McDonald's: Bringing Back the Big Burger

As I stated before. People don’t want to eat healthy if we’d buy it McDonald's would sell it.
If we want Fast food places to serve healthy we have to order it. That means requesting the lighter dressings and going by the nutritional information when available.

Here in Southern California we have a place called In & Out Burger. They sell burgers, fries and cokes. It's basic. The lines wrap around the building and they are crowded every minute they're open. When people go there, it's to indulge in fat and salt. When they want healthy, they eat at home.

I just don't eat at McDonalds. That's it - flat out. These days, I don't even go in there to use the toilets. The smell of the place, and seeing all those obese people in there, simply disgusts me.

Back when I didn't worry about my health, I used to dream of opening my own burger barn. I wanted to call it Vern's Fatburger - All the fat, all the cholesterol, all the flavor. I would never do it now, but I still think people would flock to a place like that. If for no other reason than to rebel against the food police.
Of course after I had a diabetic stroke, I kind of lost interest in eating that way. :-)

Our government does not care if you are fat and unhealthy. I think they would just as soon you die off early than end up on Medicare and Social Security.

Food will never be regulated by the government, at least in the near future. There is too much lobby money going from the corporations to our "leaders."

In fact the US and the EU recently ruled out new food laws to fight obesity.

From the horse's mouth:

"The business case has to be there for healthy food. If there's not a business case for it, it won't happen."

Quote by: Deputy U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar

Perhaps this is as it should be - if you eat at McDonalds you deserve to get sick and gain weight.

www.antiagingatlanta.com

Stop blaming MCDs for people's weak will of resisting fast foods. They're just trying to make a profit here.

Leanne,
Being Obese myself, let me apologise for being so disgusting!

A person's size will have nothing to do with the way the are eating now. They could be trying to cut down on what they are consuming.

Maccas does have a healthy choice menu, maybe they are choosing that ? (hmm maybe not)

My point is, don't discriminate based on size!

And on the topic....... Just say NO to McDonalds! I think I have mentioned on the last couple of diet blog posts that McDonalds has no interest in healthy choices, their billions comes from making it easier for people to get fat! As simple as that. They peddle junk and have been doing it for 50 years!

I remember eating mcdonalds every day for 2 weeks straight and I was starting to feel really bad!! I now usually eat it 2 times a month max.

I personally think that McDonld's should be free to sell whatever kind of foods that they want. And while I do support governmnet intervention in ensuring that companies publicize the nutrition content of foods, I don't support governments, or anybody else (including John Q. Public) legislating what I can or can't eat.

I agree with Tanya and would like to add that the nasua eating McDonald's brings regulated how often I eat there. (FTR: I get an odd craving for one of their cheesburgers once or twice a year)

Sorry Vern, there's already a classic hamburger chain called Fatburger. And they actually serve lean grade beef.

Although I usually don't eat at McDonald's, I'm glad they do offer healthy options for those health-conscious people that may happen to get dragged to McD's with burger-craving spouses or friends. I hope they continue to offer the salads, grilled chicken sandwiches, etc. I don't care if they make the biggest Big Mac in the history of fast food as long as they don't replace the healthy menu options with more burgers.

My poison place is Wendy's which is basically the same thing. Every now and then and sometimes too often I need a Wendy's burger and fries. (I know I don't need them, but I want them). Wendy's has always had healthy things on their menu and they have increased them, but still they have the bacon cheeseburger, etc. They are a business and they know what sells. In their Tim Horton's outlets they are healthier in sandwiches, however, they have those donuts.

What I think it boils down to is supply and demand. If the public were demanding healthy foods more than fatty foods, the restaurants would serve them. It is up to the consumer in our free market system to set the standard.

Pam

Look, I am all for eating healthy, but that is my responsibility as an adult. I am not a child anymore, made to eat what is in front of me. If I want to be fit and healthy, I will refrain from eating at McDonalds. Fast food should sell just that, fast, greasy, good to eat every once in awhile food. Out of shape people need to stop blaming everyone else for their problems and take charge of your life if you want to. Smoking causes cancer and people still do it and that is not the fault of the tobacco industry no more than obesity is the fault of McDonalds. If you want to change your life, stop eating at fast food places. Period.

