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I say start by wrapping your head around the idea that you won’t die if you wait a few more hours and eat something healthy prepared at home. You most likely won’t even feel weak and dizzy. Let the craving pass, and in about fifteen minutes you’ll have moved on and forgotten the urge for instant gratification. It’s just a habit, and that habit can be broken with effort.
It’s a bit bizarre but what has really helped me slow down on fast food and is slowly helping to phase it out completely is watching “Nikocado Avocado” YouTube channels. Whenever I get lazy and don’t want to cook and just think of getting some fast food I pull up one of his videos and instantly don’t want to eat fast food.
>Please don’t say “because it’s ridiculously unhealthy and has no nutritional value”, I’m aware of this.
Because you’re addicted. You know it’s unhealthy and had no nutritional value, yet you can stop. There’s additives that create somewhat of an addiction. Not to mention the sugar (even in fries and burgers), which is highly addictive.
Do you want to be ab addict? Or would you like own your life?
I have a reason a part from healthy: because you are missing out! There is a lot of delicious food besides fast food, but you need to develop your taste buds. It is very common for people to enter adulthood still with a childish taste. But this is something that need to be be developed in time. Keep with your fast food habits, but from time to time, start experiencing something that you think you won’t like. Make it twice a week, like your own little adventure. At first, it might seem boring. But it’s totally worth it and you learn to appreciate food!
You should feel good after you eat - ask yourself how you feel after eating fast food - if you’re anything like me, you probably feel lazy, sleepy and gross after eating something like a Big Mac. Prioritize a lifestyle that makes you feel your best.
Honestly the main reason would be because it’s awful for you and you’ll die young if your main food source is fast food. Are you overweight, poor digestive system, get sick a lot, bad skin, thinning hair, moody? Maybe stop being immature and give a damn about your health. Not trying to shame, just want you to take care of yourself and live a healthy longer life.
Think of it in reverse! The reason we eat food is to feed our bodies - we’ve all heard that. But it goes deeper than that!
Our body needs fats, carbs, and proteins, plus all the vitamin and minerals found in food, because that’s what our body systems and cells need as ingredients to do their jobs.
When you eat fast food it’s often high fat and fast digesting carbs with moderate protein (depending on the fast food. Burger has more protein than a pizza, fries, etc) The body is sluggish because the food is engineered, as others have said, to be addicting and make us slow and tired. Think about Thanksgiving! Same idea.
When we eat food that is better balanced with fats, carbs, and protein our bodies feel better because it’s able to function and work like it wants to!
Don’t stop eating fast food because it’s bad, start eating nutrient food because it’s good!
Home-cooked and whole foods are less expensive, more filling, can be made more flavorful without the excessive amounts of salt, sugar, and other additives, and are better for your digestion, cognitive health, mood, and energy levels.
Don’t give up the food if that’s what you love. Make your own burgers and fries. Do what you want, but here are my three reasons: 1. You’ll get more satisfaction from food you make yourself and you probably won the oversalt TF out of it. 2. Fast food used to be cheap. Not so much anymore. I can’t eat FF now cos I can’t stomach the $20 pricetag for 2 McD’s meals. (Obvsly, getting what I want rather than the cheapest items.). 3. They exploit their workers and their execs steal all the profits.
You will most probably die more early if you don’t stop. After getting a bouquet full of metabolic syndrom issues.
If that doesn’t convince you, there is a Darwin award for everyone available don’t worry. Take it, the dodo will see you on the other side.
This is not an uncommon issue. One strategy that helps people in your situation, who are looking to reduce their overall intake of fast food- is to meal plan for the week. Or if you are not used to meal planning for an entire week, just start with a few days and keep working toward your goal. You can do it!
I had the same problem. I found if I made myself eat 1gram per pound of body weight of protein, it fills me up enough so I didn’t need junk food. Don’t try to starve yourself. Get the protein from chicken, turkey, fish and protein powder and eat as many vegetables as you want. Doing this is a lot of food, so you will not be hungry. Try it and good luck!
Something that help me quit was working a job where I had to cook it. The kitchens are usually subpar, mice and gnat infestations aren’t uncommon. The person cooking your food probably absolutely hates doing so and is most likely not wearing a hairnet. Eat food that you know exactly what’s in it.
Almost any American could be a millionaire by age 45 if they ate at home and put all the money they spend on fast food and restaurants into the S&P500 if they start at age 16. Substantial returns could still be had even if you start later in life. My reasoning I suggest is it’s the financially responsible thing to do.
I lived in Germany for a year mostly cooking at home because I couldnt afford to go out, when I came back to the states I ate my 3 favourite fast food places over 2 days and immediately became sick after a year of not eating them.
