Tomorrow I eat cake. Ok, well, I actually chose to go with giant cupcakes instead of cake this year. So... mini-cakes. Tomorrow I eat cake and pizza and non-diet soda. That was my splurge, right?
Oh the crap that I have eaten in the last few days. I haven't even bothered to get on the scale because the result would surely scare the crap out of me.
On my birthday, a Wednesday, we went out for Mexican food. Then we went to the grocery store. I wanted dessert and figured maybe I'd get something sweet there while I picked up some salad and stuff for the week. I got fresh baked cookies from the bakery. I was actually craving that EXACT cookie all day, so when I saw them there, I had to get them. Chewy chocolate cookies with pecans. I don't even like freaking nuts and yet I had been fantisizing about these dang cookies. I got two containers. I call them Birthday Cookies now. I say hello to them every time I pass them in the kitchen. "Hi Birthday Cookies!" "Good Morning Birthday Cookies!" "Well hello Birhtday Cookies - you're looking lovely and smelling great today!" Over the next 2 days I ate about 3 a day. Still have about 3 left from container #1 as of Saturday night. Not as bad as I could have been - sure, but not really healthy either.
The next day we go to Costco to order the cake and pick up some healthy cereal for me as I'm out. We eat Costco Pizza and I give in to non-diet soda. I'm a bad, bad girl. Lucky for me they weren't offering samples that day...
Friday we go out to eat at a new Cajun spot. Honestly, while it waasn't exactly great, the gumbo wasn't TOO bad. Chicken and sausage, but there wasn't much sausage. Mostly rice and fresh veggies. But the potato salad, mac & chees and those lovely hushpuppies weren't exactly diet food.
Saturday breakfast started good, as it always does, but it was pretty much down hill from there. Fast food fried chicken sandwich, fries and a non-diet coke for lunch. M&M's in the movie. Starbucks at the store. Soft pretzel at the mall. Around 9pm I realize I haven't had any water yet today. And the closest thing to a vegetable were the pieces of soggy tomato I bit into before I pulled them off my sandwich at lunch. Wow. I suck.
Do I want to try to say that I needed this time? It would be a lie. But it certainly would be a convenient one. Really, it's just a matter of allowing travel to let me fall back into old habits. I need to MAKE myself work harder both when I'm at home and when I travel. Looking at the food in the aisles at the store today just made me angry. It was all SO bad for you. But it was easy. It was convenient. It was my reminder. Easy and convenient is what got me to 235. I am never, never, never going to be there again. I can't keep sliding. An off day - heck an off week can't derail me the way it has recently. Time to pick myself up by the bootstraps. [Since I don't wear boots should that be bra straps? Not sure...]
I will allow 1 more bad day because it's already planned and I know that even if I was being healthy the rest of the time I'd let myself splurge for my birthday. But as of Monday it's back to the scale. By the end of the week I want to have measurments too. Scares the crap out of me, but it has to happen. Because the results of doing nothing, staying in this cycle of crap, scares me even more.
Showing posts with label Fast Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fast Food. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Salad vs. Burger: And the loser is...
Why does a salad cost twice as much as a burger?
Seriously.
Why?
I'm asking.
I'm not just talking about some foo foo salad at a fancy restaurant either. I'm talking iceberg lettuce, dry carrot strips and a squishy cherry tomato. If I made that at home - 25 cents? Heck, even with retail costs I'm guessing it could be done for no more then 12 cents. But at some fast food place they think they're being nice by putting it on the 99 cent menu. Showing that they have gone healthy. (See folks, fast food isn't bad for you - we have salads!) Ya know what else is on that 99 cent menu? A bacon double cheese burger. A quarter pound double stack. A southwest barbecue burger. The list gets bigger every day.
I can't make a quarter pound double cheese burger for 12 cents. Beef is expensive. Farmers have to buy the seed to grow barley and hay and grass and whatever else cows eat. They have to pay for someone to harvest it. Farmers have to pay to grow the cows. Manufacturing plants have to pay their workers to... um... make the animal a food product that no longer vividly resembles an animal. Truckers have to load and deliver - paying more and more for the gas. Then there are most likely half a dozen middle men before it actually gets to market somewhere in between all that. Then what? After all those folks have been paid and have had to pay, Fast Food Buyer A gets their product. Then they have to pay for it to go through some processing plant to put it into perfectly sized patties. Saves time, costs money. Then those perfectly shaped patties are boxed and sent via all sorts of shipping methods (which do not run cheap for heavy frozen items) to get them to Fast Food Store A. Now what all that is happening, someone is doing the same thing with the wheat that makes the bun, and even the companies cranking out that special sauce. None of it's natural - and it takes a lot of work.
