On our way home from a weekend spent with family, we tried to stop at Qdoba for some burritos. But, upon our arrival, we found a note taped to the door; "Management didn't show up, so we couldn't open, sorry!" So, we drove 500 feet to Arby's and went through the drive-thru.
Even with me ordering off the "value" menu, our meal still came to just under $20.
I don't know what it was about this particular day, or this particular order, but all of a sudden, IT hit me. This was the 4th "convenience meal" we had gotten this week. At around $20 a pop, that was $80 extra that we spent this past week.
Do I go grocery shopping every week?
YES.
Do we have plenty of food at home?
Also, YES.
Do you end up having to throw away food that goes bad in the fridge?
.... Also, yes.
Kim, don't you like to cook?
YES. I love cooking!
But aren't these convenience meals great? They're filling and easy!
No.. actually. Yes, they're easy, but most of the time I'm hungry in a few hours because I know there are a ton of calories and fat in these meals...so, I always feel guilty ordering enough food to fill me up, like I'm cheating myself, sabotaging myself from losing the extra 15 pounds I'm still carrying from my pregnancy. Also, how "easy" is it really, when you spend an extra 5 minutes driving around asking "what do you want to eat?" "I literally don't care just pick something".
WHAT. ARE. WE. DOING?!
I did a little (ok, pretty minimal) research on the fat grams alone. From what I can tell, most of the sources I looked at recommend the average adult on a 2,000 calorie a day diet gets around 60 grams of fat a day. Which translates to roughly 420 grams per week.
The average fast food meal (sandwich & medium fries) can contain anywhere from 50-80 grams of fat, alone! I even read that two Burger King Whoppers and a large fry meal has a whopping 103 grams of fat!
Don't even get me started on the sugar intake of these meals. Fast food has sugar in EVERYTHING. Those fries you got? Those aren't just fried potatoes and salt. Many fast food restaurants coat their fries in a sugar liquid so that they have a more uniform "golden" color when fried.
So ok, let's say that my fast food meals last week erred on the low end at 50 grams of fat, with those 4 meals alone, I've eaten over half of my fat intake for the week. (Over half because I don't have a 2,000 calorie diet. Mine is usually around 1500-1600).
That's.....ridiculous. I'm ashamed of myself.
Growing up, fast food wasn't a "normal routine" in our house. I had breakfast at home in the mornings, ate lunch at school, and mom always made dinner. For us to go out and eat, it was a special occasion, like a birthday or an entire family event (when aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. would come to visit). It wasn't ever a "it's Tuesday and I'm too lazy to cook" event.
- I keep wondering why I can exercise and never lose any weight.
- I keep wondering how to break this "funk" I've been in.
- I keep wondering why I'm tired and sluggish all the time.
(Ok, that one can be several things- mostly that my child hates sleep)
So, I decided, last Saturday, that I was done. Not necessarily done with fast food forever, just... done with this whole "convenience meal mindset".
If we want to go out and eat at a fast food restaurant, I want it to be because we actually WANT that snack wrap from Wendy's, or that breakfast burrito from McDonald's. I don't want to just drive thru somewhere out of habit, or because we can't think of anything that sounds good at the moment, so just pick up something and eat it real quick. We take food for granted. I want to change my mindset so that I appreciate what I am eating. I want to take time and make more nutritious meals for my family.
This week has been.... amazing.
- I have cooked 4 new recipes (2 of which, I'll make again!)
- I feel physically and mentally better (seriously? after one week? it really affected me THAT much? Holy cow.)
- I have had more energy and gotten things done around the house and personal goal-wise that I hadn't wanted to work on, or work through
- I haven't craved a fast food meal ONE SINGLE time
- I'm finally planning some of our meals out (like I've said I was going to do for quite some time now, then I start it and don't follow thru)
- I've lost 2 pounds! YAAAY!!!
- Thatcher and Micah have both tried new foods this week and LIKED them!
- I'm actually excited for next week, instead of my usual indifference
- My anxiety level is lower
- My fridge and my freezer are full, and I'm determined not to throw away any spoiled food this time. Wish me luck!
I'm looking forward to all the new recipes I've got set up to try this coming week!
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