Nutrition "Wake Up Call"

The following is a paper that was written by my son, Austin Dulaney, of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Austin is a an amatuer cyclist,(soon to be pro), racing in mountain, road bike, and cyclocross events. I asked him to allow me to publish this after I read it as it was an assignment he had for college.

Doc and Chris are always reminding us of diet. I thought this fit well. It certainly opened my eyes.

ASSIGNMENT:

For this assignment I chose to go to Burger King. The nutritional information that was given to me was astounding! The fat, sodium, and caloric values of most of the items on the menu were staggering. Even what I consider to be a small meal, like the one I ordered, was almost half the daily-recommended allowance of the normal 2,000-calorie diet.
The more popular sandwiches such as the flagship “Whopper” have 670 calories. Keep in mind that this is without cheese, and with only a single hamburger patty. Other items like the “Angry Chicken Tendercrisp” sandwich boast 1030 calories, 2670 mg of sodium, and an artery hardening 105mg of cholesterol. Even healthier items such as the “Tendergrill Chicken Salad” have as much as 1450mg of sodium. So, upon evaluation, one could easily see why quick serve restaurants must me chosen in moderation, and not for every meal.
The meal that I ordered was the traditional American lunch. A cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. As I ate, I looked closer at the numbers, and began to lose my appetite. My BK double cheeseburger (ordered as normally served) contained 29g of fat, 14g of saturated fat, 1020mg of sodium, and 510 calories. The medium sized salted french fries contained 23g of fat, 2.5g of saturated fat, 820mg of sodium, and 220 calories. Amazingly, my Coke was the least unhealthy item that I ordered, with 0g of fat, 0g of saturated fat, only 10mg of sodium, and 290 calories. All this means that in that small meal, I took in about 1020 calories, 1950mg of sodium, and 52g of fat. I was previously aware that Burger King was not the healthiest choice for lunch, but I thought the convenience outweighed the consequences. It is now more than apparent, that I was wrong.
In this assignment the question is posed, “Will this change what you order the next time you visit the restaurant?” The answer is a simple no. This is because I don’t think I will be visiting “The King” anytime in the future, due to this newfound information. Veaganism has never looked so good.