McDonald’s Mega burger

Mega Size Me: I ate nothing but McDonald’s Japan Mega burgers all day and survived

[CalorieLab contributor Khalilah Aleem has completed what we believe to be the first 1-day Mega burger hat trick in history. Her story follows.]

The day before: April 7

• 10:30 a.m.: Yogurt with cereal
• 3:40 p.m.: Roast lamb with tons of vegetables
• 8:00 p.m.: Noodles with veggies

This is what I ate was the day before participating in a daylong Mega burger three course meal at the McDonald’s here in Fukushima, Japan, and the only thing that prompted me to be a guinea pig was curiosity and curiosity alone.

McDonald’s has introduced various supersized “Mega” sandwiches over the past couple of years, but on Friday, for the first time, they began serving a different Mega sandwich for each meal in the day. CalorieLab asked me to try them out and report back.

In all my twenty five years I never had a Big Mac, let alone a MEGA MAC (loud theatrical voice insert), so if I had to try it, then I at least wanted others to know about it. When I do happen to go to McD’s I usually order a cheeseburger and juice. And that is only once every two months.

Yet, I secretly always wanted to know what it would be like to do what that Morgan Spurlock from the movie Super Size Me did. The guy ate only at McDonald’s for an entire month. While what he had done had a message, I knew many unfortunate kids who had to eat at McDonald’s everyday because their mothers were always on the go and could never cook them a decent meal.

One of them was my cousin, who I swear to you was taken to McDonald’s at least twice a day because his mom hated to cook. The last time I saw him, he was twelve and so huge that the doctor advised him to use a sleeping aid while he was losing weight because his fat was slowly crushing him. I have no idea how the chap is doing now, but hopefully he got sick of eating at fast food restaurants.

Today: April 8

• 10:00 a.m.: Mega Muffin, hash browns, and orange juice

I’m feeling okay if slightly overstuffed and a little tired.

• 1:30 p.m.: Mega Mac

I feel nausea and am constipated, extremely tired, and irritable. And not long after eating I’m hungry yet full — if that makes any sense.

• 9:40 p.m.: Mega Teriyaki

I’m tired, with low energy, irritable, and I have an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, with a metallic taste in my mouth after eating.

Words cannot explain how crappy I feel today. When I ate the first burger — the breakfast Mega Muffin, the first three bites were great. But then I had to take a rest before I finished the sandwich. Surprisingly it was really good, and the fat slab of eggs and the two slices of sausage with bacon on top was not as bad as I had anticipated. I even ate the hash browns and drank the orange soda that went along with it.

As I finished the burger, the ladies working at the McDonald’s restaurant knowingly smiled at me as if it was normal for an American to like hamburgers. Come on people. Can I say stereotype any louder?

Too embarassed to order a second Mega burger

It was 10:40 a.m. when I finished, so to save another long walk to McDonald’s on such a tight schedule for that day, I begged my boyfriend to order the Mega Mac before we left. I could not go to the counter again and order another Mega burger because, first, I was too embarrassed, and, secondly, I did not want the mothers of a few of the kids I taught to think that their teacher was a total pig.

As my boyfriend passed me the heavy bag that contained the Mega Mac, I knew that it was going to be a long day, especially when I had to go to work and teach English to at least five groups of hyperactive kids. We took a 30 minute walk and about 3 hours later, I was hungry.

How could I be hungry after eating such a huge hamburger? From taking one look at the Mega Muffin anyone could guess that, for all its 695 calories and over 50 grams of fat in one serving, it was highly nutrient deficient. With a stomach that was heavy yet hungry, I retreated back to my room to eat the second Mega burger but this time it was the MEGA MAC (loud theatrical voice insert).

How in blazes was I to eat a hamburger that had four slices of meat, three slices of bread, a slice of cheese, and limp lettuce and pickles? Guys and girls, the amount of meat piled on the hamburger was phenomenal, and waves of nausea hit me as I finished the last bite.

The nausea was soon over with but then came the sleepiness that hit me right at the core. I had never been so sleepy in the middle of the day, so I took an hour nap, and even after waking up I wanted to go back to sleep. But I had to go to work, so after a few cups of coffee I was at least presentable. Can you guys see a pattern here? Caffeine overload, fast food, and a tired body are some of the symptoms I would guess that most fast food enthusiasts experience.

Would you like an apple pie with your third Mega burger?

After work my boss gave me a lift to McDonald’s, and I got the Mega Teriyaki burger, apple pie, and orange soda. If I was going to go out, then it was going to be big, and yet even after the huge meal I felt no satisfaction at all. Just lazy, guilty, nauseated, and sleepy. While I felt like crap after finishing the mission, I could not imagine doing this for another day, let alone a month.

When my meal was finished I decided to check the nutritional values for the McDonald’s Mega sandwiches, and each burger is around 700 to 900 cals and has about 50 to 65 grams of fat. So all in all excluding the extra stuff, the burgers alone accounted for about 2,360 calories and 160 grams of fat.

During this interesting but health detrimental quest, I learned that nothing beats a home cooked meal, that fast food is a definite killer, and that “you are what you eat.”

Today was a mega tired day, a mega nauseous day, and a mega upset stomach day.

However, the Mega Mac is extremely popular in Japan for reasons I cannot understand. Yes the Mega Mac is good from the first bite — especially the teriyaki one — but after a few bites that satisfaction goes away.

If the Mega Mac continues to be as popular and regular in Japan as it is now, then no longer will Japan boast of slim waifs and long lived centurions. They will soon have the same problem than many nations around the world have with their quickly expanding obese and overweight population.

[Khalilah is resting comfortably and is expected to completely recover. Notes of sympathy and encouragement can be left in the comments.]

(By Khalilah Aleem for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)