So how is that hamburger equal in cost on the Dollar Menu to rapidly browning iceberg lettuce?
The lust for beef money ruins rain forests. In High School I remember learning how many acres of the rain forest had been destroyed by McDonald's alone as some of those farmers were expanding their farms as beef sold at such a high price - but those dang trees were getting in the way of their fields.
The drive for heartier beef leads good hearted farmers to make decisions they would rather not do including smaller areas, hormones and anything else that he hears might help him to get an extra $1 per head for his heard.
The craving for beef is enough that even when folks know they shouldn't eat it, they order it in massive quantities. McDonald's Triple Cheeseburger. Burger King's Quad Stacker. Ordering 10-20 White Castles. We do it because we can. Because it tastes good. We know it's not good for us, we know we're hurting ourselves. But....
A burger costs as much as an iceberg lettuce salad. Costs just as much, but won't leave you hungry when you're done. When you're hungry, which one feels like the better value? It's just not a fair game they're playing.
And before you walk away - want fries with that?
Seriously.
Why?
I'm asking.
I'm not just talking about some foo foo salad at a fancy restaurant either. I'm talking iceberg lettuce, dry carrot strips and a squishy cherry tomato. If I made that at home - 25 cents? Heck, even with retail costs I'm guessing it could be done for no more then 12 cents. But at some fast food place they think they're being nice by putting it on the 99 cent menu. Showing that they have gone healthy. (See folks, fast food isn't bad for you - we have salads!) Ya know what else is on that 99 cent menu? A bacon double cheese burger. A quarter pound double stack. A southwest barbecue burger. The list gets bigger every day.
I can't make a quarter pound double cheese burger for 12 cents. Beef is expensive. Farmers have to buy the seed to grow barley and hay and grass and whatever else cows eat. They have to pay for someone to harvest it. Farmers have to pay to grow the cows. Manufacturing plants have to pay their workers to... um... make the animal a food product that no longer vividly resembles an animal. Truckers have to load and deliver - paying more and more for the gas. Then there are most likely half a dozen middle men before it actually gets to market somewhere in between all that. Then what? After all those folks have been paid and have had to pay, Fast Food Buyer A gets their product. Then they have to pay for it to go through some processing plant to put it into perfectly sized patties. Saves time, costs money. Then those perfectly shaped patties are boxed and sent via all sorts of shipping methods (which do not run cheap for heavy frozen items) to get them to Fast Food Store A. Now what all that is happening, someone is doing the same thing with the wheat that makes the bun, and even the companies cranking out that special sauce. None of it's natural - and it takes a lot of work.
So how is that hamburger equal in cost on the Dollar Menu to rapidly browning iceberg lettuce?
The lust for beef money ruins rain forests. In High School I remember learning how many acres of the rain forest had been destroyed by McDonald's alone as some of those farmers were expanding their farms as beef sold at such a high price - but those dang trees were getting in the way of their fields.
The drive for heartier beef leads good hearted farmers to make decisions they would rather not do including smaller areas, hormones and anything else that he hears might help him to get an extra $1 per head for his heard.
The craving for beef is enough that even when folks know they shouldn't eat it, they order it in massive quantities. McDonald's Triple Cheeseburger. Burger King's Quad Stacker. Ordering 10-20 White Castles. We do it because we can. Because it tastes good. We know it's not good for us, we know we're hurting ourselves. But....
A burger costs as much as an iceberg lettuce salad. Costs just as much, but won't leave you hungry when you're done. When you're hungry, which one feels like the better value? It's just not a fair game they're playing.
And before you walk away - want fries with that?
Monday, August 13, 2007
When time flies, healthy flies
Time is flying recently! Positively flying!
Big parties and planning and folks coming in from out of town and food and cooking and baking and going out to eat/drink/socialize day after day after day. Not that I'm really complaining but OH my goodness time sure does go quickly when you're busy.
Unfortunately, this has brought with it convenience food - as we're always on the go, or the kind of special "bad" foods that are only made when folks are in town or for special parties. And of course there has been no time to go to the gym, yet that $50 leaves my check account month after month. And then many of the friends/family don't understand how we recycle so it's a matter of trying to casually pick out those cans and bottles out of the trash, dump and rinse them and put them into the recycle - without being called "The Recycle Nazi" too many times through the night.
