Quitting Fast Food for good

[dane_peterson]

My wife and I decided two days ago that we will never have a meal from McD's, Burger King, Dairy Queen, or Taco Bell again. This decision was based off two ideas. 1) We're swaying towards more meat-free meals for the animals' sake. and 2) We feel it will be good for our health.

Additionally, when we have children, we don't want them getting hooked on that stuff. Set an example by being an example, right? Not to say that kids are in the near future, but yeah. It would also be good motivation to cook more meals at home.

Anyone else done/doing anything like this?

[PolkThug]

Anyone else done/doing anything like this?

Nope. All praise Atkins.

[Sherardp]

I vowed to stay away from the meat as well. Still most of those places offer some things on the menu that are not too bad, McDs has some good salads, unsweet tea, etc. You can eat chicken, minus the heavy mayo, etc.

[zombie boy 2000]

My wife is a vegetarian and I was myself for about 4 years. The toughest part is finding places to eat that actually have a decent vegetarian selection. Not just a piece of lettuce and a cucumber slice on a bun...
If you're into Indian food, you should be set.

That being said.... bacon doublecheeseburgers taste too good for me to actually commit. I actually lost my four year battle with a Double Decker Taco from Taco Smell on my way back from a NIN show. Thanks Shaq.

Haven't looked back since... but I still have to eat all the rabbit food that the wife brews in the kitchen. It's excellent though, because I think you really hone your culinary skills when you can't just rely on meat.

[bobman1235]

Love meat, but not fast food. Aside from the random weakness (usually spurred by a hangover), I haven't had fast food in ages. There's too many good options out there, and way too many health problems brought about by that kind of crap.

Atkins is all well and good, but there's more to it than "just eat whatever you want as long as it isn't carbs." You may lose weight just eating fried fatty foods and avoiding carbs, that doesn't mean you're healthy. If you live on fast food, try getting your liver function checked some time. You'd be better off poisoning yourself.

[heiney9]

I try to eat FF in moderation but with a busy summer schedule and working extra hours I admit it's very easy to run thru the drive thru more than I should. Mc D's, BK, Dairy Q, etc. all have a place in the food chain but perhaps only eating there 3-4 times a month is best.

I swore with the starting of summer my eating habits were going to get better but lately I just haven't had the time to shop and prepare fresh heathly meals :( .

I can only eat so many Lean Cusine, Heathy Choice stuff for lunch.

H9

[Jstas]

Ever since I started doing something about getting back in to shape, I've stayed away from fast food. I mean, I still have certain things from time to time. Like a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sammich or a chalupa or two from Taco Bell and Popeye's is a weakness for me. Overall though, McD's, Burger King and other places like that leave me feeling bloated and sluggish. I sooner skip lunch than go to fast food anymore.

I try my best to cook dinner at home. If I go out, I usually hit a bar or a diner with friends so again, still no fast food. I don't have the healthiest diet out there but fast food will kill any diet in an instant.

I'm pretty much on a seefood diet though so no special stuff like vegetarian stuff or anything is a requirement. When I decided to start losing weight and get back in shape, I put myself on this "new" diet I invented. It's not a carb saver or any kind of other silly gimmick. I call it the PDTFF diet. The acronym stands for "Put Down The Fork Fatty!" I didn't really change my diet except pulling out some things that I didn't really need like fast food. I just stopped eating so much. I tried a few different diets and nothing worked better than cutting calories and increasing activity. Oh, drink water, lots of water. That's it. I dropped about 30 pounds of fat and put on 15-20 pounds of muscle in about 6-7 months and I'm back down to a 30 inch waist! WOOHOO!

[jrlouie]

Rent the movie Super Size Me. It makes me think twice about fast food.

[bobman1235]

Rent the movie Super Size Me. It makes me think twice about fast food.

I enjoyed that movie, but I don't know how much credibility I can put into a person who pukes after eating his first Big Mac.

