Trade in Your Big Mac Value Meal

Trade in your Big Mac Value Meal

1170 - One thousand one hundred and seventy – that’s the number of calories in a Big Mac Value Meal. 560 for the original King of fast food sandwiches, 400 for a medium order of their French fries, fried to perfection, plus two packets of ketchup, and 210 for a 21 oz. cup of thirst quenching Coca-Cola, the world’s favorite soft drink and contributor to diabetes.

Your Daily Energy Requirement

Your body requires about fifteen times your body weight in calories in order to fuel your basal metabolism – that’s your run-of-the-mill cell repair, DNA duplication, muscle maintenance, etc. In other words, if you weigh 175 lbs, you’re going to burn close to 2625 calories a day just sitting on the couch watching football, 2700 if you scream periodically at the players. Now initially, this may seem like quite a pile of burgers and fries and chocolate chip ice cream cones, but upon closer examination of your pantry content, you will undoubtedly find that 2625 calories is definitely not the all-you-can-eat schmorgisborg you were hoping for.

The Laws of Nature

The laws of thermodynamics are extremely clear on the mechanics of weight maintenance. If you eat more calories than you use, you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you use, you lose weight. No matter what your genetic make-up, socio-economic class, or favorite incarnation of Ronald McDonald may be, as an organism of this universe, you cannot escape this scientific truth.

What’s the Problem?

Most people have trouble losing weight because they constantly go over their daily energy requirement. The fault, of course, does not lie solely with them. Rather, it is the deceptive presentation of today’s foods that contribute to the majority of this mistake. A small bag of Fritos corn chips may not fill you up, but the number of calories in it is more than sufficient for a small, though health-destructive, meal.

More Bang for your Buck