What has giving up fast food done for you?

Someone's got to fight the good fight. Otherwise it would just be people praising one another for clean eating, raspberry ketones, and fat-blasting workout routines all day long.

and here i was thinking praising someone for eating well was a good thing. huh.

Eating well is a holistic thing. I eat well. I also eat Egg McMuffin meals almost daily, and I had a Whopper w/ Cheese meal in the last week. Eating well and eating fast food are not mutually exclusive. That's the crux of the argument here.

for you.

everyone does it their own way. and there's nothing wrong with that.

however, as I mentioned, this is not the thread for that debate. You wanna have that argument, start your own.

Hi,

Crazy as it sounds, I worked at MacDonalds' as a manager for 4 long depresing years. Got sick of the food eatting, cooking and smelled even after my showers and decided to get out of it all, That did it for me; I have not set foot in any fastfood restaurant, other than Chipotle once a quarter, for almost 24 years. It is a shame I am still FAT!!!
Now I am in a mission to become a wight lose success

This wasn't a New Years resolution, because frankly, I don't believe in them, but I gave up fast food on Monday. That may not seem like a very long time, but I was fast food ADDICTED. I would even lose weight while eating it, but it would make me feel terrible physically, and it was the thing I would go to when I went off track, which made getting off track way too easy and convenient.

How has stopping the drive thru drama helped you? What tips do you have for staying on track, because my biggest issue was the convenience that fast food offered me (not that the delicious chemical and fat content wasn't attractive on some level as well). I'm serious about not only eating within my calorie range, but also eating healthier foods.

Any ideas/suggestions/etc would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Fast food is bad for you. Anyone wanna argue?

*raises hand*

I would like to argue. Why is fast food bad for me? Is slow food from a sit down restaurant better? Or do i have to only eat food made at home? Does no one ever get fat eating homemade food?

Seriously, what are you basing your statement on?

can you argue why it ISN'T bad for you?

Also, why - in a thread about quitting fast food - do people feel compelled to yell and scream about how awesome they are for NOT quitting it. Who cares? This thread isn't for you anyway. There's the door, don't let it hit you on the way out.

^This.
Also...
o.O ....if you're seriously trying to argue that "healthy" is a relative term....then we have nothing to talk about.

Mind. Blown.

So you're saying healthy is a binary term? You eat fast food = you are unhealthy. You don't eat fast food = you are (maybe) healthy?

Just when I thought this thread couldn't get weirder.

^This.
Also...
o.O ....if you're seriously trying to argue that "healthy" is a relative term....then we have nothing to talk about.

Mind. Blown.

So you're saying healthy is a binary term? You eat fast food = you are unhealthy. You don't eat fast food = you are (maybe) healthy?

Just when I thought this thread couldn't get weirder.

you eat fast food = you are unhealthier than if you ate whole foods. you can argue all you like about how much more unhealthy it is or isn't, but that's it. fast food is still LESS HEALTHY than whole, unprocessed foods.

^This.
Also...
o.O ....if you're seriously trying to argue that "healthy" is a relative term....then we have nothing to talk about.

Mind. Blown.

So you're saying healthy is a binary term? You eat fast food = you are unhealthy. You don't eat fast food = you are (maybe) healthy?

Just when I thought this thread couldn't get weirder.

you eat fast food = you are unhealthier than if you ate whole foods. you can argue all you like about how much more unhealthy it is or isn't, but that's it. fast food is still LESS HEALTHY than whole, unprocessed foods.

Can you quantify this?

What does it mean to be in good health? What aspects of health does fast food affect and in what ways?

Suppose I never ate fast food in my life, does that automatically make me healthy?

What if I replaced every fast food meal I ever ate with the equivalent calories of butter and cane sugar? By your logic I would be healthier. Do you stand by that? If so, in what way would I be healthier?

I would say your reasoning is flawed, but that would imply that you were using any reasoning.

^This.
Also...
o.O ....if you're seriously trying to argue that "healthy" is a relative term....then we have nothing to talk about.

Mind. Blown.