Hello OP. I’m bipolar and I’ve been off my meds since August. The depression has won, for now, and I eat fast food exclusively. Sometimes when my fiancee has enough time to make dinner, I get a home-cooked meal.
For the past two weeks, I have had liquid diarrhea each morning and can only eat one meal per day. It feels like there is a tennis ball in my lower abdomen pulsing all the time.
It has a HUGE impact on mental health. If you struggle with anything mentally, it may be in your best interest to wean yourself off and see the difference. Fast food can exuberate problems and make them harder to overcome, like anxiety. This goes for any highly processed food, actually
What kind of fast food do you usually get?
You don’t have to stop cold turkey if you don’t want to. You can make better choices at these places. Stop getting fries or anything breaded and fried, stop getting any drinks with sugar.
I don’t usually like to eat fast food because I know it’s not good for me and frankly except for a few exceptions I don’t really enjoy it. I also tend to consume more calories. I prefer to cook as simply at home as I can but again not dehydrated prepackaged junk. I’m a fat lazy bastard but still prefer the better nutrition I get at home.
Think about how the food in your fast food bag got there. Probably from a huge manufacturing plant, then placed in a freezer, then drove thousands of miles in a giant truck to be put in a restaurant freezer, before finally being removed and placed in a deep fryer or microwave.
Convincing somebody to stop eating fast food? Well it’s the same as convincing a drug addict to quit it. It will kill you, it will wreck your health, it will cause problems (and matter of when not if), you’re allowing an aspect of your life to not be in your control.
In a world of advertisements, addictive substances added to processed food, fillers, rancid fatty acids, and a obesity and cancer rate killing us faster than ANYTHING current… yeah for the love of God.
Think of it this way.When I spend £10 in a store. You are investing in that stores influence. So if I spend it at a sustainable grocery store that sells high quality whole foods. That is what becomes of the local area. You’re investing in a better world.
If you spend £10 at McDonald’s. They take that money, it goes to the farms that are typically known for their lack of standards. It goes to advertisements on the obese, kids and addicted. It goes towards yet another billionaire company that’ll burn the world before they care. You’re also contributing to the current health crisis (wither you want to admit that or not). The money also goes towards paying off all the medical and food industry lies which allow for manipulation of our medical systems and food supply to their benefit.
Quiting is easier said than done and I’m rather pessimistic I don’t see enough people caring about it for it to change in most places. But doing things as individuals is the only way forward.
I love fast food. However lately I’ve been going to Trader Joe’s. They have so many prepared foods. Especially in the vegetable section. Takes the prep work out completely. I feel like I have so much more energy and I’m happier.
go ahead .. eat fast food and die fast.. since you have no regard to your health .. which should have been the driving factor.. if not for your own health.. think about the ppl that love and care for you .. !!
Think of later, like years from now… Do u want to be heavily medicated with all kinds of drugs to keep u ok? Like ur heart, diabetes, high blood pressure, can’t walk b/c you’re too tired or too FAT. No muscle on your body to protect your bones just fatty tissue. That’s just a few, off the top of my head.
If your own health on the line wont convince to stop eating it, what will then?
Bad health in this case would mean a likelihood of heart disease and obesity which have a myriad of complications long-term, all very costly and debilitating.
If you really want to break your habit like you say you do, you would have already researched the health risks associated with eating processed oils and carbs for majority of your calorie intake and would have learned to cook some basic meals for yourself.
Yes, you pay with your time cooking and food prepping and grocery shopping, but over time those tasks become a lot more streamlined and improved upon. You learn to shop quicker and find better prices for things and time your purchases when it is more convenient for you time-wise. You learn more recipes and improve upon your cooking skills and cook faster. You learn to meal prep and prep ingredients in bulk ahead of time to make cooking a breeze. You learn and improve on keeping dishes and utensils cleaned/washed in a timely and more efficient manner.
There are money savings as well, like some others have mentioned it already. Fast food is like 7-10$ a meal, on average. That shit adds up quick over a month. Eggs, milk, beans, rice, bananas, apples, plain yogurt, frozen vegetables, chicken, chicken livers, potatoes/onions/carrots etc there are soo many staple foods that are almost dirt cheap compared to what you spend a month on fast food. But again, if your own health on the line won’t convince you, i doubt dozens of reasons people have mentioned already will. You’re just on the fence about it and will revert back because you don’t really care about your own health.
Just think that every time you eat fast food you are consuming something toxic that turns into free radicals and cause cancer cells to grow and overproduce in your body.
