Addicted and Ashamed...
 

I am addicted to fastfood. I have cravings everyday and weasel my way to the drivethru whenever I can.

I also have extreme anxiety when I'm ordering the fastfood, I feel like when I pull up to the window they are all thinking "FATTY!" Even if I know i'm ordering something everyone else orders. I don't over order.

Does anyone else suffer with the fast food demon? Its calling me now...

I too have gotten "addicted" to fast food. I rarely use to eat it and now I have it at least once or twice a week.

I watched the movie "supersize me" and that really opened my eyes as to how unhealthy that stuff really is.

So for me for right now I have started small. I will not eat any french fries - I order a side salad instead (i carry my own dressing with me since most ff dressings are very high in fat)

I have done this for the last month and I am down 5 pounds. And honestly I dont crave the fries at all any more....sometimes the smell of them makes me sick!

So I would suggest you start out small - limit yourself on how often you go and trust me I know its hard - but you will be so proud of yourself when your really start to do something good for you.


Pam

Even just getting kids size portions is an improvment! I figure if I am going to eat fast food, I should at least stick to the original sizes----when fast food first came out the kids sizes were the only size available. I also watched "Supersize Me" about a month ago, OMG! The doctors were telling him to get off the diet within two weeks, it was already causing problems! FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH DOCUMENTARY-----the guy was documenting his diet of McDonald's food, he ate it for every meal for 30 days, he was being supervised by three different doctors and testing throughout. Before the documentary, the guy ate very healthy and was in perfect health.

Yes, I have been totally addicted to fast food. It was so bad that when I tried to stop eating it, I really felt like I was going crazy! I felt like a person coming off of a drug habit. I firmly believe the chemicals in fast food are addictive, not just the food itself. Once I got it all out of my system and didn't eat it for awhile, the cravings, and the feeling of craziness went away. I had to give it up all at once though. I just wanted to get it all out of my system as quickly as possible. Now, I must be really careful not to eat it at all, or rarely. I think maybe I'm just sensitive to the chemicals. Not everyone may feel this way. I do know how you feel though about the addiction. And yes, it made me feel ashamed too. I always ate it by myself and not with other people around. I'm ok now though. Best of luck to you overcoming this. It really is bad for us, and not even real, good, food. Do yourself a favor and do whatever it takes for you to give it up. You are worth it! Best of luck to you!

super size me really helped me too, really really did..I love that movie

This is my first time posting to this forum - but I wanted to share.
When I lived in NYC - it was passe to go to fast food places - there were too many options.
Then I moved to LA - land of fast food - I swear, there were chains I had never even heard about! So I joined the band wagon - I thought I would be eating celery sticks and carrotts only out here - but I was wrong - oh so wrong.

Finally I noticed I had gained weight from this (I mean, I was already overweight, but I started to get more of a stomache) and realized that this new additive to my diet was one of the major culprits - and i basically cut it out entirely. This has been almost a year - and I may have had it once or twice this year - but I pass it buy and try to imagine the grease pits under the stores to gross me out. I did break down two nights ago - when I had no food in my house and went to wendy's where I had a burger and frosty and salad. Big mistake - all I could think about yesterday was getting a frosty. I was already full from my previous bad eating (I had a bit of a meltdown this week) and since I was in the car felt I could just swing by the drivethru on my way home. LUCKILY the line was crazy - at almost 11PM - I couldnt' believe it - but it stopped me from going because I didn't want to wait on line.

OK - so watch supersize me - and really - you may go crazy - cold turkey worked for me. And I must drive past a lot of ff joints everyday.

Good Luck!

Watching Supersize actually didn't turn me off fast food :lol: It made me want to go get a double cheeseburger. BUT, I treated my fast food addiction as such, and I stopped cold turkey. I was eating Mcdonald's and Taco Bell nearly every day. I'd crave it everyday and HAD to have it. And then I stopped. It took months for the cravings to go away, but they did. And now I never eat there. I'd rather eat anything else. It's simply not appealing to me anymore.

I don't know if the cold turkey approach will work for you, but I recommend it, because I couldn't imagine ordering a hamburger and small fries and leave it at that. I'd know I'd want more and more.

Good luck!!!! :)

I saw Supersize Me, and loved the movie. My brother hated it. It made him want to go to McDos STAT. All I can say is that fast food has been engineered to have the optimal proportions of salt, sugar, and fat, and is highly, highly studied to maximize the appeal of the food. What I mean is that not only are the proportions of the ingredients modified, but the actual chemical composition of the food too, including texture analysis, flavor, mouth-feel, and smell. They spend BILLIONS tweaking the formulas to make these foods highly, highly appealing, flavorful and addictive - they are designed on purpose to make you want MORE MORE MORE (i.e. become a "heavy user"). These companies have created an addictive substance and are marketing it to you and your family and your kids. Some are less susceptible to the ingredient/chemical/marketing mix, while others are HIGHLY PRONE to abusing it, just like a drug!!! HarpoChicoGroucho(Zeppo!) has it bang on - cold turkey may be the only way to avoid the spiral into fast food ****.
That really worked for me, too.

