One man's fast food story

I don't think I could sit through this man's film.
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/16393.htm

So, some guy is coming out with a tell-all movie that an all fast-food diet is bad for you? Hope that doesn't qualify as a spoiler. If he had gone to Burger King or KFC, instead of McDonald's, would the result have been that his physique imporved, his sexual stamina increased, and his farts smelled like roses? Not likely. The problem with this is a much deeper issue that permeates all consumer decisions -- and that is, the ability to get unbiased, yet analytical information. We all know that Subway tells us that Jared lost XX pounds simply by eating their sandwiches. Does this seem logical to anyone, either? How much excerise did Jared get each day? The anti-smoking lobby tells us that second-hand smoke can cause cancer, yet the tobacco lobby tells us that is not nearly as bad. It goes on and on...and everyone (yes, Michael Moore included) has an agenda.

Enough for a Sunday....

Steve

Moderation is key. I'm sure if I ate tofu and spelt for 30 days unspeakable things would happen to my body or sex drive (my wife would be in another country) What a jerk. Hope he doesn't get rich over this.

His girlfriend is a "vegan chef?" How could she possibly have a problem with his little "expose?"

Is it possible that any way to make a dollar falls in place here?

He may be correct, but like it or not, Americans have done this diet for a long time. His time line sort of makes his claim not credible.

My doc changed my Cholestrol pill and made me wait 90 days before determining an evaluation.

I do not think his claim was any way a scientific evaluation.

I am not a fan of McDonald's but I do not like incredible claims.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Well, McDonald's doesn't need me to defend them. But couldn't this guy have eaten a Golden Arches salad once in a while?

Well, what he SHOULD have done was go to Wendy's for one of THEIR salads! I do love that mandarin chicken thingy! Call it a guilty pleasure.

Steve

It may not have been a scientific experiment, but it is an interesting one.

What DOES happen to someone who eats "Fast Food" exculsively instead of the odd occasion. I suppose the results would have been the same if he had eaten nothing but cheesesteaks, or the fare at White Castle.

I am curious about the liver abnormalities. Which enzymes were affected?

Also, what was his baseline? Well balanced diet before? Vegan? Moderate?

Like I said, it is an interesting concept, but I would like to see it done in a more scientific study. That would really be interesting.

Moderation is the key,,exactly. This "expose" just makes me wonder if people actually think that they have to follow the advertising pied piper. Okay so he ate 3 meals a day at mcdonalds...so what. NO ONE and i mean NO ONE is going to be shocked that it was bad for him. I know that its bad for me to go there,,that its so unhealthy, this guy sacrificing his health for the sake of exposing to the world that mcdonalds is bad for us all is like some guy going into the freaking ocean without air and drowning,,and later his widow tells us that its dangerous to not have air underwater....

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

Better than a side salad in a drinking cup. Which McD'd marketing genius came up with that?

I used to LOVE that thing, believe it or not ...

Let's see,,, this guy eats an unhealthy diet of burgers and french fries for all his meals for a month, and is surprised that he puts on weight and has a higher cholesterol level. PT Barnum was right, there is a sucker born every minute. Berndog's corollary adds that there is an idiot born for every sucker, and this guy takes the cake (I wonder if he ate that too). Nah, it didn't have enough grease in it. I was going to say you can't have your cake and ....,,, but that would be a bad pun.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

It may not have been a scientific experiment, but it is an interesting one.

What DOES happen to someone who eats "Fast Food" exculsively instead of the odd occasion. I suppose the results would have been the same if he had eaten nothing but cheesesteaks, or the fare at White Castle.

I am curious about the liver abnormalities. Which enzymes were affected?

Also, what was his baseline? Well balanced diet before? Vegan? Moderate?

Like I said, it is an interesting concept, but I would like to see it done in a more scientific study. That would really be interesting.

Always the scientist, aren't you?

Actually, you're right on, as per usual. What if he was a vegan before? Then I'm suprised the switch to McDonald's didn't kill him.

I'm still perplexed by the liver abnormalities. I cannot make it make sense. It's like a song you can't get out of your head! Arrrgh.

Liver out of whack? I seriously wonder if he had a alcohol problem?

