The Double-Edged Sword of “Healthy” Fast Food

I love getting guest bloggers and I'm sure this is one you will truly appreciate from

Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

Let me know what you think. It is reasons such as this that we are so fat and unhealthy and it's time to start a serious dialog about what we are eating.

What’s on the menu at the big fast food chains lately? Oddly enough, the answer is… “health food!” Even more incongruous, many are marketing their food for weight loss. Healthy weight loss food at Taco Bell and McDonalds? Is this a noble move to be applauded, is it a big corporate money grab, or is it a double edged sword?

Remember Jared Fogle, the Subway guy? He lost 245 pounds while eating at Subway regularly. He simply picked the lower calorie menu items. Seeing an opportunity, the local store owner pitched Subway corporate with an idea. Before long, Jared was the company spokesperson in their nationwide advertising campaigns which became known as The Subway Diet.

Sales doubled to 8.2 billion. How much the increase came from the weight loss ads is unknown, but there’s little doubt that using weight loss as a marketing platform was a boon for the sandwich maker. Other fast food chains picked up the weight loss torch where Subway left off.

The latest is the Taco Bell Drive through diet, with their own skinny spokesperson: Christine! The ads, which are admittedly conservative, perhaps due to more stringent FTC laws, say Christine lost 54 lbs over 2 years by reducing her calories to 1250 a day, and choosing Taco Bell’s new lower calorie “Fresco” items.

These include “7 diet items with 150 to 240 calories and under 9 grams of fat.” For example, there’s a chicken soft taco with only 170 calories and 4 grams of fat.

For people who refuse to give up eating at fast food restaurants, this is arguably a positive thing. Take my brother for example, He’s not a total junk food junkie, but left to his own devices, he WILL make a beeline to Taco Bell and McDonalds.

I went to McDonalds with him a few months ago (I was dragged there), and he was about to order a bacon cheeseburger. I glanced at the menu and said, “That’s 790 calories!” I glanced down at his belly then continued, “Look, they have chicken wraps. Why don’t you have one of those?” Without questioning me, he agreed, apparently happy to get any McDonalds fix.

Right there at the counter they had the nutrition information sheets:

McDonald’s honey mustard grilled chicken wrap: 260 calories, 9 grams fat, 27 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein.

That saved him 530 calories. Am I happy there was something with only 260 calories on the menu? Absolutely. Do I applaud the fast food restaurants for offering lower calorie choices? You bet. But the big question is: are these really “healthy choices?”

A few journalists and bloggers recently answered, “These fast food diet items are NOT healthy, they’re only ‘healthi-ER.’”

I think they’re both mistaken. I think this food is not healthy nor is it healthier. It’s only lower in calories. If you eat lower calorie food, that can help you lose weight and if you lose weight, that can improve your health. But what if your definition of healthy food includes nutrition, nutrient density and absence of artificial ingredients?

Let’s take a look at that very low calorie chicken wrap. Is it really healthier just because it’s got 1/3 the calories of a bacon cheeseburger?

Here’s the ingredients straight from McDonald’s website:

McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Breast Filet (wrap): Chicken breast filets with rib meat, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, spices, dextrose, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed [corn gluten, soy, wheat gluten] proteins, garlic powder, paprika, chicken fat, chicken broth, natural flavors (plant and animal source), caramel color, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, onion powder, extractives of paprika), modified potato starch, and sodium phosphates. CONTAINS: SOY AND WHEAT. Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). (and don’t forget the 800 mg of sodium).

HOLY CRAP! Shouldn’t chicken breast be just one ingredient… chicken breast?

This is not food. It’s more like what author Michael Pollan would call an “edible food-like substance.”

What about the honey mustard sauce? The first ingredient after water is… SUGAR!

The flour tortilla ingredients? Enriched bleached wheat flour, also made with vegetable shortening (may contain one or more of the following: hydrogenated soybean oil, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated cottonseed oil with mono- and diglycerides added), contains 2% or less of the following: sugar, leavening (sodium aluminum sulfate, calcium sulfate, sodium phosphate, baking soda, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), salt, wheat gluten, dough conditioners, sodium metabisulfite, distilled monoglycerides.

Trans fats? Sugar? Aluminum? Stuff you can’t pronounce and have to look up to find out it’s preservatives and disinfectants?

Don’t confuse the issues: weight loss and health…. Calories and nutrition. There IS a difference, and that is what makes “healthy” fast food a double edged sword at best.

Some people, like my brother, simply aren’t going to give up fast food completely. If I can get him to make better bad choices, that could help him control his weight. If that works, then I’m pleased that the fast food restaurants have such choices to offer.

But if you wanted to make a good choice - a healthy choice - you’d forget about “driving through” anywhere on a regular basis. You’d shop for whole, fresh, natural real food, keep a well-stocked kitchen… and learn how to cook.

The Subway diet, the Drive Through diet, or the Weight Watchers approved McDonalds menu (yes its true, what a pair that is!) Don’t kid yourself – this is not only not healthy, it’s not healthier – it’s lower calorie junk food.

“Welcome to our restaurant sir. Would you like a large plate of dog poo or a small plate of dog poo?”

“No thank you, I will take neither. No matter what the serving size, crap is still crap.”

