb counts in these lately? It's not a pretty picture. I provided McDonald's with a few examples of some excellent low-carb menu offerings in this recent blog post. We'll see if they take me up on my suggestions.
"I can't believe I am actually writing to you about this but in your glee over the closure, you overlook the 27 employees that are being 'displaced.' You seem elated about this and I can't understand why. I suspect these employees are 'local town folk' too as are the truck drivers, repair people and other vendors that support any restaurant."
I'm really glad you did write to me because you allow me the opportunity to address your concerns directly. Again, I wouldn't say I have "glee" over this McDonald's closing down, but rather it's not surprising considering the economic dynamics of the area.
As for the employees who worked at that store, the article I quoted very clearly said they would be offered positions at the nearby Plymouth McDonald's location if they want it. Don't be so smug and crass to think I'm "elated" over anyone losing their job. I went through that a few months back and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
But you move on with your life. You find something else to do to make a living and support your family. That's the way it works in a free society economy, especially in the high-turnover restaurant industry. Many of the people employed at the McDonald's that shut down would have moved on in the next six months or so anyway and they can do so much better for themselves than Mickey D's. This very well may give them the impetus to get out there and find an even better job with higher pay and benefits.
Yes, it's sad when a job is lost, but it's not the end of the world. Perhaps these ex-McDonald's employees could look into working at the Tavistock Farmers' Market? If they put forth enough initiative and energy into selling fresh produce and meats like they did Big Macs and French fries, then I have no doubt they will be successful. But they shouldn't expect a job to come running to them. Work is there for the taking with low unemployment rates around 4% right now.
"You could also check this out with experts but I suspect the chances of getting a food borne illness is probably greater buying food at a local farmers market from some unknown source (not all of the items are organic as many believe) than from a national chain since the chains require their suppliers to meet certain national standards for food safety."
Oh yeah, that's worked out real well, hasn't it? Try telling that to Taco Bell or Olive Garden, hmmm? There's not one shred of evidence to back your claim that food sold at a farmers' market will make you sick. Now who's showing "hostility" and "rancor?" Are you sure you're not on the board of directors for McDonald's? Hey, I gotta ask!
"I do not expect you to reply but I hope I have given you some points to consider. Happy New Year!"
Well, that's where you are wrong, my friend. You not only got a reply from me, but I even devoted an entire blog post to your e-mail. Don't you feel so special? :)
I appreciate the feedback and the attempt to share your thoughts and opinions with me about this subject. Hopefully this blog post can serve as a springboard for looking closer at the issues both you and I have raised. This is the kind of synergy that is needed to help further the education of the public. THANK YOU for sharing and feel free to write to me again anytime.
This BBC News story is a gentle reminder that the whole world hasn't gone completely off the deep end nutritionally just yet.
When the world's most recognized restaurant chain decided to infiltrate the community of Tavistock, Devon in the UK back in 1999, they had high hopes that it would produce high profits as people became addicted to the decidedly unhealthy menu offerings. McDonald's thought it was going to be able to add another achievement to its neverending quest for worldwide domination.
But they didn't expect this at all.
In less than seven years, this once-promising bastion of junk food glory has been a total bust for Mickey D's. Why? Well, it seems the local town folk like the food they can get from their friendly neighborhood farmers' market a whole lot better than the garbage they serve at McDonald's.
In fact, that local business--Tavistock Farmers' Market--was recently named South-West "Britain's Favorite Farmers' Market Award" by Country Life magazine in October 2006. This quaint little marketplace held on the second and fourth Saturdays each month in front of Town Hall features 22 stallholders offering such exquisite foods like buffalo meat, salmon pâté, ostrich meat, emu eggs, fresh-grown produce and so much more.
To add to the ambience of the Tavistock Farmers' Market experience, there is a jazz band, harpist and silver band that keeps the patrons entertained while they fill their baskets full of delicious and nutritious foods. Country Life describes it as "a shop window for the high-quality ingredients available in the South-West and has established itself as a fortnightly social occasion that brings the whole community together."
Hurray for Tavistock Farmers' Market! What an amazing business success story! Needless to say, sales are BOOMING while the local McDonald's has seen stale and stagnant customer counts and increases in their bottom line at best. Why should they expect anything different when the competition is demolishing the best-known fast food chain in the world?! You know that's gotta be embarassing!
Not surprisingly, McDonald's is blaming the changing demographics for their failure in this community.
"With 1,250 restaurants across the UK, it's essential that we continue to have the right restaurants in the right places," a McDonald's lackey exclaimed. "Since the restaurant opened in 1999, the trading patterns of Tavistock high street have changed and as a result we have taken the difficult decision to cease trading at this site."
Oh, that's just too funny. Here's the translation: We're getting our butts whipped by a company that offers its customers real, high-quality food in an engaging and fun environment so it's time for us to cut our losses and get the heck out of here before anyone notices just how badly we were beaten at our own game.
You won't see me crying a single tear over this. While I strongly believe McDonald's has the right to do business wherever it wants, this story should be a solid lesson in what happens when you allow the economic market forces to work. The people of this community rejected the idea that they HAD to eat at McDonald's and simply chose to eat healthier by shopping the farmers' market insteady. GOOD FOR THEM!
So, how do we make this happen in small town America? Perhaps some of the farmers' markets across the United States could learn a lesson or two from the Tavistock Farmers' Market model in the UK. I'm sure they'd be happy to share their "secrets" with anyone who sent them an e-mail at info@tavistockfarmersmarket.com.
Tavistock spokesman John Taylor responded to the news that McDonald's was leaving town by saying this doesn't surprise him in the least.
"It just goes to show that the food is so good here we have seen them off. Because of the quality of our local food, McDonald's has not been able to compete," he concluded. "I think there is definitely a link. We have made every effort to make Tavistock a haven for local food and McDonald's wasn't local food, so they suffered."
In this round of healthy vs. fast food, it's HEALTHY 1, FAST FOOD 0.
R U ready for McDonald's and their new "R Gym" exercise rooms?
Guess who's back in the news again as a heralded champion in the fight against childhood obesity? Yep, it's that bastion of nutritional and fitness goodness named McDonald's. They offer kids and parents the very best food money can buy for a healthy lifestyle like Big Macs, French fries, Coca-Cola, chocolate milkshakes, Chicken McNuggets, and so much more. I can't believe we have such an out-of-control obesity epidemic in this country with such a strong example coming from the Golden Arches!
YOU KNOW I'M KIDDING, RIGHT?!
But that's the EXACTLY the kind of image the corporate executives in the upper echelons of the McDonald's empire want people to have in their minds when they think about the world's #1 fast food restaurant chain. They have been working very diligently over the past year or so to shape and mold themselves as a company that truly cares about the overall health and well-being of its customer base.
You know, that's kinda like a drug dealer putting a filter on that marijuana cigarette he sells you to make it "better" for you. It's superficial change at best that still results in damage to your health. Nevertheless, McDonald's has certainly been trying to fool...er, I mean, convince the public that they have seen the error in their ways and are ready to make things right.
