Well, lets say you're a young guy who weighs 160 lbs. Most of the literature suggests you only need 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day if your are interested in adding muscle.

So, for 160 lbs, that's 128 grams of protein a day.

Let's say you scarf down 2 double cheeseburgers - that's 25 grams of protein each - so 50 grams for both. Add 2 cartons of 1% milk - that's 8 grams each - for 16 grams more. So for that MacMeal, you take in 66 grams of protein alone ...and you've got to pick up another 62 grams of protein from other meals throughout the day.

As for your cardio, depending on the type and intensity, you're going to need carbs primarily - not protein.

All that aside, the big " negative " issue with a lot of McD's food is the high fat and salt content.

2 double cheese burgers will probably make your muscle go down lol

Anywhere you eat you should be thinking about food choices. The big mac is not the greatest choice, but they have chicken sandwiches...skip the mayo and half or all the bread.

Wrangell, I don't necessarily agree with the USDA set up. There are plenty of studies that have shown higher amounts of protein than what they list for the purpose of hypertrophy is beneficial.

I'm sure you'd still be able to gain muscle, it's just that your results probably won't be as good as if you'd eaten healthier. Also, McD's is so full of crap that muscle building is the least of your worries, your arteries won't thank you for clogging them up

McDonalds would be a good choice if the meat weren’t processed so much. The meat at McDonalds is poor at best. That's the reason why it's "bad." Even the salad at McDonalds is poor because of the type of dressing they use.

If you want "fast food" go with subway. At least their food is far better than any of the other fast food.

For muscle building, eating protein alone won't do anything. It'll cause fat gain, which isn't what you want. If you are training for muscle build up, get your protein from food such as chicken or eggs. Also, a protein shake can really help you. Whey Protein is really cheap at GNC, and you can get 2 weeks supply for like 14 dollars, much cheaper than a week worth of big macs.

Actually, I wasn't referring to the general USDA Dietary Guidelines so much - but rather, guidelines from the likes of the The American Council on Exercise, The American Dietetic Association etc. and the findings from various studies with repect to protein and strength training athletes.

As far as I know, when we're talking about the average gym rat ( i.e a gym rat who isn't on steroids ), who is simply trying to add some mass ( and not cut fat ), the majority of the guidelines / findings come in at around 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

And, at least from the study findings I've seen, they don't go beyond recommending 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight for the average athlete as far as I know.

man i wish eating mcdonalds would help build muscle , id be a rock solid 240lb right now

hey there i happen to be a manager at mcdonalds so i think i can help you out here. there are a few things you can eat at mcdonalds that are healthy. im currently bulking so take a look at my meal plan. its the best i could come up with just using mcdonalds food. note that i get free meals and it might get expensive for you.

meal 1

6 round eggs (these are steamed)
(these are made out of real eggs the yellow ones are made from liquid eggs)
3 slices canadian bacon
1 english muffin with peanut butter (ok the only outside food)
1 160z orange juice

meal 2

same as meal one

meal 3

1 grilled chiken sandwich on honeyweat bread only swiss cheese lettuce and tomatoe. add hot sauce for flavor.
1 grilled snack wrap (no cheese) i prefer red sauce or get it with no sauce
1. snack sized fruit and yogurt parfait
-skip the granola and grab 2 lil bags of almonds instead
1-bottled water

pwo drink
2 mcdonalds 1% lowfat milk jugs
1 scoop whey protein

pwo meal
1 can of light tuna on white bread

dinner
something usually involving chicken breast/fish/or lean ground beef
some veggies on the side

one more thing you can do is ask for the side salad then ask for a gilled chiken patty on it. itll run you about 2 bucks.
the dressings suck so maybe some hot sauce or ask for a lemon wedge.

i eat this everyday. its the best i can do with the mcdonalds menu everything else is pretty crappy. hope this helps. you can also check out this site for all mcdonalds nutriional information including alacarte items