So you're saying healthy is a binary term? You eat fast food = you are unhealthy. You don't eat fast food = you are (maybe) healthy?

Just when I thought this thread couldn't get weirder.

you eat fast food = you are unhealthier than if you ate whole foods. you can argue all you like about how much more unhealthy it is or isn't, but that's it. fast food is still LESS HEALTHY than whole, unprocessed foods.

Can you quantify this?

What does it mean to be in good health? What aspects of health does fast food affect and in what ways?

Suppose I never ate fast food in my life, does that automatically make me healthy?

What if I replaced every fast food meal I ever ate with the equivalent calories of butter and cane sugar? By your logic I would be healthier. Do you stand by that? If so, in what way would I be healthier?

I would say your reasoning is flawed, but that would imply that you were using any reasoning.

sigh... you're being argumentative simply to be argumentative. you know exactly what i mean, yet play this game.

if you choose to eat a meal of lean meats, veggies and whole grains instead of a #1 at McD's, you ARE eating a healthier meal. Thus it is less healthy to eat fast food, than to eat a well balanced, whole food meal.

but I know you're going to argue anyway because you get a kick out of it.

No, I am annoyed by this whole thing. It annoys me that people say these things and think in this black and white way.

I truly do want you to quantify your claim that a diet that includes fast food is inherently "unhealthier" than one that does not. Or at least try to and come to the conclusion on your own that it's bogus.

^This.
Also...
o.O ....if you're seriously trying to argue that "healthy" is a relative term....then we have nothing to talk about.

Mind. Blown.

So you're saying healthy is a binary term? You eat fast food = you are unhealthy. You don't eat fast food = you are (maybe) healthy?

Just when I thought this thread couldn't get weirder.

you eat fast food = you are unhealthier than if you ate whole foods. you can argue all you like about how much more unhealthy it is or isn't, but that's it. fast food is still LESS HEALTHY than whole, unprocessed foods.

Can you quantify this?

What does it mean to be in good health? What aspects of health does fast food affect and in what ways?

Suppose I never ate fast food in my life, does that automatically make me healthy?

What if I replaced every fast food meal I ever ate with the equivalent calories of butter and cane sugar? By your logic I would be healthier. Do you stand by that? If so, in what way would I be healthier?

I would say your reasoning is flawed, but that would imply that you were using any reasoning.

sigh... you're being argumentative simply to be argumentative. you know exactly what i mean, yet play this game.

if you choose to eat a meal of lean meats, veggies and whole grains instead of a #1 at McD's, you ARE eating a healthier meal. Thus it is less healthy to eat fast food, than to eat a well balanced, whole food meal.

but I know you're going to argue anyway because you get a kick out of it.

No, I am annoyed by this whole thing. It annoys me that people say these things.
I truly do want you to quantify your claim that a diet that includes fast food is inherently "unhealthier" than one that does not. Or at least try to and come to the conclusion on your own that it's bogus.

since you care so much, instead of asking a bunch of questions, why don't you tell me how it's not less healthy to eat a #1 from McD's than a plate of grilled free range chicken, veggies and brown rice.

convince me.

I would grant that a plate of chicken, veggies, and brown rice contains more protein, fiber, and vitamins than a McDonald's #1.
I would also grant that eating ONLY McDonald's and "junk food" all day every day would put you in a pretty sad state. You would likely have vitamin deficiencies, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, who knows. You would probably feel mostly like *kitten* for most of your waking life as well.
I think so far we can agree.

Now consider a balanced diet, where you are getting sufficient vitamins, minerals, fiber, and macro nutrients from a variety of food sources. Let's also assume you are a healthy weight, do regular exercise, and eat a level of calories roughly around your maintenance level. I think you would be considered in good-to-excellent health at this point. I think you would still agree with me.

Now consider that as part of that balanced diet, you occasionally, perhaps even frequently, consume "fast food". Keep in mind that you are getting sufficient micro and macro nutrition, and like the scenario above, exercising and eating a reasonable number of calories.

My claim is that the last 2 scenarios are virtually identical. Given that the OVERALL diet is sound, the individual meals within it do not make or break one's health.

Is this making any sense to you?