Fast food and Obesity - Weight and diet control - Children & Kids

FAST FOODS ARE REALLY BAD:
Most fast foods are your worst enemy when it comes to a healthy living and eating. Not only they are loaded up with calories, fat and cholesterol but they are unfortunately very cheap too. In this fast paced society they offer both money and time saving advantage. Fast foods like McDonald's and Burger king have long been criticized for their mostly unhealthy menu. Burgers are loaded with calories, cheese, mayonnaise, ranch, deep fried and what not. Taking it along with french fries and soda results makes it even more unhealthy. Recently there has even been a push by lawmakers to specify the calories in each of those fast foods meals so that consumers realize what they are eating. There is no doubt that fast foods are contributing heavily in making Americans and people all over the world fat and obese.

Honestly, I love eating fast foods as much as most of you do, but it is a matter of controlling your urge to have them. If you take care of certain things while ordering your next meal in these fast food restaurants, you can easily cut hundreds of calories per meal. Even though these changes may alter your existing style and flavour of eating, but some changes are obviously needed if you are at all serious about weight loss. You cannot always blame these fast food restaurants for their meal, we have to take atleast some responsibility of what we eat. Fast food is more than a 120 billion dollar industry.

CALORIES NEEDED PER DAY:
A healthy individual in most cases should not need more than 2000 calories per day. For individuals trying to lose weight, it is probably less than 1500 calories a day. Do you know that a regular Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coca-Cola drink alone contains probably more than 1100 calories. Given all this it is best to avoid fast food but if you still want to have then atleast take these precautions.

SMART TIPS WHEN ORDERING MEALS AT A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT:

1. While placing your order avoid red meat. Therefore either go for a low calorie veggie patty, chicken patty or turkey breast sandwich. Do not take cheese, mayonnaise or ranch along with them. You will certainly miss the taste of those fatty contents but it will be still quite tasty.

2. Do not order super sized burgers, take a smaller burger and order an additional fruit bowl or a salad. Again avoid adding dressing to your salad or keeping it to the very minimum. You can also carry your own low fat dressing and use that.

3. Never order french fries, they are tiny missiles loaded with fat and oil. Even if you really want to order fries, take the smallest size and do not take them more then once a week. Similarly hot dogs, ice cream, fried nuggets and mashed potatoes are equally bad.

4. Avoid regular soda - I know that the zero calorie soda does not taste like the regular one but trust me it is very important to cut on these. Soda's themselves contain hundreds of calories and they are truly evil. Try to take juice, water or may be diet soda.

5. Try healthy fast food outlets: Places like subway have long been famous for their less than 8 grams of fat menu. They are tasty and you will start liking them after you have tried them a few times. It is important to note that if you are adding cheese, mayonnaise and other dressings on the top of your sandwich, that was not included in the 8 grams of fat. Again avoid taking chips, cookies or full fat soda with your meal.

6. Avoid special offers of the day ( of fatty foods) even if they are on a great deal. Few days back I was ordering my no-cheese and no-mayo chicken burger from a fast food restaurant (drive through) and the restaurant employee asked me I would like to have a today's special value "cheese cake" or "apple pie" for a dollar. Oh my God !! .. That one piece of cheese cake probably contained twice the calories than may burger ( I said "No thanks").

7. Ask for nutrition calorie chart in the store or simply log on to the internet and go to "caloriecount.com", they have a very good chart of number of calories in the popular fast food items. You can even go to the website of fast food chain itself. I bet you will be surprised that those tiny meals are nothing more than bombs full of calories and fat.

8. Additives like the peanut sauce and ketchup have considerable fat which we usually do not realize.

9. Cook at home if you can, you will exactly know what all you are adding to your food.

10. Most Fried, Chinese, Indian, Pizza's, Doughnuts, Kebabs and Mexican foods are loaded with oil, cheese and salt. Please select items very carefully before placing your order.

11. Exercise is important: Next time you are going to your nearby fast food outlet, walk instead of taking your car. Walking and exercising are a key components of weight loss.

Fast foods are generally loaded with trans fats, saturated fat and cholesterol. Apart from obesity they can lead to heart attack and high blood pressure.

OBESITY AMONG KIDS AND BEING A ROLE MODEL:
More than a third of kids in America are obese and the rates in Adults is even higher. We have to be an example for our kids for healthy lifestyle and wise eating. Unfortunately our public schools are also loaded with these items and kids learn to eat from each other anyway. Therefore it is even more important to be a role model for your child and give him power to fight back these unhealthy foods. England alone accounts for approximately 25% of all fast foods. Stop your kids from watching TV or playing Computer and video games. Take them to playground or parks and play old style with them, it will be good for both of you.

Read this interesting article from AP:
Virginia man sheds 80 pounds eating at McDonald's
>> news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_re_us/mcfit_diet

Author Disclaimer: I am not a weight loss or fast food expert, but these are the tips which work for me. Consult an expert or doctor before following any advice here.

Article Source: http://www.weightism.org