Fast food junky?!

tinambird
tinambird Posts: 11
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
Ok, so how many people cannot drive past a fast food resturant and not stop? If there is a "fast food anoymous" I need to go. I am so serious. It's so easy to just stop, you don't have to cook or really clean up. When I get up in the morning I think about food. I think if I could just stop eating fast food I'd probably lose weight quickly but I just can't stay away. This is funny/sad but true. I quit taking my purse places so I won't stop b/c I have no money. Am I the only one out there like this??

Replies

  • BrenNew
    BrenNew Posts: 3,420 Member
    Ok, so how many people cannot drive past a fast food resturant and not stop? If there is a "fast food anoymous" I need to go. I am so serious. It's so easy to just stop, you don't have to cook or really clean up. When I get up in the morning I think about food. I think if I could just stop eating fast food I'd probably lose weight quickly but I just can't stay away. This is funny/sad but true. I quit taking my purse places so I won't stop b/c I have no money. Am I the only one out there like this??


    I think I'd be the same way if I didn't live way out in the "sticks"! :laugh: I have to drive almost a half hour to get to a fast food place, which is probably a VERY GOOD thing! :laugh:
  • Shanta1983
    Shanta1983 Posts: 1,228 Member
    Coming from an ex-fast food junky :laugh: this to shall pass..you'll get to the point you want even stop if you do you will starting feeling guilty and you''ll stop eventually :happy: :flowerforyou:
  • klaflamme
    klaflamme Posts: 109 Member
    I think it's okay to stop every now and then but make good selections. Do some research on the foods that you like to eat at Taco Bell, Wendy's, McDonalds to see what the nutrition value is. Once you do that, it may turn you off to some of it. Once in a while, I'll stop at Wendy's and get me a baked potato, sm chili, and a side salad. I think taco bell has some new grilled chicken soft taco's - not sure the specs on them. Eventually, you'll build a list of things that you can eat at the places you love to stop.

    Subway's 6" wheat - turkey breast with the works and light mayo isn't bad... I'd just watch my carb intake for the remainder of the day. Personally, I love Wendy's burgers/fries. Once in a blue moon, I will grab 'just the sandwhich' and remove most of the bun since I'm trying to avoid white flour products... it still feels like I'm treating myself to things I love. I just skip the frosty and have a Weight Watchers icecream product that I keep at home when I'm missing these things.
  • blakgarnet
    blakgarnet Posts: 343
    It's hard for me too. My office frequently orders dominos and other fast food. I have been working on getting them to order subway more so I can get a sandwich and still be on track. sometimes I lack willpower though and have a slice of pizza. Those are the days where I HAVE to go to the gym after work.
  • klaflamme
    klaflamme Posts: 109 Member
    It's hard for me too. My office frequently orders dominos and other fast food. I have been working on getting them to order subway more so I can get a sandwich and still be on track. sometimes I lack willpower though and have a slice of pizza. Those are the days where I HAVE to go to the gym after work.

    I can relate to this... my office is always ordering cookie cakes, donuts, and having pot lucks!!! I've been doing good lately but some days I have given in and tried to make up for it later, which didn't always happen. Logging my food is really helping me with this!!!
  • tinambird
    tinambird Posts: 11
    I feel so guilty when I hit the drive thru but then I tell myself "i won't eat the rest of the day" or "I'lll start tomorrow". Yesterday was day 1 without fast food!!
  • beckyi88
    beckyi88 Posts: 604
    Good for you Tina!:drinker:
    Yesterday was also day 1 for me without fast food! I too, am a fast food junkie!
    I could and have eaten McDonald's, Wendy's, pizza,etc everyday of the week, somedays for multiple meals a day. I know it's bad for you. I know it's poison, but I crave it. It's all I think about.
    Just wanted you to know you aren't alone!
    Becky
  • tinambird
    tinambird Posts: 11
    Ok so I only made it 1 day without fast food. My husband said "lets go to arbys" for lunch. And me not able to say no was like "oh great lets go". I need to exercise today. Boy I feel really guilty. I'm not eating dinner later. Maybe just a piece of fruit. Yes I know its not good to do these things but.... Tomorrow I start all over again and hopefully make it to day 2. Thanks for listening everyone.
  • incircles_lp2
    incircles_lp2 Posts: 132 Member
    Alot of fast foods are designed to make you want/crave them. There are people who's full time jobs are to make sure you keep wanting more of your favorite fast food foods. No joke! Alot of that food is highly processed and food flavors are added to intensify your taste buds. There is an interesting Podcast about highly processed foods and how they might be linked to our obesity factor in this country (we don't use as many calories to burn up the food like we used to). Check it out on npr.org.