I'm SOOOOOOO Happy I'm not alone in this struggle. I might even have my husband read this, to get an insight on what it's like for me to deal with these cravings and this addiction. I'm definetly going to go cold turkey. My challenge is not to eat fastfood even if I'm traveling. I really need to just stop going its the only way things work for me, once I cheat once I just keep cheating.....So Cold TUrkey is the way to go for me!

Thank you guys I know I'll need support with this transition.....

I was an addict also. I've learned that I can have fast food, once every few weeks. But not every day! That seems to keep my cravings at bay. I make sure to not eat more than 10 french fries and give the rest to the kids to share.
I include this into my daily calories. I cannot maintain a diet that restricts me to a certain catagory of foods. Life is too short.

I normally really Dislike fast food (honest!) McDonald's is usually the very last place I want to eat... except one week a month. During PMS week, I cannot get McDonald's BigMac's out of my mind. I could probably eat three of them in one sitting (when I was single and not on birth control pills, during PMS week, I would sometimes be so desparate for fatty meat patties that I would pretend to be on my cell phone asking a mystery person what they wanted me to bring home for them, and would order two BigMac or Whopper Value meals, drinks included).

Even now, I really have to fight fast food cravings during "that week." I have made hubby promise not to bring home fast food "surprises" for me during that week (My moodswings are so bad that week every month that he knows before I do that it is "that time," and would often attempt "preemptive strikes" on my mood by buying fatty, greasy burgers to calm the raving beast). This past month we both suffered through my mood swings without fat and beef to calm me down, but we did survive it!

:carrot: Way to go, PumpkinPrincess! :carrot: Just like smoking, the first 10 days will be the HARDEST. Just remember, DON'T replace your fast food with junk food!!!! It might sound silly, but freeze a bunch of green seedless grapes, and if you get the urge to snack, pop these instead of Cheetos!
You can do it!!!

Very interesting to read....I know I would be a fast food addict immediately if I would eat at Fast food chains. This sugary/ chemistry/ white flour/ whatever mix is highly dangerous for me.
The only thing that prevented me from being a fast food addist until now was the fact that here are very few fast food chains. The next McDonalds is 20km away, the next Burger King more than 35km....
And there are not so many Fast Food chains here. McDonalds, Burger King and since a few months we have Subway.
And I visited McDonalds with an US citizen last year and she told me that the portions in Europe are much smaller than in the US. And we don´t have those Maxi- Menues.

Where´s my point....ääähh, here I go: Fast Food is really, really dangerous for me, so I try to avoid it. I guess that a lot of people who are sensitive to sugar are having problems with Fast Food as well.

Kate

Hello, I ate enough fast food for a lifetime. I had to have Mcdonalds or order take out everyday and did. I binged on big macs, fries, apple pies, breakfast bagels, egg mcmuffins, cheese steaks, pizza, the most unhealthy food in the world. And of course I would say I'm never eating this crap again, but the next day I had to have something.

It's a waste of time and money. I was so sick all the time. I had ear infections every month, stomach pains, vomiting, the worst gas in the free world, i had the flu GOD knows how many times. Infection after infection, virus after virus, food posioning, gallbladder attacks, Pancreatitis, inflamed liver. I was like why the **** am I doing this, F%#K them! I became a vegetarian in 2002, i never ate at mcdonalds again. I still binge on pizza and fries and junk food, but thank god it's not everyday. And I'm trying to be 100% vegan cause I hate hurting animals at all. I wish I wasn't a food addict. Its just like drugs, it makes me do things i regret, like eat dairy and lie. I haven't had meat since 2002. Since then I think i've been sick like 5 times. Not a coincedince. Fast food places are the most disgusting places to eat, their food may taste good but it's loaded with chemicals and bacteria that make you sick. If it's not safe to be eaten everyday then I guess it shouldn't be eaten at all.

Try to resist the fast food demon as much as you can. I know it's hard believe me! I still fight it, I crave big macs once in a while, I just make a big mac veggie burger and it's so good it makes me feel like I just had one, with out all the calories, fat and Cholesterol. Just know it's not worth it, it's horrible for you. :hug:

veggie big mac
Garden Burger vegan grillers
Veganise (vegan mayo) or vegan thousand Island dressing
Lettuce, Onion, Tomato
Hamburger bun

YUMMY!

