Woman loses weight by only eating at McDonald's (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gardiner]

Mark,

The point of Super Size Me is not that McDonalds is solely responsible for making everyone fat, or that eating fast food once is going to kill you. The point of the movie is twofold:

1) To demonstrate that we as a society have convinced ourselves that a diet based on fast food (as served in school lunches, not just at McDonalds) can be the basis of a healthy lifestyle. The stunt that you linked to in your first post will reinforce this idea, especially among those who do not make as careful choices as the woman in the article.

2) We don't really know how bad fast food is for your health. It's easy to say, "it's common sense, everybody knows fast food is bad for you," but we really aren't aware of the degree to which this is true. When Morgan begins his experiment, he visits three doctors who tell him his weight and blood pressure will go up a little bit. By the end of the experiment, the doctors themselves are shocked at the degree to which his body has been damaged by the fast food diet.

Maybe, after you've seen the film, you can argue these subtleties with your friend. You can argue with her, not for bringing up the film, but for misunderstanding it. Morgan even makes the point that eating it occasionally is fine -- what he objects to is McDonalds propogating the myth that all their food is healthy to eat all the time.

 

[Paul Padilla]

No, but don't fool your self to think that you're not being manipulated at every opportunity, from TV commercials to the second the restaurant is in sight to the second you step in the door. "Come eat out crap..come eat our crap...oh yea, we have quasi-healthy stuff too, but come eat our crap.

Every documentary has an agenda and Spurlock's point was to demonstrate how bad fast food can be. Thirty days of nothing but Mc Ds caused severe results on Spurlock's health. What does of 2 or 3 or more times a week (I personally know people that do this) for decades combined with a sedentary lifestyle do?

 

[Wendy_L]

Next time she gives you a hard time tell her, "I hope it does kill me, that why I won't have to listen to your mouth anymore!"

Or if she's like some girls, tell her she "looks fat in those jeans." That will make her so self-conscious that she will only be focused on herself and be too busy to care about what you are eating.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

So personal responsibility means nothing? We're all just victims of corporations. We have no free will. We have to eat every meal out, and we have to eat everything on the menu. Does that pretty much sum it up?

When does McDonald's talk about how healthy their food is? I missed those ads.

 

[Scott L]

After working in DC I always thought it was interesting to see the expensive eateries like Au Bon Pain (sp?) and the like which pushed natural, healthy foods where full of people that looked physically fit.

One time a co-worker said he was in the mood for McDonald's so I tagged along (grabbed a salad), and about 70% of the customers were overweight and out of shape. My father used to belong to this group until I started eating healthy and kept annoying him to do the same. Now he never goes there and runs everyday on a treadmill. Lost 20-30 lbs. and looks much better than he did before.

And btw, anyone notice McDonald's ads which cater to minorities? "I'm lovin' it!"

 

[Joe Szott]

You know a corporation is legally an individual with all rights and obligations (within reason) of anyone else right? So where is their personal responsibility for their actions?

Here Chris, eat this lovely ham sandwich I made for you in my kitchen. Doesn't it look tasty? (Oh yeah, I put some artifical chemicals in there that will inflame your liver, raise your bloodpressure drastically, sap your immune system, and act as a slow poison on your body. But no reason to tell you that.) See, you ate it so it's all your personal choice and I have no liability! Thank you, please pull to the second window...

 

[MarkHastings]

Good point. Although, I once had (and still do) a debate on wether or not the Dunkin Donuts egg was fake or not. Don't get me started, but I definitely know she was arguing her side (she says they're fake and I should avoid them) because of the film, even though I was throwing out some damn good convincing arguments.

p.s. It had gotten so heated that I needed to vent here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=222920

 

[Paul Padilla]

Some people might try to liken the fast food problem with tobacco companies, and while that's a bit of a stretch there are some similarities.