Here are just a few of the things they have done:
1. They encourage people this woman on a McDiet to counter the negative publicity they received from Morgan Spurlock and his "Super Size Me" movie and book. That unexpected hit film from a few years back has done more to expose Mickey D's than just about anything else in our culture. The heat was turned up on McDonald's yet again when Eric Schlosser's brand new film "Fast Food Nation" hit selected theaters in November 2006.
2. In a move that I applauded when it was first brought to light in late 2005, McDonald's is now printing the nutrition information on the packaging of the foods they sell. While critics complain that customers cannot see this information until AFTER they have purchased their meal, the fact is anyone can obtain this data anytime by visiting the McDonald's web site or referencing the big nutritional chart posted near the register inside the restaurant.
3. Many people were surprised to see in September 2006 for the first time in the history of McDonald's that they agreed to donate $2 million to childhood obesity and diabetes research. McDonald's claims they wanted to show the public that they are serious about helping to combat these issues and put their proverbial money where their mouth is.
Now we can add another element to the rebuilding of the McDonald's image with the introduction of their new "R Gym" concept. The days of kids playing around in a public pool of balls and crawling around in tubes like lab rats are numbered as a new generation of children will have a full workout activity room to climb a rock wall, ride on a stationary bike hooked up to a video game, and shoot some hoops--all while dining at McDonald's!
Click here to take a video tour of the "R Gym" in Santa Ana, CA.
McDonald's is dead serious about this and has already added an "R Gym" to selected units in California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Illinois. They hope to open many more in other states in the coming year based on the positive feedback they have been receiving from customers about the improved exercise facilities for kids.
Bill Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman quoted in the FOXNews.com article, said the company has every intention of expanding the "R Gym" concept as long as there is a "benefit in it."
"We have for many years supported programs that promote physical activity, and we will continue to do that," he said.
While it is admirable that a company like McDonald's supports exercise as part of their business model, Mr. Whitman, there's only one problem with your company's position. You assume that weight gain is ONLY prevented through the implementation of physical activity and has nothing at all to do with a child's diet. Am I the only one who notices this glaring factual omission?
If McDonald's wants to get people like Julia Havey to stop wanting them to be sued, then perhaps they should rethink some of those menu items they believe are good for kids and adults to eat. Yet, not even the British McDonald's CEO thinks the company should be serving salads, but instead needs to focus more on selling bigger and bigger burger meal deals! What about all this supposed care and concern about obesity, McDonald's? Are all these PR stunts just for show?
Having a fun and exciting place like the "R Gym" for kids to look forward to when they visit McDonald's is a great way to market your product. But studies have shown that fried junk food consumption like French fries among children has doubled and the products served at places like McDonald's have been found to make people one-third fatter than if they didn't eat them.
With this knowledge, how about offering some menu items that children and adults can not only enjoy eating, but are also good for them as well, McDonald's? Company spokeswoman Jennifer Smith believes they already do with such menu items as low-fat milk and yogurt, for example.
"The R-Gym is just another example of McDonald's dedication to helping customers live balanced, active lifestyles," she said.
These people just don't get it, do they? We don't need to remove the fat out of everything McDonald's sells to make the food healthy. How about offering some low-carb and/or sugar-free options as well to reach a broader base of health-conscious consumers? Why does McDonald's refuse to cater to this segment of their customer base?
Here are just a very few suggestions off the top of my head:
1. Grilled chicken strips with green beans and a side salad 2. Hamburger steak and onions with cauliflower and a side salad 3. Breakfast bowl with eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheese 4. Sugar-free ice cream or cheesecake with berries 5. Ham or turkey w/cheese in low-carb wraps
These are a few very simple additions to the food selection at McDonald's that would attract people like me and others who support livin' la vida low-carb and healthy living. Why must we be subjected to the Dr. Dean Ornish-approved low-fat specialty salads that contain gobs of sugar or apple dippers that feature high-fructose corn syrup in the caramel dipping sauce as the "healthy" options at McDonald's? Fixing these major menu problems would go a lot further in showing the public that you mean business when it comes to tackling childhood obesity.
Upon hearing about this new concept at McDonald's, the "R Gym" may sound like a good idea because it encourages kids of all ages--with sections for toddlers, elementary school aged, and pre-teens--to move their bodies and shake off those calories they just consumed. But how many parents are actually going to just sit around inside of McDonald's for hours on end while their kids use the "R Gym?" Not many, which doesn't give kids much time to use these facilities in a meaningful way to burn very many calories.
I can see the following scenario playing out now:
Johnny finishes his meal and goes to play in the "R Gym."
Five minutes later...
MOM: "Johnny, drop the basketball it's time to go."
JOHNNY: "Aw, mom, can't I keep playing, this is so much fun."
MOM: "Did you eat all of your 9-piece Chicken McNuggets and fries?"
JOHNNY: "Yes, ma'am, and I even drank every drop of my large Coke, too!"
MOM: "That's good, but we need to go now. We'll be back again soon."
JOHNNY: "Oh, alright. Can I get the Big Mac meal next time?"
MOM: "Of course, honey, cause you'll play it off in the 'R Gym!'"
JOHNNY: "Yeeaaaah! I just LOVE McDonald's!"
You may be laughing at my fictitious interaction between a mother and her child, but somebody tell me that's not EXACTLY what is going to play out in the real world concerning these "R Gym" facilities. Even worse is the fact that kids will start whining and complaining to their parents about going to McDonald's to "play," so moms and dads will rationalize to themselves that eating there is healthy so their kids can get some exercise. Can you see how twisted this marketing ploy by McDonald's has become?
And then riddle me this, Batman: McDonald's is not in the business of offering a place for kids to just come hang out and play, are they? No, they're not. Instead, their goal is to make money off of selling millions upon millions of high-carb, high-sugar, junk foods that are quite literally destroying the health of kids long before they become adults and then keeping them that way once they reach adulthood.
Fast food addiction is very hard to break (I know because I used to visit McDonald's and other fast food restaurants more than five times a week!). But it is possible to lose your desire for those disgusting carb-loaded foods if you simply refuse to settle for putting junk in your body ever again. Believe me when I say it is so much more pleasurable to eat healthy than it is to eat fast food. Give it up for 30 days and start eating real food for once and you'll see what I mean.
As healthy as McDonald's is trying to make their restaurants appear to the consumer, the fact is they still peddle garbage food. Nobody will ever argue this point because it is a universal truth that everyone already agrees with. In other words, just because McDonald's has come up with the "R Gym," that is no reason to start bowing down to them as a great example of how to combat the growing obesity problem. They still have a LONG way to go.
Case in point is found in this Orange County Register column about the opening of one of these "R Gym" facilities at a local McDonald's there. In the middle of that page, you will see an "If you go" feature box that states the following:
"The McDonald's at 1526 W. Edinger Ave. in Santa Ana is celebrating the debut of the R Gym, as well as the restaurant's remodel, at 11 a.m. today. Ronald McDonald will be giving out free cookies and balloons."
