Imagine sinking your teeth into a Big Mac with cheese and then looking over to discover that… Imagine sinking your teeth into a Big Mac with cheese and then looking over to discover that you have consumed 560 calories. Wait! You still have fries to eat and a medium soda to gulp down.

When entering a restaurant, customers can choose between a salad and a Big Mac. Unfortunately, we choose the Big Mac. Now that’s a choice that we make on our own.

For instance, I work at a local restaurant that is known for its healthy food choices. Yet once and a while, I would rather walk across the street to the local McDonald’s and order a four-piece nugget, a McChicken sandwich and a large fry. Who wants to eat healthy foods at age 22?

The daily calorie consumption for a normal day should be around 1,500 calories. A meal from McDonald’s could equal the same amount of your daily caloric intake.

For years, the company has received a lot of backlash for its unhealthy menu. Many consumer groups blame McDonald’s for contributing to the rising obesity rates and various other health problems.

Americans are now eating many of their meals outside the home, but should restaurants pay the price for their decisions?

As a result of the pressure, McDonald’s eliminated its Super Size choices and added walnut and fruit salads, and healthier, Newman’s Own dressings for their salads. They have also allowed customers to use apple dippers and milk as replacements for fries and soda in Happy Meals.

The company announced last year that, beginning this month, most of their food items will carry a nutrition label at the Olympics Winter Games in Torino, Italy. It will be introduced in the United States in March.

Jim Skinner, a chief executive officer for McDonald’s, said, “We are putting the information customers need literally into their hands.”

This easy-to-read label will tell customers how many calories, grams of fat, protein, carbohydrates and sodium are in each product and will include a chart showing the percentage of the government’s recommended daily intakes. Such information is already available to consumers on the company’s Web site or in brochures, located in McDonald’s restaurants.

Lobbyists for the past several years have tried to get Congress to pass new laws that would require chain restaurants to place basic nutrition information on their products. We all know that Americans tend to make unwise decisions with their daily intake. I, too, tend to prefer General Tso’s chicken – which some may say is unhealthy – over a healthy home-cooked meal.

But how effective is it to see the calorie intake of 10-piece nugget – 420 calories – and medium fry – 350 calories – once you have purchased it?

As a solution to that problem, members of Congress want chain restaurants to start listing calorie facts where customers can see them before they make their purchases. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced a bill that would require all chain restaurants with more than 20 outlets to list calories, fat and sodium on menus and menu boards, not on individual products.

Will that be enough, though? I buy groceries all the time and rarely do I see someone stop to check the nutrition facts on the side of a bag of chips or frozen-food item.

We all have common sense. It’s about time we start using it. Many chain restaurants like McDonald’s post nutrition facts on the Internet and in brochures. If I really wanted to know the calorie intake for a McChicken, I’d look it up. Why should Congress have to step in and cover a chicken nugget container with red tape? It’s time that we as consumers learn how to eat healthily without labels shoved down our throats. If all else fails, remember the saying, “everything that tastes good, isn’t always good for you.”

E-mail your nutrition facts to Natasha at [email protected].