    The book Fast Food Nation helped me quit my cravings for Fast Food as well. It will make you think more than twice before eating at one-seriously!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Not eating will not help you, in fact, it will probably make matters worse. You should eat your planned out (you DO plan out your whole day ahead of time right:huh: ) food, and add in extra exercise to make up some of the difference.

    Then tomorrow, when your husband asks you to go out for lunch, explain to him that you are trying to become healthy, and every time he asks you to do this it is like him saying "no no honey, I like you fat, I like you unhealthy, I WANT you to dye young", course you should say this in the nicest possible way:wink:
    Explain to him that it's OK if he wants to go, but that he shouldn't ask you if he does, and he shouldn't bring it home until you are more confident with your new lifestyle.

    I agree with researching the nutritional elements of the food at those places. I too was once a fast food junkie, that was right up until I looked in the mirror one day and realized I WAS FAT! Then I looked at what a Whopper was for calories, and how much saturated fat was in it. Didn't take me long to stop ordering fast food. I'll wager it won't take you long either.

    This is hard, we've all been there, but if you're truly ready to change your life, become healthy and happy with yourself, this is a necessary step you must make.

    Best luck

    -Banks
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    I used to be like that, but thank god I'm not anymore. The best way to give up fast food is to give up meat. :tongue: Seriously, I gave up beef and pork 2 and a half years ago about, and that ended my fast food addiction. Meat grosses me out though, so I doubt any random person is just going to quit the meat (nor is that actually my advice). :smile: One thing I did have a problem with for a long time was ordering pizza, but money's so tight, that habit had to go too.

    You can still have fast food once in a while. Try having planned fast food days. If you have something to look forward to, it might make it easier for you. Try cutting out the fast food through the week, and have a weekend fix. If that's too much for you, try making it every other day at first, and working your way down.

    Good luck.
  • mrd232
    mrd232 Posts: 331
    This'll sound a bit odd but the one thing that's really made me swear off from fast foods is keeping a journal (be it mental or blogged somewhere) about how I feel after eating fast foods.

    I had some unfortunate events as a kid (i.e. OMG where is the bathroom) after eating McD's and other fast foods.

    A couple things that I started to notice were:

    Very specific types of cooking oil cause me A LOT of digestive strife. This is a problem amongst many. Common vegetable oils and greases used in fast food and other food prep are proven irritants and laxatives. A common griddle oil - Vegalene - is well-known with food service workers as a laxative, sometimes a severe one.

    Preservatives used with fast food salads and "fresh" ingredients are a source of not only debilitating digestive problems, but also severe migraines.

    Sugary treats and super-sized meals can leave me with a literal hangover the next day. Working out...eh, it flies out the window for that day.

    The less I ate of this stuff the more it stood out as seriously unhealthy and artificial tasting. For example, I used to love Blizzards from DQ. I had one a couple months ago after not eating one for some time and afterward I was left with an odd, waxy taste in my mouth. Sugar rush aside, the ingredients are crappy, the treats are filled with preservatives, and they're ultimately not worth it.

    A better-made meal, albeit costing more, when prepared with whole ingredients (i.e. a big steak, 1/2 roasted chicken, what have you) is worth a week's worth of fast food and is so much more rewarding and less guilt inducing. That's me and my SO's treat at the end of the week - typically a good meal out at a steakhouse OR a nice brunch.
  • tinambird
    tinambird Posts: 11
    Wow, everyone thank you for all your great responses! I just have to keep telling myself "I don't wanna be fat and that I can do this" . Today I am starting all over again with no fast food. I am still trying to figure out how to get my ticker to work as my signature. I know how to do it but it just shows up as a lil' box. *Hmmmm* Ok everyone have a great day!:smile:
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    I was watching this program on either Discovery or TLC about severly obese people. It cured me of fast food. They did a program on a man who had been bedridden for YEARS due to his weight. He had so much fat on his thighs that he could not put his legs in position to stand up. It was appalling. They also did a show on the world's largest teenager.....who had an apallingly similar story.

    Any way, you ask yourself how in the world could someone get into that condition? He started talking about how someone bought him fast food a minimum of six times a day since he couldn't get out of bed. Again, I'm thinking: how could this happen?

    After months of rehabilitation, physical therapy and a series of operations to remove serious pounds of fat from his body he was down to something like 600 pounds and able to return home.

    The show cuts to his family preparing for him to come home. All of them are sitting in the living room having stopped off for family dinner at McD's and are stuffing their faces with the burgers and fries that they would be sharing with him when he got home....... Every one of them would be considered morbidly obese.

