Fast Food Obsession, please help.

[Salandrin]

I am so fixated on fast food, namely cheeseburgers, that I can't stop eating them and am destroying myself. I eat roughly 10-19 burgers and other assortments of unhealthy yet delicious food every week.

How do you get off this?

[crica]

I am so fixated on fast food, namely cheeseburgers, that I can't stop eating them and am destroying myself. I eat roughly 10-19 burgers and other assortments of unhealthy yet delicious food every week.

How do you get off this?

Stop walking/biking/driving/taking public transport/getting a buddy to take you to the fast food stores and instead walk/bike/drive/take public transport/get a buddy to take you to the grocery store and buy fresh fruits and veggies and breads and water then go home and make tasty sammiches and fruit salads - or go to Subway everyday instead and eat their sammiches and drink their water.

[Irefusetodie]

You can only get fast food by driving to the source, so don't go to the source. Buy a bunch of food to cook at home and you'll more than likely cook it rather than letting it spoil.

[Deleted]

I am so fixated on fast food, namely cheeseburgers, that I can't stop eating them and am destroying myself. I eat roughly 10-19 burgers and other assortments of unhealthy yet delicious food every week.

How do you get off this?

For me. I see I'm doing something bad, I stop. I casually smoke, as in no more than around 20 a year. I sometimes crave one, but usually go about 3 months between smokes. Statistically speaking that's not even bad for me, as living in a city is like smoking many times that.

Just have willpower, it's not hard.

[Tierbook]

go to subway its healty at least

[kushlol]

Will power. I mean the cheeseburgers aren't forcing themselves upon you, you are making a choice to have them and the same choice you make to buy them is the same choice that can be made to not buy them.

[Abbeel]

go to subway its healty at least

Well, that's about two burgers a day on average, and I doubt that is really that unhealthy. Certainly not "destroying you" on it's own. Either way, just avoid going to where you get your food. Go elsewhere. Try something new.

[Deadvolcanoes]

If you have the money, go see a nutritionist.

Immerse yourself in literature about nutrition. Knowledge is power.

Buy your own hamburger meat and make your own hamburgers.

Set a goal for yourself each week (this week I will only eat 4 burgers).

Eat complex carbohydrates.

Drink two large glasses of water before each meal.

STOP EATING SO MUCH FAST FOOD OR YOU WILL DIE

[Stretchie]

Will power. I mean the cheeseburgers aren't forcing themselves upon you, you are making a choice to have them and the same choice you make to buy them is the same choice that can be made to not buy them.

Cigarettes don't force them upon anyone either but the addiction is there. Sounds like the OP has a major psychological addiction and willpower alone isn't going to cut it unless he's got insane self discipline (sounds already like he doesn't).

I actually recommend professional help. Some kind of psycologist perhaps? Can't say I know for sure who can help and I hope someone knows who can help but "just stop going there" isn't going to do it for a normal person with this issue.

[Deleted]

Cigarettes don't force them upon anyone either but the addiction is there. Sounds like the OP has a major psychological addiction and willpower alone isn't going to cut it unless he's got insane self discipline (sounds already like he doesn't).

I actually recommend professional help. Some kind of psycologist perhaps? Can't say I know for sure who can help and I hope someone knows who can help but "just stop going there" isn't going to do it for a normal person with this issue.

Actually the cause chemical dependency, so they do force themselves on you. Also food can cause addiction, especially processed foods due to their chemical effect on the brain. Essentially you get similar pleasure from eating as from sex and some people constantly crave that feeling.

Some help would be great if they're truly dependant.

[Drofu]

Last time I ate a burger from fast food was about 10 years ago, and even before that I had fast food like once or twice a month tops. It had a bone in it, and I lost my appetite for fast food since. I don't even eat out at restaurants anymore either.

[Zace]

Your face must be greasy as hell.


Warning: Please post more constructively.

[Thug Life]

Have some willpower and learn not to go. Also if you don't eat that crap for like a month and then go and eat it you'll realize how disgusting it is.

[Brutes]

omnomnom. it's not killing you. try something else, like kebab!

[Slanderize]

Make those burgers at home, dude.