Ronald is giving out sugar-infested cookies, oh joy! That's REALLY healthy, isn't it? It's the irony of all ironies--opening a kids mini-gym and celebrating that by giving out free cookies. UGH! And we wonder why childhood obesity lingers!
This could very well be the signature book on nutrition in our lifetime
We Americans are a strange lot. While we are anal about micromanaging so many of the minute details in our lives--from our finances to our family vacations and even our work-your-fingers-to-the-bone jobs--that peculiar sense of sensibility is thrown completely out the window when it comes to our diet and health.
How many of us hurriedly zoom into the popular fast food chains to grab a quick bite to eat and oftentimes make that car seat and steering wheel our breakfast, lunch or dinner table? It's almost become a prerequisite for juggling your life in modern times with balancing your job, your family, and everything that happens in between. It also is likely the underlying component in the current obesity crisis we are faced with in the United States of America today.
But let's get back to our diet and health for a moment. Do people really know what they are eating from the foods they buy at the grocery store, in a fast food restaurant, and even from supposedly "healthy" organic food stores? Why are we so trusting as a society that the dinner we have prepared for our family is even remotely good for us? What's in that boxed, canned or bagged food anyway?
These are just a few of the root questions that UC Berkeley-based investigative journalist and bestselling author Michael Pollan explores in his trailblazing book which took five years to write called The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. I've had this book for several months and it has taken me this long to absorb the deeply profound message it has to offer. Reading this book will change you and hopefully shake you back into reality about what you choose to put inside of you.
Let me warn you ahead of time, if you aren't prepared to hear the unbridled truth about what you are stuffing your face with on a daily basis, then don't read this eye-opening 320-page book. It'll freak you out so much you may not eat something bought in a store for days, weeks...maybe ever again! But with knowledge comes power--the power to make better choices for yourself so you can not only survive, but be healthy and free from disease and weight problems for many years to come.
Pollan takes readers on a whimsical adventure surrounding four meals:
1. A typical trip to the McDonalds drive-thru 2. An "industrial organic" meal from Whole Foods 3. A small-farm organic meal 4. A wild boar feast that he hunted himself (aka "The Perfect Meal")
More than anything else, Pollan wants people to realize the downward spiral that has happened in the agriculture industry in recent years. Farming has become big business for some while that dying breed of independent farmers are saddened by the trend to hurry along the process of doing it the right way. These local farmers are heroes who should be rewarded with the business of the people they grow food for in their local communities. Do you even know where to buy from local farmers?
We also learn from this book how our government and food industry leaders, specifically those who work closely with the government agency the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have become corrupted by the special interests they are trying to protect. The light is shined brightly on these people forcing them to give an account for their actions. This is why so many of us no longer trust the USDA or the FDA to look out for our best health interests anymore.
One prominent example of the corruption revealed in The Omnivore's Dilemma is the corn industry. Pollan says corn is showing up in just about every food we eat nowadays and it's almost impossible to avoid. From extensive use in fattening cows, producing corn oil for frying, the ever-present existence of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in too places you wouldn't ever expect to find it (toothpaste!), and so much more. If people read this book and keep eating the way they always have, then they're either blind or one fry short of a Happy Meal (don't ask about how much corn is in that)!
Did you know the average meal people consume has to travel about 1,500 miles before it reaches your mouth? Where does it all come from and are these places open to the public? Or do we really want to know what we are eating and what it goes through before it hits our dinner table?
Food isn't just food anymore. Pollan calls it "industrial food"--food that has been so overly processed, refined, and infused with God knows what that it would be completely unrecognizable to our great-great-great grandparents if they were still around today. That's scary to think we are only a few generations away from the diet we were intended to eat. Now the standard fare is, "Would you like fries with that?"
Another big subject in The Omnivore's Dilemma is oil. Pollan says the overuse of fossil fuels to produce the foods we eat is taking its toll on our environment. Did you know 20 percent of our fossil fuels go into making the foods we eat? Sooner or later, this is going to catch up to us.
The thing I enjoyed the most about Pollan's account of the food we eat is that he just makes so much sense. In a culture dominated and monopolized by the low-fat, high-carb diet propaganda that has basically been free to roam freely as the gospel truth in terms of diet and health for decades, he simply puts the facts out there for people to evaluate for themselves. From shunning margarine in favor of the healthier butter to reading food labels carefully enough to avoid the presence of HFCS, the truth is there to be embraced and to change us from our addiction to "cheap food" loaded with too much sugar and excess carbs that is marketed to us as convenient.
This subject of so-called "convenience" is a sore spot with Pollan, too. Why do we need to avoid being inconvenienced and save time as the television commercials from the food companies are constantly barraging us with? There's plenty of time to make a healthy, delicious and nutritious meal for our families without the stereotypical stress that people seem to associate with cooking. Make the process of creating a meal an experience that is as much a part of the enjoyment as eating it is and your perspective about cooking food will change. We need to get more people back in the kitchen again rather than settling for Mickey D's or the pizza delivery guy to serve us dinner!
Unfortunately, the delayed-reaction price we must now pay for all that high-carb junk food convenience we have become accustomed to is coming due as obesity-related illnesses are mounting and Americans continue to get fatter and fatter. Pollan encourages us all to get back to eating healthy whole foods again and to stop trying to make our eating habits all about convenience.
Instead, how about paying a visit to your local farmer's market and taste what real food is supposed to be like, especially when it is in season. You'll not only taste the difference, but you'll feel better knowling exactly what you are eating. And that's a very good way to overcome The Omnivore's Dilemma!
Culture-altering shockwaves set to land in movie theaters on November 17
In 2003, the cinematic world was shocked into reality with the highly-acclaimed release of independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's eye-opening documentary Super Size Me. The ripple effects from that film are still being felt to this day as McDonald's and other fast food restaurants are making certain changes to address the problems that were exposed in Spurlock's masterpiece.
Well, it's about to happen again in late 2006. Based on the 2001 New York Times bestselling book by Eric Schlosser entitled Fast Food Nation comes a movie that is much more than a documentary. Instead of taking the same tactic that Spurlock used for his film, Schlosser brought on director Richard Linklater to creative a compelling narrative based on the book. The end result will be coming to the silver screen on November 17, 2006.
It's FAST FOOD NATION--THE MOVIE!
Have you seen the trailer for this movie yet? Check it out:
Unlike Spurlock's movie, this one has some familiar faces that moviegoers will recognize, including Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne (her Hollywood acting debut), Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama.
The star-power of this remarkable cast helps weave the tale of a marketing executive named Don Henderson, played by Greg Kinnear, who works for a fast food restaurant called Mickey's (hmmm, I wonder who this could be?!) and is charged with helping promote the bestselling burger for the chain called "The Big One." Unfortunately for Mickey's, the corporate executive learn that the frozen hamburger meat has been contaminated with cow manure.
So Henderson is sent back through the process of making that burger to find out the source of the problem. He visits the slaughterhouses run by immigrants, the meatpacking company that creates these burgers, the strip malls where the Mickey's fast food restaurants are located to observe why millions of unsuspecting people are lured into the business with such a lack of knowledge about what they are consuming.