So while absolutely wonderful, the last month hasn't exactly been "healthy". That said, my number on the scale has not changed. So apparently I haven't gone too overboard. That said, I've been saying how important it is that we make some clear changes shortly. The Girlfriend wants those changes in organizing the house. I'd have a messy house if it meant I was spending more time cooking healthy foods and going to the gym - but I know we need to find a happy medium between the two to keep a happy and "healthy" house.
Big parties and planning and folks coming in from out of town and food and cooking and baking and going out to eat/drink/socialize day after day after day. Not that I'm really complaining but OH my goodness time sure does go quickly when you're busy.
Unfortunately, this has brought with it convenience food - as we're always on the go, or the kind of special "bad" foods that are only made when folks are in town or for special parties. And of course there has been no time to go to the gym, yet that $50 leaves my check account month after month. And then many of the friends/family don't understand how we recycle so it's a matter of trying to casually pick out those cans and bottles out of the trash, dump and rinse them and put them into the recycle - without being called "The Recycle Nazi" too many times through the night.
So while absolutely wonderful, the last month hasn't exactly been "healthy". That said, my number on the scale has not changed. So apparently I haven't gone too overboard. That said, I've been saying how important it is that we make some clear changes shortly. The Girlfriend wants those changes in organizing the house. I'd have a messy house if it meant I was spending more time cooking healthy foods and going to the gym - but I know we need to find a happy medium between the two to keep a happy and "healthy" house.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Healthy Kitty, Healthy world
That part of my brain that justifies bad decisions has just come up with a good "reason" why eating fast food isn't such a bad thing. Ready for this? Paper bags.
Funny huh? I know, I know - why would a recycler like myself like getting paper bags. I can answer that it 2 words - Kitty Poop. Yes, Kitty Poop.
You see, I recently learned about how general scoopable cat litter was bad. Bad, bad bad actually. Where to begin.
- Most have dust containing an agent that causes cancer. And when that dust on our kitties feet gets put on our sofas, pillows and hands guess who breathes it all in? The one who bought the kitty liter and all their friends and family. Nice.
- The clay that makes it "clump" was strip-mined from the ground. Yes I said strip-mined. To the tune of 2 million tons a year. Have your attention yet?
- Once the clay has been processed - it's not bio degradable. Can't be flushed. So tons and tons of kitty poop are sitting in landfills.
- Most folks use plastic bags (as they are in such abundance) to throw away their kitty poop.
So, we've got stinky cancer causing chemicals in a non-bio degradable format in a non-bio degradable bag. Oh how non-green it is!!!
I'm currently working to transfer my lovely and picky kitty over to Swheat Scoop Wheat Litter. Thought about doing the pine, but I know our kitty would hate the smell. Swheat scoop is bio degradable. But how to dispose of it..... Supposedly if you're willing to wait 20 minutes for it to dissolve a bit first, you can flush it down the toilet. Not a horrible idea, but I'm not willing to waste 12-15 gallons of water per Kitty cleaning flush every day when my city is in a drought. We often put the poop in plastic bags still around the house. (Who thinks shoe shopping = plastic bags? One day I'll learn...) But of course then it's not bio-degradable.
And now we are full circle. Fast food bags. Small. Free (with purchase). Completely bio-degradable. If my whole household goes even 3 times a week (that would be once a week for each of us) we'd have enough bags. And while I'd like to dramatically reduce my numbers there, I think there are other folks in the house who would more than make up for me. So, thanks to McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Popeye's, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Burger King and many others not listed here - I'll be able to dramatically reduce our Kitty Poop ecological footprint. I'm not sure our Kitty cares, but I'm quite excited.
Funny huh? I know, I know - why would a recycler like myself like getting paper bags. I can answer that it 2 words - Kitty Poop. Yes, Kitty Poop.
You see, I recently learned about how general scoopable cat litter was bad. Bad, bad bad actually. Where to begin.
- Most have dust containing an agent that causes cancer. And when that dust on our kitties feet gets put on our sofas, pillows and hands guess who breathes it all in? The one who bought the kitty liter and all their friends and family. Nice.
- The clay that makes it "clump" was strip-mined from the ground. Yes I said strip-mined. To the tune of 2 million tons a year. Have your attention yet?
- Once the clay has been processed - it's not bio degradable. Can't be flushed. So tons and tons of kitty poop are sitting in landfills.
- Most folks use plastic bags (as they are in such abundance) to throw away their kitty poop.
So, we've got stinky cancer causing chemicals in a non-bio degradable format in a non-bio degradable bag. Oh how non-green it is!!!
