How do you break the addiction to fast food?

24

Replies

  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    I had a really bad habit of stopping at McDonald's on my way to work about once or twice a week and getting a double cheeseburger and a medium chocolate shake and sometimes fries too. What I did to cut the habit was to start ordering a different sandwich like the fish and a smaller shake or maybe even an ice cream cone.

    Now I rarely stop and if I do it's more planned and not cause I just got to have it. The very last time I went for my "normal" I didn't even enjoy it and haven't craved a shake since.

    I make sure I get my cheeseburger fix once or twice a month from cooking at home.

    We eat at taco bell once a week but I go for the lower calorie fresco style tacos and again it's planned and not just cause my car is driving me there.
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    i know it sounds cliche, and almost rude, but you do just have to stop. it's like any other addiction. if you feel like you can cut down, then try that. i was never a huge FF eater, but when i worked night shift, it happened more often than i care to admit. the longer you spend away from it, the more repulsive it is. i was super hungover the other day (that seems to be a theme lately) and thought burger king sounded better than gold....i was wrong. it was gross and i tossed it.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    Just break up
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
    Just break up

    HEY NOW!!!
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    oh and like mygrl said - if you want a mcdonalds cheeseburger, go home and make a turkey burger and sweet potato fries. if you think you want taco bell, make a bean and cheese burrito. they still have a decent amount of calories, but still a quarter of what you'd get there and none of the absolute garbage they put in it.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    This is really hard for me to discuss... I was in a relationship with fast food for ten years. TEN YEARS.

    Do you know how hard it is to be with someone ten years and they never say "I love you"? I kept holding out for it, but eventually I realized I deserved better and I had to walk away. One day you will get there, too.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    yo1NS.gif


    Now you're not hungry. You're welcome.

    No, not hungry, but I want a smoke now...and I already quit! Curses!

    ETA: Reminder to self, pick up some laxatives on the way home...or some Taco Bell, either one is fine.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    Let something sit in your car until it spoils; that ought to cure you.

    I once got an egg mcmuffin that had spoiled Canadian bacon on it. Then I forgot to throw it away when we got to our destination, so it sat in the car in the hot sun all day. OMG! Now all I have to do is see those golden arches and the smell comes back to me and makes me want to hurl.

    Not that I was ever that fond of fast food but now I can't even think of it.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    hard work

    discipline

    self control
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    I just have fast food some times. Not every day - it's a 'sometimes treat' ... but you don't ever really 'fall off the wagon' if you don't give it up. Just build a healthy relationship with it.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    watch the movie super size it....that should do it.
    The name of the movie is "Supersize Me."

    Also, I've watched it twice, and I still shove fast food down my throat.

    Morgan Spurlock makes me go, "Lolwut?"
  • BorgieMN
    BorgieMN Posts: 116 Member
    I had fast food pretty much every day. Thats part of what got me where I was. When it was time I started to do something about my weight I just stopped.

    I still don't eat it but maybe once a month and its usually arbys turkey something.

    I do enjoy a good chicken sandwich and fries a couple times a month at a sports bar.

    You just have to finally decide getting healthy is more important than this junk food.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    This is really hard for me to discuss... I was in a relationship with fast food for ten years. TEN YEARS.

    Do you know how hard it is to be with someone ten years and they never say "I love you"? I kept holding out for it, but eventually I realized I deserved better and I had to walk away. One day you will get there, too.

    It's even harder when Mr. Burger looks exactly the same as he did ten years ago but you know you, yourself, show signs of aging...
  • shutterbug282
    shutterbug282 Posts: 588 Member
    I just didn't buy it. I was eating at fast food restaurants like three times a week sometimes.
    I can't actually remember the last time I had fast food. :) I have no cravings for it either.
  • TamHend
    TamHend Posts: 5 Member
    I found my "addiction to fast food" was really just an addiction to the convenience and routine of it. Once I stopped including it in my routine, and substituted preparing healthy foods in advance, fast food trips became less convenient. I started with easy foods that could be prepared in bulk and easily prepared/reheatable. Eventually, I discovered meals that were easy to prepare and took only a few minutes. Fast food runs are now more inconvenient than just going home. Oh, and proper grocery planning/shopping is also a must. I also realized how much that fast food convenience was really costing me both in financial and long range health terms.
  • Siekobilly
    Siekobilly Posts: 401 Member
    I just found I felt so much better not eating it. I have a Publix sub for lunch each day, and I just feel...cleaner. I used to always feel so greasy, and generally disgusting every day after lunch. My stomach hurt a lot as well. Now I feel great each day...over time the things I used to think were amazing taste blah.
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    ehhh super size me didn't do it because i knew what trash it was the entire time i was eating it.

    you really have to find the mentality that you don't want to put horrible things into your body. when the thought of putting in some kind of meat product and potato product in your body disgusts you, it's time to let go and it should be easy. think about your heart, not your weight.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    Just break up

    That's not even using it right...FFS
  • Jessruns
    Jessruns Posts: 25
    also, just to give you some support:

    the longer you go without eating that stuff, the easier it is to do. I crave things like collard greens. And I whine when people want me to eat fast food because to me it tastes gross. It'll happen to you too.


