The basic thesis of Michal Pollan's book- Food Rules is: "Eat food, Mostly plants, Not too much."
I'm not going to pretend to change everything all at once, and I wouldn't even try. But I am going to start one of Pollan's Food Rules right now- #20 "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car." In other words- no more fast food. I will admit right here I love fast food. It's cheap, it tastes good, it leaves you wanting more. But then you feel kind of awful after you eat it. This is going to be one of the hardest rules to follow for the next 90 days. I'm pretty sure I can do it for myself, but it might be a little harder to get the whole family on board. The one thing I will really miss is McDonald's french fries. I actually had a small order on Monday to say goodbye. Isn't that pathetic!
There is this scene in the movie Food Inc. with a family going through the drive-thru and the mom says if she has a dollar she's going to get her daughter a double-cheeseburger because you can't even buy a bunch of broccoli for $1. That's the truth and it's really kind of sad. Plus you have to wash and cook the broccoli. And let's face it- plain broccoli does not taste that good. (I'm just being honest!) Not eating fast food is a lot more work and a lot less convenient. If you plan to follow this step with me, try watching Super Size Me with Morgan Spurlock. The guy eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days with some alarming results to his health.
I'm pretty sure I'll end up breaking this rule somewhere along the way. There will be this day we're in a hurry or something. I also think some fast food may be ok. Like a salad, or fruit, or yogurt- (or Chipotle LOL!). But I'm going to try to go cold turkey for now. I should also note that we eat a lot of processed foods in general- even when I "cook" a lot of time it comes out of a package. So even a little change is going to be big for me.
I'm pretty sure I'll end up breaking this rule somewhere along the way. There will be this day we're in a hurry or something. I also think some fast food may be ok. Like a salad, or fruit, or yogurt- (or Chipotle LOL!). But I'm going to try to go cold turkey for now. I should also note that we eat a lot of processed foods in general- even when I "cook" a lot of time it comes out of a package. So even a little change is going to be big for me.
Do you eat fast food? Or do you never touch the stuff?
Wow! I'm glad I found your blog. It's fun to watch your progress already. :)
ReplyDeleteWe definitely aren't fast food people and eat pretty closely to how Michael Pollan recommends and I think Chipotle is a great example.
What I order there: A vegetarian fajita bowl - tons of black beans, peppers and onions, lettuce, salsa and guacamole
What the person in front of me always orders there: A meat burrito on a flour tortilla with no beans, lots of cheese and sour cream. Bleh.
We don't go anywhere else that could be considered fast food, so I can't recommend any "healthier" options elsewhere... Chipotle sure works for us though when we're in a bind for dinner.