Welcome to America's Fast Food Capital
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The Weird Truth Of The Town Addicted To Fast Food
Topics- fast food, I investigated americas fast food capital, mcdonalds, diet, fitness
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The Weird Truth Of The Town Addicted To Fast Food
Topics- fast food, I investigated americas fast food capital, mcdonalds, diet, fitness
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00:00The average American spends $148 on fast food each month,
00:04which is 2.3 times less than the city I'm currently in, Plano, Texas, America's fast food capital.
00:10I'll go to In-N-Out. We get like eight burger patties.
00:13It's kind of a bad habit, to be honest.
00:14I don't think I've ever seen this much concentration of fast food restaurants in my entire life.
00:20While you're huffing and puffing, I'm eating a blueberry muffin, right?
00:23Can this quarter pound with cheese lower my A1Cs?
00:26It sounds bad, but strangely enough, Plano residents boast one of the highest
00:30life expectancies in the country, living an average of 82.2 years,
00:34ranking the city amongst the top longest living in the United States.
00:38Fast food and longevity. I'm here to find out how they coexist.
00:44An important thing to know is that Plano has one of the wealthiest middle classes in America.
00:48The city is ranked ninth in the country and middle class
00:51is who spends the most on fast food, not the lower class.
00:54So when you have a wealthy middle class, that's a lot of money spent on fast food.
01:00I have not seen one pedestrian walking on the sidewalks anywhere.
01:04We've been driving here for a good amount of time.
01:06It seems like everything is like super spread out.
01:10It turns out Plano ranks amongst the top 20 most car dependent cities in the U.S.
01:13With wealthy, busy residents, it's no surprise that drive-thrus are a daily staple.
01:17And after just 20 minutes of driving, we already noticed something different.
01:21I wouldn't say that there's more fast food restaurants than the average American city,
01:25but what I am noticing is there's a lot of fast food places
01:27I've like never heard of in my entire life.
01:29Like Olive Burger, which seems to be bumping.
01:32Is it different than the big chains?
01:34Let's see the menu.
01:36Fresh and fast?
01:38I don't know.
01:40Oh.
01:41All the chicken sandwiches are grilled, they're not fried.
01:44Is Olive Burger healthier than like traditional fast food, would you say?
01:47Yes, sir. It's a homemade burger.
01:50It's family owned.
01:51Me, my brother, and my dad cook by order.
01:55Okay, so it's like never frozen?
01:57Never frozen.
01:58There's a lot of love in the burger.
02:01You know, every single of this burger, I made it up with the hands.
02:05Would you say that people in Plano are looking for healthier fast food options?
02:08Yes.
02:09We have like the leather strap option.
02:11It's like the less calories.
02:13Are those pretty popular?
02:14Oh yeah, we sell a lot of those actually.
02:16So you say those are more popular than like the traditional kind of buns and everything?
02:20Yes, sir.
02:21Really?
02:21Yes.
02:22This was kind of unexpected, but we are now sitting at the restaurant
02:24because he's insisting that we try some of the top selling items at this restaurant.
02:28And it's pretty crazy that the lettuce wraps actually outsell just the traditional buns.
02:33Crazy.
02:37Oh man.
02:38The first thing he brought us were the top two selling sandwiches,
02:41both lettuce wrapped and nothing fried.
02:44Even the bacon was different.
02:45This is like a beef bacon.
02:46It doesn't have that much calories.
02:50It's a leaner bacon?
02:51Yes.
02:55I want to kiss you.
02:58I can't resist a man that can cook a perfect chicken breast.
03:02Next, a Caesar salad that looks a little different than most you typically see.
03:05People get that much chicken?
03:07Yes.
03:07That's a Caesar salad.
03:08That's like a portion we use.
03:11Oh my god.
03:12The food would literally not stop coming out.
03:14I think my life expectancy is actually going to start going down with how much I have to eat
03:18because I can't let him down.
03:19It's clear that this is a popular spot amongst locals
03:22due to its amazing rating and number of reviews.