    Thanks! I actually have some collard greens in my fridge today that I was planning on having for dinner. I'll just focus on taking it one day/week at a time and make small good choices.
  • jennyrebekka
    jennyrebekka Posts: 626 Member
    How I broke my addiction was by replacing the fast and easy meals I got with going through a drive-in with an equally fast but healthy alternative. If I wanted something fast and easy, I'd go to Trader Joe's and get a salad from their pre-made section. Something fancier than what I wanted to take the time to make, but still a nice treat AND HEALTHY! Or if my husband really really wanted to get something from McDonald's I'd get the grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or the fruit n yogurt parfait.

    Just know, no one is perfect and we all slip up now and then. I do have to say after not eating fast food for a while I don't really crave it much anymore.

    You can do this!

    Took the words right out of my mouth! I stopped at Trader Joe's this weekend......and they have some really tasty "fast food"!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    It helps to get pregnant and have horrible morning sickness as well as the pregnant-woman sense of smell and spend a little too much time in the restaurants at the same time.

    You'll never eat it again.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    Fast food is one of the reasons I work out so hard - so I can enjoy it.

    Something an addict would say

    I like to bring my french fries home and powder them. Better for snorting through a straw.
  • Goal_Driven
    Goal_Driven Posts: 371 Member
    I make sure to buy meals for a week at a time, that way I already have food to prepare for meals and there's no need for fast food. Also think about from a money saving POV :) Save the cash and make your own!
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    This is really hard for me to discuss... I was in a relationship with fast food for ten years. TEN YEARS.

    Do you know how hard it is to be with someone ten years and they never say "I love you"? I kept holding out for it, but eventually I realized I deserved better and I had to walk away. One day you will get there, too.

    It's even harder when Mr. Burger looks exactly the same as he did ten years ago but you know you, yourself, show signs of aging...

    Thankfully, I am not feeling that strain, yet. But I do hope to find a hot, young, healthy snack to rub in his face next time I see him at an event.
  • Jessruns
    Jessruns Posts: 25
    This is really hard for me to discuss... I was in a relationship with fast food for ten years. TEN YEARS.

    Do you know how hard it is to be with someone ten years and they never say "I love you"? I kept holding out for it, but eventually I realized I deserved better and I had to walk away. One day you will get there, too.

    haha <3 this. Thanks!
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
    Have you thought about why you want to eat fast food? When you crave it, is it due to some kind of emotion? Most people think that you can just stop, but if you subconsciously attach eating fast food with comforting some kind of emotion, you will never be able to truly give it up. It seems most people on these boards have issues with food, yet have not acknowledged and wonder why they will go on a binge. The binge usually happens because they are stressed or tired or happy or angry. Eating takes your mind off of your problem. It is a way of shoving your problems down by shoving food down. Why do you think they call some foods comfort foods? They are foods people will likely eat to feel better. It doesn't make you feel better but worse. Think before you eat.
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
    A. Made certain dates of the month when my b/f and me can treat ourselves...sometimes other days happen as well
    B. Ran out of money to feed my burger addiction and pay rent
    C. Started going to the gym.. I feel like I'm sinning if i eat junk food same day as a workout
  • asdjlo
    asdjlo Posts: 76 Member
    Just break up


    That is what I had to do with Doritos. As far as fast food goes the only thing that stopped me was knowing the calories that was in the food I was eating. Once I saw that a majority of my daily calories was in a fast food meal, I knew I had to stop. Since I have stopped eat that crap, my body feels so much better. I do feel as if it is okay to have it rarely but best to avoid it all together. There are better, healthier options that taste way better.

    Good Luck!
  • BrandyRelaxing
    BrandyRelaxing Posts: 68 Member
    If quitting cold turkey doesn't work for you, take smaller steps. If you usually get a burger and fries, switch to the smallest burger and get a salad. Leave yourself enough calories so that it doesn't ruin your day, and let it be a once-a-week treat. Try making healthier versions of things like tacos, burgers, pizza at home, so you can still partake in the foods you love and get some nutritional value from them.

    ^This.

    I found that I was eating Pizza every second day. I finally tried making it at home - thin crust with more veggies and turkey pepperoni - not only is it calorie responsible, but it kills my desire to eat out for Pizza. It's not as greasy or fattening, but it's really good, and after a while of eating better pizzas, the ones from the pizza place just don't appeal to me as much as they used to (i.e. it's not calling my name anymore!!).
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    This is really hard for me to discuss... I was in a relationship with fast food for ten years. TEN YEARS.

    Do you know how hard it is to be with someone ten years and they never say "I love you"? I kept holding out for it, but eventually I realized I deserved better and I had to walk away. One day you will get there, too.

    Oh, how I love you 1CG.

    In my case I married a man who refuses to eat that *kitten*. Problem solved. (But that only applies to the big fast food chains, like McDonald's, Burger King, etc.)

Categories