Addicted to fast food.

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  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I love fast food. It's my kryptonite, though. I remember several days of having breakfast/lunch/dinner at the drive through, plus soda and candy and chips for snack. That's how I got fat. Really fat.

    One day, I got tired of being fat and that meant changing how many calories I could eat each day. Unfortunately, most fast food doesn't fit that mold, so I made an effort to plan my meals rather than rely on the quick fix because I was too tired, too busy, too lazy, etc.

    Sometimes I still eat fast food (Chick Fil A grilled nuggets and the superfood side make a pretty awesome meal) and I definitely eat at a lot of "fast casual" type places. I just do it less often and make different choices in my order so I can stay within my calorie goals.

    It's not an addiction, it's a choice. You just have to decide if it's a choice you are ready to make.
  • TheRambler
    TheRambler Posts: 387 Member
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    If you like burgers, you can make bigger/juicier burgers at home that are healthy and tastier.
  • slider728
    slider728 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    You're not addicted to it, you just choose it over something else. Make different choices - plan meals, make a shopping list and stock your fridge and pantry with other options.

    To me, planning is key. I like fast food, but the ease and speed of getting the food is what is attractive in the end. With a little planning, I make quick meals from home. For the price of a Big Mac value meal, I can buy a 10 ounce T-Bone from the grocery store. With some garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and seasoned salt, throw it on a foreman grill, and I can have one heck of a lunch in 5 minutes.


    I will say I still eat fast food from time to time. Honestly, I quit ordering "Value Meals" to save on calories. I will usually order a sandwich (a Big Mac is around 500 to 600 calories, not terrible on its own) and a diet soda. I will skip the fries as the fries will turn it from a somewhat reasonable lunch at 600 calories to a 1000 calorie meal that is hard to recover from.

    If you don't want to cut it out completely, look at nutrition menus for your favorite places and cut calories where you can.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I'll never understand the whole fast food thing...most of it barely qualifies as food. I can make anything at home that I can get in a fast food restaurant and it will be both cheaper and infinitely better tasting. What qualifies as a burger at a fast food restaurant is ridiculous.

    The only thing I guess that would be similar to eating fast food regularly is Friday night pizza nights...but it's pretty high quality pizza from a local pizzeria.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    The big book is available free online. Read the first 163 pages and see if you identify with the authors issues.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,992 Member
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    You can't be addicted to fast food. You might just really like it, or be really lazy (like me) and not want to cook. I eat fast food regularly and I lost 70 pounds. You can fit fast food into your calorie goal and lose weight. You might find that cooking at home is more satiating and better financially, but if you really want or need to eat out, it can be done.
  • spicyginger2006
    spicyginger2006 Posts: 70 Member
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    You should go to your bookstore or library and check out "Eat This! Not that!" or "Cook this! Not that"... same author. Healthier versions of fast food to cook at home and swap out at the grocery store.
  • wellthenwhat
    wellthenwhat Posts: 526 Member
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    Anything can be an addiction. Some are stronger, some are not so strong, all are hard to overcome. It might not by physically addictive, but it can be psychologically addictive. I used to crave soda, and still crave sugar in general. I honestly don't crave fast food that much anymore, mostly because I quit eating it because I couldn't afford it. Now I don't like cheap fast food, and I can't handle too much greasy food. When I do have it I really enjoy it, but don't really crave it afterwards anymore. It's just a matter of will power and reconditioning. Most of the time when I get hungry for it, I think how much cheaper I could make it at home, and don't get it. I'm planning on making a taco pizza at home tonight.
  • nadia1212
    nadia1212 Posts: 2 Member
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    I've found the only way to curb my cravings for fast food is to fill up on healthy protein....then just distract yourself for long enough for your brain to register that you are full/satisfied.
    It works. But then there is still the danger you will want to eat for emotional reasons, in that case, try to do something that you enjoy that will distract you from eating....call a friend, go out for a walk etc.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    I would be more inclined to say you have a fast food habit, not an addiction. Break the habit. If you eat fast food 5 days a week now, eat it 4 times next week and make one more meal at home. Then 3, then 2, then 1, until ultimately eating fast food becomes the exception, not the rule. You're looking at behavior modification here, not breaking a physiological substance dependence.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    Are you logging your fast food binges?