Nobody is forced to use these products. But in the case of restaurants why should we have to be concerned that someone who is selling us food is including substances of questionable impact to our health...not just our waist line? There are licensing guidlines to ensure we don't get sick...such as safe handling to avoid bactera and pathogens. But when the additives that increase the company's bottom line by increasing shelf life, etc. are called into question, suddenly we're in a gray area. They all know how far away from reasonable dietary guidlines their meals are and they do also know that many of the additives are linked to health problems with long term ingestion. Trans-fat from hydrogenated oils being one of the worst offenders. So while we're not forced into anything, we have the right to expect that we're not being harmed as well as to expect that the companies that produce these products aren't withholding knowledge of it to protect their bottom line. (AKA big tobacco)

For the past couple of years the FDA has been going back and fourth about the acceptable limit of trans-fat in our diet. Studies have shown that trans-fat from hydrogenated oils virtually turns into pure cholesterol in our blood stream. The major sticking point for the FDA is that the studies show that there really is no acceptable amount. Every fry...every bun...every apple pie, even most salad dressings use these kinds of oils. Then there's the room temperature friendly coffee creamers, the croutons for the "healthy" salads...the list goes on.

Is the food service industry aware of all this? Damn straight. Do you think they'll do anything about it until they absolutely are forced to (after years of lobbying to the FDA against the findings). Absolutely not.

 

[Ted Lee]

that may be the funniest thing i've read at htf in some time. hell, after reading that, i forgot the point of this thread.

 

[Kevin T]

yes, a very alarming and disturbing fact that i learned after watching the documentary, the corporation. another must see documentary.

as far as the supersize me goes, i took away from it that eating fast food on a regular basis should not be a part of a normal healthy lifestyle. a high fast food diet combined with little to no exercise will increase the likelihood of health risks. at the end of the day though, you make the choice to eat crap. you make the choice to not exercise. whatever. if it makes you happy. go for it. nobody gets out of this life alive.

kevin t

 

[Matt Birchall]

I don't think McDonald's would ever do such a thing.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Ted, I used to see Aimee's band til' Tuesday at the Rat and the Channel in Boston long before they hit it big with "Voices Carry". She was all punked out and nothing like her later MTV image. I was infatuated (and I still am), so I had to add the "Aimee Mann amendment" to my "No chick lead singers" rule. Works for Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth also.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Thats nothing. You're talking about a company that once marketed its products towards people who want to have sex with the burgers in their infamous "I'd Hit It!" ad-campaign.

 

[Max Leung]

I tried eating at McDonald's everyday for dinner - after two weeks I lost a few pounds - which is very bad because I wanted to GAIN weight. Instead, I lost some weight and felt miserable.

With my metabolism, I can't really gain weight. Or to put it another way, I can't eat very much, and when I eat very high calorie foods my body burns it all up within a few hours even when I am doing nothing.

If I had known that girls love to snuggle up against me for extra warmth an hour after I ate a plate of pasta, I would have had a lot more fun in my college days.

 

[Scott L]

You see the McyD's ads look like this:



When they should look like this:

 

[Nigel McN]

I don't know why people get so fixated on the eating only McDonalds aspect of Super Size Me, that was just a gimmick behind and very interesting Doco on the Fast Food industry, in america, but applicable in most areas I would imagine.

 

[Kevin T]

nigel:

i'm pretty sure the majority of people posting in this thread are aware of this. however, this thread was started specifically about a woman eating at mcdonalds to lose weight in order to "disprove" the super size me doc. hence, all the continued mcdonalds references are valid and on topic. for those who can't draw the parallel conclusion between mcdonalds and other fast food restaurants, well, buy some stock in crestor.

kevin t

 

[Eric_L]

Really? Where is McDonald's right to vote?
Regardless, I'm pretty sure "McDonald's Corp." does not eat himself silly - but if he does that is his right - and it is not my responsibility or anyone elses to stop anyone from enjoying their rights.

If I had known that girls love to snuggle up against me for extra warmth an hour after I ate a plate of pasta, I would have had a lot more fun in my college days.

Hmm, I get something similar after I eat dairy proucts - but nobody wants to be anywhere near me then!

Scott L,

You man not be aware, but if I recall correctly the twins in your photo suffer from a syndrome that causes them to gain weight at a ridiculous rate. If memory serves they were each over 36 lbs at 18 months. If these boys indeed suffer from this then using their photo in that manner would be in poor taste. Even if they are not, using a four year old's photo in that spirit is questionable at best.

 

[Ricardo C]

There's a special place in hell for people like you

 

[ThomasC]

Yes, you'll burn in a very special level of hell that's also reserved for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.