03:24Everything tasted so much fresher and nowhere near as oily as traditional fast food.
03:28It's food you can eat and actually feel good when you're finished.
03:32Crazy thing is that this is only $5.99 on the menu for that much chicken.
03:38The sweet potato fries outsell the regular fries.
03:45So good.
03:47With Plano residents having disposable income,
03:49they can afford to try new fast food items and premium upgrades.
03:53Because of this, many big chains are flocking here to open corporate offices.
03:57Literally, KFC is leaving Kentucky and using Plano as a testing ground
04:01for new concepts, menu items, and store designs.
04:04Pizza has unveiled a new design concept that features a front-facing pizza making station
04:09and the drive-thru offers a new hot and go menu
04:11that serves pre-made food for faster service.
04:14McDonald's took it even a step further opening Cosmix.
04:17With only seven locations across the country,
04:19it's a test spot for new ideas before they hit regular locations.
04:23To understand Plano's unique fast food scene,
04:25I met with a local named Alex to get his take.
04:28Are you surprised to hear that it's America's fast food capital?
04:32Yeah, I am.
04:33Really?
04:33Yeah.
04:34Okay.
04:34Because it's like very common like chains like your McDonald's,
04:38Taco Bell and stuff like that.
04:39Yeah.
04:39But I've been other places, I've seen like way more chains.
04:42There's a lot of families, a lot of professionals move here for like work and stuff.
04:46It seems like going out to eat is a big deal for families here,
04:49which is why they spend more and order nearly 2.2 times more than the average US city.
04:54As we walked into Cosmix, we were immediately given some samples.
04:58It has basically the espresso shot with the galaxy latte with maple syrup.
05:03We also have hash browns, pretzel bites.
05:06So we have healthy like small bites of things to keep the portions.
05:08Are the hash browns healthier than normal hash browns?
05:10Yeah.
05:11How so?
05:12It's because they're in the oven and then the oven...
05:14They're baked in the oven?
05:14Mm-hmm.
05:15So they're baked instead of like greased, like fried, like yeah.
05:18McDonald's, they have like more greasy stuff and more like, yeah.
05:21And then things that they have, this also sits for a long time.
05:24We make everything fresh off the bat.
05:26Oh my God.
05:27That's great.
05:28That's wow, that's wild.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Given the healthier twist, I was super curious to try out some more of the menu.
05:33So we decided to order a bunch of things.
05:35Oh, they have protein?
05:37We have too.
05:38Pre-workout shot.
05:40This is crazy.
05:41We've got this like ginger boost shot thing with a pre-workout shot,
05:45which is something you don't see every day.
05:47We've got a turmeric oat latte, which is hopefully a gateway to a...
05:51Some other...
05:52A dairy-free McFlurry at McDonald's, hopefully.
05:55Coffee and then a spicy queso sandwich and some donuts, man.
06:01So would you say people in Plano more or less see fast food as healthy?
06:07Yeah, I would say so.
06:09Yeah.
06:10Plano is a very image-driven area.
06:13When people go get fast food, it's usually the healthier side.
06:16Plano spends 2.3 times the national average on fast food.
06:20What do you think the contributing factor to that is?
06:22I want to say it's probably families are a big thing
06:25because they're always going out to eat and stuff like that.
06:27So just larger groups, not just individual?
06:29Okay.
06:30Like you don't really see a lot of single people living in Plano.
06:33That'd be kind of weird, honestly.
06:34Oh, look at that.
06:36I'm a sucker for breakfast sausage.
06:38I'm a sucker of any sausage, honestly.
06:45That's good.
06:46That's good?
06:46That's really good.
06:47I'm good.
06:52That's pretty good.
06:53I can taste the health, though.
06:54I don't taste the pre-workout.
06:55I don't taste the pre-workout.
06:56That's kind of dangerous.
06:56That's bad.
06:57Not at all.
06:58I think there's 226 milligrams of caffeine.