Thus killing you.
Think about it.
Fast food is made in laboratories, not kitchens.
It’s supplemented with addictive and harmful additives like sugar and sodium to mask the terrible quality of the ingredients.
It’s often unsanitary depending on who’s preparing it.
Research the ingredients and ignore the marketing. Look at each component for what it actually is and what it’s made up of. That’s how I managed to quit. It’s not difficult to resist when it’s no longer appealing.
I find fast food an easy go-to and it’s addicting. Maybe make a bunch of home cooked small meals and snacks ahead of time so they are available and quick to prepare? For instance I make lentil soup and have it available. I also have snacks with nuts and goji berries. This satisfies my craving for crunch texture and sweets. Hope this helps.
You’ll look better, you’ll feel better, your brain will operate better, you’ll live longer, you’ll save my on food and hospital bills, you’ll help the environment, you won’t be giving your money to evil fast food corporations designed to make people sick and addicted to their food.
Also, if you care about animals at all….
Think that you are suffering from Alcoholism and then make up your mind to overcome drinking. You will end up moderating your eating habits very well. Now if you want inspiration on how to overcome drinking, there’s a very good article on the same on www.stylenrich.com
I’ve heard and seen several videos of people spitting in food, dropping it on the ground and still serving it and one video of a lady sticking the hot dog up her you know what so… if that’s tasty for you have at it!
Baby steps. Tell yourself that if you do get fast food that you’ll get a grilled chicken combo instead of a burger and be proud of that choice. Next time maybe don’t get fries or get a salad. Be sure to congratulate yourself for these changes!
Also, try to wait out the craving. Say “if I still REALLY want it in x amount of time I’ll get fast food. Most of the time the craving will pass and you’ll be so hungry that you cave in and find something at home to eat.
This is a tough thing to do. Proud of you for asking the question in the first place!!
Fast food can enjoyed without guilt or detriment if it’s well portioned and part of a balanced diet along with regular exercise :)
Some fast food places also have food with great nutritional value, it all depends on where you go, & what and how you order. My favorites are chipotle, in n out and chic fil a
Because reliance on society to take care of you is a growing problem in our world.
Learn how to cook, then learn how to do it well. Learn about flavors and different techniques.Try recipes from around the world and get an idea of patterns or consistencies in their cooking.
See what you’re capable of and then compare it to your fast food meal.
Then, find something else you pay someone to do for you, learn that and see if it’s worth doing yourself or not.
Other guy said it first number 1 reason to be honest why I stopped not because I wanted to get fit and ripped but it was the cost fast food aint cheap. Also if you learn to cook for yourself you gain an awesome hobby something I look forward to at work what im gonna make and it tastes alot better I think than mcdonalds or tbell
It’s not good. The bread/burger buns are the same hydrated starch nuggets they serve at Subway. Arrive frozen and desiccated. God knows what chemicals are in them. And they have no flavor. None. McDonalds had a recent ad campaign built around how their burgers are better now and they’re made of pure beef. WHAT WERE THEY MADE OF BEFORE?
Replace it with of sort of your own fast food, you’ll soon realise that gives even more pleasure (it did for me). Like beans and tomatoes, just microwaved, yeast and pepper. Ready in 1 min and excellent
The thing that helps me is that I don’t like what large corporations have done to our landscape. I’m tired of seeing the same ten restaurants everywhere. Their values do not align with mine. I’d rather support a small business instead.
I haven’t completely sworn off on fast food. But I haven’t eaten chips in around 2 or 3 years. I stopped because I started viewing them as they actually are, an industry, instead of a quick snack. The fact that chips were right next to the checkout line to entice people. The sheer amount of them. The cheap prices. Chips are everywhere, in every store I go to. In my head, they slowly became poor quality junk. It made them so unappealing to eat or buy.
Try to make your temptation into disgust. I’m still not fully disgusted by burgers, but you get the idea. I eat way less of them, and am less likely to spend money on them, than I used to. This mindset helped me a lot.
Also, exercising surprisingly makes you crave fast food less. Want a good whole meal after the gym, not some fries and soda.
Learning how to cook myself has helped a lot too. Opened myself to many new recipes. Incorporating a lot of spices for flavor. Trying to make other culture’s foods. It’s fun to experiment.
