Hello all! For many years I have struggled with addiction. No, it wasn't beer or delicious Crown Royal, or any kind of drug. It was the chicken nugget I have been struggling with since I got my two front teeth. During my childhood my dad worked at Arby's, so addition to the roast beef sandwiches and cheddar fries two or three times a week there was the Long John's, Burger King's, McDonald's and every other chain that you could drive your car through.
On a kindergarten class trip to McDonald's for breakfast all the kids got orange juice and at the bright, young age of 5 I was the only kid who wimpered and moaned for a soda, at 9 in the morning. Ever since I started to get my own paychecks the addiction has gotten so much worse. Especially with newer places like Sonic, Cookout and my mortal enemy -- Chick-Fil-A. Fuck that stupid ass cow. The longest I've ever gone without a double cheeseburger or number 5, large size, was one month. Then I caved.
I do blame a lot of my addiction on how I was raised. Home cooked meals were a rarity, and if you count microwaveable substances home cooked then Thanksgiving and Christmas were truly the only real meals. Except for that Waffle House incident. That was just Satan being a dick, but I digress. Growing up where the most creative thing prepared in my household was putting cinnamon on buttered toast, it really didn't help my skills in the kitchen become any better than they are today. I can cook a rather delicious Steak-Umm, and my cereal rocks. So just like the people who I call my parentals, I too grab sodas and fast food pretty much on a daily basis. It got so bad for awhile that I would get fast food mulitiple times a day. Sometimes I would feel embarrassed going to the same Chick-Fil-A because I thought they were secretly judging me, so I would drive to a different one that was farther away.
People have asked me, don't I care about spending so much money? I know how much my regular orders are for the places I frequent most, all within the $3-8 range. So let's do the math kids. Let's say I get fast food 7 times a week at around five bucks a pop. That's $35 a week, $140 a month, and $1820 a year. Yep, that's right. Numbers don't lie. That's seriously how much I could and probably have spent on fast food.
After not having been on a scale in a few months I finally decided to start going to the gym and decided that this past Monday was the day I started changing things. When I saw the number on the scale my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was ridiculous, and with my family history of obesity and other health issues, I knew that I didn't want to turn into someone who needs gastric bypass and still carries candy everywhere they go. Monday was my last fast food encounter. Chick-Fil-A, of course. And that is it. I'm quitting cold turkey. Just like any other addiction I need to focus and get support and stay away from all that horrible shit. I've also been working out again, which I always loved and still do now.
I've tried weaning myself off of it. I've tried being broke. I've tried the cold turkey thing before. I've tried making my own meals. Remember I can barely cook toast here, so concocting things for me to eat is hard. But this time it's for real. I can't ever have it again. Maybe someday, like my death bed I'll scarf myself with the crispy deliciousness of Chick-Fil-A nuggets, but until then I am making drastic lifestyle changes. If anyone wants to join me in my journey please let me know. Pretend like I'm quitting smoking, because whenever I tell people I am addicted to fast food they think it's silly, like it's not anything one can get addicted to. Well, it is an expensive, unhealthy, disgusting habit, and just like any other drug it has taken over. And right now I am in the baby stage of recovery. There shall be blog updates a plenty of full coverage of getting over my addiction, so stay tuned.