07:00So I'm sensing some lawsuits.
07:06That tastes like a protein diet.
07:07It just tastes like a protein shake.
07:08I'm kind of surprised.
07:09I was expecting it to just be like the ice cream just melted.
07:13No, it tastes like they put full scoop in there.
07:15Oh, yeah.
07:18Turmeric latte.
07:19They're trying to poach all the basic girls from Starbucks.
07:24It smells like something I never want to have in my mouth.
07:27You say that a lot.
07:28I know.
07:29I do it anyway, right?
07:38It's like what you drink when you're dying in your bed.
07:45Could you see how Plano is America's fast food capital?
07:47I could totally see it, for sure.
07:49I think the majority of people in Dallas probably eat fast food
07:53definitely once or twice a week, for sure.
07:56And that's the majority.
07:57So if that's the majority, then there's definitely people out there
07:59just chomping on fast food all the time.
08:02Yeah, so at the same time, they're also...
08:03Plano is one of the longest living cities in America.
08:05Is that also a surprise to you or no?
08:07That's a surprise.
08:08I don't know how that's possible.
08:09Lack of exercise, super car-dependent city.
08:12Like nobody's walking anywhere ever.
08:13That's what we've noticed, yeah.
08:15Like I'll go to In-N-Out and get like eight burger patties and a french fry
08:19and it's like $12.
08:20So you got no bun, you just get the burger patties?
08:22Just straight burger patty.
08:23No cheese, literally just burger patty.
08:24Okay, so when you go to a fast food restaurant, you're pretty health conscious?
08:27Oh, yeah, definitely.
08:28I mean, In-N-Out, they don't use any oil in the griddle.
08:31So it's just straight beef.
08:32I'm like, you know what?
08:3310 bucks for this.
08:33Like if I'm on the go, I'm gonna go grab that
08:36because it's like 70, 80 grams of protein.
08:38What's your thoughts?
08:38Plano, fast food capital?
08:40I'd have to agree.
08:41Would you say people here are more health conscious than normal?
08:44More health conscious?
08:46No.
08:46No?
08:47No, not in the slightest.
08:48Okay, so if you're gonna go to a fast food place, what's your order?
08:51Are you like thinking, you know, protein, like calories in mind or no?
08:54Yeah, so like, for example, we go to In-N-Out
08:57and In-N-Out's one of our favorite things
08:59and I'll go and just get like two double doubles and fries and whatnot.
09:04Exactly.
09:04Would you like protein style it or no?
09:06Yeah.
09:06Oh, okay.
09:07Sometimes.
09:08I'd say that's different than the average though.
09:10Hearing the way these guys order is far different than the average American.
09:13Both guys ordering with calories and protein in mind
09:16and an order of eight burger patties for 70 to 80 grams of protein
09:20seemed relatively normal to him.
09:22If you guys want to go film something that's actually crazy,
09:25all the way down to Stacy,
09:27there's like, I've always called it like the fast food fucking row
09:31because there's literally like 30 fast food restaurants
09:33on like one street, like all right next to each other.
09:36It's kind of hilarious, like it looks ridiculous.
09:39So we got in the car and made our way over to fast food row
09:41to hopefully see the most condensed fast food area I've ever seen.
09:46Oh yeah, you got In-N-Out right beside Cane's,
09:52which is then right beside Panda Express.
09:57Oh my, then you got Chick-fil-A
10:00and then you got McDonald's.
10:04And then you got Taco Bell
10:07and then there's El Polo Loco
10:11and Jack in the Box
10:13and Whataburger.
10:14All of these restaurants together is called competitive clustering
10:17where rival businesses group together to share benefits
10:20rather than avoiding competition.
10:21Other real life examples include the Las Vegas Strip and Times Square.
10:25With so many choices, people tend to consume more fast food
10:28due to choice overload, which reduces decision fatigue.
10:31Plus, clustered restaurants often lower prices
10:34or run crazy promotions to draw in customers.
