Chiropractic and Nutrition - The Calorie Cost of Fast Food

As a chiropractor who cares for people who typically have a more holistic approach to their health and diet, I see my patients sabotage their efforts to become healthy on a regular basis. I believe that since I practice chiropractic in San Diego I probably tend to see people who exercise enough because of the nice weather but tend to fail themselves on the diet side getting healthier.  I have long contended that treating people for neck pain, back pain and headaches is much easier than trying to instill a dietary change or an exercise plan. Some of my chiropractic patients indicate poor planning leading to drops in blood sugar resulting in poor food choices while others just like the taste of their favorite fast food.

Eating habits are "funny strange" not so much "funny ha ha". They are very hard for most of to control. I have always been a thin 6 foot 190 pound guy. I can’ tell you how many people think that I am just one of those “blessed” people who can eat anything they want to without gaining weight. Unfortunately for me, they would be wrong. Watching my diet is a daily chore. One thing that has helped me is the fact that I exercise and that I am keenly aware of how long I will have to exercise in order to work off any sweets that I eat or Mexican foods that I indulge in.

With this in mind, I came across a neat little article that covered what some of our chain-food favorites will cost us in time spent doing common exercises. These excerpts are from the Diet Detective who has authored several books on the topic.

Note: Calorie content of foods are based on official website information at the time of publication. Minutes of exercise are averages based on a 155-pound person. The greater the weight of the person the more calories burned per minute.

DONUT
Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut (230 calories)
59 minutes of walking (3 mph).

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
McDonald's Egg McMuffin (300 calories)
32 minutes of running (5 mph).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Panera Chocolate Chipper (440 calories)
62 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

PIZZA
Pizza Hut Large Hand-Tossed Style Cheese Pizza (1 slice; 320 calories)
39 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

CINNAMON ROLL
Starbucks Cinnamon Roll (500 calories, varies by location)
85 minutes of dancing.

HAMBURGER
Burger King Original Whopper With Cheese (770 calories)
94 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

BROWNIE
Au Bon Pain Chocolate Chip Brownie (380 calories).
129 minutes of yoga (Hatha style).

FRIES
Wendy's Large French Fries (540 calories)
77 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

ICE CREAM
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream (0.5 cup; 270 calories)
29 minutes of running (5 mph).

BURRITO
Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, Beef (410 calories)
70 minutes of dancing.

The next time you think that eating these foods once in a while won’t hinder your efforts to see your abs again or fit into the bikini, think again. Not only will indulging in these treats hamper your quest for a lean physique, but they will also lead to weight gain which is known to cause heart disease, back pain, sciatica and many other disorders – some of which can be treated with chiropractic and some that can’t. I hope that you found this information entertaining and helpful.