This is a travisty that McDonald's is now backfiring against the government. This Burger comes in at 1450 calories, 20 grams of trans fats, and these with the fries and the shakes, it weighs in at 2500 calories, 40 grams of artery spanking trans fats, and lots of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Lots of fried potatoes and that big bun on that burger, as well as all that shortening and hydronated oil, is a heart attack waiting to happen.

Now, there is a talk about Hardees that could create the next Burger, the Super Thickburger. This baby, get this, is three 2/3rds of slabs fried in hydronated vegtable oil, has 8 cheeses, comes in with ultra-sized french fries, and a big chocolate shake. Get this. The burger itself is 2,488 calories, 35 grams of trans fat, and 165 grams of fat. The entire meal? 3,750 calories, 102 grams of trans fats, and over 200 grams of fat. That's 50 percent fat.

Yes, you need saturated fat. Yes you need some fat in your body. But people need to get this. They need to take responsibility. I am looking foward towards fast food places, but not for burgers and fries. I take out all the time, but do I take out burgers? No. Instead, I take out fish and vegtables most of the time. I do take out steak a few times a month, because you need some red meat in your diet for your iron and B12 vitamins, but if you eat burgers all the time like this, that's unhealthy. Don't eat fried foods at all.

Best of all, Potatoes all in itself is bad for you. Don't you think that you are going to get cancer eating all these fries that plumps up your blood sugar, and messes up your cells with all these trans fats going to you? It's a sure thing that fries are the worst of this meal, since it plumps your blood sugar levels, screws up your heart, and messes up your blood cells.

I think it's time for the government to get involved in this, and sue McDonald's for it's irresponsible's move in selling junk like this to people.

James

I agree,

there needs to be government intervention.

Those caloric figures are just ridiculous! 3500 calories! Even though I don't count them, that's not even a whole days worth usually!!!

Hardee's is so notorious for having the worst possible fast food you could ever find. I'm not surprised that they would make a Super Thickburger that has almost 3000 calories. I was just thinking...if you ate that meal every day, you would gain 7 lbs every week. That's insane. I'm sure there are people out there that would buy it though. My question is, why aren't there chains out there offering "the most healthy" things...really great salads or grilled lean meat or something like that. I get takeout too...I'm like James, I usually go for steamed veggies and chicken or something like that. Not usually burgers...they make me sick.

No one is forcing anyone to eat McDonalds or any other unhealthy foods for that matter. What you eat is what you choose to eat.

Burger King has a Triple Whopper, so my guess is that McD's is getting a bigger Big Mac to compete with BK.

I don't eat Burger type fast food very often (When I do have to get fast food I usually go for Subway or Taco Bell) but when I do I don't normally eat my entire meal, it makes me so full and bloated I can't stomach to eat much of it.

So let me understand what James and low-carb dave are stating... You want a bunch of 60 year-old litagators with lobbists whispering in their ears to tell us what we MAY or MAY NOT eat???

You want a court to tell McDonald's, etc to take responsibility for the sum total of certain peoples health??? (Remember, McDonald's isn't chasing these people down and force-feeding them...people are walking in of their own free will and purchasing food with their own money.)

Sorry, I would rather exercise my FREEDOM and the RESPONSIBILITY that I must have over MY OWN BODY to say "No, I'm NOT going to put that crap into my body. I don't want a bunch of people telling me what I can or cannot eat.

I love fast food...BUT I refuse to eat it very often because it IS terrible for me. And I DON'T want to pay 18.00 for the occasional Big Mac that I DO eat because a bunch of people CHOOSE to not take care of their bodies, and decide to blame someone else for REPEATED bad decisons that they make.

The mere thought of getting the Government involved in this scares me to death... and the fact our legal system even entertains these ridiculous claims is almost as bad.

If you want to get at fast food restaurants for selling junk...don't buy anything from them.

Wow, the bigger big mac, thats a bit extreme. Up here in canada, they already have the double big mac.... Every time I look at a McDonalds menu, I look at that burger and cringe.

--Matt

There was once upon a time a "healthy" fast food restaurant chain here in the US. It was called "D'Lites" and it grew to about 100 locations in the 1980's. It featured healthier versions of fast food long before the big chains started offering salads and such along with burgers. This restaurant had burgers and other standard fast food fare, but I think the bread was healthier and they offered alternatives to fries and other options that would be tasty, but less deadly. I thought the food was great, but alas, it did not last.

