What has giving up fast food done for you?

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Replies

  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Blood pressure and heart rate are much, much healthier. I've dropped a lot body fat and converted it to muscle. Even though I've only lost a little weight, I've gone from a size 12 to a size 4.

    I've replaced fast food with items like veggies and hummus dip, hard boiled eggs, protein smoothies, fresh fruit and greek yogurt, salads of all kinds, home made soups, and lean meats.

    You need to plan ahead a little, but the time involved in boiling a dozen eggs is negligible. It takes about the same amount of time to get into your car, drive to the restaurant, sit in line, get your food and drive home. A dozen eggs is usually less that $2. And you didn't have to use any extra gas or time away from home.

    I still have fast food from time to time. But for me it is a special treat, maybe 3-4 times a year. Mostly, I have to go for the elite fast food places, now. Your standard Mall Food Court Fare just tastes terrible to me now. Five Guys, Burgerville (local to Portland made with organic ingredients and grass fed beef), Starbucks, Chipotle, Mucho Gusto and other "nicer" fast food places are where I visit.

    McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Carl's Jr, Taco Bell etc. all just taste terrible to me. I can't get most of it past my nose.

    I still love McFurries and McDonald's fries, but that is about all I'll eat from them.
  • I stopped eating fast food. When I do have to buy something from a drive-thru window I try to go for salads or a grilled chicken sandwich. I feel a lot better. I am not as tired. I used to wake up and my feet would hurt so much when I would step on the floor and start walking because I guess they were swollen from all that sodium and fat. Now my feet do not hurt and I feel great. I am in a better mood. I no longer take evening naps like I used to.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Haven't gave it up. And after 40 years of eating it, I'm sure I would have some health issue come up if it was as bad as some here are touting.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm mostly on your side of this argument, but not because of your n=1 results. As I'm sure you already know, the issues with diet are not as simple as, "it worked for me, so it must be true." Otherwise, the 98 year old guy who I saw daily with a new pint of whiskey and a handful of cigars would lead me to believe that there are no health risks with alcohol consumption and tobacco smoke...and my friend's exercise fanatic, vegetarian aunt who died at 37 would keep me from ever running or eating a vegetable.
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    This. You can get "healthy" eating fast food. But if you want to be elite, you have to cut it out. It's a personal choice.

    beastbeforeafter.jpg
    Are you implying that you're elite?
  • Hi! :) I haven't had fast food in over a year. I can honestly say I don't miss it. I replaced it with another "fast food" - fruits and veggies. I always have an apple, carrot sticks, packet of almonds, etc. with me at the office and in the car. I also try to prep and cook food on Sunday for most of the week - grilled chicken, chop up veggies for salads, etc.
    I have a lot more energy eating healthy foods - I don't miss soda or fast food/junk food. I feel better, my skin looks better. We all make personal choices - these are some that really work for me...
    Best of luck to you!
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    I've basically cut it out the past 10 weeks, but that's mostly so that I stay on track as I started out. I don't really have an issue with it per se - like has been said 100x, it's all about hitting your daily macros.

    As for what giving it up has done

    - significantly lower sodium intake

    - more effort into preparing my food and mentally tracking what i need ....... i used to eat fast food everyday for lunch and now that i don't i spend more time cooking and trying new things, making bigger batches for future use, etc.

    Actually I'm not sure if I've saved much money - to be fair i don't really track that since luckily i am doing alright. But I think the $30-40 i used to spend during the week eating fast food for lunch just ends up getting spent on more expensive groceries.

    I think for ppl that are dead broke fast food probably is cheaper - you can get 500 cal + meals for like $2 if you eat off value menus.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    Well, this thread got really non-elite in a hurry.

    I have about a dozen pages to read if I'm going to get completely caught up. In case I don't make it through all of them, could someone who has been here for the duration post a quick synopsis of this thread? Or at least a snapshot of where we currently are, what open questions remain, etc.?

    As the kids say, kthxbai.

