by Soso Whaley
August 12, 2005

Guest: Soso Whaley

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST: It‘s 11 p.m. in Beaufort, South Carolina, 9 p.m. in Ogden, Utah, and quitting time in Molokai. 

[…]

CARLSON:  … ahead, the documentary “Super Size Me” got national attention for appearing to show the damage caused by fast food.  After the break I‘ll talk to a woman who lost 30 pounds doing almost exactly the same thing, eating McDonald‘s every day.  Her amazing story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON:  Welcome back.

Did you see the documentary last year called “Super Size Me”?  Well, a guy gained 30 pounds and claimed his health deteriorated after he ate nothing but McDonald‘s. 

My next guest thought that film was junk science and she decided to do something about it.  She went on her own diet and also ate only at McDonald‘s.  She wound up losing 30 pounds and also lowered her cholesterol.  And, she made her own documentary in the process.  It‘s called “Me and Mickey D.”

Joining me is documentary filmmaker Soso Whaley.  Thanks a lot for joining me.

SOSO WHALEY, “ME AND MICKEY D”:  Thanks for having me Tucker.  Thanks

for having me.

CARLSON:  Quickly, what‘s the point of this documentary?  You ate at McDonald‘s a lot.  What does it mean?

WHALEY:  I ate at McDonald‘s for 30 days and lost ten pounds, went back and did it two more time and lost almost 30 pounds and I‘ve been able to maintain the weight loss.  I had a great time doing it.

CARLSON:  So, what does that prove?

WHALEY:  Well that basically “Super Size Me” was rather junk science run amuck and I think to blame fast food or anybody for your own weight problems is really not a very good idea.  It doesn‘t help the problem.

CARLSON:  I totally agree with that but here‘s what I honestly don‘t understand.  Why do people want to blame McDonald‘s?  Why is McDonald‘s a political issue?  Why do people hate McDonald‘s?  What is it?  I mean it‘s just a fast food restaurant.  Why are people emotional about McDonald‘s?

WHALEY:  Well, there‘s a lot of different reasons.  They‘re one of the most successful fast food or I should say quick service restaurants in the world and it‘s also politically correct for some reason or other to hate McDonald‘s.  I can‘t quite figure it out. 

I grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s when McDonald‘s was just coming around and, to tell you the truth, we thought of it as a good thing.  Our mothers had more time to spend with us, you know, by taking us out to McDonald‘s every once in a while and not having to worry about cooking food.  I don‘t know how it got all turned around but there‘s a lot of different reasons for it.

CARLSON:  Because it‘s a middle-class American institution and some people just hate the American middle-class and all of its institutions from Wal-Mart to SUVs to McDonald‘s.  That‘s my view.

WHALEY:  Yes, sometimes it feels like that.

CARLSON:  So, you dedicate—yes, it does.  So, you dedicated this film to Julia Child.  Why did you do that?

WHALEY:  Yes.  Well, because you know Julia Child was someone who is well known, you know, in the public eye.  I know she passed away recently but I think people realize that she was one of those people who felt that personal responsibility, eating moderately.  You should enjoy your food just in moderation. 

CARLSON:  Even McDonald‘s.

WHALEY:  Even McDonald‘s, yes.

CARLSON:  So, has McDonald‘s contacted you?  I mean you ate at McDonald‘s.  You lost weight. 

WHALEY:  Right.

CARLSON:  That character Jared who did the same at Subway has become now a pitchman for Subway.  Has McDonald‘s called you to ask you to do ads for them?

WHALEY:  No, actually McDonald‘s whole take on this is hands off.  It would taint the project.  I didn‘t do this to become the Jared of McDonald‘s.  I did it so that I could try to present an opposite view from “Super Size Me” and to show what difference could be made if you take personal responsibility for your own choices.

CARLSON:  So, what did you learn about McDonald‘s in the process?  Are McDonald‘s different from McDonald‘s to McDonald‘s?  I‘ve always wondered that.  Is the food exactly the same in every McDonald‘s?

