I am officially turned off of fast food...

Friday, 27 May 2011 Diana

FastFood I recently discovered a cool nutrition website on my step-sister’s facebook. I’m not normally one to read up on nutrition, but this website is great (http://www.organicauthority.com/ )! I am hooked on it and its healthy eating reviews!

The article I first read, “What’s in fast food chicken? (Hint: It’s Not Chicken)” made me want to never have fast food again! Or at least limit it extremely when at all avoidable. I’m not sure what it is about this particular article that has made me decide to ban fast food. I mean, I’ve seen Super Size Me, we all know it’s bad for us, we know it’s nothing but grease, chemicals and fat and yet still eat it because it’s cheap, it tastes good, it’s convenient and does the trick. But when you read this article (which you really should, read it) and you see that chicken nuggets at McDonald’s have 50 ingredients in them, versus only the 5 they shouldhave in them (chicken, egg, flour, salt, pepper), you begin to ask why? Why would they include all of those unnecessary chemicals? And more importantly à why do we eat it??

I think eating healthy is super important to overall health, including mental health. You feel better when you don’t eat junk and unnecessary garbage, you have more energy, you don’t feel full or bloated or greasy on the inside (you know, that nasty feeling when you can feel the McD’s you just downed all down your throat to your stomach). Eventually, you will start to lose weight too if you cut out the crap. Which, of course, in turn, makes you feel good about the way you look. And let’s face it, it feels good to like the way you look and it is an important part of how you feel about yourself.

So how do you stop eating fast food??

Be realistic about what’s possible for you. Maybe this means cutting out half of the fast food you consume. And gradually cutting out more. Maybe it means going cold turkey (pun intended!). You need to recognize what’s going to work for you. Make a plan, including reasons why it would and wouldn’t work and find solutions to these barriers before they pose as problems.

Be aware that cutting out fast food is a lifestyle change which requires you to know what you’re committing to ahead of time. So this means, what are you going to eat instead? If you know you crave sweets, maybe try substituting the McFlurry with some frozen yogurt or yogurt or fresh fruit. Start buying groceries instead of eating out and being sure to buy healthy snacks and meals. Instead of having that burger and fries, have a home-made burger or chicken burger, where you have control of what’s in it and have a healthy side, like vegetables instead of heavy carbs such as rice, potatoes or pastas.

Don’t forget to check out other articles on http://www.organicauthority.com/ to learn more about healthy nutrition and lifestyles.

By Diana