Study: Subway Sandwiches Are Worse Than We Think

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Replies

  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
    A 4,000 calorie meal seems impossible.

    its very possible
    you can go to a fast food place and eat that in a meal if you eat big meals

    that's easy go to Mcdonalds..eat 2 big Macs = 1000 calories
    Large Fries= 1000 calories
    Large shake=550 calories
    crispy chicken sandwich= 550

    top it all of with a trip to ice cream shop for triple scoop ice cream cone

    its not healthy lol but its 4000
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
    It's about what people order and what they assume is healthy and low calorie, it's not that the sandwiches are bad or Subway is a poor choice. They just underestimate calories and make poor choices.

    This was explained a lot better in the book:

    The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
    David A. Kessler

    Then that article you linked too.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    It is just like anything else, you can go to Subway and make a healthy meal, or you can make a fat laden, sodium filled, unhealthy meal. if you go there and load up on all the processed meats and cheese, then of course you are going to have an unhealthy meal. If you choose a salad or sub with lots of veggies, then it is not so bad. It is as good as eating at home, no, but certainly not the worst fast food choice.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    A 4,000 calorie meal seems impossible.

    Are you talking about from Subway or in general? 4k meals are easy to achieve

    mermaids...
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
    One six-inch sandwich (any meat-bread combo) has about 1000+ mg of sodium which is around 60% of your DV (just a guess) for sodium. That's not good!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    One six-inch sandwich (any meat-bread combo) has about 1000+ mg of sodium which is around 60% of your DV (just a guess) for sodium. That's not good!

    ZOMG!

    Sodium Intake in Populations: Assessment of Evidence

    http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18311&page=R1
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    A 4,000 calorie meal seems impossible.

    its very possible
    that's easy go to Mcdonalds..eat 2 big Macs = 1000 calories
    Large Fries= 1000 calories
    Large shake=550 calories
    crispy chicken sandwich= 550

    top it all of with a trip to ice cream shop for triple scoop ice cream cone

    its not healthy lol but its 4000

    You forgot the 20 piece nuggets! And swap the shake out for an oreo mcflurry.
  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
    A 4,000 calorie meal seems impossible.

    its very possible
    that's easy go to Mcdonalds..eat 2 big Macs = 1000 calories
    Large Fries= 1000 calories
    Large shake=550 calories
    crispy chicken sandwich= 550

    top it all of with a trip to ice cream shop for triple scoop ice cream cone

    its not healthy lol but its 4000

    You forgot the 20 piece nuggets! And swap the shake out for an oreo mcflurry.

    mmmm mcflurry
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    So it's not that Subway, McDonald's or other fast food restaurants are worse than we think, it's that people suck at estimating calories? Oh, that's why I usually look up nutrition information prior to going places like that. :ohwell:

    ^ This. All the study shows is that people are in denial about how much they're eating. I get enough of that here, thank you.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    How is having calories bad for us? Everything has calories.

    Let's be fair when interpreting the study. The information was for several fast food restaurants, not just subway.

    http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/23/youre-eating-more-calories-than-you-think/

    Also, let's be even more fair that most people (American, because that's the data I have) underestimate the number of calories in pretty much any food they put in their mouths.

    http://survata.com/blog/how-accurate-are-americans-at-estimating-calories/

    This is true whether the food is healthy or not. If you eat 700 calories worth of avocado but think you've only eaten 350, does that make the food "worse" than we think? No. It makes the person eating it uninformed about the calories in an avocado.

    Education about calories in food is the responsibility of the person eating it. It doesn't make the food "better" or "worse."
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
    I'm still trying to work out what on earth a 4000 calorie meal looks like... Let's go with McDonalds:

    I've done it. Chili's!

    Hot Spinach & Artichoke w/Chip = 1520
    Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadilla = 1740
    Brownie Sundae = 1090

    Total: 4350.

    And there's still no alcohol in there! Add in sugary margarita...
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Education about calories in food is the responsibility of the person eating it. It doesn't make the food "better" or "worse."

    Ding ding ding! Winner!
  • Ashshell
    Ashshell Posts: 185
    This really has nothing to do with Subway. It only shows that people make bad choices and don't care how many calories they are eating. I could easily turn a sub from Subway into an unhealthy meal by piling on loads of mayo, oil, cheese and other condiments and then grabbing a large soda, cookies and a bag of chips. Or...I could go to Subway and get a ham & turkey with no cheese and a ton of veggies with an unsweetened iced tea and be on my way.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Estimated cals 14,000

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBYvO8-FW6f2OJqaW-bTf8Qiu7Vz7v33-NDixXSYtrZXmDbHSQJQ
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
    The vast majority of meals served at restaurants have much larger portions than the average person needs.