    OP: What has giving up fast food done for you
    Some people: Made me feel better, controlled binges, etc
    Some other people: I didn't give up fast food I eat it as part of a healthy diet
    Poster A: To be elite you have to cut out fast food.
    Some poeple (including me): thats not true plenty of elite athletes eat fast food, including dave tate and michael phelps.
    Poster A: Dave tate is uggo and Michael phelps exercises a lot, so they can eat fast food. Other people have to eat clean to be elite
    Me: Yeah, the exercise bit is why they're elite (exit thread for a while)
    Poster B, C,D,E: Science doesn't support that you have to eat totally clean, a meal here and there as part of a balanced diet is fine
    Poster A: But what if instead of the meal here and there wouldn't they be even healthier if they ate all clean?
    Posters B-E: No
    Poster A: But saturated fat is bad, some misquoted pieces of studies
    Posters B-E: no it isn't
    Poster A: You're gonna die young if you eat too much sodium
    Poster B: No.
    Then I lost track for a while.
    Some names were called.
    Some vegans got pissed.
    Now we're here.

    This is genius.

    The only thing I have gotten out of this thread is that I do not ever want to be "elite."

    I concur with The Luminous One, this is pure genius. There should be a way to insert this directly after the original post so people can know what to expect if they continue.

    Bean, can you do this for season two of Revenge, because I've totally given up on try to figure out wtf is going on there.

    Emily is pissed, really pissed.
    Her mom came back from the dead and was unable to recognize that some random girl was pretending to be her own child, whilst the actual daughter was also there.
    That's about when it jumped the tracks of me being able suspend disbelief for entertainment and had to give up.

    Oh wait, Daniel is supposed to be a believable option as next in line to run a billion dollar company with a board of trustees.
    Someone pushed the pregnant chick off a second floor balcony but everyone came out ok.
    Nathan isn't gay anymore.
    Emily is a ninja, and has a ninja partner.
    Victoria is Hispanic. (not related to the plot but was a shocker when she won an ALMA award)
    And the British chick used to be a hooker.
    That's pretty much all I know. But the mom thing was the straw that overflowed the cup.

    I just couldn't let this go without an atta girl-epic post congrats.

    Also, I'm sad that the thread went back to the testosterone fight.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Well, this thread got really non-elite in a hurry.

    I have about a dozen pages to read if I'm going to get completely caught up. In case I don't make it through all of them, could someone who has been here for the duration post a quick synopsis of this thread? Or at least a snapshot of where we currently are, what open questions remain, etc.?

    As the kids say, kthxbai.

    OP: What has giving up fast food done for you
    Some people: Made me feel better, controlled binges, etc
    Some other people: I didn't give up fast food I eat it as part of a healthy diet
    Poster A: To be elite you have to cut out fast food.
    Some poeple (including me): thats not true plenty of elite athletes eat fast food, including dave tate and michael phelps.
    Poster A: Dave tate is uggo and Michael phelps exercises a lot, so they can eat fast food. Other people have to eat clean to be elite
    Me: Yeah, the exercise bit is why they're elite (exit thread for a while)
    Poster B, C,D,E: Science doesn't support that you have to eat totally clean, a meal here and there as part of a balanced diet is fine
    Poster A: But what if instead of the meal here and there wouldn't they be even healthier if they ate all clean?
    Posters B-E: No
    Poster A: But saturated fat is bad, some misquoted pieces of studies
    Posters B-E: no it isn't
    Poster A: You're gonna die young if you eat too much sodium
    Poster B: No.
    Then I lost track for a while.
    Some names were called.
    Some vegans got pissed.
    Now we're here.

    This is genius.

    The only thing I have gotten out of this thread is that I do not ever want to be "elite."

    I concur with The Luminous One, this is pure genius. There should be a way to insert this directly after the original post so people can know what to expect if they continue.

    Bean, can you do this for season two of Revenge, because I've totally given up on try to figure out wtf is going on there.

    Emily is pissed, really pissed.
    Her mom came back from the dead and was unable to recognize that some random girl was pretending to be her own child, whilst the actual daughter was also there.
    That's about when it jumped the tracks of me being able suspend disbelief for entertainment and had to give up.

    Oh wait, Daniel is supposed to be a believable option as next in line to run a billion dollar company with a board of trustees.
    Someone pushed the pregnant chick off a second floor balcony but everyone came out ok.
    Nathan isn't gay anymore.
    Emily is a ninja, and has a ninja partner.
    Victoria is Hispanic. (not related to the plot but was a shocker when she won an ALMA award)
    And the British chick used to be a hooker.
    That's pretty much all I know. But the mom thing was the straw that overflowed the cup.

