I Am What I Eat

Student’s fast food addiction leads to lifestyle change

Paul Schmid/Seattle Times/MCT

Fast food can become an addiction. Before I did research about this topic for my composition class, I did not believe that the consumption of fast food was really that much of a problem; I thought of it as more of a behavior or a choice. A few months ago, I was consuming fast food about five days a week. Whether as a meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner, it always seemed to make its way into my lifestyle.

At the time I was always on the go and also trying to put on weight. If I left home to do something and had skipped a meal, I assumed it’d be okay to just swing by a drive thru. I didn’t mind that the food I ate was high in calories or fat because, at the time, that was what I was trying to achieve. I wanted to gain back the weight I’d lost over football season. I knew that the weight I was putting on was unhealthy, but I just didn’t realize how unhealthy it was.

Then I was assigned a project where I had to choose to stop a behavior that I had a problem with. The entire class made a list of things that we could pick from.

Fast food was not one of my choices. I really didn’t see it as something wron.

gI went home that day thinking about what I could choose to make the project somewhat interesting. At dinner I asked my family for suggestions and was surprised to hear them say I should try to stop eating out so much. I laughed, thinking that giving up fast food would be no struggle. That’s how this choice came to be. I was to give up fast food for six weeks.

After putting some thought into myself and my relationship with fast food, I came to realize that it really was a big part of my life at the time. I would go out to eat with friends almost every day after school. I can recall going to grab In-N-Out on Saturday nights before heading home. I can also recall stopping at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell or any other major fast food industry on a Sunday afternoon, thinking it was natural -- just a part of our culture. The behavior took place chronically, multiple days of the week.

During some research into the topic, however, I quickly learned that fast food was no joke. I learned that diets high in fats are similar to drug addictions. People who eat fast food often build up cravings.

These cravings are similar to those that cigarette smokers receive when the body lacks nicotine. I also learned that a craving can be sparked by simply seeing any sign about fast food, such as an advertisement or commercial, just as cocaine addicts can get cravings for a drug when they witness paraphernalia or items closely related with their drug addiction.

Since we are what we eat, we should be watching what we choose to consume. Fast food can affect the body and mind. In the world of science, fast food has been linked to many mental disorders such as dyslexia, ADHD, autism and even bipolar behavior. Most of this is not known to the public. A positive thing about fast food addiction, however, is that unlike abuse of drugs or alcohol, if fast food addiction is stopped early enough, one can reverse the damages and go back to living a healthy lifestyle. Stopping this behavior early can avoid any of the conditions listed above and keep one away from this last step toward obesity. Obesity is one of the biggest problems in the U.S. today, and with fast food being such a big part of our nation’s culture, it puts pressure on those trying to quit.

During my personal experience, I had quite a struggle. I went from saying “I’m going to quit cold turkey” to saying “I’d like my turkey cold on my number five.” Within the six weeks I did not completely stop the behavior I was trying to avoid, but I felt as if I made my best effort.

Along with making efforts to stop eating fast food, I also completed every assignment associated with the project and even kept a journal consisting of about 40 half- to full-page entries. The amount of fast food I consumed decreased dramatically and I had a change in lifestyle. To replace school lunch, which I also started seeing as fast food, I packed a lunch of fruit, healthy chips, a dairy product and a sandwich. To replace my usual after-school meal, which was fast food, I began eating food at home that I actually bought for myself at the grocery store. Instead of running out the door on a Friday night and stopping by the nearest drive-thru, I stuck around the extra 30 minutes at home for dinner. My eating habits have completely changed; instead of making excuses, I made adjustments.

The Holistic Addiction Treatment Program is just about the biggest facility I could find that helps treat people with fast food addictions. Just like any other addiction, their program provides aid and advice on how to stop the consumption of high-sugared foods.

Places like this help to stop the spread of obesity. In my opinion, the biggest help I got during my experience was from my family. They respected what I was doing and helped keep me away from fast food.

From doing extra grocery shopping to simply not ordering take out, they were by my side almost every step of the way.

I don’t believe that I will relapse into the way I was abusing fast food before, but I’m also not going to say that I will completely stop. Fast food is a big part of American culture. With a fast food establishment popping up on just about every street corner, I assume I will probably purchase some fast food in the near future. One thing I do know, however, is that from now on I will always have knowledge about the abuse of fast food and will be able to pass it on to others I see who have the same struggle I had only six weeks ago.

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