Glory! Glory!

This weekend Kevin and I were out getting last minute things for the party and stopped for a quick bite to eat at Foster's Grill in a suburb south of Kansas City. Foster's is home of the chargrilled something - basically fast food that isn't fast and what looked like tasty burgers.

After studying the menu, I decided on a veggie burger (a lot of sodium can be hiding in those by the way!), no side and a water with lemon. As we waited the 12 minutes for our food to be ready (yes, they tell you it will be twelve minutes), I watched fellow diners and took note of what they were eating.

I wasn't thinking about obesity, though there were examples of that on show. No, I just was looking at the decisions my fellow diners had made. The place was full - I'm pretty sure it was new - and everything smelled amazing. But watching people drink soda, eat at least 500 calories of french fries AND take huge bites of mayonnaise-covered burgers really just made me sad.

If people were more educated about the nutritional information in food, would they make the same choices? I saw it a lot of the first few episodes of this Biggest Loser season: They were always shocked by the number of calories in the food they ate. And to be honest, I've become pretty calorie-fascinated as I've progressed. "Can you believe there are that many calories in that little bag?" "There is only 60 calories in this, how awesome is that?!?"

Well, I didn't even know it was a dream, but it looks like it's finally coming true. Did you know that THIS is part of the Healthcare Bill that just passed? Do you hear the angels singing? Can I get an AMEN?!?

Here is an excerpt to the awesomeness!

Calorie Data to Be Posted at Most Chains
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Published: March 23, 2010

Buried deep in the health care legislation that President Obama signed on Tuesday is a new requirement that will affect any American who walks into a McDonald’s, Starbucks or Burger King. Every big restaurant chain in the nation will now be required to put calorie information on their menus and drive-through signs.

In other words, as soon as 2011 it will be impossible to chomp down on a Big Mac without knowing that it contains over 500 calories, more than a quarter of the Agriculture Department’s 2,000-calorie daily guideline.

The legislation also requires labels on food items in vending machines, meaning that anybody tempted by a king-size Snickers bar will know up front that it packs 440 calories.