Each Fast Food Item will List Calories

Starting in March 2011, all chain restaurants and vending machines must list the calorie counts of all their foods where customers can see them while ordering — if they have over 20 locations, says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Will this help people with weight loss?

It might help, if people knew how many calories they were to consume every day.  On average, it’s about 1,800 calories a day for women; 2,200 calories a day for men.  However, if you’re bigger, more active, younger, etc., you can have more calories.

The mom & pop Mexican food restaurant down the street where I like to get tacos sometimes won’t be affected because they only have one location.  I already did the mental calorie count in my head a long time ago with those tacos because that’s what I do as part of living the thin lifestyle. I figure about 200-250 calories each, which puts these tacos in the treat-only category; two tacos are 400-500 calories.

Regular crunchy taco, 170 calories

 To test myself, I looked at Taco Bell’s website for similar tacos, which are 170 calories apiece, or, 340 calories for two, so I was about right with the guessing on my other tacos. 

For parents trying to watch calories for their kids, a McDonald’s Happy Meal has 700 calories for a hamburger, fries and small Coke.  The trick for parents is knowing what junior may have had for lunch or snacks at school that day, or how much is he going to eat that night. And, did he get the recommended 60 minutes of physical exercise that day? 

It can get so complicated that I’m not sure many customers are even going to notice — or care — about the new calorie count sitting innocently next to their food description or delicious photo at the fast food restaurant.

Sonja visiting Washington D.C.

As for vending machines, people who are food label readers already know the calorie count of most treats that emerge from vending machines, so that should not be a huge mystery or revelation.

Many fast food restaurants have had calorie listings available for years already.  The question has been asked given the available data is this: ”Has this helped with the obesity problem in the United States?” Studies say, Not Really.  Or, one study said people haved saved maybe 27 calories per meal.

Calorie counting, of which I am a huge fan, may make people a little more conscious of what they are eating.  Perhaps they will order the regular hamburger instead of the double bacon cheeseburger (a potential savings of over 1,000 calories), and for this I am happy, because that may help people start living the thin lifestyle.  Click here to see the calorie counts of many different foods.

At least people can start making more educated guesses, and maybe people who never thought about calories before in their life might start thinking about them now and try to eat less instead of being baffled as to why they keep gaining weight for some reason — when it may just be that they are consuming too many calories. (also see: Harvard Study Reveals, Calories In, Calories Out  and Myth Buster: 3,500 Calories in a Pound; Are all Calories Created Equally?)

For more on this topic, see: AdAge: FDA Unveils Guidelines for Mandatory Calorie Counts for Fast Foods and Vending Machines.

Also, see this post for my favorite fast food restaurants:  How to Eat Fast Food and Stay Thin: Top 6 Fast Food Restaurants.

Compulsive Overeating can be expensive!

Have you tried many diets, only to have them fail?  Or, have you lost weight, only to gain it all back?

Could you be a food addict? Take this test and see if you could be a compulsive overeater, which could be sabotaging your dieting efforts.

1)  Do you eat even if you are not physically hungry?

2) Do you eat alone, and sometimes look forward to times when you can eat alone?

3) Do you go on eating binges, or sometimes eat uncontrollably?

4) Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?

5) Do you have a history of weight fluctuations?

6) Have you withdrawn from activities, due to embarrassment about your weight?

7)  Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?

8)  Does your eating behavior with food make you or others unhappy?

9) Do you eat very little in public, but still maintain a high body weight?

10) Do you suffer from a low self esteem, and maybe depression, about your weight?

11)  Are you aware that your eating habits are abnormal?

12) Do you have a history of unsuccessful diets?

13) Do you get irritated when others tell you to “just use a little willpower” to stop overeating?

There are similar questions from Overeaters Anonymous, the 12-Step Program that helps people overcome compulsive overeating.  If you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions, it is probable that you may have, or are well on your way, to having a compulsive overeating problem. 

Sonja enjoying Waikiki, Hawaii

The good news? Approximately 80% of people who seek help from food addiction recover completely or experience significant reduction in their symptoms.   I attended many OA meetings in the past, and have integrated much of their plan into living my thin lifestyle of today.  It is one of the reasons I have been able to maintain a 50-pound weight loss since 2001 (and why I have also saved a lot of money since I’m not always signing up for the latest diet plan!).

There are also other programs that help people with food addiction: Food Addicts Anonymous, and Food Addicts in Recovery, both good places to seek help with compulsive overeating.

Also read  “Trigger Foods Beware (7 Ways to Combat Cravings)”  to learn ways to avoid foods in your life that trigger cravings and potential binge eating, and “Yo-Yo Dieting; Stop the Insanity!” to see how you can get off that particular diet treadmill.

Michelle Obama took on childhood obesity with her Let’s Move! campaign after moving into the white house, seeking a healthier future for our nation’s children.

Kids participating in "Let's Play!"

A monumental task, to be sure, but with worldwide obesity rates at an all-time high, and one out of every three children considered obese in the United States (30%), I commend her for taking it on.

So how are things going, one year later?

The amount of schools participating in the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) has doubled in the past year, which was a key component of the initiative. This program also rewards schools for excellence in promoting nutrition and physical activity.

Monetary awards are offered to school cafeterias to provide healthier menus for kids, in the hopes of raising a healthier generation of children, and to compel schools to adhere more to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The No. 1 award is worth $2,000 for the Gold Award of Distinction.

Denver Public Schools recruited chefs to show kids that healthy foods could be delicious, affordable, and locally-grown.

Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo jumped on board to help out with his “Huddle” PSA spot released last month, encouraging kids to get healthy & active by joining the “Fuel up to Play 60” movement. Watch Tony Romo’s PSA Spot by clicking on SchoolTube.com.

Sonja and son Mackie at Biosphere

When I think about being a fat kid myself, and then struggling with my weight for so many years as an adult, I sure wish I could have nipped things in the bud when I was a child. Of course, then there would be no “Living Thin” blog, where I could pass on tips and inspiration on living the thin lifestyle to others.

Visit the Let’s Move! website for more success stories, ideas and blogs from students, parents, schools and chefs everywhere. Be sure and watch the video of Michelle, as she documents the past year of Let’s Move!, and and talks about plans for the future.