How can I stop my addiction to fast food? Need help...

I think to some extent it is an addiction. Sugar is really hard to kick and fast food contains a LOT. I just go cold turkey and I started a star reward system. Sounds like it's for kids I know but it does help. If you reward yourself with something not related to food it becomes easier to make the good choices every day. I give myself stars for eating healthy and being under my calorie goal, for exercise I do and any other goals I have. Once I hit 100 stars I get to chose one out of several non-food related treats (like buying new makeup, getting a haircut etc). It's a good way to keep the motivation going and then you know if you have that burger you're losing a star which means your further away from your reward!
Also, make sure your meals aren't boring! Make fun and nutrious meals, that you actually look forward to eating.
Junk food will always be tempting and it can be hard to say no, but try to visualise yourself in the future when you're up against that choice- will you be happy with what you've just eaten? Will you feel good? Will it be worth it? More often than not the answers to those questions are no
Good luck!!

There really is no way around this, but to avoid fast food all together. The sodium, MSG, sugar and all the other *kitten* in fast food IS addicting and it will do nothing for your body except make you crave more. So stay away. It's not a part of my life anymore, let alone anything I even think about. Start looking up healthy, fresh, flavorful recipes that will give you satisfaction. A great book to look into is Eat This! Not that. You will have to cook, prepare and plan. It's worth the work and I bet you won't even think about fast food anymore!

I know exactly how you feel, OP.
A large part of it isn't really your fault - think about it, it's little ol' you against an entire billion dollar fast food and junk industry that spends billions of their profit dollars on R&D research for find the best possible combination of tastes and ways to mix flavours, fats, salt, sugar, textures together into one big taste monster mama that completely OVERLOADS an otherwise normal sensory perception you have with every bite, every spoonful or taste.

Obviously all those dollars have brought them a team of very highly qualified experts from food scientists to marketing gurus to maximise every area they can target to get you hooked at every angle.

It's the reason why even though scientists say yes we seek out fat by instinct - we don't go shoving spoonfuls of pure butter or lard into our mouths, do we? No we binge on salty chips, that oozy full meaty salty slightly sweet and tangy combo of that massive monster burger or that chewy ooey gooey warm brownie slathered in salted caramel and studded with choc chips, topped with premium ice cream.

The key is to not beat yourself up over it and go into a binge-starve cycle. It's okay to crave. It's okay to let yourself eat a burger every now and then. But the key is truly to just keep trying, and keep getting back on the bandwagon, and try to spread out your junk days into non-binge type fests.

Maybe have a good burger meal once a month and eat healthfully every other day with an allowance for a small properly portioned snack.

And for the other things like loving burgers - you can incorporate that into your meal plan. A small multi-grain wholemeal roll (not the huge continental type rolls which clock in 250-300 kcal per roll before you add anything), replace mayo with light mayo or even better, forgo mayo it's overrated anyway.

You want an explosion of tastes not some bland crap (mayo and buttered noodles are yuck anyway) so put some peppery dijon mustard or English mustard, load it with greens. Try other kind of greens which add dimension as lettuce tends to not taste like anything anyway. Try lean meat mixed with healthy veg to bulk up the burger's nutritional content - black beans, lentils, soya nuggets, QUORN mince.

Add in strong tasting sauces like Sirarcha sauce and peppery sliced red onions. Have it with a side of home-made baked veggie chips/fries.

emdeesea wrote: »

I broke my habit by making my own burgers at home for a while. I would make a turkey burger with the fixins, mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, etc. For a while, I had that almost every day until I got sick of it.

It's not so much an addiction, just a bad habit. So you replace one habit with another, and that takes time and a whole lot of effort.

That was the similar with me tbh though I didn't substitute it with food but with making a calorie allowance for it to indulge in at the end of the week.

A particularly bad run was when I was so hooked on the gelato at an ice cream parlour due to their very very creative weekly flavours which they posted up on Facebook every time they came out with one. I must admit I didn't unsubscribe of that feed because part of me wanted that ice cream. I would get these massive cravings every single time they posted up a new weekly 'limited edition' flavour - which added great urgency to me making a beeline there without fail for at least 2 months every single week.

I still lost weight because I would just eat less and exercise more during the week, but mentally it wasn't healthy at all because I was just making these stupid plans to go eat ice cream and then it spread to croissants (another gourmet artisan patisserie that rotated it's pastry creations, mostly croissiants.). So by the end of the week of literally over-exercising and starving myself I would crawl there early in the morning, polish off at least two massive croissants (mostly twice baked almond croissants and some other special flavour filled croissant special that week), go have brunch, then finish it with two massive scoops of gelato of their weekly flavour.

It took some overseas travel to break that cycle. I went back last week to give it a try (without the craving) and honestly I'm so over that crap I could go without gelato and croissants for at least a year now.

saffron09 wrote: »

Watch the movie Supersize me. It put me off eating mcdonalds for good. Hadn't eaten it for about 10 years till my daughter really wanted a toy in the happy meal so I broke down and tried it again. Its horrible, not even sure what I ate, lol!