    I just couldn't let this go without an atta girl-epic post congrats.

    Also, I'm sad that the thread went back to the testosterone fight.

    so the treating people like **** part was fine - but the let's have a legitimate discussion part isn't. got it.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    This. You can get "healthy" eating fast food. But if you want to be elite, you have to cut it out. It's a personal choice.

    beastbeforeafter.jpg
    Are you implying that you're elite?

    nope. read the thread. (or don't. it sucks)
  • WrenStory
    WrenStory Posts: 103
    I haven't given it up entirely. I'm just aware of how often I eat it and try to limit it to when traveling out of town, or when I'm totally in a bind and starving... for example, stayed out much later than planned running errands or shopping and blood sugar is getting wonky. I tend toward hypoglycemia so it can really make me irritable if I go too long without food.

    The thing that really bothered me was knowing how much sodium is in fast food. It's just astounding. Not to mention it's just lesser quality food and tastes like crap sometimes. And other times, a greasy burger can really hit the spot :)
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Pardon me for sounding creepy, but you have a great abs! What a difference!

    lol thanks. :blushing:

    only took 6 months!
  • sqshyfsh
    sqshyfsh Posts: 8 Member
    So, as I decide its time to lose weight, I realized I need to seriously look at what I eat. Yes, you can eat fast food and keep the calories to a minimum (though there is still little nutritional value.)

    But for me, fast food represents a lot of late night eating that just doesn't need to happen. So, I am cutting out fast food to hopefully help keep me on track with a healthier lifestyle over all. I won't refuse to eat fast food - if we're on a road trip, or my friends are hitting the drive thru and I'm in the car... i might grab a snack. But I don't want to give myself cart blanche.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member


    I concur with The Luminous One, this is pure genius. There should be a way to insert this directly after the original post so people can know what to expect if they continue.

    Bean, can you do this for season two of Revenge, because I've totally given up on try to figure out wtf is going on there.

    Emily is pissed, really pissed.
    Her mom came back from the dead and was unable to recognize that some random girl was pretending to be her own child, whilst the actual daughter was also there.
    That's about when it jumped the tracks of me being able suspend disbelief for entertainment and had to give up.

    Oh wait, Daniel is supposed to be a believable option as next in line to run a billion dollar company with a board of trustees.
    Someone pushed the pregnant chick off a second floor balcony but everyone came out ok.
    Nathan isn't gay anymore.
    Emily is a ninja, and has a ninja partner.
    Victoria is Hispanic. (not related to the plot but was a shocker when she won an ALMA award)
    And the British chick used to be a hooker.
    That's pretty much all I know. But the mom thing was the straw that overflowed the cup.

    Thanks again! Sounds like I made the correct decision to check out on that show. It was actually fun for about 2/3's of the first season. I suspect it's one of those shows where nobody thought it would get it's back half option picked up and the writers had to scramble to come up with plot. Kind of like the first season of 24.
  • IWantToo
    IWantToo Posts: 162
    Smh @ all the who is elite who is not elite comments lol

    "Bad" in mass quantities will make anyone sick... i cant eat vienna sausage, salami, and a whole lot of other store bought junk food because it makes me sick, so does certain fast food.. its all about moderation.. eating a hamburger or a fast food hamburger is not going to ruin your elite status or make you sick... but eating anything daily that is loaded with fat, salt, cholesterol, even if it falls in your daily limit of macros will make you sick over time.... speaking from personal experience. But yeah a couple of burgers a month isnt gonna make you sick or effect your diet... now a couple of burgers, or vats of salami and vienna sausages a day over years.. yeah your gonna get really sick and really fat.

    I dont necessarily buy the "eating completely clean" notion, i tried it for a month, I tried them all.... drunk no diet soda only water for a month there was no change in my weight loss... tried eating chicken breast for a month, NOTHING extraordinary no results.. I goal now is just not trying to eat horrible lmaooooo
  • kaylacyr123
    kaylacyr123 Posts: 74 Member
    Well ringsize8 you certainly got an abundance of replies. I usually get 1 or none at all :P
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    This. You can get "healthy" eating fast food. But if you want to be elite, you have to cut it out. It's a personal choice.

    beastbeforeafter.jpg
    Are you implying that you're elite?

    nope. read the thread. (or don't. it sucks)
    then what's the point of posting your picture?
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    then what's the point of posting your picture?

    what's the title of the thread?

    that's what giving up fast food, along with exercise, did for me.
  • IWantToo
    IWantToo Posts: 162
    lmaooooo we all know why he posted his picture...