    I recently succumbed to the cheeseburger/fries/shake combo from a local chain I Iike. But then I went home and looked up the nutrition, then logged 1600 calories for the meal. I cut back my dinner and also came under goal the next day to compensate.

    I enjoyed the meal but I'm not going to make it a habit. Logging ALL the calories made me realize it can only be a treat and not a regular occurrence.
  • mrschwarten
    mrschwarten Posts: 194 Member
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    For all those saying fast food cannot be an addiction -- is there no such thing as a sugar addiction? A sodium addiction? If the OP goes out of her way, spends money, and consumes out of a deep uncontrollable desire, then it's an addiction. Not much different than a nicotine or alcohol addiction...just a different poison. Don't be rude by belittling her concerns.

    Here's what I did to beat mine - I started small, by ordering a small french fry instead of a large (for example). When the fries were gone, I was done. I'd go and brush my teeth or something to really signify being done. It took some time and a lot of self control, but soon the small fry was satisfying! I did a sort of "step-down" approach, which worked great for me. I know people who do better cold-turkey: what method works for you in other aspects of life? Can you apply it here? (Also, what helped some was my beater car's driver window broke and wouldn't go down...it really discouraged drive thrus!)

    I still struggle from time to time, and fortunately my husband is very supportive. Maybe you have someone you can rely on and talk to when cravings hit? It helps when I admit that I am struggling and can talk myself out of it.

    Good luck, and know that you can do whatever you want to if you work hard! We're here for you!
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    JohnnyPenso wrote: »
    joemac1988 wrote: »
    Who cares?? I am too. But, I only let myself have it about once a week. Just like eating one salad won't make you fit, eating one BigMac won't make you fat. To me, this is a lifestyle not a diet and that means I'm not going to eliminate anything I enjoy, I'll simply be balanced. Alcohol? Check. Burgers? Check. Pizza? Check. Fast Food? Check. Try to take it from me and you'll get cut.
    If some of us had the level of self control to eat just a little fast food here and there we wouldn't be here. :D Saying, "eat just eat a little", while truthful, its not so easy to do to do for those of us that have trouble controlling our eating habits from time to time. Also, if you eat a little pizza every week, a burger or two, a few beers, some fast food, at some point a significant portion of your calories is going to be coming from these foods. At what point does your individual series of "balanced" choices make your overall diet "unbalanced" in favour of convenience foods?

    Very insightful.



    I also don't get the advices that tell a fast food lover to cook at home or plan. Some of the biggest advantages of fast foods is the luxury of avoiding cooking or planning (for me). You want fried chicken, you get it in 15 minutes. There's no way you can achieve that with planning and home cooking and no guarantee that you'll still have the joy of appetite.


    That said, OP, if you care about your weight, you must make sacrifices. If you don't like planing, home cooking, it's still convenient to get read to eat foods from the supermarket deli section. Or eat hiking food like I do, eg. nuts, bars, cold pastries. Save calories for serious weekend eating.
  • AgidGirl
    AgidGirl Posts: 138 Member
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    For me, I was addicted to the 'ritual' of fast food. I would go on my lunch, run through the drive through, park in the same spot every time, indulge in the greasy goodness while listening to talk radio, stuff the bags into my purse and sheepishly drive back to work and quickly throw the bags into the garbage when no one was looking. Then for the rest of the afternoon I would feel bloated and my stomach would hurt and I would hate myself and SWEAR that tomorrow would be different.

    Then I would go home, take my kids to their numerous practices drink an energy drink to keep me awake, get home eat dinner at 8 PM, a big bowl of popcorn at 9. I was, of course, too exhausted to make myself lunch for the next day so the cycle would continue.

