French Fries on the Brain

Is it impulse, instinct, or just plain ‘ol conditioning? Either way, I’ve come to realize that my draw towards fast food is something I’m going to have to keep in check every day.

Week one is finished, and so far so good. No fast food for me. But, it wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it was going to be. I found myself often reverting to the old habits of automatically assuming that I had a variety of drive-thru joints to feed myself with. It would usually happen in the evening, after my workout. I’d stop and think of how hungry I was, and the thoughts of going to McDonalds, Wendy’s, or any other fast food place would just hit me without warning. I really had no idea how much of a “habit” eating fast food was to me until I tried to make a conscious decision to go without.

It really got me to thinking about how much we’ve trained ourselves to go straight for the fast food when we’re hungry. I had to catch myself several times this past week from “going there” in my mind; not as some type of temptation contemplation, but more of how my brain just automatically started flipping through the fast-food rolodex when my tummy started growling. It was as if I had been “programmed” to consider fast food as my first protocol when entering hunger mode.

Where does this instinct come from? Well, certainly a lot of it is just habit. I’ve eaten quite a bit of fast food in my life. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve talked into a speaker to get food, I’d just buy my own KFC and get it over with. I’m just used to eating fast food when I’m hungry, particularly when I’m on duty during graveyard shift. It’s easy, fast, convenient, and although barely considered nutrition and edible, it gets the job done. Suddenly choosing to remove the option from my diet has certainly left a void in my overall menu, so that will be a challenge for me to fill.

I also tend to think that we’ve been conditioned to a certain degree to automatically think of fast food when we’re hungry. Billions have been spent in advertising for the fast food industry, and the science and research behind the marketing is incredible. We’re not just being “advertised” to; we’re being conditioned to think. Habituated exposure to this industry is probably part of the reason that our brains like to “go there” when we are hungry. Most of us don’t like to think of it as such, but in reality we’re programmed to consider fast food as our first food option.

Another reason is that our entire food industry is completely saturated with fast food. Everywhere you go you can find fast food, and if you miss your turn to get into line at the McDonalds, you’ll find another one just a few blocks away. We can’t even go to the shopping mall, Wal-Mart, airport, Target, or any other retail establishment without being offered fast food. It’s amazing that traditional sit-down restaurants even have a chance in this market.

So, I guess the lesson for the first week is that I shouldn’t underestimate how socialized eating fast food is in our community. It’s all around me, and I even start to consider fast food as meal options without trying. It just pops into my mind. Abstaining from fast food will not only be a physiological feat for me, but it will clearly be a psychological one as well!