Have you ever eaten something that you know was bad for you and thought, for the same number of calories what else could I have eaten?

Personally I have always had a weakness for Mcdonald’s, more specifically the Big Mac combo. My addiction to it started when I was very young. I swear my parents used to sing the big mac song to me to get me to sleep at night. You know the one – (In a lullaby style) “Two all beef patties special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions all on a sesame seed bun”.

So it seems fitting that my first post in this series will use the infamous Big Mac combo as the comparison.

Gimme The Facts

The meal consists of medium french fries, a medium coke and of course a Big Mac sandwich.

Total Calories – 1110
Total Fat Grams – 47

What Else Could I Have Eaten Instead?

Based on Total Calories: (Non-Cumulative)

Baked Skinless Chicken Breast (6oz each) – 6
Medium Apple (Skin On) – 15
Large Strawberries – 185
McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets – 58
Cups of Popcorn (Air Popped) – 35
Regular Hamburgers – 4
Medium Bananas – 10
Large Hard Boiled Eggs – 14
McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Combos (Water, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, small Fries) – 2
6 inch Turkey Subs from Subway – 4

Based on Total Fat Grams:(Non-Cumulative)

Cans of drained Tuna – 21
Mars Bars – 4
Cups of 1% Chocolate Milk – 18
Unsalted Almonds – 78
Medium Ears of Corn – 42
100g servings of Strawberry Yogurt – 13
Slices of Whole Wheat Bread – 47
McDonald’s Vanilla Ice Cream Cones – 7
Medium Pepperoni Pizza – 1
McDonald’s Baked Apple Pies – 3

More Comparisons and Facts

There is more than 1300 mg of sodium in this combo which is more than 50% of the average North America’s daily requirement. Still though, this is only half the amount you would find in a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

The meat patties on the Big Mac account for only 13 of the 28 grams of protein and just 12 of the 47 grams of fat. Which begs the question, what the hell is in the secret sauce?

You could have 5 Entree sized garden salads with the low fat Italian dressing for the same number of calories as the Big Mac Combo. (beware of the salt, 1 salad has 1400mg)

The total grams of sugar in this combo is 65 or roughly:

I think that says it all.

If you have something else you want me to compare this to, let me know.