[dane_peterson]

Actually, this plan was inspired from a similar movie. "Fast Food Nation". More of a film than a documentary, and the movie itself bounces all over the place, but it definitely made me think twice about getting a big mac afterwards.

[dudeinaroom]

Be careful with the Atkins, it will kill you. No carbs=no stomach linning. I've heard of a few people getting seriously ill on the atkins, your body does need carbs.

[bobman1235]

Actually, this plan was inspired from a similar movie. "Fast Food Nation". More of a film than a documentary, and the movie itself bounces all over the place, but it definitely made me think twice about getting a big mac afterwards.

Uggggh, that was one of the worst movies I ever saw. Please tell me that thing didn't swing your opinion on anything, it was a huge propaganda piece of nonsense.

Here's my review of it from a while back :

I thought, based solely on the title, this would be about America's obesity problem and our obsession with fast food despite its dire health consequences. Instead it was essentially a half-assed attempt at one of those ensemble movies (Crash, Traffic, Babel) basically showing that processed meat and associated factories are bad. It was a three-pronged attempt, showing how the industry is dangerous, especially for illegal immigrant workers who are shipped up (probably the most valid point); how society as a whole is affected (the most nonsensical story arc) and finally focusing on the corporate greed angle, and how even after learning that their meat is riddled with fecal matter the corporations will ignore the fact and move on to protect their interests.

I'm sure there's some valid points contained in this 100-minute PETA ad. The working conditions are certainly a concern, if completely unrelated to what is actually being produced. The health aspect of our meat is certainly a concern, though the way they try to spin it at the end is just ignorant. And corporate greed, well... no ****.

By random coincidence I also recently saw the episode of Bull****! where they conquer the whole bioengineering phenomenon, and the "organic foods" movement. I caught myself just outright laughing halfway through this movie. They were trying to be so dramatic. The "climactic" scene comes when they show the actual "kill floor", where cows are actually slaughtered.

Listen, if you eat meat and you don't know that killing an animal is a gruesome process, you're a bumbling idiot. It doesn't matter if it's a gigantic slaughterhouse or a family farm; when you kill, skin, and chop up a cow, it ain't pretty, and we've been societally isolated from it for some time, so it's especially gruesome now that none of us are ever really exposed to that level of carnage. But that's the way the world works. There's some extra stuff on the disc, including this animated short called "the Meatrix", obviously aimed at the impressionable minds of kids, trying to convince them of the evils of large-scale animal slaughter and the wonder and magic that is the family farm. What a JOKE.

Ugh, I just can't go on any more. This movie accomplished its goal - it made me sick. Unfortunately for the absolute wrong reason.

[zombie boy 2000]

Bob just got Double-word score for his use of the word "uggh".

[Ricardo]

Fast food is a must in my life; right up there with sex.

[zombie boy 2000]

Fast food and sex while firing a semi-automatic at a bus full of nuns near an orphange is at the top of my list.
Preferably after 30 hits of PCP.

[Drumingman]

Rent the movie Super Size Me. It makes me think twice about fast food.

Give me one fast food resturant where you can eat 24/7 for a month and still be ok.

[POLKOHOLIC]

i can't live without meat. god gave us meat to eat. i don't want to let him down.

[avguytx]

There is no way on God's green earth that I could be a vegetarian. I would eat steak over about anything.

It's like anything...just do it in moderation and don't go overboard. Practice self control from fast food...not abstinence.

[dane_peterson]

Bob, the film itself didn't do anything for me. But the slaughterhouse part at the end definitely made my stomache churn.

[tonyb]

It's called survival gents.Man has been killing animals since the dawn of time.Now all of a sudden your upset about it.Lets face it,the population isn't getting any less so the the animals needed to feed us are going up,hence more slaughter houses.Sure you can be a vegetarian,thats all fine and good,but believe me,someone else will step up to consume your share of meat.You aren't saveing any animals.Man,you guys would starve to death if you were born 200 yrs ago.:)

[schwarcw]

Give me a Big Mac and fries any day over a plate of rabbit food. The trick is to keep everything in moderation. Excercise, watch your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.