Angiepants, what a great post and thanks for the veggie Big Mac recipe.

Most fast food places should have a skull and crossbones flag flying to indicate poison within.

Like Angie, I am a vegetarian with strong vegan tendencies. It is amazing how healthy you can become eating like this.

A tip for those of you trying to break the fast food addiction: Eat at Subway instead. Get a veggie delight on a whole wheat roll, hold the mayo and cheese. This sandwich is under 250 calories and is very filling. Just don't order a soda, a cookie and a bag of potato chips to go with it!

We are stronger than the food chemists who forumlate the fast food poison. We don't have to let them win. :)

Be brave! Be strong!

-Celery

Man this is going to be tough. Someone above just mentions Breakfast Bagels and I instantly got a craving and my mind starting thinking how I could get one....good thing its 11:40 and breakfast isn't being served anymore....

I am going to fight this demon its not healthy for me and its keeping me from losing the weight that I so want to lose.

So far 24 hours without fastfood or soda.....

I just wanted to add that recently I have started bringing a salad for lunch, and everyone comments on how good it looks---even though they are sitting there eating fast food - which I am dying for.

But like you, I am taking it one day at a time. But for me I feel even worse because my kids are conditioned to eating FF 2Xs a week too.....this is habit that I must break.

Pam

I still go to mcdonalds, but when I do I get a grilled asian chicken salad. I love it. I have cut out entirely all of the 'junk' part of past foods. At wendy's I get a chili, not the best but not too shaby either. I feel alittle fast food makes me want it more.

I am cured of fast food.....alot of it for me was the guilt that I was letting my kids eat at those places usually once every week or two. NOT anymore...if you ask my eight year old she will tell you....Mcdonalds is a once in awhile food! when I do give in once every six months or so it is ice cream or fries for her.

great post!

Liz

Originally Posted by HarpoChicoGroucho:
Watching Supersize actually didn't turn me off fast food :lol: It made me want to go get a double cheeseburger.

Oh gosh, same here. I watched it with my mom and sister first, then once in my health class. Immediately my friend brittany goes, "I want a fish sandwich from mcdonalds." LOL. It takes a LOT to disgust me, i guess.

I guess i dont have a problem with fast food just because im always with my mom. Cant gorge myself when im around other people. Actually, i probably wouldnt anyway. Surprisingly i can get something moderately healthy and be fine with it. Thats one advantage i have.

I started out going to Subway. I kept saying that's my fast food place. Now that I haven't been to McD's etc REGULARLY (I was going to those type places A LOT) in a while, I don't want it as much. Have I eaten it? Yes, I have in a pinch but I eat MUCH smaller amounts like kids happy meal or something when I go. I get my taste for fries without binging on it.

5 days NO FAST FOOD!!!:carrot:

Originally Posted by PumpkinPrincess:
5 days NO FAST FOOD!!!:carrot:

Great Job keep up the good work. Pretty soon you won't even
want it anymore.

:carrot: :carrot:

:hug: That's awesome!!!!! keep it up!!!

My mouth is watering just reading this thread! Mention "cheeseburger or fries" and I am hungry for them.

One of my tricks for avoiding fast food now is to imagine the amount of germs that are being transferred to my food by the workers and how dirty the kitchen must be. I'm sure most places are clean, but this imagery is something that helps me to avoid fast food like the plague (so to speak :) ) being that I am a moderate germophobe (thus one of my many reasons for my user name "Quirky1", lol). I swear that when I stay away from fast food in the winter time, I don't get the flu.

Another thing I like to remind myself is that *I am in an all-out war with these greedy fast food companies*. They don't care if my health is ruined or if I become morbidly obese eating their stuff. They don't care one bit about me or my family. They have no worries about my quality of life or if my children grow up motherless due to me dying from the complications of obesity. Their bottom line is profit (which I realize is what makes the business world go 'round). I have to be the one to take control and love myself enough to take care of me. I will resist their evil products! :devil: I will no longer support their business.

Anyway, off my soapbox now.

Keep up the great work PumpkinPrincess! You can do it! :cb:

I also think of fast food places as "dirty". When people go to real chef school once of the primary things they learn is cleanliness and keeping food safe and in order. Their reputation and future career depends on it. Having worked in the fast food industry as a teenager, I know that not everyone there is extremely dedicated to cleanliness. It's been years since I've eaten fast food.

hmm there really arent fast food restaurants where I live. I think there is a mcdonalds if I take the train for 30 minutes into the main town in my prefecture. Im kind of glad there are no fast food restaurants in my town though, I can't buy what isnt here.

I have also felt ashamed when I have eaten at restaurants when I go to the bigger cities because I feel like everybody is judging me. That I shouldnt be eating things because Im so fat.