It's been over 20 years since Jared Fogle captured the world's attention by losing over 200 pounds eating only at Subway. Here's a recap of his famous story:
Back in March of 1998 Jared was a college student with a problem. He weighed a staggering 425 pounds. That was a lot of weight for anyone to handle, let alone a busy college student. So one day Jared made the decision to change his life.
He knew that his diet would need to change drastically, but also wanted to keep things simple so he could stick with it. A Subway restaurant near his apartment caught his eye. Sandwiches were healthier than burgers, right?
His simple plan was to eat the same thing everyday:
- Breakfast - coffee
- Lunch - "I ate the 6-inch turkey, tons of vegetables, including hot peppers and a bit of spicy mustard." He left off the mayonnaise and cheese and had a bag of Baked Lays® potato chips and a diet soft drink
- Dinner - Footlong veggie sub - again no mayonnaise or cheese.
You probably know the rest of the story. His Subway diet, along with exercise, got Jared to drop over 200 pounds. He then became a spokesperson for Subway, sharing his story and inspiring millions of people.
And suddenly Subway became synonymous with healthy eating.
Have you looked at a Subway napkin? It lists 7 of their lighter sandwiches. Then at the bottom it compares these sandwiches to the Big Mac and the Whopper, burgers that hold 31 and 40 grams of fat, respectively.
The Subway meal is much healthier, right? Well, yes and no.
Go back to your napkin and read the small print. The 7 sandwiches listed are calculated with only bread, veggies and meat. So if you add cheese, mayonnaise, or oil (as most people do) then you need to recalculate the numbers.
I've done the math for you, with a 6" Roasted Chicken Breast sandwich.