The Real Way To Stop Eating Fast Food

Fantastic newsletter. Thanks for the recipes! It's just what I needed.

Jenn

Tom,
I agree with you! It's taken me 30 years, but I now eat healthy and don't miss the
fa(s)t food. Fortunately, I actually like raw cauliflower and broccoli. I eat whole, raw cucumbers for snacks (it doesn't get any more convenient than that). If I absolutely HAVE to eat fast food (lack of planning, emergency) I buy an El Pollo Loco chicken breast ala carte!

And the more protein and less bad carbs (sugars) I eat, the less hungry I am. I am sure I spend 1/3 the amount on food now than I did when I was eating unhealthy. I lost 60 lbs. and for the first time in my life, I am confident that I will keep it off forever!

Love your Newsletter!

Charlene

Tom,

Am hooked on your oatmeal pancakes with my own twist. Oatmeal, raisins, bananas, whole egg, cinnamon, and ground flax seeds cooked in coconut oil. Have it almost every am and it is not expensive and many ingredients are organic. People who eat fast food are doomed for a short life and cancer. They know it but won't change. Excuses and more excuses. The hardest part of this lifestyle is not staying clean but is to show others the light.

Anthony

Hi Tom,

You are on the right track there. I am a divorced guy and I do my own cooking nowadays, and although I mostly stick to the stuff I should eat, I do find cooking more time consuming than I would like. The girlies have all their short cuts that I don't have, so anything that makes cooking easier and quicker is welcome.

Recipes welcome; keep 'em coming mate!!

Best,
Kenneth

I LOVE RECIPES! Thanks Tom!

I routinely do wellness presentations in which I'm raising awareness about the importance of eating whole foods, including much more fresh, raw fruits and vegetables.

About a year ago I attended a presentation by another distributor which featured a 'show and tell' item...it was a McDonald's cheeseburger Happy Meal, which had been purchased two and one half years ago and stored at room temperature--it was not moldy, rotten or really much different looking than a fresh one!!! Possibly just a bit dried out looking, but the colors, everything, perfect. My presentations now feature a Happy Meal that is over a year old and when not making personal appearances, resides on top of a fridge, at room temp. Nothing will eat this happy meal, so why should we humans?

I'm a mom of seven, and I've been as guilty as the next of eating fast food and feeding it to my kids. But after a health crisis of my own, I have totally changed the way I and my loved ones eat. Unfortunately, for most people it takes a wake-up call like mine, something pretty high on the richter scale, to convince one that it is worth it to eat healthy today and every day. Another thing I learned with my own crisis is that working out and eating to look good isn't really the loftiest goal--eating and working out for health and longevity is more important...longterm over shortterm thinking. Of the fitness conscious people I know, so many are concerned about what they look like in a bathing suit over trying to avoid cancer or heart disease.

Would also like to take this opportunity to say that I'm a fan of your newsletters!

Karen

Tom,

Check out Kashi's 7 Whole Grain Pilaf. It's delicious and a super carb when you want a starchy carb. I like it for breakfast with an egg over it! (My husband finds this repulsive but it's deeeeelish!).

Love your newsletters and am still reading and re-reading BTF and your new book, Body Fat Solution. Yours is the best, most pratical and "in your face" honest literature on weight and fat control I have ever read -- and I've read a LOT being now a menopausal 50 year old who was formerly a yo-yo dieter for the better part of 35 years. Now there's a nice run-on sentence.

Anyway, my thanks. I hope some day to attend a lecture or seminar that you might offer (or a personal training/consult -- do you do this?) BTW, hit the "meathead" row today using the 35 dumbells for a couple of exercises w/my trainer. Gotta love it!

Cheers,
:)Cin

Dear Tom,
Thanks for the newsletter. I've found it informative. Yet I just wanted to chime in a bit on this latest letter you sent. I really think you are missing one very important factor as to WHY people choose McDonalds over eating healthing. Besides the convenience, or the price, people just PREFER eating a juicy burger and greasy fries with a soda, over the healthy stuff.(health warnings be damned) I personally like to eat healthy, and I do for the most part, but to be honest, I would take the Big Mac and fries over your 2 minute black beans or any of the other recipes you offered as an alternative in your letter. They just don't sound, well how shall I put it......very TASTY. Even for me, and I am committed to eating healthy at this point in my life, yet I could go for a Wendy's triple at just about any time of the day or night. Healthy has to BEAT the MAC on all three frontiers before people will truly switch.
Thanks for you letters,
Dave.

Dave, thanks for your comments.

Im sure some people love the taste of faste food - at least they do at the moment.

However, according to this latest research, "I eat fast food because its delicious" was not one of the primary reasons given.

the two primary reasons given were conveneince and a dislike for cooking.

I agree completely - your food needs to taste good for you to stick with your nutrition program as a lifestyle.

however, tastes are highly subjective and personal, and they can and easily do change over time.

The last time I had a fast food burger was about 19 years ago. I remember it to this day. I vomited it up all over the parking lot.

to this day, when I think of fast food burgers, I can only think of vomit. In fact, i make it a point to re-play that vomting episode in my mind every time i see a burger, see apicture of a burger, or think of a burger.

I havent got the slightest urge to eat a fast food burger. there is no temptation. Zero.

fast food burger = vomit. Vomit doesnt taste good.

the taste of food is very much a cognitive / psychological phenomenon. Sure, Im playing "mind games' in my own head to change my urges, cravings and tastes, but who says that isnt exactly what you should do?

Also ,sweet tooths are acquired and strengthened by indulging in them.

Today, I find myself craving fruits and vegetables, and frankly, some the recipes in my recipe library, I enjoy far more than i could or would any other junk food.