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle
www.BurnTheFat.com/inner_circle

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert who achieved an astonishing 3.7% body fat level without drugs or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by visiting Tom's site at: www.BurnTheFat.com

Women of Iron: More Ageless Wonders

I just read this article from the "Burn The Fat" blog, & I am utterly amazed. These two women featured in this article are truly an inspiration. They are certainly going to stay front & center in my mind when I start to get down on myself. I just wanted to repost this for others to see & get inspired too!
Rebecca

**********************************************************************************
Women of Iron: More Ageless Wonders
Tom Venuto

Would you like to have a body that looks at least 10 years younger, maybe even 15-20 years younger? Or if you’re currently a teen or twenty-something, would you like to keep your body looking hot when you get older? Last week I posted proof that it’s possible through the bodybuilding lifestyle, showing a video of 74-year old masters bodybuilding champion. Although it drew gasps and wows and inspired the crowd, it also drew some skepticism… mostly from women who didn’t think it was likely or possible for their gender. Au contraire mon fraire! Read on for pictures and proof…

In my post last week I wrote, “After you check out this video of a 74-year old championship winning bodybuilder, I don’t EVER want to hear the excuse ‘I’m too old’ ever again!”

Wouldn’t you know it - I heard excuses anyway. A couple of bozos were saying “steroids” (which I will rant about another day), but namely the excuse was: “But I’m female!!!”

A Burn The Fat Blog reader wrote:

“How about a woman that old since women have a lot more “fat” or “body fat” than men. I’m sure it’s still inspiring but as a 44 year old woman forever fighting the middle age spread, I’d like to see a 74 year old woman.”

OK, you asked for it.

Here’s my friend Jackie Lee. I’ve met her twice, once in New York and once in Los Angeles and on both occasions she was in great shape so I can vouch that there’s no photoshop going on here:
Jackie Lee at age 74

This photo was taken a couple years ago when Jackie was 74 (as requested, dear reader).




When you take care of yourself and start hitting some real workouts with some REAL IRON (lifting REAL WEIGHTS, that is), 44 years of age is not time for “middle aged spread”, it’s more like puberty - youre just starting to get developed.

I’ve known Jackie for some time now, as she is one of the “role models” profiled in the book, Fit Over 40: Role Models For Excellence At Any Age, which I co-authored with Life coach Jon Benson, a few years ago.

Inspired by the former Miss Olympia, Rachel McLish, Jackie took up weight lifting about 20 years ago when she was in her 50’s. She hasn’t stopped since.

Let me tell you, this lady is a ball of fire… what an inspiration! She is 74, but she looks 54.

Jackie does cartwheels out onto the stage and still does the splits. She told me she stopped doing her handstands a few years ago, but she’s going to start practicing again so she can add that into her routine too!

What’s even more striking is that Jackie has the mind and the ambition of a 22 year old. She insists that life can BEGIN at 70!

Jackie is not just a bodybuilder and fitness competitor, she is a vocalist who has performed at Carnegie hall, she’s also a yoga instructor, personal trainer, actress, acrobatic dancer, and motivational speaker!

Incredible! (I just LOVE people who bust bodybuilder and aging stereotypes, male or female)

“I guess I’m pretty ‘spry’”, says Jackie, “In fact, I plan to remain active my entire life - and live to be 120! Care to join me?”

It’s a shame, but some people are so pessimistic that I’m sure yet another reader is thinking (if not itching to post a comment) that Jackie is just another “rare case”… an “anomaly of nature” so to speak… or maybe just “great genetics” right?

Think again. These types of over 40, over 50, even over 60 success stories are getting more and more common as collective belief systems are starting to change with the passing generations.

May I introduce you to another friend of mine?:

Maxine Johnson is a masters fitness champion and mom in her late 50’s… with a body and level of fitness that could pass for 25 years younger.

Maxine took up the fitness lifestyle in her mid 30’s, was in the best shape of her life at age 40, competed in her first fitness competition at age 53 and was winning fitness and figure contests at age 56. She developed a fat-free, muscular, fit and fabulous bod after having three kids, holding down a job and managing life crises and stresses of all kinds, including the “joy” of menopause.

“It’s not just the accumulation of years that causes aging, says Maxine, “our age is more determined by the exercise we get or don’t get, by the kinds of foods we eat or don’t eat, and how we emotionally handle the ups and downs in life… There is no difference in how I feel when I work out now compared to 20 years ago. Nothing is more difficult — quite the contrary - I am stronger and more coordinated than ever now.”



Go ahead, just say, “WOW!”

MALE OR FEMALE, it doesn’t matter. Age is just a number and you are about as old as you think you are! If you believe you’ll be weak or fat or decrepit at age 74, or fighting middle aged spread age age 44, well then, I reckon you’ll be right!

I’d recommend that you change the way you think about age, because your behavior will always follow your beliefs.

To your health and longevity!

- Tom Venuto, author of:
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle (ebook)
The Body Fat Solution (Hardcover )

PS. If you’re curious about how bodybuilders and female figure/fitness competitors eat and train to get so lean, check out Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models.

PPS. If you’d like to see and read the stories of more ageless role models, from 40 to 80, visit the FIT OVER 40 website to learn more about the book, Fit Over 40:Role Models For Excellence at Any Age (NOTE: Jackie Lee and Maxine Johnson are both profiled in Fit Over 40, along with more than 25 other women, including a 77 year old grandmother-bodybuilder who could probably kick your arse in the gym!)

PPPS. Look up Maxine Johnson online at: www.Temple-Fit.com (Maxine is a trainer and fitness coach working out of the Seattle WA area).