Because you can make it better n cheaper at home and brag on Insta or here how awesome a cook you are …
And you can chose pay yourself .. take out is $20/person .. you spent $12/person to cook .. pay yourself the difference.. use that money to fund your dream vacation or home or Reno or purchase a vehicle with cash or retire earlier
I’m surprised the fast food itself hasn’t convinced you to stop eating fast food. Aside from Taco Bell I always regret spending $8-$10 on a shitty burger or chicken sandwich that sits in my stomach like a rock for 4 hours and hurts. Plus these days no restaurant can get my order right, something is always missed or messed up. I can get a much higher quality meal at some local restaurants or chains for about the same cost since inflation has set fast food prices so high. That is just me though so you probably don’t feel the same. I’d suggest finding different places to eat at that serve healthier food or buy pre-made meals at a grocery store (assuming they are consistently decent)
You can eat almost double the same foods if you make them yourself and use low calorie Ingredients. You’ll have more nutrients, more food to eat, be more full, and still be able to eat more food. The single redeeming quality for fast food is convenience, but if you plan for your meals ahead of time, it really not even that convenient
If you avoid fast food you avoid lines, dealing with people, and driving more than you need to. You avoid going out into the cold or heat to buy food. 1 weekly grocery trip vs 3-5 or more fast food trips. There is deliverey, but that is still waiting when I could probably cooks something for myself in half the time. Also planning for the weeks dinner is kinda fun and could be some nice simple problem solving. Like I’m making tacos on Monday and I know I’ll have leftovers beef…let’s make Zucchini boats on Wednesday using said beef. Also you can have seconds and leftovers at home, aka eat your fill. A 7$ burger combo doesn’t fill me up. A 20 piece chicken nuggets combo didnt fill me up when I was 12 let alone when I was a 17 year old cross country runner or now as an adult.
I think you’ll just feel good when you stop eating it. Your mood, skin, sleep, stomach- everything will feel good. That said, if you lean on it bc you get cravings for it, then, you can do it once In a while. If you are eating it bc of a financial reason- then there might be cheap and healthy alternatives that don’t break the bank. If it’s simply bc it’s fast and easy- you can look into stuff like Blue Apron? I forgot if that’s the right one but there are several companies that send you meal kits with the exact amount of ingredients for each meal. Along with instructions. Those are easy.
How about this:Reduce slowly, begin steady,move a little more each time. When you reach the age of 60 (idk if you are or not) but once you reach the age 60+ you’d want to eat at your son’s bbq without worrying about medication, complications, heart burns etc. You’d want to eat without fear while chasing the grandkids with a water gun without your knees giving out because of your weight. Sacrifice now, play later.
Proud of you all for not saying “cHeMiCaLs” or “PrEsErVaTiVeS”
Honestly, I have zero cravings for fast food anymore. Not through discipline or anything, I just couldn’t afford it for several reasons, and went about 6 months without.
As a kid we were never allowed fast food, so as a teen I ate it every day. That extended into my early 20s, I felt rather addicted too. But after that break from it, it just doesn’t appeal to me
It’s expensive. Not just in money, but in time and life experiences.
The health negatives mean you are going to put on more fat, which means you will have more long term health problems. Have fun going to the doctor more often! That means you will likely die years sooner, and not be as functional years sooner. The extra fat means you will have less energy throughout the day to do the things you love.
It’s going to mess with your gut biome which means you are going to be sick more often. It will often mess with your skin complexion so hello acne and all that fun. Less energy, sick more often and messing with your gut biome means you are going to be a crankier and less happy person. This is going to affect all your family/friend relationships. This will in turn hurt your motivation and you will be less likely to achieve your other personal and professional goals.
If you have children you are now setting them up for a similar experience because they are most likely to follow your example.
Don’t do it.
For me personally, and I’m a pig so take it as you will, but if I eat McDonald’s, I want more McDonald’s after. It doesn’t usually fulfil me or make me happy. So eating it might not actually take care of your craving. I find if I make a decision and stick with it until after the uncomfortable hump at the beginning, it is much easier to follow. Just feel uncomfortable with not eating it and know it will pass and then make a different choice.
This is pretty anecdotal but I notice my energy has gone up considerably. When I ate out all the time I felt like I NEED caffeine and energy drinks because I was drowsy all of the time. I have cut out the fast food and now I rarely feel the desire to have an energy drink. Also I’m saving a lot of money lol.
i think the best advice will be the one you give to yourself. I gave up on junk food because of what i found in this book - How not to diet . I leaned it and still repeat the knowledge to myself. Normally, you’d forget all of the reasons other people give to you.
If you know it’s unhealthy etc, why are you relying on it? What’s the driver for choosing it over more nutritious food? Is it time for preparation, access, knowing how to cook, what?If you don’t address whatever it is that means you keep choosing fast food, all you’re doing is adding a layer of guilt or frustration on and you’ll still struggle to do anything different to what you’re doing now.