We also get to meet a teenager named Amber who works at Mickey's while in school as well as a slew of illegal immigrants coming across the border straight from Mexico to the meatworks assembly lines. Make no mistake about it: THIS FILM IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! If you don't want to know the truth behind what goes into that burger and fries you eat at your favorite fast food restaurant, then DON'T go see FAST FOOD NATION. But Schlosser and Linklater are betting many people will.
Behind the scenes, we learn why this film was made into a narrative story:
Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America, the nearly two-hour FAST FOOD NATION movie is going to rock the boat not only of the fast food industry, but of the ethical compass of corporate America itself. This movie will get you to thinking about other businesses that may be taking advantage of our nation's collection ignorance to make insane profits at the expense of the health of our society.
Wanna know why FAST FOOD NATION was made into a movie? Watch this:
Already honored with an official selection by the Cannes Film Festival 2006, FAST FOOD NATION could very well put another large dent in the profits of companies like McDonald's who continue to reap the profits of destroying the health of people who have not adequately educated themselves about the harm they are doing to their bodies eating Big Macs, French fries, and milkshakes. This goes much, much deeper than obesity, too, and FAST FOOD NATION is a must-see for anyone who truly cares about the health of themselves and their fellow citizens. GO SEE IT!
Easterbrook says "healthier" options at McDonald's hurting business
One of the most recognized name brands is the #1 fast food company in the world: McDonald's. It's hard to imagine anyone on this planet who has never heard of the famous golden arches, Ronald McDonald, or what they have become most well-known for--Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, French fries and milkshakes.
And last week the company announced business was extremely good over the summer with third quarter sales growth of 5.8 percent throughout the chain worldwide which caused sales of McDonald's stock to hit their highest point since 2000 on Wall Street.
Corporate executives quickly rolled out their PR swagger on this positive financial news for their company by stating the upcoming release of nutritional info on their packaging as well their healthier menu items (which Dr. Dean Ornish helped encourage McDonald's to add to their menu) such as carrot sticks, apple dippers with caramel sauce, all-white meat chicken nuggets, fruit bags, deli sandwiches and walnut salads were the reason for the resurgence in sales as well as the outstanding performance of the UK chain of McDonald's restaurants. Makes you wanna go on a McDiet, doesn't it?
But somebody forgot to send the memo to the CEO of the 1,125 McDonalds restaurants in Great Britain, Steve Easterbrook. Despite the improved sales numbers and the public perception that McDonald's really does care about offering better food choices for their customers, Easterbrook said all the focus on these "healthy" menu items that have been added in recent years such as salads are actually bad for business.
"In the past we have seemed somewhat apologetic about who and what we are, but you have to believe in the brand," Easterbrook remarked. "Our menu has evolved, and we now have a much broader range of salads and sandwiches. But we were alienating customers by pushing our salads."
Easterbrook notes that 25 McDonald's units in Great Britain were forced to shut their doors due to poor performance which he blames in part on the artificial image that the food served at McDonald's is healthy.
Well, well, well, a little honesty from a top executive within the McDonald's empire certainly sheds some light on an issue that I have long had my concerns about. While it is understandable why McDonald's would so heavily promote their healthier menu options (although even that point is debatable considering all the sugar in these items) because of the negative publicity they have received in recent years regarding their role in the obesity epidemic, here we have the British CEO basically admitting the changes made to the menu are nothing more than window dressing.
But nothing has REALLY changed now, has it McDonald's?
The reality is that these "healthy" options at McDonald's are merely a fraction of their total sales figures. To illustrate this point, one internal report by the company found that for every salad sold at McDonald's, an incredible EIGHT double cheeseburgers are sold. Of course, putting the double cheeseburger on the "99 cent value menu" certainly doesn't hurt sales.
Add to that the fact that a "super-sized" Big Mac was recently added to the menu at the McDonald's restaurants in the UK and what you see is a company that is basically thumbing its nose at those of us who support having healthier choices available to us. Portion sizes have gone down a slippery slope at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, although I am not in favor of forcing these restaurants to cut their portions or calories if the market doesn't want that to happen.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to focus on your core bestselling products as a business model, but this shell game McDonald's is playing with the consumer using their healthier menu as a bargaining chip is not impressing me one bit. If you wanna sell burgers and make that the product you earn a buck off of, then do it. But don't act like offering salads and apple dippers with sugary caramel sauce is endearing you to the health-conscious customers because it is not. I don't agree with Julia Havey wanting to sue your butt, but I think it's time to get off the fence on this issue, McDonald's.
Believe it or not, I am forced to go to McDonald's about once a week to get my wife Christine her favorite meal--a double cheeseburger with a large order of fries. Aside from the extremely slow, nonchalant, and very poor service that I almost always receive when I visit the restaurant, the disgusting stench that comes out of that place when I pull up to the window to pay for the "food" is enough to make me sick. I mean LITERALLY sick. But, I usually hold my breath long enough to get home with the high-carb processed junk food that makes my wife happy. She's lovin' it! UGH!
When McDonald's donated $2 million to childhood obesity research last month for the first time in the history of their company, I was cynical about their motive for making the gift. With such forthright comments from Easterbrook, my skepticism about why they did it is all but confirmed.
Keep that in mind the next time you think you're eating "healthy" at McDonald's. If I can ever get my wife over her addiction to their French fries and burgers, then I'll never darken the doors of their restaurants again for as long as I live.
Julia Havey offers plenty of weight loss motivation in my interview
One of my favorite people in the whole wide world joins us today at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog for an interview. It's Julia Havey and she's a very special woman who has taken her amazing weight loss story and turned it into a career built around motivating people to make changes in their life to lose weight and overcome the problems that plague them. You WILL be motivated and inspired by Julia as she shares her thoughts on what's making us fat and unhealthy in America today.
1. Joining us today is Julia Havey, life coach and author of the book "The Vice-Busting Diet." Julia is a friend I met when I first started this blog and I was attracted by her amazing weight loss success story and what she is doing to help people now. Tell my readers a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in helping others lose weight and get healthy.
Jimmy, I lost 130 pounds and it changed my life for the better, forever. That could have been the end of it but I shared my story with Women's World magazine in 1997 and they were flooded with letters and calls asking HOW did I lose so much weight and get the fairy tale happy ending to my story (married a younger handsome doctor, won the title of Mrs. Missouri...happily ever after stuff). I tried to answer those women, and those who kept writing and calling. TV shows, the National Enquirer all seized upon my story and gave me my "15 minutes of fame," I decided that rather than talk about "me" that it would be much more rewarding to talk about the woman out there who was struggling with her weight, her unhappiness and to try to help her get motivated to change and improve her circumstances.
I never in a million years dreamed that I would have 2 acclaimed books (Awaken The Diet Within, Warner Books #2 Amazon.com health ranking and The Vice-Busting Diet, St. Martin's Press--Oprah's Dr. David L. Katz and Dr. Mehmet Oz endorsed!) but it is the most rewarding life that I can imagine leading, yet I spend my days getting to speak to groups of people who are looking to improve their health, personally coach women to their dreams and goals, writing for a major weight loss web site as their "Master Motivator" and I sincerely feel like I have grown into who I was meant to be.