    I instantly understood. It's a history of a family eating poorly with no understanding of nutrition or the impact of those excess calories. They don't even see that they will end up in the same place he is or that he'lll end up back there as well.

    Fast food is too easy and addictive. I
  • jlefton1212
    jlefton1212 Posts: 171 Member
    Congrats on making it through the day!

    I have my own dietary weaknesses, and I found that the thing that helped the most was planning out my meals and trying to balance my calories throughout the day. If you are starving and pass a drive through, it is going to be much easier to succumb to temptation. Maybe even pack a tasty protein bar or other type of snack in your purse, so that if you get hungry in the car you can curb your appetite fast. (I love Balance Bars...caramel nut blast is my favorite.) Overall I eventually hope to convert to a less processed diet where I won't be eating "bars" of any kind, but for now they have been a lifesaver. It's really hard to be rational about what to eat when your stomach is begging to be fed!

    The other tip I have is that it WILL get easier. The longer you go without fast food, the less tempting it will be. I stopped eating it a while ago, and now it doesn't even appeal to me. Example: Any time I had to wake up at an awful hour to travel (via airport or a road trip) my husband and I would ALWAYS go get a McDonald's breakfast. I'd stick with an egg mcmuffin and the hashbrowns. Anyway, the less frequently I did this, the more I realized that the hashbrowns felt like they were coating my mouth with oil...and I always had "post mcDonald's feeling" which is not pleasant! Tomorrow my husband and I are catching a flight at 7 in the morning, and I thought I'd look forward to another MCD's breakfast...but now it doesn't even sound appealing at all. I'd rather hit Panera for a yogurt, strawberry, and granola parfait!

    Lastly, have you ever seen Super Size Me? I highly recommend it. The part that stuck with me the most was when he was filmed with his "fast food high" from all the sugar/salt, etc. in that food. And then he crashes and feels awful. I really related to that feeling, and realized that our food should not give us such peaks and valleys...finding balance will help you feel empowered and more in control of your cravings.

    Best of luck to you!:smile:
  • chulie
    chulie Posts: 282
    Not eating will not help you, in fact, it will probably make matters worse. You should eat your planned out (you DO plan out your whole day ahead of time right:huh: ) food, and add in extra exercise to make up some of the difference.

    Then tomorrow, when your husband asks you to go out for lunch, explain to him that you are trying to become healthy, and every time he asks you to do this it is like him saying "no no honey, I like you fat, I like you unhealthy, I WANT you to dye young", course you should say this in the nicest possible way:wink:
    Explain to him that it's OK if he wants to go, but that he shouldn't ask you if he does, and he shouldn't bring it home until you are more confident with your new lifestyle.

    I agree with researching the nutritional elements of the food at those places. I too was once a fast food junkie, that was right up until I looked in the mirror one day and realized I WAS FAT! Then I looked at what a Whopper was for calories, and how much saturated fat was in it. Didn't take me long to stop ordering fast food. I'll wager it won't take you long either.

    This is hard, we've all been there, but if you're truly ready to change your life, become healthy and happy with yourself, this is a necessary step you must make.

    Best luck

    -Banks
    Hahaha...i remember the 1st time I looked up the calories in a milkshake....I almost died. While I do treat myself sometimes...there are some things I'll just never be able to injest again even if i have the calories for them..... A Mcdonalds triple thick Milkshake is one of them...
  • tinambird
    tinambird Posts: 11
    Thanks everyone for your encouraging words. I wish that I could say I didn't eat out today but I did. I did however only eat half of the food on my plate. I got a call from my doctor today about some lab work I had done a few days ago and they are all outta wack.:sad: I now have a hyperthyroid issue. Its off the chart. I asked her "well shouldnt I be getting smaller instead of bigger and she said "it goes through stages. So now I have gotten a wakeup call. I'm only 29 and are having health issues already. Def. something to think about!
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
    I agree with researching the nutritional elements of the food at those places. I too was once a fast food junkie, that was right up until I looked in the mirror one day and realized I WAS FAT! Then I looked at what a Whopper was for calories, and how much saturated fat was in it. Didn't take me long to stop ordering fast food. I'll wager it won't take you long either.

    I agree with Banks.
    I was also a fast food junkie.

    When I started MFP, I found out how many calories I was taking in for my breakfast at McD's every day. Then there's the Big Mac Combo. When you see how much sugar, fat, and sodium your giving to your body, you start to realize fast.

    Each one of those meals is/was my daily caloric intake now. ~ 1500 calories.
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