10:37I don't think I've ever seen this much concentration
10:41of fast food restaurants in like one straight line in my entire life.
10:45I got a plan.
10:46Oh, earlier I asked Alex what are the top two fast food places in Plano
10:50and he said Chick-fil-A is one, Whataburger is close second.
10:54By far.
10:54So I was thinking I'm gonna go to both places,
10:56order what the person in front of me gets
10:58to see if we can get an idea of how residents order here.
11:01Now the average Chick-fil-A order is around $16.
11:05So we'll see just what we get here.
11:09Hi, how are you?
11:10I'm good, how are you?
11:11Good.
11:12What can I get started for y'all today?
11:13Can I do exactly what they got?
11:15Total is $22.60.
11:16$22.60?
11:17Okay.
11:18So we spent $22.60, so well above the average Chick-fil-A order.
11:23The Chick-fil-A hospitality is just next level.
11:26Not only do I leave with food, but I also get emotional support.
11:30Hi Will.
11:30Hi, I'm good, how are you?
11:32They even address you by your name.
11:39It's Coke Zero.
11:40It's Coke Zero.
11:42I think that's my biggest fear.
11:43Ordering a Coke Zero, getting a regular Coke
11:45and then not being able to tell the difference.
11:47Is the drink Coke Zero?
11:49Yeah.
11:49It's Coke Zero?
11:50Okay, thank you.
11:52Damn, they got a Coke Zero?
11:53I didn't even think people in America knew about diet sodas.
11:58I thought they just...
11:58I didn't even...
11:59Wow.
12:00We got a medium waffle fry.
12:04We got a large mac and cheese.
12:06Uh-oh, this is not looking good.
12:08We got a small fry now with five nuggets.
12:14And then we got chicken soup.
12:16There's like three people in that car.
12:18I mean, I feel like they made it to the one yard line going to Chick-fil-A,
12:21but they just couldn't bring it home with the order.
12:24There's just so many better options that they could make.
12:26Next up, we got Whataburger, a Texas staple.
12:29Now, I feel like the chances of us getting something healthy here is slim.
12:32It'd be like a coin toss and it landing on its edge.
12:35The average Whataburger order is between $10 to $12.
12:39Can I just get the exact same thing as the person in front of us?
12:43Okay, you can have a drink.
12:45No, I can't.
12:46If she didn't have it, I can't do it.
12:47Oh, okay.
12:48Yeah.
12:48$9.83.
12:50Okay, thank you.
12:52$9.83, so $7.80.
12:55Slightly below the average.
12:58Can I just pay $5 when we get the fresh chicken?
13:02Fresh chicken.
13:05We got ourselves a large fries and a sandwich.
13:15A fried chicken sandwich.
13:16I was hoping for a what a turn of events, not Whataburger.
13:22Good.
13:23Wow.
13:24I'm not one to judge, except for today.
13:26But person in the mysterious Lincoln, you can do better.
13:32Although by definition, both of these meals aren't exactly healthy,
13:35but does that even really matter?
13:37I sat down with Kevin Magnus, who ate nothing but McDonald's for 100 days,
13:42dropping 60 pounds and drastically improving his blood work in the process.
13:46What was the point of that experiment and what health markers did you see improve?
13:51The obesity were going to kill me.
13:53You see people who are overweight at 60.
13:56You don't see a lot of overweight 80-year-olds.
13:58My last name is McGinnis.
14:00I was a big guy, so Big Mac was a nickname.
14:02I'm like, if Batman can embrace bats and become Batman, why can't I embrace Big Macs?
14:08I like that.
14:09So I drove down to...
14:11I decided I was going to go to McDonald's, cut all my meals in half, eat three meals a day.
14:17No supplements, no vitamins, no workouts.
14:20To prove to myself and maybe anyone else watching that for weight loss,
14:25portion control is all you need to focus on.
14:28Every single month, I went down and had my full blood work done.
14:32I had people saying, oh, you must be holding weights and dropping the weights every day.
14:35There's no way you can lose weight every day.
