Has anyone else noticed the amount of people in the drive thru's before work around 7:30 a.m. and after work, around 4:30 or 5 p.m.? I think that a lot of people depend on the fast food places for their meals most of the time. For me, it's addictive. I believe at one point, I could have actually went from one drive thru to another. I never did, but I think I could have done it if I hadn't had some control. This an embarrassing thing to admit.

I did notice this once, how many people were pouring through a drive-through; for the life of me, I can't remember where. Drive-throughs have never been part of my dining pattern, though, so they're not really on my radar.

I can't remember what thread, but I just read someone on 3fc who posted that they had been going to fast food restaurants 2 or 3 times every day. Someone I know from another online site posted that she used to get lunch at one fast food place and then go to a second one to get another lunch - she didn't want to order and eat 2 lunches worth of food at one place but she wanted to eat that much food.

These are people who weigh about 300 lbs or more. I would guess that the majority of people weighing 300 lbs and more are doing it mostly via highly processed food, fast foods and other similar unhealthy eating choices.

It really comes down to habit for me. I had to break my close to 2-year habit of stopping by McD's every morning for a sausage biscuit. I loved those things and still do! But now my habit is a bowl of oatmeal heated up in the micro when I get to work and I get grumpy if I forget it!

I would sometimes run over to McD's at lunch as well.

I've had a bit of a time not doing drive thru or pizza when Ive had a busy day. We used to get a lot of fast food on weekends and it is still odd not to, but better planning makes it easier to break the habit. I think it was more a convenience thing than a taste thing. I would rather eat my own home cooked food, but it would sure be handy sometimes when I'm tired if someone else would cook it for me. ;-)

Barb

I used to work at McDonalds. The busiest time is 5-9am 11-2 and 4-7 I may be wrong.. it's been a while but that's pretty close if my memory is telling the truth. We weren't allowed to answer the phones during these times because that's how busy we would get.

I absolutely believe it is addictive and in fact is one of the most common unhealthy foods that people get "addicted" to. It was never my addiction-I'm a sugar addict but I certainly know people who have had this problem. I don't eat it anymore now because I would rather spend that number of calories on something more nutritious and filling.

I think that it's a convenience thing for a lot of parents. They've worked all day and then have to take their kids to all their after school activites and it's just easier to grab everyone something from a drive through. I think that's why we see so much childhood obesity these days.

At some point in my childhood, my mom stopped cooking. So my dad would pick up McDonald's, take us to a diner, and order pizza. I grew up eating this food several times a week & I was completely addicted as an adult.

I remember fighting myself not to go to McD's for food. It was an awful battle that took years and years to win. Then it was a Dunkin Donuts habit.

Finally, I have broken free. I don't care if they invent 100 calorie burgers, shakes, and fries. I don't want to go back. The memory of that greasy food that didn't even look like food deters me from temptation.

I've been there, as a McDonald's and Hardy's employee, and especially as a single parent. When you can stop by the drive through and grab a quick and cheap meal off the dollar menu after a long day at work, it's hard to pass it up. My first apartment back in SC had a McDonald's and an Arby's right at the only entrance to the subdivision! Once I started tallying the fat and calories on sparkpeople.com it helped curtail the impulse. Now that I don't drive it's much harder to make a "quick" stop on the way by...I can walk to Arbys from my new apartment and have done so several times but have found I just really don't like the food anymore. (their curly fries are on the list of top 10 worst fries for fat content, and that's before adding the cheese, so I won't even touch them!)

Fast food for me is one of my worst enemies. I work from home and I know I could do better. It's just SO easy sometimes to work all day and then run out and grab 15 "dollar" sandwiches somewhere to feed all 5 of us.. than it is to stand in the kitchen and cook and clean up the mess too. But in the meantime, here I am, not happy with the way I look or feel, so, I am here to learn new habits, and conquer all these bad ones that are ultimately not good for me or my kids. I vote a YES on the fast food being a BIG problem....

Barb

I still eat at McDonald's sometimes. It happens when late for work and I teach straight from 9:30 until 3:30 without a break. So I'll get two Egg McMuffins (no meat) and have those and that lasts me until I'm done. Sometimes I have a fiber bar between classes.
But really, I was never a big fast food person.

I think it's just so different from when I was a kid. There were not seemingly unlimited fast food choices lined up and down every major street. I remember a few McD and a food court in the mall. That was it, but now they're everywhere. My son (he's 17) loves nothing more than to eat out with his friends. The other day they had breakfast at IHOP (before an AP test), and then all went to Chik-fil-A afterwards (i.e., after the test -- several hours later). And he wondered why he felt sick that night. He doesn't have a weight problem, but it does have me concerned. It seems like it's their "entertainment".

I eat out at a fast food restaurant a max of 2x a month. But it's always either at Potbelly's or Subway. And I always get a veggie sandwich on wheat, no cheese. It's fast, but I think it's a better choice than a burger and fries.

i think fast food was my worst enemy! i would actually plan what i wanted to eat for dinner in the afternoon... chinese, thai takeaways i had on speed dial. i still have them on my speed dial but i have actually had a promise to myself that i will not eat out for a month. if im going for dinners i usually eat from home and have a diet soda there. SAY NO TO FAST FOOD.... i can understand that it is very convenient but make better choices...!!

The year I gained the 100 lbs. was the year I took a travel job and ate every weekday meal in a restaurant or fast food. Sad to say, but at the time I would choose the drive through option to take back to the hotel room to save calories over dinner in a restaurant. It was a lower calorie choice, but definitely not low calorie meal.