    That is one of the major causes of the weight problem in this country.
  • mattschwartz01
    mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
    The study is somewhat flawed. Subway can be very nutritious but you have to be mindful of the ingredients that you put on the sandwich. You can't slather it with mayo and oil and all kinds of meats and cheeses. It's very possible to have a good healthy sandwich but don't blame Subway entirely, the consumer must make good choices. Granted, Subway doesn't tell the complete truth but relative to McDonald's it is so much better.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    The one thing I will criticize Subway for is the way they slather on the mayo. The website assumes 1 tablespoon of mayo. They put on at least 3 or 4, in my experience. That's the difference between 60 cals and 240 cals. Even if you're carefully checking the website, if you don't pay attention there you could be consuming almost 200 more calories than you think.

    I always ask for a single 'line' of mayo, which is about a TBSP on a six inch sub.
  • cerexflikex
    cerexflikex Posts: 58
    This really has nothing to do with Subway. It only shows that people make bad choices and don't care how many calories they are eating. I could easily turn a sub from Subway into an unhealthy meal by piling on loads of mayo, oil, cheese and other condiments and then grabbing a large soda, cookies and a bag of chips. Or...I could go to Subway and get a ham & turkey with no cheese and a ton of veggies with an unsweetened iced tea and be on my way.
    Exactly!
  • anotherlonelyheart
    anotherlonelyheart Posts: 3 Member
    So it's not that Subway, McDonald's or other fast food restaurants are worse than we think, it's that people suck at estimating calories? Oh, that's why I usually look up nutrition information prior to going places like that. :ohwell:

    me too :)
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    The one thing I will criticize Subway for is the way they slather on the mayo. The website assumes 1 tablespoon of mayo. They put on at least 3 or 4, in my experience. That's the difference between 60 cals and 240 cals. Even if you're carefully checking the website, if you don't pay attention there you could be consuming almost 200 more calories than you think.

    I always ask for a single 'line' of mayo, which is about a TBSP on a six inch sub.

    BTW, I understand from a pretty good source that most of the mayo they use is the low fat variety as it's cheaper. In many places, you have to request the full fat stuff to get it.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    The people that you are talking about are idiots that don't care how much they eat.
  • dkgoetz
    dkgoetz Posts: 65 Member
    The thing is that Subway advertises as a healthy place to eat because they offer healthy options. Most fast food places do nowadays. You can eat a healthier meal at McDonald's if you really know what to look for. A grilled chicken sandwich and small fries from McD's is going to be a better choice than ordering something like a footlong pepperoni meatball with cheese meal from Subway. It's in the customer's perception, which is what this study really tracked. Neither place is going to be "healthy" for you, but you can make better choices if you want to eat there.
  • branson101
    branson101 Posts: 173 Member
    I'm still trying to work out what on earth a 4000 calorie meal looks like... Let's go with McDonalds:

    3 crispy chicken clubs (670 a piece) = 2010
    Large fries = 500
    Large soda = 270
    Large M&M McFlurry = 930
    Apple pie = 250.

    That gets us to 3,960 calories. And a very very upset stomach.

    forget the upset stomach. You won't even realize that your stomach is upset when your in a diabetic coma from all those sugars and carbs.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    People probably think they're eating fewer calories because they automatically think Subway is "healthier" due to the marketing. Slap the McDonald's label on something and people will overestimate its calorie content. Slap the Subway label on and people will underestimate.

    There's nothing wrong with the actual sandwiches.
  • RachyLovesRattys
    RachyLovesRattys Posts: 143 Member
    1 BK Quad Stacker- 3,300 calories and 3 days worth of saturated fat for the average person. Just one....no fries...no drink. IMAGINE HOW FAT I WAS AS A CHILD!!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I'm still trying to work out what on earth a 4000 calorie meal looks like... Let's go with McDonalds:

    3 crispy chicken clubs (670 a piece) = 2010
    Large fries = 500
    Large soda = 270
    Large M&M McFlurry = 930
    Apple pie = 250.

    That gets us to 3,960 calories. And a very very upset stomach.

    forget the upset stomach. You won't even realize that your stomach is upset when your in a diabetic coma from all those sugars and carbs.

    That's only 450g of carbs and 200g of sugar...
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
    A 4,000 calorie meal seems impossible.

    Then you're not trying hard enough.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    A footnote: 41 people were excluded from the study as outliers because their meals exceeded 4000 calories.

    3385 people, 41 lucky winners. That's 1.2%!

    wait...

    You mean I'm in the top 1%?!?!?!?!?!? What do I win?!?!?!?

    1434724909.jpg
  • I seriously have my doubts that people who eat at fast food restarurants once a week are counting calories. I guess they are trying to be healthy after all when they order a Big Mac, large fries and then get a diet coke they are trying to save a few calories (Sarcasm intended).
  • So it's not that Subway, McDonald's or other fast food restaurants are worse than we think, it's that people suck at estimating calories? Oh, that's why I usually look up nutrition information prior to going places like that. :ohwell:

    Agreeing - Sorry people, but you can't be surprised if you didn't check the nutritional info before you went. That's your own damn fault. Subway is BETTER than some other choices, but I know it's not the best. No fast food is ever the best.