Ok guys I have a rant for you. I really love this site and I spend probably 50-75% of my online time here, but there is one thing that drives me nuts!

Why do people have to trash talk so much about fast food?

Yes, we know it's not healthy. Yes, we know it's fatty. Yes, we know it comes in huge sizes. So what? Some people eat it every day. Some are obese some are normal. Some have a PhD some have a GED. Some do it because it's fast some because they like the taste. So what?

I just don't understand why people feel it is necessary to insult the intelligence of those who choose to eat it. If you don't like it, don't go. Don't most of us have our own problems to worry about?

Personally I eat some form of restaurant food 2+ times a week. While doing so I have lost ~35 pounds. I also have normal cholesterol, bp, etc. Of course there are people who take it to the extreme, but if it wasn't McD's it woud be frozen pizza and chocolate cake.

People admit all the time to eating chocolate, cake, chips, etc but as soon as someone says fast food they get jumped on, like it's a dirty word! There are also a lot of bad things people do to their body in the name of fitness! Liquid diets, starving themselves, 6 hours a day on the treadmill. I just think there are a lot of other things everyone can focus on and lay off those who choose eat out.

Sorry for the long rant, I feel better now

I think it is only bad if you complain that you want to lose weight and you eat out all the time and don't exercise. I always had the motto: Eat whatever you want but have control over it. Everything in moderation.

I think everyone likes to have a scapegoat. I think a lot of us associate fast food with why we got so heavy in the first place. I USED to eat fast food 5-6 times a week (if not more) and I weighed 300 pounds. Now I don't eat fast food anymore and I weigh 193. See the simple correlation? The media is also partly to blame, because everytime they show an obese person (from the waist down, you know the ones!) they quickly do a montage of fast food restaurant signs. Now the viewing public has been subconsciously transfixed on the idea that obesity and fast food go hand in hand. Fast food places definitely add fire to the obesity epidemic but they are not the cause. Especially now that the majority of them offer healthy choices!

If we had no fast food restaurants, there would still be inactive people out there who like you said, would eat frozen pizza and chocolate cake instead. You have done this, and I have done this. If someone is craving fattening, sugar laden food, they will find it anywhere, not just McD. For example, when I got a middle of the morning craving, and when McD's was closed for the night, I would go to a 24-hour Walmart and get anything and everything I could get my hands that was super-fattening junk and just as bad or even worse than what I could have gotten at Mcd's.

The difficulty that I believe most people face is that of MODERATION. When I was eating fast food daily, I would have the worst cravings for it, and I would just keep getting more and more. The more we eat, the more we crave. And if don't eat it, we don't crave it.



But my problem is any advertising and marketing they aim at children. Children are not educated enough about nutrition to ask for a salad when they are taken to a fast food restaurant. Getting a happy meal is the highlight of a lot of American children's weeks, if not the highlight of their day. And look at the enticement: a new toy! But then again, children can't drive or walk to Mcdonalds by themselves . . .

I'm with ya. I've eaten my share and still lost. Like Trns said, I just get mad when people talk about how they can't understand why they aren't losing when they are eating like crap, fast food included. I've never seen anyone here on the 20 somethings board get jumped on for fast food, but I don't venture far from this board either. It goes both ways. No it's not good for you, yes it is easy and yummy sometimes, as long as you balance it out it doesn't matter in the end. The only way I can see people getting in an argument is like when people just seem to not understand why they are so unhealthy when all they eat is stuff from restaurants, and we're not talking grilled chicken salads either. Also of course things like deep fried french fries get saturated in trans fat the longer the oil is used. Trans fat is a proven carcinogen. You can also get colon problems and other things that don't show up in tests like BP etc. or a person could be thin and outwardly healthy and still have problems. Of course in moderations this will not be a concern. Although the more I learn in my classes (nutrition major), the more I wanna stay away, more for fear of long term side effects.

Hopefully you always feel understood and welcome here no matter what you choose to eat or do! The only thing that people have stronger opinions on than diet and exercise is politics (well not me, but some), and some people get gung-ho beyond imagination and can't relate to the normal people anymore. Glad you got it out of your system, sometimes you just need to rant!

Yes. I think this is a key to why people hold a grudge to fast food. My sister is totally addicted to it. But I agree, if it wasn't that it would be something else... but fast food is one to itself. You don't have to do anything. The delivery boy can bring it to you or you can drive to the place and never have to get out of the car.

I don't say it is fast food's fault. It is the fact that it is so easy to go get- and it is so bad for you...and for people who have no control over their diet it is a real obsticle to conquer.

I think people tend to jump on fast food because (sadly) there are still people out there who don't realize how bad it is. People admit to the chocolate and the candy and the cake and the whatever with the knowledge that it is bad for them, but some people think that a chicken sandwich from a fast food place is okay (not realizing the type of oil it's fried in, the sauce/mayo gopped on it, the fatty cheese, etc.). I'm absolutely NOT saying this is the case for you (obviously, or you wouldn't have been so successful so far already!), but I think those who jump all over it are just making sure that everyone realizes it's bad. Does that make sense?

I'm not saying it's right since I would assume most people on this site already know how bad the fast food is for you and have found ways to make it work in their personal plans, but I think people are mostly just trying to help. I understand what you mean, though--I get semi-annoyed when people make comments about how they can't understand how ANYONE could POSSIBLY eat that stuff! and things like that. It's like, hey, I like the way it tastes, so YES, I can work it into my plan, thank you very much! Any my cholesterol and blood pressure are just fine

I eat out at restaurants every single weekend, but I still account for all the calories in my Fitday either by checking the restaurant's website or making the best possible estimate. No, I don't think you should eat the stuff every day, but I also don't think you should cut it out completely if it's something you enjoy

I agree with moderation, too. My problem is, I can't moderate myself with fast food! If I have McDonald's one day, I want it badly the next day. For some strange reason, I love McDonald's and Taco Bell, and once I have it, I keep wanting it. It tastes good, and the convenience factor makes it so easy. So, I really, really try not to eat it. I still eat it very occassionally, but it's a battle to not eat it everyday after that.

I have a very overweight friend who eats fast food everyday. She says she's trying to lose weight by working out at Curves for 30 minutes a day, but she doesn't understand why the weight isn't coming off. She really doesn't have a concept of nutrition and doesn't "get" how to count calories. It's really sad. I try to help her, but it seems like it's to no avail.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is if you can moderate your fast food intake and work it into your plan, great! Sadly, there are some cases where fast food is a major problem in someone's efforts to lose weight, but it's usually not the only culprit.

I agree with JillyBean's "I think people tend to jump on fast food because (sadly) there are still people out there who don't realize how bad it is. " that becoz they eat the chicken sandwich etc they think its healthy, fastfood is cool as a treat, I indulge too.
And it helps that(here anyways) macdonalds is trying to become healthier, but the truth is there not as we could do.
For me, if I know someone who is trying to lose weight Im like, well if its not more than twice a month thats not bad, the food is generally packed with sugars, fats and salt and [depending which chioce] has nearly the whole day's rda%

if a person isnt losing weight, eats there and *****es about it, thats wrong.

But the major prob I have with fast food is that is so darn unhealthy, people eating it, skinny or not are not 'healthy' they dont need to be overweight to have anyproblems associated with fastfood.
Its gotta be different to the usa to some degree as I would class fast food as the chains with hamburgers and fries pizza etc, but a resturant is different, where you can order a 'healthier option'.

but I do understand how you feel, wheneva I get a craving for fries etc my mum will tut at me, before I remind how far Ive come on my own with my own desisions

found this
http://www.3fatchicks.com/fast-food-nutrition/