I am going to re-read the article. Now I have re-read the article, I stand with my earlier post. I think the guy was on a money run. Not that I think that a total McDonald diet is healthy, but I have a hard time believing a guy of his age could come apart that quick on a 30 day diet of MD's. If his liver got out of whack that quick, he must have another problem.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

OK, this guy is obviously exaggerating somewhat, but if his point is that it's not healthy to eat McDonald's three times a day...well, I hope this isn't news to anyone! Honestly, the article implies that he ate nothing but Big Macs, Fries and Shakes. Even if you consider the "lettuce" on a Big Mac, he's not getting any vegetables! I know there are some vitamins and hormones pumped into the cows before they become part of the franchise, but that's not enough to keep you from getting scurvy. I doubt his liver was going to shut down, but I'm sure it would have eventually.
What an idiot! I hope his "vegan chef" never lets him hear the end of this.
As far as trying to be the next Michael Moore, well, I think that niche is taken. In fact, he probably should have sent his idea to Moore before he actually tried it. It's a clever idea, I suppose, but for 90 minutes?!! I mean, I could see it as a short on TV Nation, but certainly not as a full-length film!

C'mon, we all know that anything can be spun in any direction we like. Here's the anti-Cato Institute version of my story:

When I quit eating meat, I lost nearly 40 pounds.

Wow! 40 pounds?!! That's really something!
Of course, I was touring with my band at the time. That means I wasn't drinking and I was doing a 45 minute aerobic workout on stage every night. Did vegetarianism cause me to lose the weight? Well, if I want to put the ol' spin on it - sure! Did the same diet cause me to gain half of that back after I got home and started drinking and sitting around doing nothing again? Well, gee whiz! I don't want it to look like eating meat might not be as bad as alcohol combined with a sedentary lifestyle. Hell, those are things I like! I'll just continue the spin and say that I'm not getting enough fresh vegetables...yeah, that's the ticket...I'm eating more TVP than carrots...that's why I'm fat again...

what kind of band where you in?

Punk rock.

I just found it an amusing dichotomy that while his diet caused his "libido to flag," his girlfriend claimed to be "horrified." (C'mon, who's she kidding?)

She was probably overjoyed that the mysterious greasy fat man who had taken over her boyfriend was no longer slobbering all over her every night...

quote:

Originally posted by capnhank

She was probably overjoyed that the mysterious greasy fat man who had taken over her boyfriend was no longer slobbering all over her every night...

You know Capnhank: I agree with you. I read the article several times and I am not a fan of Mickie D's but I found his story not credible. While in college, I had a diet very similar to what the site indicated. If I had a liver problem, which I did not, it would have been due to imbibing almost daily.

To have a diet of what he indicated and if he gained that much weight and had that many physical problems, it seems to me that there was other things going on.

I had the same diet for four years and I left college weighing the same thing that I did in high school. Unfortunately during my latter years it has not been so easy. I graduated from high school and college at 125. They use to call me gone ass. Not so much any more. Due to Atkins I am now at 185.

I believe the story that was listed was for dollars only. I find and feel that his report has no credibility. This is not support for McDonalds, it just does not seem believeable.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Like LoneStar said earlier, what if he'd eaten only cheesesteaks? It seems to me the guy is picking on McDonald's when he could just as easily have screwed himself up eating only, say, lettuce. It would have been a different kind of screw up, but dangerous nonetheless. It's more an argument in favor of a healthy, balanced diet than anything else. To slant it against the worlds best-known hamburger chain is just pseudo-blackmail, if you ask me. Had he eaten nothing but prime rib and tried to get an interview with the head of the Beef Council, they probably would have shot him down, too.

Sundancer,
I think we all experienced the same thing in the 18-24 age group. It was right after my 25th birthday that I realized I was actually gaining weight from eating so much garbage. Of course, it was nearly another ten years before I actually did anything about it!

I just want to announce my important new expose on the sun. I have been staring into it for days now and I am ready to publish my article on the hidden dangers which will shock and amaze all who read it.

Flaurie Berman, co owner of Chicago's Super Dawg, has eaten a super dog every day day since 1948 when she opened the business with her husband. www.superdawg.com

Let's not forget Don Gorske of Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin who's eaten at least one Big Mac a day for the last 32 years.

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

I just want to announce my important new expose on the sun. I have been staring into it for days now and I am ready to publish my article on the hidden dangers which will shock and amaze all who read it.

How is this possible? I thought you were confined to a shoebox or is that the "other" you talking?

No, that was when I was a child (PS check out Mont Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl for my referent for that joke).

Elise,
You think you had it bad... We had to live in a lake!

Chi-dog,
Let's not forget all of the octogenarians who have smoked all their lives. Despite tobacco being a vegetable and all, it's still not very healthy.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

Having had some liver abnormalatites myself ( i got turned down for a insurance policy becasue the test showed I was an alcholic, and at the point, I don't think I had a drink for about 2 years), my guess is it was for effect, or more probably, rather than confirm the abnormal readings with another test, they just chose to show that he was abnormal

Could it have been the soda? Too much Coca-Cola can really goof up your body. And if he was downing super sized sodas all day...he's lucky his kidneys didn't explode.
Don't get me wrong...I'm a Coca-Cola freak. But honestly.

Lynne