2. You describe yourself as a "master motivator" and the articles you write (which appear at LowCarbNewsline.com and at Julia's blog) bear that out. Were you always as confident as you are now or did you blossom into the fireball of energy and excitement that you are today following your amazing weight loss experience.
I am so proud of that title, but it was bestowed upon me by my editor. He will tell you, he didn't hire me for my amazingly poor grammer skills but rather my knack for motivating the reader and my personality! He saw in me what I hadn't yet seen in myself and helped me to grow into the role of Motivator that I now have. My husband also saw in me what I did not and encouraged me to use my experience with Obesity to help others to empower their lives.
So, NO, I was NOT always the confident "ball of energy and excitement" that you see me as, that confidence grows each day from the knowledge that I am right and that my message must be told as loudly, passionately and repeatedly as necessary because lives literally are at stake. Obesity killed 2.6 million people prematurely last year and it is only getting worse. My message isn't sexy, it isn't a fad but it is the truth--you can't consume soft drinks, eat fast foods and lay around watching TV and expect to be healthy. We have got to bust the 3 biggest/worst vices in our society that are the biggest contributors to the Obesity Pandemic--Coca-Cola (and Pepsi a close 2nd!), McDonald's and TV viewing for hours on end without having gotten any exercise that day.
3. There's a lot of debate over the various diets that are out there today. People are desperate to lose weight and keep it off, but very few of them are able to do it. How did you finally overcome your obesity once and for all? Describe what kinds of foods you ate and the methodology you used to shed the pounds. Do you still eat this way today?
I lost 130 pounds over a 15-month period. When people hear this, they usually say, “That’s so fast!” However, the reality is that I lost my weight at the recommended 2 pounds a week rate. Basically, I was consistent over the entire 15 months. This enabled me to lose 8 pounds a month, each and every month.
Here are the small changes I implemented: - The first small change I made was to give up eating my #1 vice: ice cream. - Then, I started drinking 64 ounces or more a day of water. - After that, I stopped eating fast food. - The next hurdle was giving up Coke. - Eventually, I added exercise.
I tackled each small change gradually until it was second nature to me. That’s when I’d add another change to my regime. If a person is consistent with their health resolutions, it is just a matter of time until all their excess weight comes off! I do continue to abstain from my biggest/worst vices and I will never consume them, not even a nibble! There will never be a picture of me in the "National Enquirer" licking on an ice cream cone!
4. Let's talk about sugar and its evil twin high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for a moment. You have been very outspoken against companies like Coca-Cola for promoting a product that is decidedly unhealthy. With people like Dr. John Foreyt from Baylor University defending Coke consumption as part of a healthy diet, what message are we sending the next generation about the impact of sugar on the body? What can we do to emphasize how harmful sugar is to people?
Dr. John Foreyt is a hired gun and most likely has trouble sleeping at night because his PAID supportive comments about HFCS make it sounds like drinking the CRAP is healthy for the human body, and thus helped Coca-Cola assist in the "beverage consumption assisted suicide" of 2.6 MILLION people! He won't return my calls or emails asking him about how he can possibly tell an Obese society that HFCS is a good thing to consume. I can't image why!
We can keep talking about the problem and keep spreading the word. It's a HUGE uphill fight because I don't have a few million dollars laying around to spend on advertising and Coke spends that much a week! Recently studies showed that advertising to children does impact their eating/drinking choices and is a contributor to childhood obesity.
Coca-Cola tries to say they are the good guys and are helping SOLVE Obesity, yet they won't take their soda out of schools EVER. They are taking COKE out, but putting "energy" drinks in (they have MORE calories and sugar) and drinks like Monster that are basically liquid speed (yeah, we need teens more strung out than they already are?!) AND they are keeping DIET versions that are filled with cancer causing embalming fluid like chemicals. I don't want my children influenced by this marketing machines tactics, but you can't go ANYWHERE without being slapped upside the head by it.
Today at the new Cardinals Stadium, HUGE Coca-Cola cafe area, signs EVERYWHERE for Coke, McDonalds, Hardees, and one little tiny Ice Mountain sign. Everyone around me had plates piled with nachos, hot dogs, beer, soda, for God's sake a 2 year old behind me had a 12 ounce bottle of COKE.
I just sat there with my bottle of water and wanted to cry. Perhaps I should have streaked onto the field, assaulted Fred Bird and poured a Coke on the Umpire......then, in the holding cell of the jail, I could have maybe, MAYBE gotten a reporter to quote me as saying Coke is unhealthy for us, but it is more likely that I would be called crazy and misinformed--just what Coca-Cola called me for suing them over their contest that encourages DRINKING enough Coke to KILL a person to win a used couch among other such wonderful prizes.
5. Refined carbohydrates are a big problem and it's getting bigger as the days go on in the United States. Fast food is another industry taking a lot of heat for obesity which recently led them to donate $2 million towards childhood obesity for the first time in their history. Are companies like McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell responsible for making people fatter? If so, then what needs to be done to hold them accountable?
Yes, they are the #2 reason that people are getting fatter. Their "food" is high in calories, high in salt and high in FAT!
I think continued litigation is the only way they will ever come around and make healthier foods. I take that back. More litigation might make them actually serve FOOD to us.
For anyone interested in learning just how disgusting McDonald's food is for human consumption, do this:
BUY a happy meal. Take it home and do NOTHING with it. Leave it untouched in the box and come back to it in ONE MONTH, then Open it and LOOK in side.
At the same time, take an orange, an apple, a banana, a grilled chicken breast, some whole grain bread and put them in a bag, do nothing with them and come back in ONE MONTH and see what happened to them.
Keep the Happy Meal for one year........two years.......open it up from time to time and see how it is aging. I can tell you this, the damn things are aging better than me, they don't change, there is not ONE change in 2 1/2 years in my happy meal! It looks like the day it was bought!
YOU want to eat that? you want your kids eating that?
It isn't food.
6. Your book "The Vice-Busting Diet" was quite entertaining and informative to read. You note in the book that we all have our vices and overcoming them is the secret to not only weight loss but many other aspects of our lives. Discuss some of the top diet vices that people struggle with and what they can do to defeat them for good.
The top diet vices in our nation are fast food, soft drinks, chocolate, pizza, cookies, candy, donuts and ice cream.
The only way to defeat them is to give up thinking you can "have the foods you LOVE in moderation", if we could handle the foods we LOVE in "moderation" we wouldn't be Obese and overweight. It's like.....duh! If we can't have just ONE, we are better off having NONE!
What is wrong with dieting is that it requires a person to totally transform how they live overnight, which is a very steep slope of change to scale in one day. The word “diet” means the food indicative to the species; it does not mean a reduced calorie, food group restrictive program. Yet we keep trying to change our ingrained habits by following a menu plan filled with foods we aren’t familiar with and perhaps don’t even like.
Most people eat both healthy and unhealthy foods within the course of their day. It’s the unhealthy foods that must be addressed. That’s what Vice Busting is all about. It’s much more effective to start out eliminating unhealthy foods from one’s diet than to start following a completely different menu overnight.
