Salutations™!!

It was four years ago today that I inadvertently made a decision that would affect my health to this day and beyond. I had gone to McDonald’s that afternoon and for the first (and last) time in a long time, I got a Big Mac. I had wanted one and usually had gotten double cheeseburgers or Royale Quarter Pounder with Cheese from Ronald & Co. It just didn’t taste the way it should’ve or at least what I remembered it tasting like. I just felt crappy after eating it. 

For the next few days, I didn’t have any fast food at all. I thought about it here and there but then thought, nah. I’d make other food choices, either eating at home (which at the time was a no-no (I really hate eating at home)) or just better restaurants. I wasn’t consciously making an effort to not have fast food. I just wasn’t. Those days turned into weeks which turned into months. That’s a streak.

If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know that I can’t resist a streak or a list. If I have a list to go through (at least when I enjoy doing the activity), I can broaden my horizons and find things I never knew about. With a streak, I just can’t not do what I have been doing. I mean look at the 90-Day Club at Finnigan’s Wake. I did my 90 days and then decided I had to go more, if for nothing else to beat the only other person that had done it. Then 1,099 days later, I ended a streak that led to a record stood for a few years before someone lost their mind and beat it.

So, after six months in 2013-2014, I realized that I hadn’t been eating fast food and hadn’t been to a fast food restaurant and was pretty amazed at that. After that, it became a determination to stay away. And, in that, it was a bonus because we know that fast food isn’t necessarily the best thing for you. Even before the “streak” happened, I had slacked off from the places that I used to frequent morning, noon and night. Seriously, I used to eat at McDonald’s for breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. Although the doctor said that fast food wasn’t the culprit in my heart problems, I’m sure it didn’t help anything.

Now, I have to clarify: I eat at Subway, Jimmy John’s and the like. I don’t count that as fast food, I count it as deli food. What I call fast food is McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Hardee’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Bojangles, Arby’s, Zaxby’s, and that ilk. Also, it has helped me get through that part about not liking to eat at home. I don’t mind it now. Plus, it has upped my cooking game. It’s something that I’ve gotten more passionate about and something that 3B and I get to do together. In turn, that has ignited a heavy interest from him about cooking and food in general. So, it’s a win-win for me in all facets. Yay me!

And, in closing, I am not advocating for you to not have fast food. I’m all for it, I’m all for you having it, I’ll even take 3B to places and buy him food. I’m not anti-fast food. I’m only saying it’s not for me. I miss it sometimes. Sometimes I would love to stop and have a Baja Gordita from Taco Bell or a Whopper from Burger King or that double cheeseburger from Mickey D’s. So, go have a Big Mac or something and be happy. I just won’t be doing that.

P.s. If I get to go to a real White Castle anytime soon, that streak will be put on hold.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“There are times, like after a long day of work, when the thought of an easy drive-through is enticing. But then I remember how crappy I felt when I ate fast food in the past, and it inspires me to head to the grocery store or my local farmer’s market and whip up an easy but healthier option.” – Alison Sweeney