Of course, to each his own.. but if someone has the desire to change eating habits (some people do, some people dont), then it CAN be done with a shift in thinking and perception and by gradually weaning yourself off the artificial stuff and onto the natural stuff.

as for the recipes -- try em... you might like em... and the longer you keep trying them, the more you may keep liking them even more.

Anyone else any thoughts?

Thanks again

tom

I've recently started eating a lot healthier than I have in the past. I now try to have 5 smaller meals a day, and I try to include some healthy carbs and protein in every meal.

I eat a lot more fruit now than I ever have before, usually something like 1 banana, an apple or two, and an orange or two every day - I just stock up on fruits every weekend and bring some to work with me. They are quick and nutritious snacks, and not terribly expensive depending on where you shop.

I never used to even think about fruit, but now I can't even imagine not having my daily servings of fruit. I've really grown to like them and I don't seem to ever get tired of them... They definitely satisfy my sweet tooth. I still have the occasional cheat cookie, but it does feel more and more as time goes on that I actually prefer good fruits over the artificial stuff.

I can whip up all kinds of blender smoothie in under five minutes from scratch, including CLEAN-UP, from good stuff like cottage cheese or yogurt, berries/apple/banana, fish oil, nuts, spinach, oats, protein powder, flax meal, etc... and they keep me satisfied for hours. And taste GREAT!

I can make a couple quick fish salads in under 10 minutes.

Burgers, grilled chicken... all fast stuff. Heck, just pan frying (in a non-stick pan) some ground turkey or shrimp with veggies does NOT take long! And it's pretty darn easy to cook up quantities of rice or beans or lentils or other grains and store.

Fast food isn't half as fast as much of what I make for myself. Admittedly, the veggies are expensive here, but then there's the long term outlook on health. I'd rather pay a little more and eat a LOT healthier! And the taste is so much better!

You are right on here - once you kick the habit though, it's easier and easier to start eating healthy. The biggest factor is time - it appears to be much faster to eat junk. I always have hard boiled eggs and chicken breasts at the ready (in other words, I precook a bunch of chicken breasts and pre-boil a dozen eggs) so that when I'm pressed for time, I don't resort to junk. Another idea - I eat green and red peppers whole, like an apple - they are so good and convenient.

Tom your comment regarding the sweet tooth and indulging in sweets is right on target. The other angle on this subject has to do with addiction. Fat, Sugar, and salt are highly addictive and I believe it has more to do with the addictive nature of these foods than it has to do with the flavor or tastiness of them. I think the need for fat and the storage of fat is a very basic and primal human need. Of course in our modern world we are not out chasing a buffalo for dinner or gathering seeds and berries. Our food supply is readily available and we have not adapted very well to the excesses that we have in this world. We can get our "3 squares a day". Sugar is an instant source of energy. A body craves these foods until the habit or addictive dependence is broken. Cold turkey is the only way to go. I think over time the habit of crap food can be broken. It does take effort and I agree with the earlier comment from the mother of 7. It has more to do with the health and longevity and the quality of life than looking hot in a swim suit. It is a sad state of the human condition to continue to eat un real food, smoke or overindulge in alcohol even when they know it is bad for you.

Good topic...thanks Tom

Paul R.

Thats a great way to get people motivated to eat better - give us easy recipes that don't look like hard work!

Hi Tom Venuto!

I don't think that's the only reason people still eat fast food, I think it's not only convenience but also lack of education.

My mother never knew how to cook growing up, so she would take us out, thinking that having a different fast foods would be better for us? how her logic came to that I don't know! Now I am 29 and I wont touch the stuff!

I think we are not being educated enough on how much we should eat the are many people out there giving misleading data, that no one knows these days,

Now I know I now It is me who controls this, I want this fat loss, I want to be 80kg, You have given me the motivation I need to lose by showing me the truth and that has made me try it, to success, and I want it now (I have a passion to get there), I know it wont be quick, that was not what I wanted I just wanted to be thin.

Your BFFM program is the first lifestyle eating plan that makes sense. the first week I started your diet my boss had a birthday. I sat down to a table with 3 different white flour cakes, lollies, my favorite the tim tam, chips, etc, chicken wings fried, etc.

I have will power I didn't touch any of it, I grabbed a bowl of oats and sat down!

My body thanks you, I have energy, my cramping in my legs from my body eating the muscle is gone, I have more flexibility, So I know I am getting results, even if the are big ones that I only see small fat loss from, I feel healthier then I have ever!

Amy

Tom,

Great article and recipes. Like some others have said, junk food is faster. At least until you get in the mindset of preparing food beforehand. I almost always have lentils and brown rice in the refrigerator, ready to be reheated in the microwave. A mix of lentils. brown rice, salsa and turkey burger is one of my favorite meals now.

Tom:
Thanks for another great post. although I don't have a problem avoiding the fast food joints, I'm always stuck trying to choose between flavor and high nutritional value. It's great to able to step away from the chicken & sweet potatoes every once in a while and take in something that's both nutritious and tasty.

Personally, I don't know how people eat that stuff. And you're right - convincing people to cook is nearly impossible, and I don't see why. I rarely spend more than a 1/2 hour to make a meal, and it tastes so much better. Why would you want to eat something that tastes like greasy cardboard and chemicals?

I put brain dead simple recipes on my blog, and still have friends and family that tell me it's too hard. But they'll make hamb. helper - which to me is a pain in the rear and tastes really bad. Go figure...

And Dave- what's wrong with chicken and sweet potatoes? They're both good for you. Well, depending on how you make them I suppose....