Eat Fresh!

It was announced this week that Subway is now the largest fast food chain in America, beating out McDonald’s by nearly 1000 more locations. I was really happy about the news as I’m a big fan of Subway (but hey, I don’t care how “healthy” I am, I HEART McDonald’s fries), and with the obesity problem in America we need more Subways.

Granted, Subway isn’t perfect in that their deli meats contain a lot of sodium and some of the sandwiches on the menu are higher in fat and calories (meatball sub with cheese), but it is definitely the best option we have for fast food that is nutritious. My personal favorite is the turkey breast with American cheese and piled high with lettuce, spinach, green pepper, cucumber and banana peppers. My “cheat” is the cheese, though it only adds about 70 calories to the sandwich. I don’t get any condiments on it to make up for the cheese.

Jared became a phenomenon when he decided to eat nothing but Subway and lost so much weight. I don’t think that’s the best idea as variety is the spice of life, but I think more Americans need to start going in that direction for their meals instead of turning to McDonald’s or another burger joint for their food. The obesity rate is so high here, that something has to be done. So if it’s a small step of healthy restaurants starting to outnumber the unhealthy ones, it’s a step in the right direction.

 

I’m Not Completely Lovin’ It

Throughout my childhood and high school, fast food was a definite staple in my family’s life. My parents were overweight during that time, but I was one of those lucky people who could inhale anything and everything and not put on weight. Every Friday night we would run through a drive-thru for dinner.

Once I was in college, that began to taper off. Although at that point I was starting to have a weight problem and my parents still had it, we stopped eating it so much. I’d eat it with friends for lunch, but it was no longer a ritual. In the past several years since I lost weight (my parents did too), I rarely eat fast food now. As a family we make everything homemade and try to avoid processed foods. We sometimes get a pizza on a Friday night, but that’s about the extent of it now.

I’ll still get a craving for McDonald’s, because seriously those fries are the best, so I’ll grab it for lunch on occasion with my friends at work. But I never eat it for dinner anymore.

The other night our power went out. We were just getting ready to make dinner when it happened throughout the neighborhood. We waited an hour, but it didn’t come back on and we were starving. Plus it was freezing with the heat off. Since both my mom and I had showered and were in our pajamas with wet heads, we decided to run through a drive-thru as opposed to a restaurant. We hit McDonald’s because it was the closest thing.

A very interesting thing happened: none of us really liked it or felt at all satisfied. My dad pointed out that he and I eat far less calories at dinner at home than we had just consumed, but because it was healthy, unprocessed food we felt full. McDonald’s was just empty calories and a lot of them, but we were all three still hungry afterward. What was more interesting, both my dad and I were really craving salads. What had happened? 🙂

McDonald’s is as much a part of America as baseball and apple pie. I know it’s gross. I’ve seen the happy meal video where it doesn’t mold for 6 months on a table. I read Fast Food Nation. I read the caloric content of their food. I don’t care, sometimes it does taste really good. However, I’ve come to the conclusion I can never handle it for more than lunch, and I really have made a true lifestyle change. I wanted nothing more than a salad and a Subway turkey sandwich loaded with veggies. It was a true epiphany.

So I guess I’m only lovin’ it partially. I’d rather Eat Fresh.