14:38Turns out that McDonald's meals are about 1,000 calories on average across them.
14:43By cutting it in half, I was doing about 500 calories a meal three times a day.
14:47That's 1,500 calories.
14:49Triglycerides came down over 200 points.
14:52Cholesterol came down over 65 points.
14:55A1Cs, I was pre-diabetic, back into healthy ranges.
14:59My risk for heart attack was dangerous, above the number that you ever want to see,
15:05back into healthy ranges.
15:07And I ate French fries 95 out of the 100 days.
15:10Wow.
15:11All the sodium intake.
15:12My blood pressure, 118 over 69.
15:15I got the blood pressure of a teenager eating nothing but McDonald's for 100 days.
15:20There's actually a study done where they put marshmallows in front of kids.
15:23And they'd say, hey, we're going to put a marshmallow on your plate.
15:26We're going to leave the room.
15:27If you wait until we come back, we'll give you two marshmallows.
15:32If you eat the marshmallow, which you can do, it's fine.
15:34If you get, you're not going to get in trouble for eating the marshmallow.
15:35But if you eat it, you're not going to get the second one.
15:37And they leave the room and 90% of the kids, boom, right?
15:41As soon as they walked out of the room, they ate the marshmallow.
15:44But there was a small percentage of the kids who didn't eat the marshmallow.
15:48And they got two marshmallows.
15:49Every single one of the ones who failed looked at the marshmallow.
15:53Their willpower couldn't stop them.
15:55They would eat the marshmallow.
15:56The ones who were able to actually make it to the second marshmallow,
16:00every single one of them either put their head on the desk and cover their eyes,
16:04got away from the table, go did something else in the room, go sat in the corner.
16:07They then followed those kids through the rest of their life.
16:11How did they do on school?
16:13Phenomenal.
16:13Because they would get their homework done before going riding their bicycle.
16:16How were their finances?
16:18Phenomenal.
16:18They took care of their finances better, their relationships.
16:20They'd focus on others instead of just on themselves and being selfish.
16:24Every way you can measure someone turns out delayed gratification
16:28is a success principle in just about everything.
16:32So you said that you're having french fries 95 out of 100 days.
16:36I think a lot of people who probably hear about you were probably like,
16:38oh, he was probably having like the healthiest items on the McDonald's menu.
16:42What were, was that true?
16:44Or what were some of the things that you were having consistently?
16:47No, I ate everything on the menu.
16:49I literally every day, I would intentionally, I had milkshakes.
16:53Don't be bitter while I'm eating my apple fritter and losing weight.
16:57While you're huffing and puffing, I'm eating a blueberry muffin, right?
16:59Can this quarter pound with cheese lower my A1Cs?
17:03Will this sausage egg and cheese burrito make me look better in a speedo?
17:06I don't know if you're never going to see me in a speedo.
17:08It was clear Kevin's philosophy is portion control.
17:10You don't need to eat at all, which sounds extremely easy to understand,
17:13but most of America doesn't get this as the average daily caloric intake
17:17continues to climb each year while activity levels remain the same.
17:21But is making the healthier choice the only factor driving Plano's longevity stats?
17:25To find out, I met up with another local, Josh.
17:29So how often would you say that you eat fast food a week?
17:32A week, maybe like once or twice.
17:34Plano is America's fast food capital.
17:36It's also one of the longer living cities.
17:39So why do you think that could be a thing?
17:41So personally, I think it's a thing because, you know,
17:43there's a lot of Asian, Asian Americans in Plano, Texas.
17:4623% of Plano's population is Asian,
17:48which likely contributes to the city's high life expectancy.
17:51In general, Asian Americans tend to live longer than other racial and ethnic groups in the US,
17:56thanks to factors like genetics.
17:58I wouldn't say that Jollibee and Panda Express contribute to that, does it?
18:00Not really. Well, maybe.
18:02That's giving me the green light to go get some orange chicken, right?
18:04Yeah.