I'm currently working to transfer my lovely and picky kitty over to Swheat Scoop Wheat Litter. Thought about doing the pine, but I know our kitty would hate the smell. Swheat scoop is bio degradable. But how to dispose of it..... Supposedly if you're willing to wait 20 minutes for it to dissolve a bit first, you can flush it down the toilet. Not a horrible idea, but I'm not willing to waste 12-15 gallons of water per Kitty cleaning flush every day when my city is in a drought. We often put the poop in plastic bags still around the house. (Who thinks shoe shopping = plastic bags? One day I'll learn...) But of course then it's not bio-degradable.
And now we are full circle. Fast food bags. Small. Free (with purchase). Completely bio-degradable. If my whole household goes even 3 times a week (that would be once a week for each of us) we'd have enough bags. And while I'd like to dramatically reduce my numbers there, I think there are other folks in the house who would more than make up for me. So, thanks to McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Popeye's, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Burger King and many others not listed here - I'll be able to dramatically reduce our Kitty Poop ecological footprint. I'm not sure our Kitty cares, but I'm quite excited.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Apparenly stress likes Burger King?
Ya know how I said no more fast food? That died today. The culprit? Emotional eating.
Feeling stressed. Uber bad day. In a rush. Nothing going right. Running late. Feeling out of control. Everything is going wrong.
And then I'm hungry.
Sooooo... I drive through Burger King on the way back to work. It took care of lunch and did calm me down - but it kinda pissed me off that it worked. I feel like now that I'm realizing it's an emotional thing - I should be able to rise above it. Oh well. If Oprah, with her personal chefs, personal assistants and limitless funds, still eats out of emotion - I don't feel quite as bad. BUT - it doesn't solve the fact that I can't keep doing this. [Side note: While Oprah can't solve her own eating issues, she sure is talking about it! They are doing some thing called "Get with the program" (I'm sure this is yelled several times to the audience's loud applause.) that takes you through the many steps of "the program". There are many on emotional eating. This one - talking about stress induced emotional eating is my favorite. You want me to write it in my journal? Sure - one more thing to think about and stress about when I forget or get behind. I don't think so.]
Another bad thing about my day? Almost an hour spent driving basically without purpose for an hour (with escalating stress by the minute of course) in my non-gas friendly car.
Today was not green. Today was not healthy. Today was more Bust than Healthy.
--------in w/ the good air----out with the bad-------whooooooooooooooo............--------
Tomorrow I leave for camp. A church camp were I'll be a counselor for 5 little girls, aged 8-10. Days filled with fun and panic. Nights filled with quiet and exhaustion. As nervous as I may be in that I've never done this before, I am looking forward to it very much. Re-connecting with nature and children. Our world, our future. That is the best motivation ever to be green and live healthy.
Its time for a little recalibration of the old internal circuits.
I look forward to it.
Feeling stressed. Uber bad day. In a rush. Nothing going right. Running late. Feeling out of control. Everything is going wrong.
And then I'm hungry.
Sooooo... I drive through Burger King on the way back to work. It took care of lunch and did calm me down - but it kinda pissed me off that it worked. I feel like now that I'm realizing it's an emotional thing - I should be able to rise above it. Oh well. If Oprah, with her personal chefs, personal assistants and limitless funds, still eats out of emotion - I don't feel quite as bad. BUT - it doesn't solve the fact that I can't keep doing this. [Side note: While Oprah can't solve her own eating issues, she sure is talking about it! They are doing some thing called "Get with the program" (I'm sure this is yelled several times to the audience's loud applause.) that takes you through the many steps of "the program". There are many on emotional eating. This one - talking about stress induced emotional eating is my favorite. You want me to write it in my journal? Sure - one more thing to think about and stress about when I forget or get behind. I don't think so.]
Another bad thing about my day? Almost an hour spent driving basically without purpose for an hour (with escalating stress by the minute of course) in my non-gas friendly car.
Today was not green. Today was not healthy. Today was more Bust than Healthy.
--------in w/ the good air----out with the bad-------whooooooooooooooo............--------
Tomorrow I leave for camp. A church camp were I'll be a counselor for 5 little girls, aged 8-10. Days filled with fun and panic. Nights filled with quiet and exhaustion. As nervous as I may be in that I've never done this before, I am looking forward to it very much. Re-connecting with nature and children. Our world, our future. That is the best motivation ever to be green and live healthy.
Its time for a little recalibration of the old internal circuits.
