It’s a Fast-Paced, Fast Food World…Can We Survive?

We live in a hectic, fast-paced world. We work hard, and often for long hours, and the last thing we want to do is come home and cook a meal. So what do we do? We stop at a take-out on the way home, and bring home fast food, again. But, how much damage are we doing to our bodies by eating a lot of fast food?

The Facts About Your Favorite Fast Foods

We’re all guilty of enjoying fast food once in a while, and that’s okay. But, when we start eating fast food more often than home-cooked meals, we’re doing incredible damage to our bodies. There are a number of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that our bodies need in order to survive, and we are not getting many of these when we eat fast food. Also, fast food is, as a rule, fatty and high in calories. So, if your diet has a lot of fast food in it, you will probably find yourself packing on the pounds pretty quickly, which is another barrier to good health. Here are a few facts about your favorite fast food meals that may have you thinking twice about your next meal:

? Some of the most popular burgers from fast food restaurants have more than 700 calories each, compared to a home-cooked burger, which can have as few as 200 calories, depending on the condiments used (many are really fattening) and how lean your meat is.

If you are watching your fat intake, you may want to reconsider eating as much fast food as you currently do. As a rule, we should be getting about 25% of our daily caloric intake from fat, or around 150 grams, or 25-30 grams per meal for a five meal a day diet. Popular burgers, fully loaded, can have nearly 50 grams of fat, twice the amount needed in one meal, and that’s without the French fries or onion rings, which you probably have with your burger every time.

Don’t forget about carbs. If you opt for a fully loaded burger, you’d better not get a side, because you will have hit your carb limit, around 45 grams per meal. A small order of French fries will add 26 grams of carbohydrates to your meal.

You can have a yummy greasy meal once in a while, but make sure that the majority of your diet is healthy and well-balanced. This way, when you do indulge, it won’t cost you nearly as much in the end.
Article written by Sam Holmes of Ultimate Fitness Gear, Getinsanity and start your total body transformation.

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