18:04All right, man, take my Jollibee virginity.
18:06All right, let's do it.
18:06I've never been.
18:07So what do you have to say about Jollibee?
18:08Say about Jollibee?
18:09All right.
18:10Definitively, I think it's better fried chicken than KFC or Popeye's.
18:14Dude, you gotta be, yo, you gotta be careful.
18:16You're in an open carry state, you gotta keep your voice down.
18:18Well, he's right here.
18:19He's right here.
18:20This is the dude right here.
18:21This is Jollibee.
18:22I'm glad y'all came hungry because it's gonna be good.
18:25Oh, it's pretty busy.
18:27Yeah, it's actually pretty tame.
18:28Usually it's, I mean, usually it's hustle bustle.
18:30But I actually called my friend because I have friends that work here.
18:33Yeah.
18:34So I was like, what's the best thing to get?
18:35You know what ube is?
18:36Yeah, it's like that sweet potato.
18:37Yeah, exactly.
18:38All right.
18:38All right.
18:39He knows.
18:39I'm not just a white boy.
18:41To give you an idea on how passionate people are about fast food here,
18:44Jollibee on grand opening day, the line was out on the highway,
18:48taking three to four hours to place an order.
18:50I tried going and I just left.
18:52Can we do the pineapple quencher?
18:54Yeah.
18:55What do you want for the side?
18:57You know what they say about pineapple.
18:59All right, man, how do you want me?
19:00That's raw.
19:01This actually looks like the,
19:02probably the best fried chicken I've ever seen in my life.
19:04I think there's a lot of pressure on me.
19:06There it is.
19:06I'm gonna be looking at you the whole time.
19:08I know.
19:13Wow.
19:14Really?
19:14Wow.
19:15Good. Yeah.
19:15Yeah.
19:16That's quite spicy.
19:17Crispy skin and has some flavor, right?
19:19Okay. Would you say that more of like the healthier boutique restaurants
19:22are more popular than the big chains here?
19:25Oh, actually, that's a good question.
19:30I think between my friends.
19:32Yes.
19:36And that's real pineapple flavor, right?
19:38That's not syrup.
19:39That's real pineapple.
19:40They're in the back.
19:41They're chopping that shit.
19:41Yeah, they're chopping it up.
19:42Actually, it's a fruit that keeps on giving.
19:45Oh, yeah.
19:47I don't know if they got gravy in Canada with chicken.
19:49Dude, we're not.
19:56Good question.
19:59Yeah.
20:00Oh, shit.
20:02I didn't know Filipinos did it like that.
20:03Oh, take it down, man.
20:05Yeah.
20:07I always get excited when there's hot dogs in the mix.
20:09Oh, yeah.
20:09You look like Chef Boyardee a bit.
20:11A little bit, right?
20:12But the taste is out of this world.
20:20Oh.
20:21No, it's sweeter than I ever knew.
20:23Yeah.
20:25Oh, my gosh.
20:26It's good.
20:27I think it's a good contrast from the spicy chicken.
20:30It has a taste you'll never forget.
20:32Good way to put it.
20:33Wow.
20:34Is there any unique fast food trends that you notice in Plano?
20:38I'll say one I notice is that In-N-Out, right?
20:40They have the protein style where it's like the lettuce wrap.
20:42I've seen more people order that for sure.
20:44OK.
20:45Because normally, if you travel outside of Plano, I wouldn't see it.
20:52Wow.
20:53Is it good?
20:53Is it like a classic apple strudel kind of thing?
20:57Yeah.
20:58Oh.
21:01I'm glad you like it so much, man.
21:02I'm kind of surprised.
21:03Wow, man.
21:04This is like, I just entered a world that I never knew I wanted to enter.
21:07Yeah.
21:07Well, stay here.
21:10High income, car dependency, healthier choices,
21:12dine-out culture, and a diverse community are a few things that we've learned
21:16that contribute to Plano's recognition as a fast food capital and longevity hotspot.
21:21But what about the fitness scene?