Without a doubt the #1 worst food habit or “Vice” of the average American (and humans around the world for that matter) is the consumption of soft drinks. There is a direct correlation with the introduction of high-fructose-laced beverages and increase in obesity rates. Recent studies also show that diet soft drinks do not positively affect weight loss. Water should be the beverage of choice.
The #2 Vice would be unhealthy, fatty and high calorie “fast food." I can tell you hundreds of stories of readers who simply vow to not eat anything from a restaurant that can hand them a bag of food through a window/drive up and have gone on to lose at least 50 pounds! Eating fast food is a fast way to obesity.
7. You and your husband Dr. J. Patrick Havey are involved in a business that involves a juice product that you believe needs to be consumed by anyone and everyone on a healthy lifestyle. What is this product including all the nutritional information (sugar and carbs especially!), why do we need it, and how can people get it if they are interested?
My friend, the leading breast cancer radiologist in St. Louis, a VERY respected doctor, tried to get me to listen to her about a fruit and vegetable whole food product for over a year. I turned a deaf ear because of my very negative preconcieved opinion of "multi-level" marketing "scams." She was relentless and kept telling me that for my health, I needed to take this.
Finally, I asked her point blank, "Look, you make a lot of money as a doctor, why are you peddling this junk?" Her answer is why I now take it, read all of the research about it and recommend it to everyone who will (and won't!) listen to me: "Each year, I see patients who are younger and younger coming to my office with breast cancer. I never knew that nutrition played a role in the risk of developing cancer. Knowing what I know now, I think every man, woman and child needs to eat 9-13 servings of raw, fresh fruits and vegetables a day and if they can't, won't or don't--they need to take this product!"
It is so simple really, it is just 17 vine rippened fresh fruits and vegetables and some oat and barley in capsules--very "Jetsons"-like, but very real, very affordable and very important for prevention of disease.
Is it a miracle, cure-all "drug" or solution? NO, there is NO such thing. BUT, I sincerely believe that coupled with a healthy diet, water consumption and exercise, it is the best available support tool for our health that we have.
It isn't just my "opinion", there is research and a lot of it, from some of the most respected institutions in the world. Anyone can, and should learn more about it by visiting JuliaHavey.com. I recommend taking the Garden/Orchard capsules and if you like protein shakes, the Complete is excellent. I have one every morning for my breakfast, my husband, Dr. Havey has one before he works out and our children have one most days disguised as a "milkshake."
8. As a weight loss success story yourself, you have a unique position for someone who talks about weight and health issues because you have lived it yourself. What do you think about these so-called health "experts" like Sally Squires at The Washington Post who are overweight and dishing out advice? Are they being hypocritical or what?
You know Jimmy, that's a very tough question. I think they care, I think they are trying to share what they have learned, if not what they have necessarily applied to their own lives. I bashed Dr. Phil when his first book came out and said "he is overweight, who is he to spout advice" and someone emailed me very upset and said that a great and effective counselor need not be a drunk to help a drunk get sober, or that a teacher need not be an F student to guide an F student to better understanding and learning. So, I was humbled that day and realized that ANYONE who sets out to help another person, does so with the best of intentions in their heart and in mind, so hypocritical? No, not really.
BUT, I still think that you can have a more empowering effect and successful outcome when you lead by example than if you ask for others to follow you on principle.
9. Does the government have a role to play in correcting the obesity epidemic? If so, then what should they be doing differently? If not, then how do we go about encouraging individuals to make changes in their life to improve their weight and health?
Another good question. I think that we already have too much goverment in our society and people would rebel if the government got too involved in this matter. It is more of a question of responsibility from a governmental, corporate and personal perspective.
Government should subsidize the soda earnings that schools make so they can kick Coke and Ronald McDonald out of schools. Government should put a high tax on fast food, soda, Twinkies, etc. so that those who CHOOSE to eat them will have some money set aside to care for them as their obesity related health care bills soar to unmanagable amounts. Corporations need to realize that the very shareholder to whom they have fiscal responsibility to, is also a human and that if they die due to obesity and being overweight brought on by the marketing tactics and products of such companies that it isn't right and they must change for the sake of helping better mankind and improving the lives of people rather than focusing on fattening their stock portfolios.
Advertising needs to be honest. SHOW obese people eating at McDonald's, let the TRUTH show and then people will make informed decisions rather than thinking if they "love it" they will look like Justin Timberlake or drinking Pepsi will give them Britney or Christina's abs! Personal responsibility overall, tell these products to stuff it and to stop stuffing us!!
Obvious answer......anyone wanting to lose weight needs to bust their vices, drink water and get some exercise regularly. In my opinion, there is no better way to transform from the life that they are living today that supports excess weight to one that supports health and fitness than mine, learn more about it at ViceBustingDiet.com. You have my personal guarantee that if you use my program for the full 26 weeks and don't lose at least 25 pounds, I will refund your money in full!
10. THANKS so much for joining me for an interview today, Julia! I admire what you are doing to help people and wish you continued success with all that you do. Being the great motivator that you are, would you like to share any closing thoughts or words of wisdom with my readers who are struggling with weight loss?
Thanks Jimmy! I think you are my male counterpart in the "ball of energy" weight loss and healthy living journey!
Taking the dLife message to the urban streets this Sunday on CNBC
This Sunday, October 1, 2006, there is another brand new episode of the health-oriented CNBC program dLife that is chock full of some excellent information for people who are diabetic or are livin' la vida low-carb.
It will feature a segment helping diabetics and low-carbers make good choices about how they can cut down on the carbohydrates their bodies don't need when dining out in a fast food restaurant (if you must!). My friend Carla Gray from "The Low-Carb Fast Food Diet" would be so proud. :)
Brown and Coleman care very deeply about improving minority health
Also, you won't want to miss a special interview discussion featuring comedian and dLife host J. Anthony Brown as he tours the streets with minority diabetes health expert Dr. Lenore Coleman talking about diabetes in the hood and what can be done to slow the exponential increases of Type 2 diabetes among the African-American population in America. You WON'T want to miss this!
Tune in to dLife on Sundays at 7:00pm for diabetes info you can use
Remember to watch dLife on Sunday night at 7:00PM EST on CNBC!
New York City pushing more progressive government with trans fat ban
Have you heard the news about what New York City public health officials have proposed to do in that city? After their recent ban on all smoking in restaurants and bars in the Big Apple, now they want a zero tolerance policy for any restaurant cooking food in the most evil fat to ever be exposed to mankind: trans fats!
This USA Today column gives all the sordid details. The proposal states that a new regulation needs to be implemented to REQUIRE all restaurants to eliminate trans fats from their cooking procedures by April 2007. This ban on trans fats would apply to ANY business that sells food to the public in New York City. The fines that restaurants could face for not complying with this new regulation will range from $200-$2,000 per violation.