    Dont be a wussy if you think youre elite yell it out fugg what anyone thinks why try and hide and deny now.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    lmaooooo we all know why he posted his picture...

    Dont be a wussy if you think youre elite yell it out fugg what anyone thinks why try and hide and deny now.

    haha honestly i don't think i'm elite - i think i'm on my way, and that dropping fast food has really helped with that goal. however this whole line of conversation was addressed in like... the first 3 pages of this monstrosity. lol
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    then what's the point of posting your picture?

    what's the title of the thread?

    that's what giving up fast food, along with exercise, did for me.

    what not cutting out fast food did for me

    11390926_4116.jpg

    good for you! honestly! that's fantastic.

    doesn't mean i have to follow the same rules. :)
  • scyian
    scyian Posts: 243 Member
    I think I've been fast food free for the last 5 years. I like real food and I love to cook it from scratch.
  • I doubt I will ever cut it out. That being said. I don't eat fast food regularly. I am a band director and Friday nights during football season can be hectic, without much time to grab anything else. I have however decided to take the extra time to hit up Subway over Taco Bell. (Mc Donald's is out of the way as is Wendy's) My job demands time away from home, and sometimes that means hitting up fast food places... but most of them are offering healthier choices. (Oh and I just like pizza sometimes so I'm gonna keep getting that too every once in a while!)
    Realistically... Alot of them have salads, or fruit and grilled options on their menus now.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    Well, this thread got really non-elite in a hurry.

    I have about a dozen pages to read if I'm going to get completely caught up. In case I don't make it through all of them, could someone who has been here for the duration post a quick synopsis of this thread? Or at least a snapshot of where we currently are, what open questions remain, etc.?

    As the kids say, kthxbai.

    OP: What has giving up fast food done for you
    Some people: Made me feel better, controlled binges, etc
    Some other people: I didn't give up fast food I eat it as part of a healthy diet
    Poster A: To be elite you have to cut out fast food.
    Some poeple (including me): thats not true plenty of elite athletes eat fast food, including dave tate and michael phelps.
    Poster A: Dave tate is uggo and Michael phelps exercises a lot, so they can eat fast food. Other people have to eat clean to be elite
    Me: Yeah, the exercise bit is why they're elite (exit thread for a while)
    Poster B, C,D,E: Science doesn't support that you have to eat totally clean, a meal here and there as part of a balanced diet is fine
    Poster A: But what if instead of the meal here and there wouldn't they be even healthier if they ate all clean?
    Posters B-E: No
    Poster A: But saturated fat is bad, some misquoted pieces of studies
    Posters B-E: no it isn't
    Poster A: You're gonna die young if you eat too much sodium
    Poster B: No.
    Then I lost track for a while.
    Some names were called.
    Some vegans got pissed.
    Now we're here.

    This is genius.

    The only thing I have gotten out of this thread is that I do not ever want to be "elite."

    I concur with The Luminous One, this is pure genius. There should be a way to insert this directly after the original post so people can know what to expect if they continue.

    Bean, can you do this for season two of Revenge, because I've totally given up on try to figure out wtf is going on there.

    Emily is pissed, really pissed.
    Her mom came back from the dead and was unable to recognize that some random girl was pretending to be her own child, whilst the actual daughter was also there.
    That's about when it jumped the tracks of me being able suspend disbelief for entertainment and had to give up.

    Oh wait, Daniel is supposed to be a believable option as next in line to run a billion dollar company with a board of trustees.
    Someone pushed the pregnant chick off a second floor balcony but everyone came out ok.
    Nathan isn't gay anymore.
    Emily is a ninja, and has a ninja partner.
    Victoria is Hispanic. (not related to the plot but was a shocker when she won an ALMA award)
    And the British chick used to be a hooker.
    That's pretty much all I know. But the mom thing was the straw that overflowed the cup.

    I just couldn't let this go without an atta girl-epic post congrats.

