“Highest Calorie Sandwich” on the “Worst Sandwiches” List is NOT a sin in my opinion

Being that my previous entry dealt with hamburgers, I feel this is as good a time as any to discuss something I ran across in Yahoo headlines recently. It was an article which lists the '10 Worst Sandwiches in America.' It was written by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, the authors of ‘Eat This, Not That.’

First off, I think the gist of what the article shares is valuable. Most of us are fairly cognizant of our consumption of mega calorie intake any time we indulge in oversized sandwiches made of mayonnaise-dowsed fried meats and bacon. But an awareness of the exact number of calories contained within can be an eye-opener nonetheless. So ‘the 10 Worst Sandwiches in America’ is educational in terms of letting us know the detailed caloric numbers as the list builds up to its number one: the ‘highest calorie sandwich’ in a U.S. restaurant.

Is anyone really not aware that big sandwiches on the "worst sandwiches" list contain a lot of calories?

That dubious distinction goes to the ‘Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Club’ by the ‘Cheesecake Factory.’ It received a wrathful condemnation in the article for its nearly two-thousand calories and almost three-thousand milligrams of sodium. Yet even with my passion for bodybuilding and fitness, the distinction is not really dubious to me. Why should it be; Nobody puts a gun to my head and makes me eat the thing – do they?

But I like the fact that if I do want to eat one, I have that choice. Or I could eat half of one and save the other half ‘til tomorrow. Or I could eat a fourth of one four times throughout the day or a fourth of one per day for the next four days. I could eat a fourth of one now and share the other three quarters with three friends. Or I could just eat the whole 2,000 calories of this “culinary pariah” of the ’10 Worst Sandwiches list’ in one fell swoop, just for occasional, gluttonous fun.

What’s my point; why am I bringing this up?

Something rubbed me the wrong way toward the end of the “worst sandwiches” article. David Zinczenko and/or Matt Goulding couldn’t resist the opportunity to label Cheesecake Factory as “irresponsible” – implicitly supporting a mandate by the state of California whereby the restaurant has had to disclose the calorie content of their cheesecakes and other high calorie menu items to the consuming public.

Lest anyone panic at the thought that I own stock in the parent company of Cheesecake Factory or that I’m making this blog into a political one (the most popular kind) – I assure you, the former is not the case and the latter would steer me too far out of the particular focus of benefit I preserve for my readers. However, for the record, I’m a staunch believer in individual liberty. As such, I know both intellectually and intuitively how individual liberty is inextricably linked to personal responsibility.  I can see the ugly writing on the wall in this case of the state stepping in and telling the owners of a private enterprise that they’re responsible (however implicitly at this point) for the fat gains of their “unsuspecting” costumers.

Is Cheesecake Factory really “irresponsible” as Zinczenko and Goulding explicitly say toward the end of their “10 Worst Sandwiches in America” article? Only to the degree that we declare we’re not responsible (and free) to choose what we want to eat on a meal-by-meal basis, for better or worse. Cheesecake Factory is just a business that’s selling something. Their very survival in a free market is dependent on them selling something that people actually want. Moreover, they’re NOT selling something with potentially unhealthy content that you and I aren’t at least intuitively aware of; I’ve always known when I eat excess amounts of calories – even before I knew anything about nutrition.

When I was a fat guy, it was my choice to be that way. However much I might have tried to bury it, I knew deep inside that it was my choice of habits – not bad genetics or “irresponsible restaurants” - that had my gut spilling over my belt. And in fact, it was this “personal responsibility” state of mind that was the prerequisite for getting and maintaining the lean body that I enjoy having now.

A “highest calorie sandwich” list is only representative of “tools” within one’s grab-bag of knowledge of what it takes to get and stay lean. It’s only when the mentality outlined in the previous paragraph, coupled with an empowered self-image, sink in at the subconscious level that indefinite leanness is acquired and enjoyed.

As always, your opinions are welcome.

Comments

[Jordan 2010]

Benjamin Franklin says that "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise". So, develop a good habit, then execute it.