If OP is struggling with overeating, more than likely to satisfy a habit or replace something "see boredom, not necessarily deep family issues", I don't think simple negative conditioning like "gross yourself out" is going to help much.

When I was a kid I would eat pizza every day at lunch with my friends, and throw a fit if my parents didn't buy fast food for most dinners. Once I started getting healthy and realized the food I put is my body is the only thing fueling me for the next 70 years I stopped ever thinking about fast food. Nowadays some brussel sprouts, carrots and a sandwich with a pickle seems 100x more appealing to me than a burger.

I used to have the same problem - I still get burger cravings like crazy some days.

Some places will do a bunless burger which is healthier as the bun is not real bread.

I pack my lunch for work to avoid the temptation.
I live next to a Burger hero with a 24hr maccas 2 blocks down the road. I never walk near them hungry. I will change my entire route to avoid them if I have to.

Remind yourself of your goals.

When my cravings say: It's just one burger. It won't hurt.
I remind myself one might not. But one every day will. If I have one now I will justify another later.

Addiction is hard. I have had to kick a sugar addiction, a fast food addiction, a burger addiction. It takes time and lots of effort.

I still go to "some" fast food places, but I've adjusted what I get. El Pollo Loco is wonderful. Very good chicken, decent-enough salads, and steamed broccoli. I like Popeye's for their Blackened Strips. I sometimes add the green beans, but you really gotta watch the sodium. KFC, if you get the Grilled chicken, it's pretty much the same nutrition values as Original Recipe - so enjoy the skin! In a pinch, I'll get a cheeseburger from McD or JitB, but I toss the bun, and no ketchup. Carl's Jr has a 1/3-pound burger. Very good stuff - again, no bun or ketchup. So...try and avoid them if you can. And take little steps. At this point, I hit El Pollo Loco once per week, and Popeye's and KFC about once every week-an-a-half. It's rough - I ate fast food pretty much every day for years. But if you allow yourself to start by making "better" choices (nobody's perfect), you can do it.

joe_rdz18 wrote: »

Today was going just fine until I ate a burger from a fast food chain. I had this temptation of getting it & I couldn't resist.. I think I'm addicted to the actuall carbs, sodium, & sweets that come with a burger combo, not the actual taste.

No, you're not. You didn't mention caloric balance in the context of your day & week, and the speed at which your food is served is irrelevant. Please try again.

Go cold turkey for a month and then any fast food will taste yuck after that.
I gave up sugar just over a year ago and my taste buds have completely changed. I no longer crave junk, processed food.
When I cycle in the morning I go past 7 fast food places and the grease smell is nasty......
If you read what are in the food you wouldn't want to eat it!
Respect your body

Agree with changing route to work. Wow, I drastically cut back when I had to go out of my way to stop by fast food places. Well, and one closed for remodeling. Plus at least two stopped selling my favorite items, so what's the point of buying crap I don't even like

Food prep - if you like something from the fast food restaurant, make your own. The awesome part is you can put your own spin on it. If there's a food item or condiment you like to have cooked into your meal or as part of your sandwich, you can make every single meal with this and enjoy it exactly the way you want all the time

If doing this cold turkey is too hard, just make better choices at the fast food restaurants. If the items you get put you over calories, think of lower calorie options before going, and if you can't, think of whether it'll be worth it. I bought McDonald's coffee and sometimes a parfait for the longest time before it just wasn't worth the time it took to stop and wait in line all the time.

But I do agree fast food is not inherently evil. If you want it, make it fit, or at least enjoy it.

I haven't touched fast food for 16 years for one simple reason..

I used to be an auditor back then. I had to visit the site of a client to inspect their factory for various things. They showed me their factory floor while it was in operation. All I remember to this day was entire chickens, feet, beak, bones, head still on...the whole friggen bird...being tipped by the hundreds, whole into a giant funnel at one end off a conveyor belt near the ceiling. They explained that they processed the whole damn bird and made it into chicken burgers, nuggets, whatever. They seemed proud to tell me there was no wastage! They then went on to show me all the chemicals and crap added to this "meat mush" via giant vats... I was behind a mask but I could still smell it. I wanted to hurl.

They showed me their processed pork line next. At that point I asked to be excused and actually did go and hurl. What I saw doesn't bare describing. My fingers are shaking trying to type this.

The icing on the cake was when they told me who their big supply contract was with...it turns out they supplied ALL their finished products to MacDonald's. All of it. They even showed me the frozen output with MacDonald's packaging on it.

Scary thing is, this is no criticism to McD's whatsoever!! The process was clean and up to code even! No no, the thing that made me sick was learning that this is the way processed food is made. It's all just lips and *** holes, blended into a sausage product and called food. There is even an acceptable level of rat droppings that goes in.