You gotta remember the thing that makes "McDonald's taste like McDonald's" is basically MSG, Russian Dressing for Big Macs, re-hydrated dried onions, and then your fixings.

Get cheap burger buns, get good quality hamburger meat, make a burger seasoning of MSG, Onion Powder, Pepper, I think that's it.

Re-hydrate some dried onions for about half an hour in the fridge.

Fix it up, and eat it.

I like fast food as well, so I make an MSG mix, I've got the recipe around in my recipe box.

I put pickles, spinach instead of lettuce, avocado because I enjoy it, but the patty itself tastes JUST LIKE a fast food burger. The MSG and thickness of the patty is the key, in the end, to fast food MCDonald's patties.

Making a McDonald's patty on a grill, gets you Burger King.

And this is a LOT HEALTHIER than Fast Food.

They use shit quality vegetables, meat, breads, everything.

You can go whole wheat buns if you wanna start eating healthier, but HOME COOKED unless it's deep fried and made of raw sugar, will ALWAYS be healthier than Fast Food.

[Itisamuh]

Same advice as I give to smokers, drinkers, people addicted to video games, etc. Simply stop. If you want to stop, you will.

[Takamuri]

First off, don't pay much attention to the ones who simply say "Just don't eat it!" or "Just stop." They have never struggled with addiction, and they have no idea how little that actually means.

Years back I was in the same situation as you... fast food every night, I was putting on weight, my energy was down, etc, etc. I was addicted, and I couldn't stop. If you try to stop eating it you go into withdrawal, people don't understand the grip it can actually have on you.

The first thing you need to do is make a plan, and you will need to truly want to stick to that plan. I will tell you what I did but it might not be a great plan for you. You need something that will tell you what to eat and when. I also was not a great cook, so my plan revolved around this.

For a year my plan was this:
Breakfast: Cheerios/Fiber One/other HEALTHY cereal w/ Skim milk and a fresh fruit. (About 250 calories)
Snacks throughout the day consisting of fruits, yogurt and pudding (no more than 60 calories each) (300 calories total)
Dinner: A small meal of around 400-500 calories. Those frozen meals that you can microwave such as Health Choice, etc are a GREAT cheap way to do this.

During the first week or two you will go into withdrawal, but if you stick it out it goes away and you WILL stop being addicted. You may not feel satisfied with your meals, but that is just your addiction talking. After that, it is all about sticking to your plan. Keep track of your calories, keep a calendar marking how long you have been at it, and keep busy.

EDIT: Oh, and WATER WATER WATER and NO SODA AT ALL. I struggled with this but it makes such a big difference. Soda is so insanely bad for you. Water also helps sate your hunger... I drank at least 4 16.9oz bottles of water a day. NEVER drink calories, a single bottle of coke can be as much as 300+ calories. Drinking calories does not satisfy your hunger and only sets you back.

[Reyzzz]

MSG

I really hope you don't mean monosodium glutamate.

[belfpala]

I really hope you don't mean monosodium glutamate.

There's nothing wrong with MSG. Glutamate is a natural amino acid; if you don't get it in your diet, your body will produce it naturally. Our tongues have taste receptors for it. MSG is the isolated form of it, first extracted from kelp.

I've never seen a real study showing it has any harmful effects (just OMG MSG FREAK OUT!!! websites). And I've seen several studies that show you can use it to reduce salt and fat in your diet while retaining flavor.

[whyusocrazy]

You can only get fast food by driving to the source, so don't go to the source. Buy a bunch of food to cook at home and you'll more than likely cook it rather than letting it spoil.

This doesn't work. Take it from somebody that eats fast food everyday 3 times a day. To be honest the most likely way you're going to stop is when you have health conditions that force you and even then you might not. My suggestion, stop being lazy. This all comes down to you being a lazy person. I know it, you know it, the people around you know it. Fix that and many of your life problems will be fixed.

---------- Post added 2012-03-25 at 09:42 PM ----------

During the first week or two you will go into withdrawal, but if you stick it out it goes away and you WILL stop being addicted. You may not feel satisfied with your meals, but that is just your addiction talking. After that, it is all about sticking to your plan. Keep track of your calories, keep a calendar marking how long you have been at it, and keep busy.

No, your meals will suck. That is not the addiction talking that is reality.