Quitting Fast Food

McTurtle

Everyone has certain habits. Some are good, some are bad, and some are neither of the two. I'm sure most of us would like to eliminate the bad habits.

And it's possible to get rid of them. As far as I've experienced, there are two ways to quit a bad habit.

#1: The Bad Experience

An aversive experience will leave an impression on you. My high school motorcycle & auto shop teacher told us after he had a throat surgery years ago the doctor told him he had to quit cigarettes or he would die. From that day forth he didn't touch a cigarette.

My personal story is getting a harsh case of food poisoning in elementary school. I was addicted to McDonald's but I think god believed I had my fill of it and decided to set me straight. The only details I can recall are feeling horribly ill and the doctor telling my mom and I that another kid came in with McDonald's food poisoning. It was enough for me to never eat it again.

These stories are a bit extreme. No one wants to go through a terrible situation to quit a habit.

#2: Time Off

Going cold turkey works if you can shake the initial withdrawal jitters. I've done it twice and only once it was a conscious effort.

One summer I decided to not eat fast food for a year. I can't remember what compelled me, but I did it. It went fine; I just didn't eat fast food for a year.

When the year was up we got Pizza Hut for dinner and man it tasted disgusting. I feel I was conditioned to fast food and breaking away from it returned my palate to its own sense of normalcy.

Time away from a habit works wonders. The initial period can be difficult, but if you can do it for a year then you have a significant amount of control over the habit rather than it controlling you.

It becomes easier as time goes on.