Fastfood King!!!!

Hello all, i'm new here. I am going to ATTEMPT to change my diet and loose some massive weight. I'm about 245 right now and feel like it's time to stop the non-sense. My diet is unbelievably bad!!!  I've been eating fast food everyday for the last 20 years!!  I kid you not. It's crazy. I started paying for my meals last month w/ my debit card so i could keep track. After one month I had accumulated 76 receipts and spent a whopping $356.77!!!! on fast food. It's amazing what kind of abuse the human body can take. Well, wish me luck as i try to start a new fastfood free life!!! 

Good luck & Wow, that's a lot of fast food- that was a great idea putting that on your debit card- think of all the $ you could have saved over the years?  Are you craving the food, or you don't cook?  I might even say you need a detox from that stuff.  When you order foods from fast food places & all you need to say is I want the "usual"- it's time to change, 20yrs is a long time.  You are going to need sooo much support because this sounds like (after 20 yrs.) it's a complete lifestyle change.  Don't get discouraged at first- breaking this habit can take a few tries & some time to break, but if you really want to, you can do it!

Good luck=) I love fast food too! I swear I think because growing up my mom and dad would hardly never eat out so I like to spoil myself in my grown up years=) You can do it!

Good luck, and congrats to you for taking control!

Good luck!  If you read, I suggest Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.  You may never want to eat fast food again.  I read the book and won't go into a fast food restaurant for any reason at all.  It's been almost 5 years now and I do NOT miss it at all.

It may seem REALLY hard at first, partly because you're so used to eating fast food, and partially because that type of food has chemicals in it that are physically addictive to the brain.  However, the longer you stay off of it, the less you will crave it.  Trust me.  I used to work at Mickey Dee's and I had their cheeseburgers for lunch every day.  Also, my bf was always bringing me McChickens and stuff like that.  But now, I never eat fast food anymore, and I don't crave it at all.  The other day I picked up some Burger King for my brother, and all it smelled like was grease and fat!  Gross!  But just stick with it, because I know you can do it, and the longer you do, the easier it will become.

76 receipts?  You eat there more than twice a day!  You really ought to watch the movie "Supersize Me" if you haven't already done so.  It's a real eye opener.

 congratulations to you, because realizing what you're doing wrong is one giant step to getting closer to a healthier you.

i can guarantee that even if you don't change your physical activities, but only change from eating fast food to making your own food, you'll start dropping the pounds. But make sure that the food you cook at home is not pre-packaged/microwavable, and they're mostly veggies/lean meats/fruits!!!

Wow, this is crazy. I can't believe i'm actualy addicted to fast food!!  This is going to be way harder than i thought. I wanted to eat fast food today sooooo bad!!  Its really strange because I ate like a champ today. I grilled some Chicken Breast for dinner and it tasted great!! Also had a Light Tuna sandwich on wheat bread for lunch that was also very good. These meals tasted better than anything I could get from a fastfood joint....but.....I WANT A CHEESEBURGER!!!!!!!!  My body seemes to be in shock. My pulse has been well over 120 bpm all day and I seem to have some sort of brain fog going on or something. Just fel out of sorts. I can't believe i've let myself go this long. Going to be a tough to change.

chris-- you can do it!  Your body sounds like it's going through a withdrawl & it probably is- also if you're like me- when you make a food change or even change in amts (mine being smaller)- this first week I have experienced quite a few hunger pains- they are getting better though.  I remember when I was a child & we didn't have all the food choices we have now- I used to feel hunger- I ate until I wasn't & at normal times, normal amts- & I didn't have an ounce of fat on me.  I was always very slender.  The hungry feeling is what the body should have to say "time to eat", not your mind thinking "I'd really like a burger now" & then eating mindlessly.  It's not like with water/hydration- where if you feel thirsty it means your body is already in deficit of water.  I guess I'm saying try & put it in perspective & please do not beat yourself up if you slip w/ food choices- just keep trying.  You have been eating that way for a long time & it's going to take time.  Good luck :)

Just keep at it and its the only advice i can give. maybe you could even ween yourself off of it sorta like a person addicted to drugs they still go to the doc and get meds to help them with it. I know this is nothing like being addicted to crack or something. Even coffee does this though my mom went through withdrawls for quite a while when she quit all of her highly caffienated coffee. She got the shakes bad headaches sick to her stomach but it did pass after awhile.

