Fast Food Detox Week 3

Fast Food Detox Week 3

By: Alex Smith

Last weeks weight: 253
This weeks weight: 247
Ate fast food: 0 times

As week 3 started I decided to break away from my usual template for this article. Instead of chronicling my day by day activities I’m going to write a more structured article. Now that I’m moving in to what should be the easier stages of quitting fast food I will move to a sometimes bi-weekly article. I will be detailing the previous week as well as allowing some insight into what I have planned for this article and myself in the coming weeks.

It is believed that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Whether that habit be smoking, drinking, or eating it takes at least 21 days to break yourself of that habit. As I find myself well in to my third week, or 20 something day, I do find that my rose colored glasses for fast food is beginning to fade. However, hamburgers, french fries and chicken strips constantly fill my thoughts. Whether this comes from a constant hunger or simply a side effect of breaking an addiction, this is by far the most bothersome thing about this process so far. My thoughts tend to persuade what the rest of my mind wants to do. This constant thought of junk food makes normal, healthy meals appear unappetizing and bland in flavor. It’s as if the fast food companies have implanted some sort of self destruct device in my brain that makes any food but theirs seem unappealing. As hard as these cravings and urges are to resist I am proud to say I have managed to avoid all fast food and remain honest to myself and this website as far as my pledge to quit all fast food. The days are beginning to blend together which is part of the reason I am changing the format of this article. It’s no longer necessary to note my hour by hour log of my struggles. Everyday is still a battle to fight the temptation of grabbing a quick bite. I have a feeling this struggle isn’t going away any time soon. Instead I’ll embrace this struggle and live with it until my body has been without fast food long enough it decides it no longer remembers what it is.
As noted in last weeks article (week 2) I decided to add soda to my detox list. Surprisingly going without soda hasn’t been as difficult as I anticipated. My dependency might not have been as bad as I previously thought it to be, but I believed it to be pretty bad. This also may be related to the distraction my fast food addiction has caused. I have noticed headaches during certain hours of the day that caffeine or sugar usually stimulated my fatigue. Other then feeling lethargic and exhausted the first few days without soda I now feel refreshed and have noticed the feeling of actually being more hydrated. I am actually really encouraged with my ability to quit soda so easily. I’ve been told by various people that soda can often be one of the toughest consumptions to quit. I’ve also been told that by mainly people who drink diet coke religiously so I guess I’ll take that last statement in to perspective.

Now that I’m reaching what should be my threshold of kicking my fast food addiction I was interested in branching out and getting professional opinions on the subject of healthy eating and the effects of fast food on average american citizens. The first recommendation I received was to read the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. While I started reading this book last week, I haven’t read enough to actually involve sections of the book in this article. By this time next week I plan on having the book completed. So started next week I will begin including passages from the book that relate the my article and give a different perspective to the fast food industry.
My second idea for the future of this article is to interview a Nutritionist to get his opinion about fast food and different alternatives to the foods I have been craving. I will also get his opinion on quitting fast food and different information as it pertains to the topics of this article. This interview should be found in my week 5 or week 6 article.

Now that topics pertaining to the future plans of this article have been laid out I want to provide some thoughts I’ve been having as far as my lifestyle goes. I originally started this experiment to see the struggles that would go along with quitting fast food. My decision was not based on anything on losing weight or saving money. It was simply something I wanted to try so I could measure it’s affects on my life. This journey however, has brought me to a place where I am now very aware of how unhealthy my lifestyle had become. I plan on adding some sort of exercise regiment to this experiment to develop this in to oletoday’s very own biggest loser. Finding the time, let alone the motivation, to exercise will be much easier said then done. I have had several failed attempts to exercise regularly, all of which fizzled out after only a few months. I know it may sound like I am filling my plate too much and setting myself up for failure. If I attempt to change my life for the better and can successfully change 50% of the things I have planned to change, then my life will be substantially better.

I hope you’ve enjoyed following me in this experiment so far. I really hope to provide the readers of this website with an interesting in depth look at the struggles that go along with someone breaking a habit that has grown out of control. I hope you continue to read this articles and give me any feedback you may have.

You can find the previous Fast Food Detox articles here:
Week 1
Week 2

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