The McDonald's Diet

[Shane Sacobie]

NYPOST
LAST February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a gastronomical guinea pig.

His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health.

Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping 6-foot-2 New Yorker - who started out at a healthy 185 pounds - had packed on 25 pounds.

But his supersized shape was the least of his problems.

Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock's entire body deteriorated.

"It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days," Spurlock told The Post.

His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression.

Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary, which he has taken to the Sundance Film Festival with the hopes of getting a distribution deal.

"Super Size Me" explores the obesity epidemic that plagues America today - a sort of "Bowling for Columbine" for fast food.

As well as documenting his own burger-fueled bulk-up, Spurlock travels to 20 cities across America, interviewing people on the street, health experts and a lobbyist for the fast-food industry.

Despite making dozens of phone calls, Spurlock fails to get anyone from McDonald's to agree to an on-camera interview.

A spokeswoman for McDonald's told The Post yesterday that no representatives from the corporation had seen "Super Size Me."

"Consumers can achieve balance in their daily dining decisions by choosing from our array of quality offerings and range of portion sizes to meet their taste and nutrition goals," McDonald's said in a statement.

Over the course of the film, Spurlock is regularly examined by a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and SoHo-based general practitioner Dr. Daryl Isaacs.

"He was an extremely healthy person who got very sick eating this McDonald's diet," Dr. Isaacs told The Post.

"None of us imagined he could deteriorate this badly - he looked terrible. The liver test was the most shocking thing - it became very, very abnormal."

Spurlock has since returned to normal health. "The treatment was to just stop doing what he was doing," Dr. Isaacs says.

Spurlock, who says he ate at McDonald's only sporadically before his total immersion in the Mickey D's menu, says he even began craving fat and sugar fixes between meals.

"I got desperately ill," he says. "My face was splotchy and I had this huge gut, which I've never had in my life.

"My knees started to hurt from the extra weight coming on so quickly. It was amazing - and really frightening."

Spurlock's girlfriend, Alex Jamieson, was horrified - she's a vegan chef.

"She was completely disgusted by me, not happy at all," he says. "But she realized what my goals were in trying to educate people."

Spurlock, a film producer who grew up in West Virginia and studied ballet for eight years, was spurred to make his first feature film while watching TV on Thanksgiving Day, 2002.

"I was feeling like a typical American on Thanksgiving - very bloated and happy on the couch - and at some point on the news they were talking about two women who were suing McDonald's.

"People from the food industry were saying, 'You can't link kids being fat to our food - our food is nutritious.'

"I said, 'How nutritious is it really? Let's find out."

Not surprisingly, Spurlock has steered clear of the Golden Arches since filming wrapped.

"I have not had McDonald's for seven months, but yesterday, during an interview, I had a bite of a Big Mac," he says.

"I chewed it up, swallowed it and I said, 'You know what, I'm pretty much done after that bite.' "

[spicy]

Say what?Eating at MacDonald's makes you fat?!Astounding!

[ocarinagirl]

Sorry Shane, this is old news (already posted in current events forum).

[Viceroy Nute Gunray]

Wow, good thing I cut down on fast food and only eat it about once a week now.

[AccumulatedPower?]

Originally posted by Knuxles173:
Wow, good thing I cut down on fast food and only eat it about once a week now.

Okay, try to eat it once every few weeks.

As for me, I don't eat fast food at all-- or much of anything at all.

[mushroom]

Originally posted by Knuxles173:
Wow, good thing I cut down on fast food and only eat it about once a week now.

....you eat?

[Viceroy Nute Gunray]

Bah.

[SwampDog82]

^^ [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]


...how the hell is that a diet? He's eating the most fattening things on their menu and saying McDonalds is trying to kill you? They have Yogurt, Fruit, Salads, etc. for meals..I think for each meal he was eating a quarter pounder with bacon and extra cheese, an extra large fries and extra large milkshake.

Face it, America is the only place where you can get a double cheeseburger, an extreme fries, and a diet Coke.

[Sabrilocke]

Dude. Think of all the sawdust he ate.

[Heroine of the Dragon]

I knew there was an excellent reason I don't eat Macca's other than it tastes terrible and makes me feel icky... I like their shakes though, coffee-flavoured!

[SwampDog82]

Originally posted by Special Ed:
Dude. Think of all the sawdust he ate.

[img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

[Beam Yosho the Drunkard]

...Why hasn't Kirby King posted here yet?

He has admitted to eating at McDonalds religously.

[Marioman143]

McDonalds food suck. Give me a White Castle Burger any day.

Visit the General Health Forum today!