WHALEY:  Well, ideally the whole point is to have the food be exactly the same.  I mean that‘s the whole process to have the food made quicker.  But there are some differences and some of the restaurants actually market different types of foods for different reasons during the course of a year.

I know up in Canada right there they‘re marketing those grilled subs like you find at Quiznos and what have you.  I know they‘re doing something like that.  They have the new chicken sandwiches they just came out with.  It‘s really exciting.  They‘re doing a lot of fun things now.

CARLSON:  So, I‘m not surprised that Canadian McDonald‘s have something freakish like a grilled sub.  That doesn‘t shock me at all.  What‘s your favorite thing in McDonald‘s?

WHALEY:  Well, actually my favorite meal, I have to be honest, was a medium chocolate shake and medium fries.

CARLSON:  Ah, me too.

WHALEY:  But I love the Big and Tasty.  I think that‘s great.

CARLSON:  It is good, yes.

WHALEY:  The McGriddle sandwich, I don‘t know if you‘ve tried the McGriddle sandwich.

CARLSON:  I have it every time I fly.  It‘s the breakfast of champions.

WHALEY:  Yes.

CARLSON:  It‘s actually a great breakfast sandwich.

WHALEY:  It is.  It‘s got everything there, you know, proteins, some grains and stuff.  And, of course, the fruit and yogurt parfait, you know, one of my favorites.

CARLSON:  That‘s outstanding.  So, if you were—just for those at home watching who want to go on their own McDonald‘s 30-day diet and possibly lose ten pounds in the process just sketch out a typical day‘s menu for them.

WHALEY:  Oh, it‘s pretty simple.  Basically, I might start out the morning with say, well say I start it with a McGriddle and some orange juice.  That will put me at about 500, 600 calories.

Then for lunch I might have a salad.  Maybe I‘ll have the Cobb salad that they have and that‘s actually pretty light, if you have the chicken on it about 300 calories or so.

And then for dinner, well I‘ve got plenty of room left if I‘m staying at about 2,000 calories, which was my goal every day.  So, maybe I‘ll have one of the big chicken sandwiches that they have or a Big Mac, something like that for dinner.

It‘s basically counting the calories, paying attention to what you‘re eating and, you know, just making healthy choices.  You don‘t want to eat Big Mac‘s all day long.

CARLSON:  No, I would actually but is there anything you don‘t want to eat at all at McDonald‘s?  I mean is there anything you really came to dislike?  Is there any entr’e that you think is just bad?

WHALEY:  Well, nothing that I dislike but I do think the fish sandwich is a little dry.  I think they need to work on the fish sandwich a little bit, maybe pep it up a little bit.

CARLSON:  Yes, I also think...

WHALEY:  Other than that, everything I liked.

CARLSON:  Fish seems a bit of an overstatement with the Filet O‘ Fish. 

And finally, have you kept the weight off?

WHALEY:  Yes, I have.  As a matter of fact I weighed in at 135 the other day, so that‘s almost 40 pounds which I‘ve lost and, you know, continue to maintain.

CARLSON:  I think you look great.

WHALEY:  Thank you.

CARLSON:  Well, we‘ll see you at McDonald‘s, Soso Whaley.

WHALEY:  Yes.

CARLSON:  Filmmaker, McDonald‘s aficionado and now a guest on our show, thanks.

WHALEY:  Thank you.

[…]

WILLIE GEIST [producer]:  …  I‘m with her, McDonald‘s.  People who blame McDonald‘s for the downfall of western civilization are evil.

CARLSON:  I hate to—I hate to be like, you know, the hysterical right winger about this but there is something kind of—it is kind of an attack on America.

GEIST:  It is.

CARLSON:  I actually feel that way.  I can‘t help it.

GEIST:  And there‘s a simple alternative.  Don‘t eat at McDonald‘s.

CARLSON:  Yes.

GEIST:  Just like people who rail against Howard Stern, turn it off.  That‘s all.

CARLSON:  Yes, or how about stop lecturing me about what I ought to eat.  Buzz off.  Mind your own business.

GEIST:  I totally agree. That‘s a good way to start the weekend.

CARLSON:  All right.