    Then, one Sunday I had an hour to myself so I decided to make myself lunches for the week (you know the cute bento boxes you see on Pinterest). And guess what...after just 2 days of not eating crap for lunch I didn't have the horrible stomach pains anymore and best of all NO GUILT!

    Now, I am in no way perfect and I am totally still learning and I'm sure I'll eat fast food on occassion but, take it from me...DUMP THE FAST FOOD!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I'm in the habitual behaviours camp to explain our relationship with food. And often strong emotional ties. I self medicated with food, not necessarily fast food but too much of others.

    That said, sometimes I just fancy McDs (and always wonder why afterwards but that's neither here nor there!) and for me, when I'm getting my regular exercise in it's fairly easy to fit in one of the less extreme burgers and a small fries for about 900 calories. Is that a lot for one meal as a female losing weight? Sure. But I often intermittent fast so skipping breakfast still leaves me quite a lot to play with for dinner and a snack.

    It's just not an every day thing. I do regularly eat other take aways and as above, they're not that hard to fit in and they all pretty much have decent macro and micronutrient profiles. Just because it comes from a window or delivery driver doesn't suddenly make it devoid of anything good.

    Choices.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I'll never understand the whole fast food thing...most of it barely qualifies as food. I can make anything at home that I can get in a fast food restaurant and it will be both cheaper and infinitely better tasting. What qualifies as a burger at a fast food restaurant is ridiculous.

    The only thing I guess that would be similar to eating fast food regularly is Friday night pizza nights...but it's pretty high quality pizza from a local pizzeria.

    Cheaper? Yes. Different tasting? Yes. Better tasting? Not so sure.

    Eating fast food alot of time is like scratching a good itch. It's never better to wait and scratch it later.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    mrschwarten wrote: »
    For all those saying fast food cannot be an addiction -- is there no such thing as a sugar addiction? A sodium addiction? If the OP goes out of her way, spends money, and consumes out of a deep uncontrollable desire, then it's an addiction. Not much different than a nicotine or alcohol addiction...just a different poison. Don't be rude by belittling her concerns.

    Here's what I did to beat mine - I started small, by ordering a small french fry instead of a large (for example). When the fries were gone, I was done. I'd go and brush my teeth or something to really signify being done. It took some time and a lot of self control, but soon the small fry was satisfying! I did a sort of "step-down" approach, which worked great for me. I know people who do better cold-turkey: what method works for you in other aspects of life? Can you apply it here? (Also, what helped some was my beater car's driver window broke and wouldn't go down...it really discouraged drive thrus!)

    I still struggle from time to time, and fortunately my husband is very supportive. Maybe you have someone you can rely on and talk to when cravings hit? It helps when I admit that I am struggling and can talk myself out of it.

    Good luck, and know that you can do whatever you want to if you work hard! We're here for you!

    It's not a chemical dependency. There may be some behavioral addiction involved, but that's a whole different thing than a chemical addiction and it's much easier to change a behavior than end a chemical addiction.

    It's just natural to crave salt, fat and sugar. It is an evolutionary thing dating back to when food was much harder to get.
  • RoToQ
    RoToQ Posts: 93 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    endlessfall16 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I'll never understand the whole fast food thing...most of it barely qualifies as food. I can make anything at home that I can get in a fast food restaurant and it will be both cheaper and infinitely better tasting. What qualifies as a burger at a fast food restaurant is ridiculous.

    The only thing I guess that would be similar to eating fast food regularly is Friday night pizza nights...but it's pretty high quality pizza from a local pizzeria.

    Cheaper? Yes. Different tasting? Yes. Better tasting? Not so sure.

    Eating fast food alot of time is like scratching a good itch. It's never better to wait and scratch it later.

    IMO, food prepared with quality ingredients is infinitely better tasting than any slop you're going to get in at a drive up window...that's why I say that I don't get the whole thing...it's garbage...I think that *kitten* is vile and barely passes as food.

    A nice juicy burger I grill out on the patio at home is going to be infinitely better than some thin piece of "meat" that somehow passes at a burger at a drive up window...just an example.

    What he said

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