Years later I remember thinking, "you know, that restaurant chain was just ahead of its time", but now I'm not so sure. Yeah, we have plenty of new salad restaurants popping up every day, but then they seem to die off just as fast. "Lettuce Souprise You" was fantastic, but is gone. Now we have "Sweet Tomatoes" but there aren't enough of them. On vacation in Florida recently I went to yet another new one called "Crispers". I see the trend, but are there enough of us who want healthier fast food to keep them alive?

Others have commented here that it's all about choice and that's absolutely true, but the reality is that what we choose to eat (and I know it's true of Americans) is what is most appealing and satisfies that inner caveman or cavewoman. I freely admit that I would rather eat a burger and fries, whether it is fast food or a high-end restaurant version, than a healthy salad or baked fish or chicken. But I want to lose weight, live longer, and not develop diabetes or heart disease, so I have to choose not to eat what I really want most of the time.

That is the reality - the junk is there because we still want it and plenty of people still eat it, and should have the right to do so, even if to the detriment of their health.

I don't think it's so much about regulating what McD's can and cannot sell, but rather regulating the advertising of (potentially) dangerous materials.

Whether it's a health warning on cigarettes or an explicit language sticker on a CD or an R-Rating on a movie, there is precedent for forcing some hard-facts into advertisements.

While alcohol and cigarette ads are banished from kid-friendly areas, McD's is ravenously pushing their meals on kids with not even a hint at the dangerous side effects.

In (not so) short, McD's can sell whatever the heck they want, but provide some clear information about the reality of the product.

im sueing macs they made me fat and sick i ate a chesseburge and i got food sickness.

You would never be able to prove mcdonalds poisoned you because food poisoning can occur upto 2 weeks after consumption. Mcdonalds have legal documents which get signed everday saying the equipment is cooking food correctly so you have to sue the individual employee which mcdonalds would have already fired becasue of gross neglagence lmao.

i think that people need to stop bothering mcd for their food nutrition if people are suing them then they need to sue taco bell, wendys, burger king, dairy queen, jack in the box, all the chinese food places, pizza hut, and everywhere else that sells food that people actually like to eat it s not fair to mcds and if people think its so bad then dont buy it get over that they are selling it if your son/daughter wants to kill theirself you stop them dont you then stop them from eating mcds i havent had fast food in over a year straight and im fine:]uggggghhhhghhhhghgghghgghghgh

Everyone is missing the bigger problem. Obviously eating McD's is about choice for most adults, and most of us can make concious decisions not to eat it. (interesting so many people say that when 3/4 of people are overweight....)

But the bigger problem is that McD's markets to people who dont know better. The good ol' dollar menu. $1 meals aimed at kids, minorities, and poor people who dont have the education or know how enough to know not to eat it. Uneducated people dont know what saturated fat is or how it effects the body, and cant be expected to be able to seek out healthy food when all they have is $5. So instead of proclaiming all your free rights about what to eat and having your own choices, consider the people who are hurt by these companies.

And poor people won't give a damn about transfat. If you are REALLY hunger, you will eat whatever you can afford.

Let me give you an exemple: some time ago I went to the train station snack bar. I had a cereal bread with cheese. It costed me 1.50 €. A KitKat or a bounty bars costed .70 €. It's insane! Suppose all I could afford was 1.50 and I had a child... probably I would get 2 chocolate bars, one for each of us....

I ate a cheeseburger before I went to bed last night, and woke up with things happening from both ends, headache, weakness. I think it was that, nothing else was eaten yesterday. It was cold when I got it, I even mentioned that to my husband. Alas, because I had not eaten anything because of a very hectic day, I ignored the fact it was cold, and not just a little cold. Oh well, I am the one who ate it. The reason I am writing this is because I know of many low income folks who can only give thier kids 2.00 to eat, and that means a burger and fries, or burger and sunday (sp?) well you get the picture. I know the risks, but a child who picks up a burger that is not cooked long enough, or not kept hot enough, is not going to know or care, they are hungry as kids are. They should create a kid friendly dollar menu, that is good for them but taste good also. That is all I have to say, I can barely sit, and going to bed.