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Brant · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:29 pm Post subject:

That would explain a lot, actually.
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phonyfeminazi · Expert Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 7819

ellipses · Mod Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 9218 Location: WashPa!

I'm a pervert...

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phonyfeminazi · Expert Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 7819

busdriver · Journeyman Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 3497

busdriver · Journeyman Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 3497

[quote="pap"]

Cylinsier · Master Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 13229 Location: Oh shi-

Time to drop some knowledge.

McDonald's nutrition facts:

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutrition_facts.html

Let's pick just 4 dollar menu items.

Hamburger = 250 calories
Small fries = 230 calories
4 nuggets = 190 calories + 50 calories sauce
2 X pies = 500 calories

$4 buys you 1220 calories. I'll let you examine the nutritional value in those calories in the charts above yourself. Add another 300 or so calories for a soda. That comes to around $7 after tax for over 1500 calories. The daily nutritional allotment for a healthy adult is thought to be between 2,000 and 2,500 calories in a day. For $7, you just ate two meals. If you eat at McDonald's more than once a day (or any fast food place), you are eating more than your whole day's worth of food with a meal to spare, and the calories are mostly empty.

Let's compare to a healthy meal. An apple costs around a dollar. A serving of milk is going to cost around a dollar as well. A piece of healthy protein, either in the form of fresh nuts/beans or lean meat, is going to be in the 4 to 5 dollar range. A vegetable is going to be at least a dollar. A serving of grain will probably land in the 2 to 3 dollar range. This is all based on my average grocery bill. For a healthy meal, you are looking at about $10. The calories in that meal are going to contain the nutrients you need to stay healthy. However, the total calorie value is going to be around 700 or maybe 800 if you are eating a fatty meat. Fruit and vegetables are almost a net gain of 0 calories. Grain, if its not loaded with high fructose corn syrup, is going to be 100 to 200. The meat will carry the bulk at 500 or so. The milk probably has less than 100.

So, you can pay $7 for 1500 unhealthy calories but feel full...of fat.

Or, you can pay $10 for 800 healthy calories and not quite feel full, meaning you might eat more later.

Say $20 a day for the first meal plan (roughly 4000 calories).

Say $30 a day for the second meal plan (roughly 2400 calories).

Conclusion: its cheaper to be morbidly obese. Therefore, poor people are more likely to be fat.
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busdriver · Journeyman Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 3497

Cylinsier · Master Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 13229 Location: Oh shi-

The lesson here is people cannot afford the second meal option. Fast food is far cheaper than real food and that's why you see a spike in obesity in this country. Even among the people who can afford to eat better, those lower McD's prices look attractive if you're trying to save a buck.
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dick · Journeyman Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 3134

I lived off of Wendy's dollar menu, Buck-a-Boxes at KFC, and Tony's frozen pizzas from Walmart for a solid semester at college. Eventually, I learned that its still cheap yet healthier to buy a sack of potatoes, canned tuna, fresh fruit and veggies can be cheap depending on the season (green beans are usually priced well year round), and a whole lotta soup.
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ellipses · Mod Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 9218 Location: WashPa!

It's definitely possible to eat healthy for cheap... or at least eat BETTER for not that much more... but it takes time, effort, and a tiny bit of culinary knowledge to do it...

All you need to eat fast food 6 times a day is money and a mouth
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Cylinsier · Master Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 13229 Location: Oh shi-

And I would point out that the healthy method means less calories. Someone used to 1500 calorie meals at Mickey D's is going to have a hard time keeping to a similar budget eating taters and tunafish. That won't fill them up like a big mac will.
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dick · Journeyman Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 3134

Right on... Cheap and healthy gets redundant after a while. There aren't exactly a ton of options out there that fit the criteria.
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dick · Journeyman Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 3134

ellipses · Mod Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 9218 Location: WashPa!

I thought that after going vegetarian, our "meat treats" (about 1 per month meals consisting of dead animals) would be like food orgies where I'd eat my way through a herd of cows and sheep and negate the other 31 days of healthy food... but damnit if I can't eat large amounts of animal protein any more.

I can eat it, and it's delicious... but I can't eat as much of it.

I'm not complaining... it just surprises me that I can't finish a meal... it's like waking up impotent Smile

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