Buying Calories

I read this on yahoo at http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/12-best-restaurant-weight-loss-tricks

I like the thinking of "buying calories" by up-sizing your treats. Just thought it was an interesting way to think about it. Next time I splurge and buy a coke....I buy 450 calories less!



Here’s the good news: No one is going to stop you from ordering seconds. So be like any good businessperson, and start small. Here’s exactly how expensive it really is when you go for the “bargain”:

• 7-Eleven. Gulp to Double Gulp Coca-Cola Classic: 37 cents extra buys 450 more calories
• Cinnabon. Minibon to Classic Cinnabon: 48 more cents buys 370 more calories
• Movie theater. Small to medium unbuttered popcorn: 71 additional cents buys you 500 more calories
• Convenience store. Regular to “The Big One” Snickers: 33 more cents packs on 230 more calories
• McDonald’s. Quarter Pounder with Cheese to Medium Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal: An additional $1.41 gets you 660 more calories
• Subway. The 6- to 12-inch Tuna Sub: $1.53 more buys 420 more calories
• Wendy’s. Classic Double with Cheese to Classic Double with Cheese Old Fashioned Combo Meal: $1.57 extra buys you 600 more calories
• Baskin Robbins. Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Kids’ Scoop, to Double Scoop: For another $1.62, you’ve added 390 calories

The bottom line: For 8 bucks, you’ve bought yourself 3,620 calories. If you eat each of these foods once a week but go with the smaller size—again, your favorite foods, but more reasonable sizes—you’d save about $417 a year. That's enough to put you on a plane to the Bahamas, where you can show off your new body. After all, you’d also save 188,240 calories a year, or 54 pounds of belly fat! I can think of no better investment.