Macintosh. Because two buttons are entirely too complicated.

[Tub-O-Troopa]

Fast food is among the least appetizing, lowest quality **** on the planet. I don't know in the hell you people can say it tastes good, let alone EAT it.

The only thing to taste more disgusting than McDonald's is Roy Rogers.

[KirbyKing]

Originally posted by Beam Yosho the Drunkard:
He has admitted to eating at McDonalds religously.

Dude, I only said weekly, if even that. I'm not fat...

[Shane Sacobie]

(Reuters) - McDonald's, battered by criticism of its fatty foods, says it will eliminate Supersize french fries and soft drinks by the end of the year, part of a swing toward pleasing health-minded customers and simplifying its menu.

McDonald's Supersize option, which includes a 7-ounce carton of fries and 42-ounce fountain soda, has been targeted by critics as contributing to a growing obesity crisis in the United States where more than half the population is considered overweight or obese.

The world's largest fast-food company, which began offering Supersize portions widely in 1994, said on Wednesday it is making the menu changes to "support a balanced lifestyle" approach that is in keeping with other recent moves to promote healthier behaviour.

These include a planned national launch of a Happy Meal for adults called Go Active! which comes with advice from a fitness expert. In the past year, it has introduced several health-oriented foods, such as entree-sized salads and healthy alternatives in children's Happy Meals, including milk and fruit.

"I think it's somewhat of a PR move," said Harris Nesbitt Gerard analyst Matthew DiFrisco of the company's decision to eliminate oversized portions. "But by simplifying the menu, you gain efficiencies and cost reductions, the back-of-the-box type stuff."

A new documentary film, called "Super Size Me" illustrates the negative effects of over-consumption of McDonald's food. The film has not yet been released.

A McDonald's spokeswoman said that the menu changes are not related to any impact of the film on public awareness.

"They had no connection whatsoever," said the spokeswoman, Lisa Howard.

The company has been reducing complexity of its menu, part of a broader push to improve operations and service in its more than 13,000 U.S. restaurants.

"You assist in reducing the labour overhead, demands of the kitchen, and also speed of service, which is very important," DiFrisco said.

Analysts said the change reflects McDonald's move away from discounting toward an emphasis on foods with higher-quality ingredients and better profit margins, such as the new salads and the all-white-meat Chicken McNuggets.

MARKETING MOVE?
In recent months McDonald's has been attempting to align its brand with an active lifestyle, highlighted by a new global advertising campaign called "I'm Lovin' It." Launched late last year, the ads feature hip-hop music and a range of lifestyle scenarios shot outside of its restaurants.

Its rivals, including Wendy's and Burger King have also been progressively offering more foods that give consumers choices beyond the traditional fast-food fare of burgers, fries and sodas.

Those changes come as concern over corporations' responsibility for public health has been growing. Last year, McDonald's was the target of a high-profile lawsuit filed on behalf of teenagers who alleged its food was the cause of their obesity. The suit was twice dismissed from federal court.

A public health advocate gave McDonald's plans conditional support.

"McDonald's made a move in the right direction by stopping sales of supersized french fries and soft drinks," said Michael Jacobson, director of the consumer-advocacy group Centre for Science in the Public Interest in a statement.

"I hope it is an indication that the company is paying more attention to obesity, heart disease, and other diet-related diseases," he said, adding that he hoped other fast-food companies would quickly follow suit.

The Supersize fries contain 610 calories, 29 grams of fat, 390 milligrams of sodium and 77 grams of carbohydrates, according to analysts.

[CaptHayfever]

I've never supersized. That's just WAY too many fries for one meal.

...Heck, I never go over medium.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Shane Sacobie]

http://www.truthinfitness.org/projec...s/journal.html

This guy did the same thing but actually lost 8 pounds and improved his cholesterol. Granted, he's in great shape to begin with and hardly qualifies as the average American.

[Jingle Jangles]

A fast food place was on the menu once a week for along time, until I moved into a city that like banned them or something. Its in their charter because they being yuppies need elegant food. …yeah…
But MickeyD's is alright for me. Everytime I go to the mall I get something from the Arch.
Whatever is in those shakes has got me hooked. Don't forget taco bell. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I actually want to see this McDonalds movie. I forsee open heart surgery as the ending.
^ The movie "Super Size Me" some guy is going to eat alot of McDonalds and they watch him get fat.. only thing on his menu is Fries and Big Macs. Yum

[ July 16, 2004, 03:33 AM: Message edited by: NIX ]

[Loot]

I already am starting to feel grease affect me. A little, but still...

Best place to go to for sandwiches: Arbys.


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