There was a second proposal on the table to also REQUIRE the restaurant chains to list the calories of their menu items in a conspicous place for consumers to know what they are eating before they purchase it. This would impact companies like Starbucks, Subway, Burger King and McDonald's, among many others. This requirement will only apply to those restaurants that already have their nutritional information provided on the Internet or in brochures by March 1, 2007.
Not surprisingly, the restaurant industry which boasts sales of a staggering $511 BILLION annually from nearly a BILLION restaurants in the United States alone, is crying foul to these proposals. They say that consumers are intelligent enough to know what the nutritional content of what they are eating before they order it and don't need such draconian measures by the government to tell them how and what to eat.
Well, that's right and it's wrong. Let me explain.
The idea of forcing a business to stop using trans fats in their products assumes that the people who are eating them don't realize what they are shoving in their mouth when they eat fast food. But this poll of Canadians released last year showed that they are more aware of trans fats now and are paying attention to that particular ingredient now more than ever before. The same probably holds true in America as well. So, the awareness of the dangers of trans fats is already there.
What a lot of people may not know about is the little trick the FDA allows companies regarding the nutritional labeling. While a food product may be deemed "trans fat-free," that does not mean there is ZERO trans fats in them! GASP! How can this be? Well with rounding that is permitted those "trans fat-free" Oreo cookies you eat may have as much as 0.49 grams per 2 cookie serving. If you eat 12 of them, then you just consumed 2.94 grams of tran fats, higher than the MAXIMUM 2 grams recommended by the American Heart Assocation. Something to think about.
At the same time, how can we trust companies like McDonald's who got into trouble earlier this year for miscalculating the amount of trans fats in their French fries? If they SAY they drop their trans fats completely, does that really mean their food will be trans fat-free? Don't bet on it. Let's forget about KFC and all the trans fats that are hidden in their food, too. Trans fats are most definitely unhealthy for you and have been scientifically proven to make people one-third fatter as well. Yikes!
So is a total ban on trans fats--A GENUINE ONE--the answer to this problem? With kids eating more fried junk food than ever before, does Big Brother government need to come in and compel behavioral change to slow down skyrocketing obesity rates?
My answer may surprise a lot of people, but I say no.
What?! But I thought you were all for helping to improve the health and weight of people? I am, but not when it is forced on businesses and people with a government mandate. Government and health leaders are proposing throwing more money at the obesity problem, but more money isn't the answer. They also want restaurants to cut their portion sizes and calories, but those things aren't the answer either.
And neither is banning trans fats in New York City restaurants. That DOESN'T fix the underlying problem that people have in this country as it relates to the foods they eat and how that impacts their weight and health. People who are obese need to be gently confronted about their weight by those friends and family members who love them the most to encourage them to start making better food choices. Educating people about making those decisions that are best for them is what is going to bring about the most change.
It's amazing, but people are always saying to me now, "That's easy for you to say, you don't have a weight problem." That's right, I don't--ANYMORE! But it was just a little more than couple of years ago I was walking around this world as 400+ pound man looking for answers to my morbid obesity problem, too. I found the low-carb lifestyle and it changed my life forever. If you resolve today that nothing will stand in the way of your weight loss success, then IT CAN and IT WILL happen for you like it did for me. Find a plan that will work for you, implement that plan into your life, and then keep doing it forever. That is what it takes to find weight loss success.
Best of all, you won't need the government forcing it on you either!
McDonald's to reveal the nutritional content of their foods on packaging
If there was ever a clear sign of the impending apocalypse, then this is it.
The Washington Post is reporting that fast food giant McDonald's agreed on Tuesday to begin printing the nutritional information about their foods directly on the packaging beginning in March 2006, including the fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein and calories.
Lisa Howard, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said their customers are becoming more and more health-conscious and have requested the nutritional information be readily available to them when they visit the world's #1 fast food restaurant chain.
She noted that the new packaging will be "simple to understand, easy to use, easy to access."
While I applaud McDonald's for being willing to share the nutritional content of their foods directly on the packaging, I think most people who visit the Golden Arches know that most of what is sold there is unhealthy for them to eat. Whether it is the excessive sugar content of the hot fudge sundaes or the carbohydrate-loaded french fries, there's just not a whole lot of foods that most people would consider "healthy" at Mickey-D's. There's just not.
Of course, you could pick up this book if you absolutely MUST eat at McDonald's or any other fast food restaurant. It contains helpful suggestions about what is good for you to order and what you should stay away from. And there are examples of people who are trying to prove it is possible to survive and even lose weight on just fast food. Uh, I think I'll pass.
One thing I will applaud McDonald's about is the big posters they have had hanging up in their restaurants for years that provide the nutritional information for all of their foods. In fact, this information is even posted at their web site now, with a special area called "Simple Steps To Controlling Your Carbohydrates." I bet you didn't know that was there did you? I sure didn't.
But of the 23 million customers who visit McDonald's each day, a mere 700,000 log on to the official McDonald's web site. And of that number, how many are actually seeking out the nutritional information about the foods? Ten percent at the most, maybe? That's only about 70,000 out of that 23,000,000 researching the foods they are putting in their mouths, or .003 of all McDonald's consumers -- barely even a drop in the bucket!
But even still, some say the nutritional facts should be posted directly on the menu along with the product description and prices. Say what? It's been a couple of years since I've been inside of a McDonald's restaurant, but I remember how cramped the menu was WITHOUT this extra information. There is no way anybody is going to stand there with dozens of people waiting behind them to review all the nutritional information about what they are going to order.
If you are concerned about how healthy your food selections are going to be for you, then there are plenty of ways to do that ahead of time so you can make the best choice when it is your time to order. And, no, the Big Mac (47g carbs) and Large Fries (70g carbs) with a Coke (86g carbs) and M&M McFlurry (96g carbs) is not one of them! How do you like that 300g carbohydrate meal?! That's more carbs than I used to eat in a week and a half while I was losing weight!!!
Restaurant industry leaders say most people simply ignore the vast array of information that is available to them when they eat at a fast food chain because frankly they are not changing their eating habits one bit. But they believe McDonald's is saving face by caving in to pressure by consumers to make the nutritional content readily available. And McDonald's no doubt is hoping this one simple act will silence those who want to blame them for the obesity epidemic in the United States.
I don't think this lets McDonald's and other fast food companies off the hook, but it is a better step towards educating the public about what they are putting in their mouth. But ultimately it is the consumer who makes the final decision about whether they put that purchase the food or not. The onus cannot be put on these companies who are simply providing consumers with what they want.
I don't necessarily agree with some of the marketing tactics used to convince people to buy their products, but restaurants have every right to do business however they see fit to make money. That's capitalism and is what makes America the greatest country in the world. I will never stand in the way of business people making good economic decisions to better themselves financially.
But there does come a responsibility to provide the buying public with the nutritional they need to make informed decisions. Adding a few salads to your menu does not make the entire menu safe for consumption. And neither does adding the nutritional content on the product packaging. Again, it all falls on the person who is ordering the food, paying for the food, and then eating the food about whether that was a healthy eating decision or not. Like Bob Harper from "The Biggest Loser" said in his interview with me recently, fast food is "killing us as a nation." We must blame ourselves for holding the shovel and digging the grave.
