Are You Eating At The Wrong Restaurant?
by Avtar Nordine Zoureg
How To Gain Weight Eating at Subway….
It’s been over 10 years since Jared Fogle captured the world’s attention by losing over 200 pounds eating only at Subway. Here’s a recap of his famous story:
Back in March of 1998, Jared was a college student with a problem. He weighed a staggering 425 pounds. That was a lot of weight for anyone to handle, let alone a busy college student. So one day Jared made the decision to change his life.
He knew that his diet would need to change drastically, but also wanted to keep things simple so he could stick with it. A Subway restaurant near his apartment caught his eye. Sandwiches were healthier than burgers, right?
His simple plan was to eat the same thing everyday:
- Breakfast – coffee
- Lunch – “I ate the 6-inch turkey, tons of vegetables, including hot peppers and a bit of spicy mustard.” He left off the mayonnaise and cheese and had a bag of Baked Lays® potato chips and a diet soft drink.
- Dinner – Footlong veggie sub – again no mayonnaise or cheese.
You probably know the rest of the story. His Subway diet, along with exercise, got Jared to drop over 200 pounds. He then became a spokesperson for Subway, sharing his story and inspiring millions of people.
And suddenly Subway became synonymous with healthy eating.
Have you looked at a Subway napkin? It lists 7 of their lighter sandwiches. Then at the bottom it compares these sandwiches to the Big Mac and the Whopper, burgers that hold 31 and 40 grams of fat, respectively.
The Subway meal is much healthier, right? Well, yes and no.
Go back to your napkin and read the small print. The 7 sandwiches listed are calculated with only bread, veggies and meat. So if you add cheese, mayonnaise, or oil (as most people do) then you need to recalculate the numbers.
I’ve done the math for you, with a 6″ Roasted Chicken Breast sandwich.
| Menu Item | Fat | Calories |
| 6″ Sandwich (bread, veggies and meat) | 6 | 342 |
| Cheddar Cheese (2 slices) | 5 | 60 |
| 1 Tbl Mayonnaise | 12 | 110 |
| 1 Tbl Oil | 15 | 135 |
| Totals: | 38g Fat | 647 Cal |
Let’s not forget the side items that most people add to their meal…
| Menu Item | Fat | Calories |
| Wild Rice with Chicken Soup | 11 | 210 |
| 1oz Bag of SunChips | 6 | 140 |
| Chocolate Chip cookie | 10 | 210 |
| Totals: | 65g Fat | 1,207 Cal |
Wow, just like that your ‘healthy’ Subway meal has 1,200 calories and 65 grams of fat!
Sure, you probably don’t get all of the extras when you eat at Subway but that’s not the point.
The point that I’d like you to take away from this is that you shouldn’t classify any restaurant as ‘healthy.’
You could gain weight eating anywhere, just like you could lose weight eating anywhere.
Jared’s weight loss happened when he drastically cut calories and started to exercise. He could have done this at any restaurant. In fact, last year a woman from Virginia claimed to have lost 75 pounds by eating exclusively at Starbucks.
Your weight loss success all comes down to choices.
Each day you make choices that directly influence your weight. Do you get mayonnaise on your sandwich? Will one cookie hurt? Will one missed workout really make a difference?
You decide.
At some point you reach your breaking point. For Jared it was 425 pounds. For you it might be when you buy the next size up. Or when you feel new aches and pains. Or when your doctor sits you down to have the talk.
I know that sooner or later you will decide that you are worth it. You’ll decide that your health is important. You’ll decide that you deserve to look great. And you’ll dig down deep to do what it takes to achieve amazing results.
