Tue Mar 1/05
Les is less

Colby Cosh beat me to this marvellously ridiculous quote from this morning's Post about Les Sayer's attempt to lose weight while eating only at McDonald's: "He's probably losing weight because he's burning more calories than he's eating," said professor Megan McCrory (of an obscure Washington state university), stressing that Sayer's diet still shouldn't be considered healthy."

Well, of course it shouldn't, but that was never Sayer's point. He's only trying to highlight the fact that McDonald's food isn't sprinkled with some kind of magic, paunch-enhancing pixie dust. A Big Mac has no more calories or fat or carbohydrates in it than would a hamburger you assembled yourself from the same component parts (you know the song) purchased at the supermarket. Not only that, McDo is nice enough to tell you exactly how unhealthy their Big Mac combo actually is (880 calories and 45 grams of fat — that's with a Diet Coke, naturally), so you'll know exactly how long you'll need on the treadmill to burn it off.

People eclipse the 880/45 Big Mac Combo threshold all the time, and not just at Burger King. Hell, a 12-ounce rib steak will get you to 663/26 all on its own, and don't tell me you're not having sour cream on your baked potato. Why don't I see nutritional information laid out on my table at Moishe's when I can do myself just as much damage there as I can at McDonald's? Gosh, if I didn't understand the fanatical anti-corporate agenda behind the anti-McDonald's movement, I'd be baffled at all the controversy!