Beginning Weight: 253
New Weight: 253
Amount of times I “Cheated”: 0
This was an interesting week in the world of not eating fast food. I’m starting to realize the parallels between an addiction to fast-food and addictions to anything else. Like any addict there is that one place or time when I ALWAYS ate fast food. That time came between my jobs. I would get off at my first job and quickly grab a bite to eat before I headed to my second job. I did this out of convenience at first but it eventually became a habit. So this week was the first time I really had a very strong urge to eat fast food.
Here is my week in review.
January 9th 2010 Saturday
12:03PM: Realize there is no food in my house. By food I mean something I actually want to eat. This would usually be the point that I waddle my ass to my car to go grab some food from the closest drive-thru.
12:05PM: I become rather impressed with my own will power to resist going to get fast food despite the lack of edible goods in my fridge.
3:35PM: I am hungry all the time. Every second of my day is consumed with the thought of food. The realization of how obese my mind has become depresses me.
3:40PM: Even though I am aware of my phantom hunger I can’t seem to shake the thought of starving all the time. This is all in spite of the fact that I have had a sufficient amount of food.
6:27PM: Eat a home made pasta dinner like it’s the first food reward challenge on the show Survivor.
6:32PM: I realize very quickly my body dislikes when I consume my food like a competitive eater.
7:15PM: I begin to feel like I’m a 47 year old train conductor as something known as Acid Reflux begins to violently molest my esophagus. There is no amount of Tums or Pepto Bismol in the world that can squelch this feeling.
7:23PM: Acid Reflux gets worse and I start thinking I’m actually morphing in to a dragon.
January 10th 2010 Sunday
Boring Sunday spent relaxing and enjoying the feeling of having a human’s esophagus again. I went shopping and now have sufficient food in my house to satisfy my needs. I don’t have any temptations or desires to eat fast food. I begin to think that just maybe I’ve passed the hump and my mental addiction to fast food has passed. Boy was I wrong.
January 11th 2010 Monday
10:30AM: My decision to skip breakfast is starting to bite me in the ass. I’m stuck at my first job with no way of leaving to make myself something to eat. I begin to reach a point of hunger delirium. Everything I see is beginning to look like food.
12:00PM: Leave my first job and find myself in the toughest situation I’ve been in since I started this adventure. I want so badly to stop by the same Burger King I always used to stop by on my trip between jobs.
12:07PM: As I pass the Burger King I swear the building is waving at me. Remind myself that I need to eat soon before I go crazy.
12:15PM: Make myself a quick turkey sandwich before I head to my second job. delirium has worn off but I still feel far from satisfied.
12:34PM: I swear there are now 793838494 new fast food restaurants conveniently off the freeway on my way to my second job.
4:45PM: I make the decision that as hungry as I am I refuse to eat a meal from the food court next to my job. This decision seems to anger my alter ego who apparently wishes to be a contestant on next seasons Biggest Loser.
January 12th-January 14th
Tuesday through Thursday I decided to pack myself a lunch for my first job since I will be there from 8-5 all three of these days. This decision makes my cravings for fast food go away. It’s pretty obvious that as long as I’m somewhat full my cravings aren’t nearly as bad. My decision to stop eating fast food has made another guilty pleasure of mine become an issue. Soda is now my fat drug of choice. Starting Next tuesday January 19th I will quit drinking soda as well. Now I’ve been warned that quitting soda is quite a difficult task. This mainly has to do with breaking ones own dependence on caffeine. I know this won’t be a fun or easy thing to do, but having a healthier life is something that I am willing to bend over backwards to obtain.
January 15th 2010 Friday
11:22AM: I’m having a very interesting day as far as my detox of fast food goes. I had a relatively decent breakfast that consisted of a breakfast hot pocket and a banana nut muffin. The weird thing is that I’m not that hungry but I keep smelling different fast foods everywhere I go. From my car, work place, bathroom and even outside, everything reeks of fast food. I haven’t had fast food in a few weeks so I honestly have no explanation for these phantom scents.
3:35PM: The phantom scents haven’t gone away and I begin to think this is that same obese inner man child of mine trying to entice me to slip up and go back to my old ways. It’s that theory, or that someone who knows about this experiment is really trying to play games with my head and has sprayed fast food scent on everything I come in contact with.
5:15PM: Sadly, I’ve now grown used to the constant stench of fast food. I resist the temptation that goes along with the smell of fast food. I make myself some spaghetti and actually rather enjoy the feeling of preparing myself a fairly decent meal. I’m actually getting rather disgusted with fast food and the junk I used to consume in mass proportions.
5:36PM: I refuse to let the disgusted feelings turn in to a depressive state for me. I instead decide this is a moment for me to be proud of. I feel as if my eyes are finally open and my mind is out of the fast food fog. I now view fast food as the disgusting filth it is instead of the delicious gourmet meals i used to view it as.
6:27PM: At this time I realize how unnatural my intense cravings for fast food are. We aren’t born with the natural instincts to crave a wendy’s square hamburger. So I’ve developed a simple theory that I’m sure isn’t ground breaking. I developed this addiction to fast food over a long period of time. So it will take me just as long, if not longer to rid myself of the habits and cravings that go along with this addiction to fast food.
Want to share your story, offer insight, or just say what’s on your mind? Feel free to email me alexsmith@oletoday.com or simply comment on the article. Until next week,
Alex
Great article Alex. Remember, that quitting soda is not so much about caffeine as it is about sugar. You will be fine, but don’t replace it with something else. I bet you see some weight loss without the sodas!
Good luck quitting soda alex! When i gave it up for lent I found that juice and crystal light was a great alternative! Especially since it was sooo easy to grab a can of soda, i had to buy juice in easy to grab bottles. Minute maid makes lots of different kinds. Carrying crystal light packages also helped for on the road soda cravings!