Here's a toast to good tasting animals!;)

[jrlouie]

Give me one fast food resturant where you can eat 24/7 for a month and still be ok.

Doubt that's possible.

[danger boy]

fast food was put on this earth for a reason.. to drive up, order, and grab it and go. in under 2 minutes.. no where did it say that it was going to be healthy for you.

While I don't have the best eating habbits, and I LOVE food.. let me repeat, I LOVE FOOD! I do my best to stay away from the fast food places. I've been eating mostly sandwiches from mom and pop local places.. Yes, i do know how to get out of the car to order my food. ;)

My lunch today. half of a BLT with a side salad... yeah not the healthiest, but at least it wasn't fast food.

I once ordered a salad from Jack In the Box and after eating it, i read the fat content on the salad dressing.. a whopping 21 grams of fat for a southwest ranch dressing. It was good, but that much fat is out of this world for salad dressing.

I'm also now doing the whole veggie/fruits thing. but dang, eating something like 9 servings of fruits/veggies a day is tough. :p

[jmwest1970]

fast food was put on this earth for a reason.. to drive up, order, and grab it and go. in under 2 minutes..

I wish I knew where to get food in under 2 minutes. All the places mentioned in the previous posts take 5-10 minutes to get food around these parts.

[dane_peterson]

tonyb, while I totally agree with your statement, I feel there is one major difference... the quantity each person consumes vs back during the days of "survival".
The Native Americans lived by a "take what you need" philosophy. I'm not trying to say eating meat is a bad idea, cuz I love burgers and steaks. I just think that the lengths fast food joints have gone it is a little absurd.

[shack]

Give me a Big Mac and fries any day over a plate of rabbit food. The trick is to keep everything in moderation. Excercise, watch your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.

Here's a toast to good tasting animals!;)

HERE HERE! Krystal, McD, Wendys, Hardees, KFC, BK, Taco Bell, Captain Ds, etc...all have things I like to eat from time to time. I have two thin, healthy daughters that grew up eating fast food..."some of the time". If you eat fast food 3 times a day, 7 days a week then there are problems but a couple time a week is just fine. I enjoy vegatables (a lot) but I am a meat, poultry and fish eater...will never be a vegetarian and PETA can kiss my ass if they don't like it.

[Silverti]

We have a pretty busy life and its hard to kil lfast food. But we try to hit better fast food places like Subway pr Quiznos. If we go to a burger joint like Wendies, we try to buy their clubs.

[snow]

HERE HERE! Krystal, McD, Wendys, Hardees, KFC, BK, Taco Bell, Captain Ds, etc...all have things I like to eat from time to time. I have two thin, healthy daughters that grew up eating fast food..."some of the time". If you eat fast food 3 times a day, 7 days a week then there are problems but a couple time a week is just fine. I enjoy vegatables (a lot) but I am a meat, poultry and fish eater...will never be a vegetarian and PETA can kiss my ass if they don't like it.

LOL Agreed. practically anything including arsenic is ok in moderation. btw PETA stands for.... people for the eating of tasty animals. :p

REGARDS SNOW

[Early B.]

I've been a vegan for the past 15 years. I used to eat plenty of meat like everyone else, then one day decided to stop "cold turkey" (no pun intended) for health reasons. I recall having no cravings for meat whatsoever and never looked back. So those of you who say you can't give up meat, you're all full of pig **** (pun intended). It's much easier to do than you think. And therein lies the problem -- you THINK it'll be hard to do.

BTW -- when I switched, I lost nearly 20 pounds almost immediately.

[Early B.]

i can't live without meat. god gave us meat to eat. i don't want to let him down.

Not true.

Since God created man, any biologist, chemist, or physiologist will tell you that the human body is not designed to consume meat. We don't have the necessary teeth, digestive enzymes, or alimentary canal structure to properly digest meat, even if it's cooked and seasoned with things like herbs, tomato ketchup, lettuce, onions, and pickles to make it taste more like a vegetable. Hmmmm.