I’ve been asking myself, Do I really know how many calories were in that latest fast food snack I had? – My answer is no.. When you’re hungry and in a hurry you don’t really give a hoot right? Or if I ever think about it, I would usually convince myself that well, that large fries really contained just a bit of calories.. 
sigh!
I read that a research at Cornwell University have found that people underestimate the calories in a fast food meal by 38%! The larger the meal the larger the discrepancy.
I’ve surfed the sites of some fast food chains found here in the Philippines, KFC, Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Jollibee. All of these fast food chains, except Jollibee provide the nutritional content of their food online. This info however is not displayed on the menu or the counter whenever we are making our selection.
I think it would really be great if fast food chain would provide nutritional info for their menu that is prominently visible at the point of choice. While I was on the site of fast foods I frequent I’ve checked the calorie content of the foodies I usually crave.
McDonald’s: 1380 calories ( this is horrifying! it means I would have to do away with the sundae.. haha!)
double cheeseburger – 440
medium fries – 380
hot fudge sundae – 330
coke med – 210
KFC: 680 calories (note that this does not include rice.. I can’t find rice on their calorie calculator)
medium pepsi -180
chicken161 gms – 360
mashed potatoes 140
BURGER KING: 1240 calories
whooper sandwich – 510 w/o mayo
onion rings med – 440
coke med – 290
WENDY’S: 950 calories
jr. bacon cheeseburger – 320
med fries – 430
medium coca cola – 200
Better eat healthy, avoid fast foods but if this is not possible, remove the usual fries or sundae or switch to diet sodas..
Hi… I am not much into calories, since it’s our source of battery… but I do take not of the sodium, sugar, cholesterol, and fat content of each foods.
The only thing that matters is the amount of calories. You have to take the amount of calories prescribed by a nutritionist. Anything beyond or below that is unhealthy.
I detest the idea of AVOIDING FASTFOOD. The proper concept to avoid is what you actually eat.
Is there a difference between an oil-fried french fries at the fastfood chain and an oil-fried french fries at home when it comes to the concept of healthy living? Both of them are still heart attack in stick form!
It’s not where you eat but what you eat.
hope I established a solid argument.
Fast food does contain a lot of calories. If you work at it, you can unfortunately probably eat the amount of calories you’re supposed to eat in a day at one meal. Especially if you eat somewhere like McDonalds. Depending on your daily activity level, you will be eating anywhere from 2200 to 3200 calories a day. At McDonalds you can wipe out almost 2200 calories in one sitting.
It is true, eating fries at McDonalds or at home can be the same. But, it all depends how you make the fries. You can fry them or you can bake them, which will give you fewer calories since you won’t be using a lot of oil.
Basically fast food should not be regular fare. Eating it only once in a while is okay, but there are much more healthier foods you can choose to eat.
.-= Paul´s last blog ..Aug 27, Healthy Eating Meal =-.
i always make sure that i dont consume too much Calories in my diet. a high calorie diet is bad for the heart so i always avoid high carb and high sugar diet.
I always monitor my Calories when i eat. I make sure that i dont eat foods that are very high in carbohydrates or foods with very high calories.
@Jenn- You need to start counting the calories on what you are eating. Know your everyday calorie need and never exceed it. To lose fat consume 500 less calories but do not exceed 1000. Your body would only store more fat coz it thinks you’re starving.
@villa – it’s not true that the amount of calories is the only important thing. You also need to consider the ratio of carbs proteins and fats. basically a 50 – 40 -10 % ratio would do. Completely eliminating carbs in your food is not good. carbs and protein works together to supply your body energy, build muscle and burn fat.
@Paul – I’m happy that of what you’ve said. Many people neglects calorie counting simply because we are not informed of it even in school. Basically our economy just wants us to buy and buy and eat foods that’s not even healthy.
I totally agree.. Most people think that eating oil-fried french fries at the fastfood chain and an oil-fried french fries at home is just the same which is actually so wrong. French fries at fastfood chains have so much preservatives which are known to be cancer-causing long term. Whereas we cook fries at home directly from fresh potatoes which is a lot healthier.