    Also, I'm sad that the thread went back to the testosterone fight.

    so the treating people like **** part was fine - but the let's have a legitimate discussion part isn't. got it.

    I just think it's silly that you always have to have the last word. And by you, I mean all of us.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    Except me, and, Go!!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member

    good for you! honestly! that's fantastic.

    doesn't mean i have to follow the same rules. :)

    Thanks, I am just making a point weight loss is about calories. Of course I am not at your body fat level. There are guys who look better and worse than you do and don't follow your protocol.

    You have to understand someone coming from severe obesity. Completely cutting out foods from your diet will more than likely lead to failure. You have to make small changes over time. You can't do a 180 with your diet, won't last. This is a big reason why a lot of people fail, they try to do too much too soon.

    i actually completely agree with you on all of those points.

    weight loss IS all about calories, and doing a 180 IS incredibly hard. I'm a huge proponent of a 90/10 diet, where every day you can eat the kinds of foods you love, but in moderation. If your 3 main meals are healthy you can get rough around the edges with your snacks. It's about something people can maintain and feel good doing. the best diet is a diet you can stick to. you can get good results by eating bad food. my only initial point was that for the results to keep getting better and keep improving, and avoid plateau, you have to keep getting more meticulous about your diet. again - not a hard and fast rule if we're talking about athletes at the highest level who expend massive amounts of calories every day.
  • kittycatkay
    kittycatkay Posts: 54 Member
    made my skin nice, made me feel better about myself etc. :)
  • Topher1978
    Topher1978 Posts: 975 Member
    I rarely eat fast food any longer, but I hope it will turn into never. I only do it when I am on the run, which is not often.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member

    good for you! honestly! that's fantastic.

    doesn't mean i have to follow the same rules. :)

    Thanks, I am just making a point weight loss is about calories. Of course I am not at your body fat level. There are guys who look better and worse than you do and don't follow your protocol.

    You have to understand someone coming from severe obesity. Completely cutting out foods from your diet will more than likely lead to failure. You have to make small changes over time. You can't do a 180 with your diet, won't last. This is a big reason why a lot of people fail, they try to do too much too soon.

    i actually completely agree with you on all of those points.

    weight loss IS all about calories, and doing a 180 IS incredibly hard. I'm a huge proponent of a 90/10 diet, where every day you can eat the kinds of foods you love, but in moderation. If your 3 main meals are healthy you can get rough around the edges with your snacks. It's about something people can maintain and feel good doing. the best diet is a diet you can stick to. you can get good results by eating bad food. my only initial point was that for the results to keep getting better and keep improving, and avoid plateau, you have to keep getting more meticulous about your diet. again - not a hard and fast rule if we're talking about athletes at the highest level who expend massive amounts of calories every day.

    Yes i agree if you're following a constant deficit the leaner you get the more you have to clean up your diet. There are also fasting methods that can get around that. Like fasting 24hrs 1 or 2x a week to maintain your weight. I know you don't agree with fasting methods, but they are there.

    A good method is fast 24hrs once a week. If you start to gain weight add a fasting day so you fast 2x a week. If you're losing more than you want decrease your fasting days.

    totally - i'm not a fan of fasting as you know, but if it works for some people, and fits their goals, then more power to them.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    I just couldn't let this go without an atta girl-epic post congrats.

    Also, I'm sad that the thread went back to the testosterone fight.

    I'm offended. Why is it a testosterone fight? Coach has his views, I have mine, we're laying them out intelligently and disagreeing. Coach is even references articles written by Harvard professors. Yeah, we are getting some cheap shots in, but that makes it interesting. I wouldn't want to read 19 pages of links to Ivy League studies without a bit of levity thrown in.

    If I called every disagreement between two women a cat fight, would that be cool?
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member

    I just couldn't let this go without an atta girl-epic post congrats.

    Also, I'm sad that the thread went back to the testosterone fight.

    I'm offended. Why is it a testosterone fight? Coach has his views, I have mine, we're laying them out intelligently and disagreeing. Coach is even references articles written by Harvard professors. Yeah, we are getting some cheap shots in, but that makes it interesting. I wouldn't want to read 19 pages of links to Ivy League studies without a bit of levity thrown in.

    If I called every disagreement between two women a cat fight, would that be cool?

    I'd laugh..but that's just me. I'm weird. :tongue: :laugh: