How to kick a fast food addiction?

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  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
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    Yes, you actually CAN be addicted to fast food. It's a lot more than meat, cheese, veggies and bread. They add a tremendous amount of synthetic crap to the faux food ingredients to make it cheaper, last longer and spoil less easily as well as taste better than it does (fat, sodium, sugar, MSG) and bring you back again and again. Try reading the ingredient list on the nutritional info and I will GUARANTEE is does NOT read: meat, cheese, lettuce, bun. HA!

    The best way to beat it is to make your own fast food with the same convenience (more convenient when it's at home in your freezer!), cheaper AND better tasting! We make homemade eggrolls 4 dozen at a time and freeze in ziplock bags for reheating on the fly. Frozen pizzas from scratch. Premade burgers. Whatever it is, you can make it at home in a way that is 1) tastier, 2) cheaper and 3) much healthier.

    While there are some cocky people here who think that unless your doctor has limited you, any food is safe. Not true! By the time your doc detects problems from your bloodwork or other tests, often the damage is already done. The damage doesn't happen overnight, typically. But you keep eating that crap for the next 20-30 years and you'll find yourself in middle age wishing like hell you had not indulged in all that sodium and synthetic food crap from a drive-through.

    Will you lose weight on fast food? Of course. Will you feel and be your best eating it routinely. Nope. Will a little hurt? Nope. The more you eat, the more long-term, gradual damage you are accumulating in your body. If you're VERY active, you can get by with more as your body will purge toxins through your lymphatic system. If you drink lots of water, that helps too. But why do it? You wouldn't treat your car that way, why treat your body that way? At least you can replace a car when it breaks down.

    Trust me. You don't want to depend on processed foods too heavily for very long. You can get by with it for awhile, but it will most certainly kick you in butt at some point in your life if you indulge too consistently for long enough period of time.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    I used the wrong damn word...end of story. Trust me...I don't expect rainbows.

    You are getting upsey and feeling attacked. Please don't. You have to have thick skin around here, but once you stop taking things personally there is a lot of great information.

    I don't have a right to get upset? Im glad to get suggestions and help.


    But come on...I used the word addiction which seemed to make some people butt hurt.
    I see the great information...I do.

    I think they are slightly offended because people tend to throw around the word "addiction" when they are really referring to an over-eating problem…., which appears to be your issue...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Yes, you actually CAN be addicted to fast food. It's a lot more than meat, cheese, veggies and bread. They add a tremendous amount of synthetic crap to the faux food ingredients to make it cheaper, last longer and spoil less easily as well as taste better than it does (fat, sodium, sugar, MSG) and bring you back again and again. Try reading the ingredient list on the nutritional info and I will GUARANTEE is does NOT read: meat, cheese, lettuce, bun. HA!

    The best way to beat it is to make your own fast food with the same convenience (more convenient when it's at home in your freezer!), cheaper AND better tasting! We make homemade eggrolls 4 dozen at a time and freeze in ziplock bags for reheating on the fly. Frozen pizzas from scratch. Premade burgers. Whatever it is, you can make it at home in a way that is 1) tastier, 2) cheaper and 3) much healthier.

    While there are some cocky people here who think that unless your doctor has limited you, any food is safe. Not true! By the time your doc detects problems from your bloodwork or other tests, often the damage is already done. The damage doesn't happen overnight, typically. But you keep eating that crap for the next 20-30 years and you'll find yourself in middle age wishing like hell you had not indulged in all that sodium and synthetic food crap from a drive-through.

    Will you lose weight on fast food? Of course. Will you feel and be your best eating it routinely. Nope. Will a little hurt? Nope. The more you eat, the more long-term, gradual damage you are accumulating in your body. If you're VERY active, you can get by with more as your body will purge toxins through your lymphatic system. If you drink lots of water, that helps too. But why do it? You wouldn't treat your car that way, why treat your body that way? At least you can replace a car when it breaks down.

    Trust me. You don't want to depend on processed foods too heavily for very long. You can get by with it for awhile, but it will most certainly kick you in butt at some point in your life if you indulge too consistently for long enough period of time.

    puts on tin foil hat and heads for basement….
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Work at a fast food joint.

    PS: It's not just mayonnaise.

    :huh:

    Yeah, I worked at several fast food places. None of them had only mayo, lots of condiments are usually available.

    The most popular being man juice.

    Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up.gif
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    Everything in moderation. Just fit it into your day once in a while.
  • queenb39
    queenb39 Posts: 54 Member
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    Why not make your own version of fast food. Just experiemnt and make it healthy.
  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 307 Member
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    I was the same way. Honestly, you have to quit cold turkey. It is now off limits forever. That is the only way I stopped, because otherwise EVERY day would be in "moderation". I ate fast food for every meal. And then I decided that I wasn't going to eat it anymore - EVEN if it fit in my allotted calories for the day. You really won't miss it after a while. And if you go without it for so long, eating it will make you really sick.

    The other thing that helped me stop was my boyfriend mentioned to me that the meat used in fast food is so full of hormones and mutated that they have chickens with TWO HEADS. That is what you're eating. That image horrified me so much that I couldn't look at the food the same way.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
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    Work at a fast food joint.

    PS: It's not just mayonnaise.

    :huh:

    Yeah, I worked at several fast food places. None of them had only mayo, lots of condiments are usually available.

    The most popular being man juice.

    Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up.gif

    Winning comeback.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I trip out on this fast food thing. I seriously have not had fast food in 10 years, maybe more. It's so gross. It's like soda too. What up with you people? Go to a restaurant, at least.

    word.gif

    Yeah, I don't get it...it's all pretty nasty **** and pretty much just comes straight out the other end. I've never really liked it and would much rather spend my hard earned dollars on some "real" food at an actual restaurant than plunking down $5 for some nasty **** that's coming right back out.