21:2382% of Plano residents live within a 10-minute walking distance of a park,
21:27which I would assume would promote more physical activity,
21:29and it would probably explain why it's the second happiest city in America.
21:33So it's only pretty much like less around an hour away from Dallas.
21:37Dallas is towards the bottom of the happiest cities in the States,
21:40so you got to wonder what the difference is here.
21:43The Happy Meals, I think.
21:45No dogs.
21:46What the f...
21:47There are so many people out walking of all ages.
21:50Kids, seniors.
21:52They're still dogs.
21:54They don't care.
21:55Really nice to see.
21:57Plano has over 85 parks, 4,000 acres of green space,
22:00and extensive trails for walking, running, and biking.
22:03The city invests in outdoor recreation,
22:05which is why they rank near the top in the country for park access,
22:09which definitely contributes to their rank as the sixth healthiest city in America.
22:13Our last stop of the day was Cowboy Fitness, one of Plano's many specialty gyms.
22:17I wanted to see what the gym culture thought about fast food.
22:20Do they see fast food as the enemy?
22:22Do you think that there's too much fast food in Plano?
22:24It's a very fast-growing city,
22:26and I'd have to say it's definitely a little too much.
22:31I wouldn't say too much, just because there's so many people.
22:34I don't have the time sometimes to cook ground beef or chicken breast, so...
22:39So do you really think that you can make pretty much a healthy decision wherever you go?
22:43100%.
22:43I mean, it's all about your decisions.
22:45I try to prep my meals, but, you know,
22:47you get tired of eating chicken and fries all the time.
22:49You want something different,
22:50so go to like Chipotle or Cava or stuff like that.
22:53Chipotle, it's easy.
22:54It's right there.
22:55Oh, Chipotle for sure.
22:56Get a burrito, double chicken.
22:58It's kind of a bad habit, to be honest, to spend too much money.
23:01I used to eat McDonald's every day.
23:03I don't eat it as much anymore.
23:04I'll have...
23:05Just five times a week?
23:06I wish.
23:07No, probably two times a week now.
23:09Maybe three times a week or four.
23:11Probably like three to four times.
23:12Like twice a month.
23:13Twice a month?
23:14Yeah.
23:15My little brother's a big fan of Popeye's,
23:16so we stop by there pretty regularly.
23:18Not the healthiest, but a quick way to get your protein.
23:21Plano has one of the longest life expectancies in America.
23:23Okay.
23:24Why would you think that would be the case?
23:25First of all, it's safe.
23:27They have a good education system.
23:29I mean, I'm Indian, there's a lot of Indians here.
23:31We tend to live a little longer,
23:32so I guess maybe that's one thing.
23:33People definitely focus on more like grilled food,
23:35and they'll grab chicken and their meat more often.
23:37What's like the go-to meal for you?
23:39In-N-Out, 100%.
23:40And what would you order there?
23:41Two triple patty burgers with lettuce only.
23:44I always order no salt.
23:46After practice in the morning, I sometimes go to McDonald's,
23:48and then I notice after I get there,
23:50I notice after I switch that out from like some hard-boiled eggs and like bananas,
23:54I feel a lot better.
23:55Okay.
23:56So I've kind of limited that consumption,
23:58and like I get a lot of brain fog,
23:59and you know, just feel sluggish throughout the day.
24:01The food's good, but it's not good enough to like feel that bad all day.
24:05Right.
24:05Do you think people in general vilify fast food?
24:07Um, I do.
24:11I used to be a pretty fat kid.
24:12Really?
24:13And you see a lot of people on the internet
24:15saying these like seed oils are inflammatory.
24:17When I saw that, I was going to Chick-fil-A.
24:20I was going to Chick-fil-A because they were healthy fast food options,
24:22and I felt like all my efforts were futile because now they have seed oils in them.
24:26Right.
24:27And I feel like just like shaming people for eating things with seed oils in them,
24:30and like saying they're going to have like low testosterone,
24:33and estrogen, and like all these health problems,
24:35when it's like many times like for me, it's the quick option to get.