Currently legislation is underway in various states to require restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. Predictably, the restaurant industry is complaining about costs and how tedious and challenging it would be to transition all that information into their menus.
McDonald's even test-marketed putting the nutrition facts about their foods on their menu and the customers found it "confusing," which is why they decided to place it directly on the food packaging.
Interestingly, as more and more nutritional data has become available to consumers, the move has been to the next "big" thing. Do you think we'll be seeing one of these in a McDonald's before long? Don't laugh, that day may be here sooner than you think!
Nutritional info or no nutritional info, I'm not going to McDonald's ever again. There are just too many bad memories of that 410-pound man that I used to be before I started livin' la vida low-carb. No thank you! I'm not making that mistake again! In fact, after I lost 170 pounds on a low-fat diet in 1999, guess where I went when I gave up on that "diet." M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S!!! You can read about how I gained back all my weight and then some before I found a better way to control my weight in my new book "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb."
The new packaging will make its world debut at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, in February.
I wonder what Morgan Spurlock thinks about this move by McDonald's, hmmm?!
"The Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper talks about a variety of subjects, including weight loss surgery, making permanent lifestyle changes, and even livin' la vida low-carb in this exclusive interview with the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog:
1. Hey Bob. My name is Jimmy Moore and I was a big loser in 2004 having lost 180 pounds thanks to a healthy diet and exercise program. Your role on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is not an easy one, but you seem to enjoy helping people not only achieve but exceed their own expectations when it comes to losing weight and getting into shape. What made you want to play this role for the television show and is it everything you expected it to be?
"I don't consider myself playing a role at all. What you see is what you get. I absolutely love what I do and have a tremendous passion for it. When someone basically hands themselves over to me and asks for my help, I'm going to give them all of me. It is the only way I know how to work. To get up every morning and know that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing is the greatest gift I have ever been given."
2. When "The Biggest Loser" was just an idea that NBC had for a new reality show, you admit in the book that you were "naturally skeptical" of the concept because of the morass of other "extreme" shows that pervade this genre of television programming. But you said you were pleased when you found out the premise of this show would be based on diet and exercise. Why is losing weight naturally a better option for people than weight loss surgery? Does diet and exercise really work for everyone if they are 100% committed to it?
"I am all about the real change of life mentality and not a quick fix type of guy. I believe that you must take care and nurture this vessel that we have and carry through this life and try not to abuse it. For me that mentality of, 'I have to lose weight, let me cut my stomach out' is crazy to me. I want to teach people to take charge of their lives again and get back in the driver's seat...it's a great place to sit. I believe that when someone is 100% committed to doing something positive for themselves, there is nothing that they can't do."
3. I have personally seen that overcoming a lifelong struggle with weight is indeed a monumental transformational experience that can have an effect on many other areas of your life besides the physical. But how do you get someone to take that all-important first step so they can eventually make it to that point where their life can be changed forever?
"I get people to realize that no matter how much weight they want to lose, be it 10lbs or over 100lbs, they can start today. 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life,' is my mantra. It's all about getting that first day under your belt and look at it from day to day instead of the final outcome. Focus on the here and now and before you know it, that belt has gotten looser."
4. Fans of "The Biggest Loser" admire your ability to provide encouragement and support while working the contestants on the show very hard during their workouts. What can people do to stay motivated in their own weight loss routine without Bob Harper there to lift them up and hold them accountable on a daily basis?
"Find a support group that works for you. It can be your neighbor, co-worker, partner or relative. When you have someone else relying on you during the crucial first month, it is a big help. You have someone in the same boat that you are in and it makes it easier. Use each other to get into your new life rhythm."
5. You write in the foreword to "The Biggest Loser" book that "this experience -- working on the show and with this book -- has been like no other that I've ever had" and that "it has reignited the passion" in you and has even "forever changed" you. How has befriending and working with these 26 contestants on "The Biggest Loser" changed you personally?
"I believe that working so closely with the contestants that I was so fortunate enough to work with reenergized me and strengthened my soul. When you are able to help people they way I got to, it can't help but change you. I know how difficult it is to make big changes in life and I take it very seriously when people want to make a big change. To say you want to make a lifestyle change and to actually change your life is two very different things and the friends I made on this show did just that and I have such admiration for them.....I love them."
6. Losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off and transitioning it into a lifestyle change is what too many people fail to do after shedding pounds off their body. I personally experienced this back in 1999 when I lost 170 pounds and subsequently gained it all back and then some in less than a year. This time, though, I have kept my 180 pounds off successfully. What do you think is the key to permanent weight loss success?
"I get people to realize that there is no finish line. That is a big pill to swallow but when you make that realization, it almost makes it easier. It is all about making a new way of life and not reverting to your old ways. I get people to make that shift early on so there are no surprises. Unfortunately, there is a certain comfort in the phrase, 'ignorance is bliss.' The people I work with don't have that luxury any more. It is up to me to inform them and educate them as much as possible and then they realize that if they gain their weight back, it is a conscious decision on their part. Don't focus on the goal of a wedding dress or summer bikini, focus on the shift of change."
7. What is your philosophy regarding the low-carb lifestyle and do you believe it is a viable lifetime option for people who are looking for a way to control their weight?
"If you cut out all carbs, you will DEFINITELY lose weight. Unfortunately, you will gain it all back because I don't believe that it is a 'way of life. I am all about changing your way of life and having you incorporate the right amounts of protein, carbs and fats."
8. Obesity statistics are still on the rise in the United States and around the world at alarming rates. Shockingly, some health experts are predicting obesity rates will approach 100 percent in America over the next 50 years. What can we do to turn the tide of this trend?
"Like I said before, TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE!!! This is your body and your life, respect and take care of it and your options are boundless. Fast food is killing us as a nation and we have to find healthier, inexpensive options to help fight this battle."
9. What role do you believe sugar, including high fructose corn syrup and table sugar, plays in the obesity epidemic?
"Is this a trick question? It has most everything to do with our problem with obesity. I believe that sugar is a very powerful and strong drug that people are extremely addicted to. I test my clients when I first start working with them by getting them off sugar completely for 2 weeks. It is almost like there body is de-toxing off of the drug and when they get over that hump, their insulin levels balance out. They make better choices of food and their cravings stop."
10. I get a lot of people who are searching for answers and advice about what to do about their weight problem at my blog on a daily basis. What final words of advice and inspiration would you like to give to someone who is overweight or obese and desperately wanting to do something about their weight problem?
"I understand that it is very difficult but once you really set your mind to it and put yourself at the top of your list, you will be amazed at what you can achieve. Don't look so far down the road of what you need to lose or what need's to change. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. If you are reading this than you have already taken the first step. You want to change, you need to change....let's get started. There is a whole life out there waiting for you.....GRAB IT!!!"
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Bob, for answering these questions for me and my readers! I appreciate your time and wish you continued success with "The Biggest Loser." Be sure to pick up a copy of "The Biggest Loser" book to read more about what he does to help "The Biggest Loser" contestants lose all of their weight.