Seriously, I would rather lick a cheese grater the wrong way than put that poison in my body lol. These days I buy whole ingredients only and make it myself.

The end.

PS: I shared this because I wondered if it might actually help give some other level of motivation to avoid fast food. Certainly did the job for me permanently...

BunnyBomb wrote: »

I haven't touched fast food for 16 years for one simple reason..

I used to be an auditor back then. I had to visit the site of a client to inspect their factory for various things. They showed me their factory floor while it was in operation. All I remember to this day was entire chickens, feet, beak, bones, head still on...the whole friggen bird...being tipped by the hundreds, whole into a giant funnel at one end off a conveyor belt near the ceiling. They explained that they processed the whole damn bird and made it into chicken burgers, nuggets, whatever. They seemed proud to tell me there was no wastage! They then went on to show me all the chemicals and crap added to this "meat mush" via giant vats... I was behind a mask but I could still smell it. I wanted to hurl.

They showed me their processed pork line next. At that point I asked to be excused and actually did go and hurl. What I saw doesn't bare describing. My fingers are shaking trying to type this.

The icing on the cake was when they told me who their big supply contract was with...it turns out they supplied ALL their finished products to MacDonald's. All of it. They even showed me the frozen output with MacDonald's packaging on it.

Scary thing is, this is no criticism to McD's whatsoever!! The process was clean and up to code even! No no, the thing that made me sick was learning that this is the way processed food is made. It's all just lips and *** holes, blended into a sausage product and called food. There is even an acceptable level of rat droppings that goes in.

Seriously, I would rather lick a cheese grater the wrong way than put that poison in my body lol. These days I buy whole ingredients only and make it myself.

The end.

PS: I shared this because I wondered if it might actually help give some other level of motivation to avoid fast food. Certainly did the job for me permanently...

Hmm, so whole chicken would include any poop in the poor things?? I kinda like the no wastage though...lol

What did you see on the pork line???

JaneiR36 wrote: »

BunnyBomb wrote: »

I haven't touched fast food for 16 years for one simple reason..

I used to be an auditor back then. I had to visit the site of a client to inspect their factory for various things. They showed me their factory floor while it was in operation. All I remember to this day was entire chickens, feet, beak, bones, head still on...the whole friggen bird...being tipped by the hundreds, whole into a giant funnel at one end off a conveyor belt near the ceiling. They explained that they processed the whole damn bird and made it into chicken burgers, nuggets, whatever. They seemed proud to tell me there was no wastage! They then went on to show me all the chemicals and crap added to this "meat mush" via giant vats... I was behind a mask but I could still smell it. I wanted to hurl.

They showed me their processed pork line next. At that point I asked to be excused and actually did go and hurl. What I saw doesn't bare describing. My fingers are shaking trying to type this.

The icing on the cake was when they told me who their big supply contract was with...it turns out they supplied ALL their finished products to MacDonald's. All of it. They even showed me the frozen output with MacDonald's packaging on it.

Scary thing is, this is no criticism to McD's whatsoever!! The process was clean and up to code even! No no, the thing that made me sick was learning that this is the way processed food is made. It's all just lips and *** holes, blended into a sausage product and called food. There is even an acceptable level of rat droppings that goes in.

Seriously, I would rather lick a cheese grater the wrong way than put that poison in my body lol. These days I buy whole ingredients only and make it myself.

The end.

PS: I shared this because I wondered if it might actually help give some other level of motivation to avoid fast food. Certainly did the job for me permanently...

Hmm, so whole chicken would include any poop in the poor things?? I kinda like the no wastage though...lol

What did you see on the pork line???

Let's just say none of the "parts" that went into the blender bore any resemblance to parts of a pig you would ever, ever find on your table at home. It was basically all the bits we would consider inedible. They even had to add colouring and thickeners to make it look like meat, because what went in...wasn't.

Most industrially produced "food" is designed so it's addictive. Only logical, if you think of it - there's nothing else that matters but boosting sales.

Food addiction is no different from any other form of addiction - you have to figure out what you're running away from when you're looking for that "high". Without solving that problem, your will to stay on the straight and narrow (meaning eating healthy, exercise etc.) is guaranteed to break at some point.

And the second issue is that you cannot become overweight unless some subconscious part of your mind really, really needs it to happen. It's a way to protect and isolate yourself from being hurt by other people. Food cravings aren't really cravings, they're full fledged needs - your subconscious will trick you in any possible way to make you eat fattening foods, otherwise you'll lose weight and become more vulnerable. It doesn't help trying to convince yourself that being fat exposes you to more ridicule - the subconscious has its own logic. Yo-yo dieting is the proof.

All of the gross details about how burgers etc. are made are going to fade from your memory (the subconscious is already taking care of that) in a while, and you'll be back where you started.

When you solve your underlying issues, fast food will start to taste like ****, and you wouldn't want to eat it or keep it down even if it were zero calories.