24:39There's definitely a lot of consistencies with everyone's answers.
24:42Everyone's saying just don't overdo it,
24:44and everyone's also saying like their favorite fast food place is like Chipotle.
24:47They go get like a double beef thing.
24:49Someone's saying they actually like take out the sodium from the fries.
24:52They don't put the cheese on.
24:53So they're making, although not the best option,
24:56they're making a smarter option, which is what counts.
25:02Plano has a lot of these boutique style fast food spots
25:04that focus on healthy foods like salads,
25:07build your own bowls, focusing on protein.
25:09So overall, I think people are ordering pretty healthy here.
25:11And a lot of people that we actually talked to were saying
25:14that this place called Legacy Food Hall, which we're at right now,
25:17is a good indication of the fast food culture in Plano.
25:20Gonna take a look and see what we can get.
25:22The first place you see when you walk in is like this Pan-Asian place.
25:25And here you go, you can build a bowl with white rice or brown rice,
25:28add your protein, and then it comes with a bunch of different veggies.
25:30So right away, a good option.
25:32There you got a shawarma bar.
25:33Overall, pretty healthy.
25:34Make a shawarma bowl with like salad, rice, a lot of protein.
25:37Looks so good.
25:39Now this place, Velvet Taco,
25:40we saw this come up consistently when we were driving.
25:42So it seems to be quite the popular chain here.
25:46Yeah, there's lots of healthy options.
25:47You get like a rotisserie chicken taco, 300 calories.
25:51They have shrimp tacos, 270.
25:54So obviously there's some like unhealthier options,
25:56but then there's tons of equal parts,
25:58good selections that you can make that are like not fried.
26:02The ice cream spot's empty.
26:03No one's going.
26:06Nobody wants it.
26:08What's the most popular item here?
26:11A bowl?
26:12What in the bowl do people get?
26:13It's a brisket, or it's lettuce on the bread, rice, pico de gallo, avocado, meat,
26:20and just a fresco.
26:23Oh, that's pretty healthy.
26:24Oh, okay.
26:25That's what most people get?
26:26Yeah.
26:27Oh, cool.
26:27Right here, there's like a barbecue spot,
26:29then right beside it, sushi,
26:31and right beside that, Indian food, and then ramen.
26:33I feel like a lot of times you go to a food court,
26:35it's like generally purely fried stuff, unhealthier choices.
26:39But it seems here, it's like a lot of protein, vegan options.
26:45It's just overall much better than I think the average city.
26:48Which is the most popular taco?
26:50The 17, the Mexican shrimp.
26:53The Mexican shrimp?
26:57Oh, how many tacos do people order on average for a meal?
27:01The usual in the morning is the two.
27:05It was interesting to see the most popular taco
27:07was the lowest calorie taco on the menu,
27:09especially with so many fried and tasty sounding options.
27:12The blackened shrimp, 270 calories.
27:15And they say everything's bigger in Texas,
27:17something that I learned,
27:18and something in my jaw will never forget.
27:20But these are actually not all that big.
27:22I'd say quite good size.
27:25So people here don't want all that much portion.
27:29And let's go.
27:37The only bad taco is the one you didn't eat.
27:39Oh, that is so good.
27:41It tastes so fresh.
27:42Everything's made to order here.
27:43Nothing's frozen.
27:44Surprised to not see cheese on here.
27:46I feel like people love to have the fried stuff,
27:48added cheese on top,
27:49because cheese makes really anything an antidepressant.
27:51But it's really just protein, veggies, a little bit of aioli.
27:55Overall, freaking really good.
27:59The people of Plano have cracked the code.
28:00Fast food doesn't have to be unhealthy,
28:02and big portions don't mean eating it all at once.
28:05With a thriving economy and fitness focused community,
28:08they're proving that balance is possible.
28:10Maybe the secret isn't avoiding fast food,
28:12but rather knowing how to do it right.