My wife grew up in a small town where there was no such thing as fast food.  When I met her I was eating Fast food 2-4 days per week (easier for a single person).  I may eat fast food (excluding Subway and Panara where I can get a filling meal for 300-400 calories) 2 times a year because she can't stand the crap.  One thing is I can say I don't miss it at all, actually the times I do have it now I think it is a waste of money.

Chris, you can do it!!!  It will be hard at first but I have been off the stuff for about 3 months now.  I was on vacation last week and the last day of my vacation I had a cheeseburger and fries that wasn't exactly a fast food restaurant but a greasy spoon if you will.  Anyway I was sooooooooooooo sick afterward it was like a revelation that I had just put junk in my body and it was making me sick.  I felt really bad but it was so good to know that I had kicked the fast food habit.  The next day I had to eat extra healthy to get rid of the junk.  The funny thing was that for the whole three months I thought I was craving a fast food cheeseburger.  I may still crave a cheeseburger from time to time but I think I'll make it with the 95% lean meat and a whole wheat bun and feel a lot better after.  Good luck you can do it :-)

one thing my husband does to satisfy the fast food monster in him is to make a small turkey burger with reduced fat cheese, lite mayo, and lots of let. & tom. and he feels like he had a burger but had like 1/2 the cals and way less chemicals & high fructose corn syryp ;P    For me it's arbys cheese sticks and fries hhmm... so Ive found that I just love a reduced cal mozzerella string cheese stick (only 60 cals) and some triscuits - i know not as appetizing sounding as a nice box of greasy, intestine lining, heart clogging, fries but really Ive adapted and now I love it:)

The first week or two is the hardest, but if you can get through them it gets easier to "just say no" to cheeseburgers and fries.  I have been eating healthier and counting my calories for nearly three weeks now, but yesterday was the ultimate acid test for me.  I had to go grocery shopping with my 5 year old daughter right after work but both she and I were very hungry.  So we stopped into McDonalds (yes, I know, the worst of the worst ones) to get dinner.  I looked at the menu and ordered a Bacon Ranch salad with grilled chicken.  Three weeks ago I would have gotten a Big Mac and large fries.  My daughter ordered a cheeseburger Happy Meal but then again she's a very active child and only weighs 44 pounds.  So I was feeling very proud of myself when I happened to look at the calorie content of the ranch dressing.  140 calories for 2 ounces!  So I decided to only use half of the packet.  And I ended up not eating most of the bacon because of the high sodium content.  So altogether the salad was 290 and the dressing was 70,with a diet soda which was 5 calories.  365 calories versus a whopping 730 for a Big Mac and fries!  So you CAN still eat fast food just make better choices. 

By the way, I had a few of my daughter's fries and almost got repulsed by the greasiness and salt!  You can do it Chris!  One day at a time!

I don't know if this has been suggested or not but BOCA BURGERS are great! When I have a cheeseburger craving I grab a regular vegan boca burger (tastes like meat to me) It is only 70 calories for one patty! Then I put it on a whole wheat bun, about another 110 calories. Then I had cheese, veggies, and some ketchup. All together it's only about 300 calories and I find it very satisfying.

i know, i hate to admit it but, i LOVE fast food. it's just so good! but, i always feel guilty eating it and therefore try not to. you can make fast food type food at home that is much healthier. i end up giving in and eating fast food every once in a while but i'll skip on the soda or get a side salad instead of fries. its pretty hard to just eat 100% healthy and make good meals when you've been eating out all that time. when i really think about the heart-clogging, carcinogenic food being pumped out of fast food chains it is definitely a deterrent. well...good luck!

I just wanted to offer support. You can do it! Stay strong and just continue to try to eat healthy at home. The best thing that you can do for yourself is DON'T QUIT. If you mess up, pick yourself back up and move on.

I think you are going to be surprised at how quickly you lose weight by not eating fast food.

Thank you guys- while giving my own input, I also read your posts- last night when I grabbed groceries- I got the whole wheat buns, boca (vegan) burgers & lots of organic veggies to top it off- tonight when I make supper for my family I can also load up my burger with the good stuff-- also I have to have cheese on my burgers- I got the fat-free, but it's cheddar so I'm thinking it will have more flavor :)