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In early March, I pulled up to the drive-thru menu at McDonald's, eyeing one of my favorite glorious green drinks - the Shamrock Shake. As I licked my lips and prepared to order, I noticed the calorie count listed nearby. Five hundred thirty calories for the SMALL!!
It's a good thing I only crave these things once a year, I thought. And lucky for me, just one Shamrock Shake was enough to hold me for the entire year.
Although the calorie count in the Shamrock Shake didn't deter me that day, I wondered if it worked in detering others who cruised up to the drive-thru menu. There has been discussion to make it a legal requirement for restaurants that have a drive-thru window, chains that offer take-out, even movie theaters that offer popcorn to provide calorie information on their menu boards, in hopes that the listings will encourage consumers to make better choices.
Subway is the latest restaurant chain to begin changing their menu signs to include caloric information. It shouldn't be all bad, considering I'm a pretty plain person when it comes to sub sandwiches. But damn them for informing me on how many calories are in that chocolate chip cookie!
The calorie counts often don't keep me from ordering what I want. Perhaps listing the amount of exercise needed to burn off those calories would be more effective.