Going to grab an Egg McMuffin before your commute down Route 15 to work? Or maybe picking up some Chicken McNuggets for the kids in between games at Lakeside or Chamberlain fields? Now you can find out exactly how many calories those treats will cost you, since the Lake Hopatcong and Oak Ridge McDonald’s, along with stores across the country, are posting calorie counts of all menu items in restaurants and at drive-thru windows.

John Hughes, owner of the McDonald’s on Route 15, referred Patch to the company’s corporate offices for comment. McDonald’s said it wants customers and employees to make more informed choices.

"At McDonald's, we recognize customers want to know more about the nutrition content of the food and beverages they order," McDonald’s president Jan Fields said. "As a company that has provided nutrition information for more than 30 years, we are pleased to add to the ways we make nutrition information available to our customers and employees."

Hughes asked Patch not to interview customers eating in the restaurant so as not to invade their privacy. But William Alexander, who was grabbing a burger in his car at the Route 15 McDonald’s, was in favor of the idea of calorie counts.

“I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “You can make a decision with better information. No one is taking away McDonald’s, just giving information.”

Patch’s Facebook fans were divided in their opinions, but calorie information helped April Leaver’s son recently.

“Although my son's preference for nuggets hasn't changed, he did use the calorie notices to make a healthier decision when we visited New York City,” Leaver said. “New York has them at every fast food restaurant. I don't think anyone can sway him from nuggets now. Perhaps there is hope for the younger children.” Leaver's son is 11.

“I think these numbers will be a huge wake-up call,” Tara DuHaime said. “Most people have no idea what they are throwing in their mouths each day.”

Nabil Mneimneh finds the information useful.

“Just because you're watching what you eat doesn't mean you can never splurge,” he said Personally I'd rather see it everywhere. If you make a bad eating decision let it at least be an informed bad eating decision.”

But some didn’t see the reasoning behind the calorie information.

“Why do you need a calorie count on fast food? If you are on a diet you should pass on a #1 value meal,” said Patch Facebook fan Jim Hatch.

And LoriMarie Civello brought up an important question.

“Is that per serving or per item?” she asked. “A lot of times the serving calorie count is one thing, but the food item you are consuming is three or four servings."

The McDonald’s web site said that counts are given per item and per full meal.