CalorieKing - Calorie Counter - Fast-Food Chains & Restaurants - McDonald's

If you are successful with that diet from mcdonalds, I think you should publish it on some journal somewhere. Eating mcdonalds once a week might be a good idea. Otherwise, eating mcdonalds on a daily basis would just be harmful to your body. Also, McDonald's site says to eat right and choose healthy items from their menu such as salad or chicken --- sadly, this is a commercial exploit for people who are watching what they eat. They sucker them into buying these product even though it's bad for you... kind of like KFC's 0 grams trans fat in their product... so in the end McDonald wins, and you lose. Remember McDonalds know that 30 some % of people are trying to lose weight and live healthy... and of those 30 some % probably a good amount are suckered into believing that companies would put "Health Smart" labels on products that are truly un-healthy. One time at Taco Bell I overheard someone saying the soft-tacos are healthy because it has lettuce in it -- sadly many people believe this.

As far as mcdonald food, it is the worst kind of food you can eat. I remember seeing this video where this guy put mcdonald food in a jar for 12 weeks or something, and put naturally made fries and hamburger in another for the same amount of time.

The naturally made hamburger and fries became completely rotten and broken down in about 4 weeks. The mcdonald hamburger lasted about 6-10 weeks before it became completely rotten and almost-but-not-quite broken down. The fries from mcdonald remain the same throughout the weeks (no break down and looked like it was fresh out of the box).

The purpose of the experiment (if you can even call it that) is to show people just how your body breaks down processed food. If it can last for weeks upon weeks just by itself, imagine how long it would remain in your body? Doubtful it would last for 10 weeks before being digested, but still it would remain in your stomach for a very large amount of time compared to other food.

hi there

I dont know how that idea got into dude, McDonald gives you fat, diseases not muscles or anything. ....

charlene

That experiment shows nothing to do with the way your body breaks down the food, for a start chemical digestion doesn't take place in the stomach, food stays there for a very short time before passing into your intestine, where, contrary to the myths, foods like red meat and beef burgers don't just sit there for days on end, they take a few hours to break down, burgers included

As much as I dislike McDonalds food this sounds like anti-McD's propaganda to me. What diseases do their burgers give anyone?
When I was a teenager I used to eat there too much but I never got fat, why was that? The answer is that McDonalds doesn't make you fat, a calorie surplus makes you fat which McD's can only contribute to if you eat too much of it. If you're overweight it isn't McD's fault, it's yours for eating too much

That being said, the biggest problem I have with McD's is that their meats are of poor quality so lack nutritional value. However eaten occasionaly they aren't going to lose you any muscle

That experiment was in the movie Supersize Me

Lol, I thought that was a total BS movie. A guy stuffs his face until he's sick for months and then what a suprise, he becomes overweight

If I ate nothing but salad until I threw up every day for months I bet I'd look in similar shape.

Wake up people, McDonalds don't make people fat; greedy lazy people make themselves fat, blaming the fast food industry is just passing the buck, there's no gun to your head when you shove that Big Mac down your throat.
Personal responsibility and common sense is the key here

Lol the first time I read this I saw 160oz. and my eyes bugged outta my head! Haha

I kind of disagree with this statement. Sure, you are in total control of your body, but I think the blame is partially on McDonalds (and other fast food restaurants) for false advertising. For example, I was watching a McDonald commercial, and they said children should eat their chicken nuggets because it's a healthy choice and it's 100% chicken... I thought, "Wow, a lot of people will probably buy into this."

Even their website McDonald's USA - Food, Nutrition, & Fitness says to choose their "balanced diet" program to watch your weight. I call that false advertising as well as a trap for people who are watching what they eat. It's hard for a person who is losing weight to know what they are eating is bad when companies label their products as "healthy" food. I pass by KFC everyday and see people walking out with buckets of chicken... I wonder if they do this everyday and just how much extra fat and weight their family (children) and themselves get.

It's sad to see that McDonalds and other similar companies are milking extra profit from people who are trying to lose weight by labeling their products as healthy and benefit. But you’re right; common sense will play a big part into watching your diet. If it’s from McDonalds, most likely it will be bad for you.