    It's really not even that convenient when you think about it....
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
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    Neat! Let's post pics of fast food after a MFP member expresses a concern about curbing her fast food cravings. That's really really really supportive!

    Thud.

    The OP hasn't been back since page 2. She has most likely abandoned this thread, after she realized what a sh!tstorm she created by mentioning 'addiction' in the same sentence as 'fast-food.'

    I'm an ex-drunk. If I broke down and bought a case of beer, every time I saw a picture ( advertisement ) for Budweiser, I'd be dead, now. This site is full of pictures of delicious goodies... Brownies... Pop Tarts, Bake it yourself cookie dough.... cookies rising in the oven... Chocolate cereal, and.... yep.... Fast Food.

    My favorite.

    dq_caramel_brownie.jpg

    Now, is this fast food, or just an ice cream treat?

    Well yeah, I'm a big time ex-drunk, sometimes current, but a compassionate one.
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
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    Hi OP! I stopped reading all the replies on page one when people started getting a bit pedantic about how to define an addiction and others started to get defensive about eating fast foods!

    Ok, my solution is to recreate my favourite fast food treats in my own kitchen. Now, I find the likes of macdonalds bland and. .. well just not as nice as the hamburgers I create at home. So my attitude now is "I just dont want to waste calories on bland and boring food!!" I do realise not everyone likes to cook and if you are someone who dosnt like cooking and has to choose between a hamburger or a less calorific treat, think if you are willing to spend the extra calories on the hamburger. I find this works great... and believe me, I LOVED spending the calories at Macdonalds when I took my grandson there for a treat before Christmas.. :smile:
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
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    I eat fast food and my ticker shows were my progress has been going. I don't get the meals, I just get like Mcdonald's grilled onion cheddar burger or a wrap with tons a veggies. I understand some fast food is HORRIBLE for you with all the HUGE amounts of fat and calories.. But some of it can be fit into a lifestyle change very easily. I rarely drink soda anymore and when I have junk food i make sure to weight it and watch the package information to the T. So if you watch the calories and such and make it fit into your macros it will work :)
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    Well yeah, I'm a big time ex-drunk, sometimes current, but a compassionate one.

    This thread stopped being about the OP after her 1st post, anyhow. ANY and EVERY thread at MFP that the word addiction is mentioned in, in reference to food or sugar, turns into an argument over whether or not these things are addictive, and if the OP is truly 'addicted' to whatever she claims she is. Her question, was.... " How to kick a fast food addiction? ' I'm sure you can agree, she's gotten NO help with her issue.... and the thread is about something else now. She's long gone.

    And ya, I'm not very compassionate. :blushing:

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRK1ylDOTxztwiSd1tfHxo7CL0waSnCHnAaqFxHiZ_QkgvZWEBU
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    For my lunch today I will be having red onion and balsamic cous cous with basil infused tuna, spinach, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber and black olives. I have already tracked it and have been looking forward to it since I chopped the veg last night

    However, after reading this thread, now I want a frikking big mac!

    Oh no, no, don't do that !! How can you compare the goodness and deliciousness of your planned dinner to a big mac or any fast food stuff for that matter?
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
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    Well yeah, I'm a big time ex-drunk, sometimes current, but a compassionate one.

    This thread stopped being about the OP after her 1st post, anyhow. ANY and EVERY thread at MFP that the word addiction is mentioned in, in reference to food or sugar, turns into an argument over whether or not these things are addictive, and if the OP is truly 'addicted' to whatever she claims she is. Her question, was.... " How to kick a fast food addiction? ' I'm sure you can agree, she's gotten NO help with her issue.... and the thread is about something else now. She's long gone.

    And ya, I'm not very compassionate. :blushing:

    Aw dang Jesus, we are supposed to be nice or something!

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRK1ylDOTxztwiSd1tfHxo7CL0waSnCHnAaqFxHiZ_QkgvZWEBU
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
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    Refuse to go there. I find myself saying "NO" outloud when I'm tempted :)
    Have healthy snacks with you at all times so your hunger doesn't over ride your goals. You can do this with a little bit of preparation!!
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    I try to recreate healthy versions of fast foods at home that I like and fit it into my calorie goals. For instance I used to be obsessed with Taco Bell but now I just make Taco's at home so I can portion what I am eating and use healthier ingredients. You can still eat fast food if you want but limit the intake with willpower and planning ahead of time.

    I do this.

    I have loads of recipes for tasty tacos, burritos, burgers, chicken sammiches, etc. that I have at home which fit better into my calories goals without much fuss.

    But on the otherhand, if I really want a BK cheeseburger, I get one. ONE. And then I go on with life.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    OP just say no. Just don't have any of the food that bothers you at all.
  • smanning1982
    smanning1982 Posts: 210 Member
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    check out the nutrition menu for the fast food place you want to go beforehand and choose something within your calories. From McDonalds I get a grilled chicken ranch BLT and it's very filling and delicious and only around 400 calories! I love subway and get a 6 inch turkey and ham no cheese with lots of veggies and only mustard. Or the sweet onion chicken teryaki soooo good!

    Last week I saved enough calories for a big mac, yes a big mac because I was craving it! I still lost 3 pounds last week!
  • daybehavior
    daybehavior Posts: 1,319 Member
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    Work at a fast food joint.

    PS: It's not just mayonnaise.

    :huh:

    Yeah, I worked at several fast food places. None of them had only mayo, lots of condiments are usually available.

    The most popular being man juice.

    Yes, that was the joke. Thank you :ohwell:

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