I look forward to it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bad, bad, less bad, and good
Bad #1. A few days ago, at the end of a period I will refer to as my fast food binge against responsible eating, I went to Carl's Jr. I ate a $6 Burger Combo meal. It was darn tasty. The fries were surprisingly good. I didn't even bother with the diet drink. I was THAT bad. That said - I kind of which I'd discovered it before I was trying to be healthy because it was all quite tasty.
Bad #2. The day after the $6 burger, for some bizarre reason I decided to get on the scale. 234. My binge had not gone unnoticed by my hips. Crap. I so rarely get on the scale that I've never seen that clear cause/effect before. Knowing it would happen in the long term is a very different thing that seeing that eating crap for two weeks immediately gave me two extra "bonus" pounds. It was a reality check for me.
Less Bad. Actually kinda good. On the box of the Carl's Jr. Fries, I learned that they re-use their fry oil to fill the tanks of their fleet of vehicles. What? What?? I did some looking online and found out that this isn't a national thing - but something being done by the owner of 52 locations in AZ. I have to say, while this didn't make me feel less bad for eating the food, I felt a bit better in supporting the cause. One article mentioned that they aren't getting any govt kick back or assistance for that either. How great could it be to offer even a .001/cent per gallon tax rebate for any vehicle running on frier oil! Isn't there a fast food spot on almost every major corner? Even if companies just had their own vehicles running on it - that would be a big difference. Might make the town smell more like french fries - but I'm ok with that.
Good. For 2 days now it's been healthy food only. I haven't been to the gym in about 3 weeks I think?? I wonder why I'm even paying the $50/month for the two of us to go. But I am. Because I'm hopeful. And when I get back from camp (where I will be from this Saturday through next Wednesday) I definitely want to get back in the swing of things. But for now, focusing on what I can control, I am at least eating better again. No more falling off the wagon.
Bad #2. The day after the $6 burger, for some bizarre reason I decided to get on the scale. 234. My binge had not gone unnoticed by my hips. Crap. I so rarely get on the scale that I've never seen that clear cause/effect before. Knowing it would happen in the long term is a very different thing that seeing that eating crap for two weeks immediately gave me two extra "bonus" pounds. It was a reality check for me.
Less Bad. Actually kinda good. On the box of the Carl's Jr. Fries, I learned that they re-use their fry oil to fill the tanks of their fleet of vehicles. What? What?? I did some looking online and found out that this isn't a national thing - but something being done by the owner of 52 locations in AZ. I have to say, while this didn't make me feel less bad for eating the food, I felt a bit better in supporting the cause. One article mentioned that they aren't getting any govt kick back or assistance for that either. How great could it be to offer even a .001/cent per gallon tax rebate for any vehicle running on frier oil! Isn't there a fast food spot on almost every major corner? Even if companies just had their own vehicles running on it - that would be a big difference. Might make the town smell more like french fries - but I'm ok with that.
Good. For 2 days now it's been healthy food only. I haven't been to the gym in about 3 weeks I think?? I wonder why I'm even paying the $50/month for the two of us to go. But I am. Because I'm hopeful. And when I get back from camp (where I will be from this Saturday through next Wednesday) I definitely want to get back in the swing of things. But for now, focusing on what I can control, I am at least eating better again. No more falling off the wagon.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Fast Food, Fast Fat
I ate McDonald's today. 
McDonald's isn't good for the environment. McDonald's isn't good for me. McDonald's didn't even taste that great. But McDonald's was there when I was rushed and had no time left and had to get back to the office. And I really really wanted a big super cold Coke. With a McDonald's sized straw. Phoenix in June. It's hot. These are not excuses. I could have at least gotten a salad - but I got a Fish. I decided to see just how bad I'd been.
So, based on the lovely McDonald's Nutritional Facts I realized that I just ate about 1260 calories of which 48 grams were fat. How is that even possible? I was still a bit hungry afterwards. Not that I finished the fries, but somehow I don't think that will make enough of a difference. I just can't do that anymore. Even when it's hot. Even when I have a craving. That is just insane. When did it become ok to have that many calories in one meal??? And not even a fancy meal! And not even including dessert!
Fast food scares me.
Tomorrow I'm thinking spinach salad for lunch. Brought from home.
McDonald's isn't good for the environment. McDonald's isn't good for me. McDonald's didn't even taste that great. But McDonald's was there when I was rushed and had no time left and had to get back to the office. And I really really wanted a big super cold Coke. With a McDonald's sized straw. Phoenix in June. It's hot. These are not excuses. I could have at least gotten a salad - but I got a Fish. I decided to see just how bad I'd been.
So, based on the lovely McDonald's Nutritional Facts I realized that I just ate about 1260 calories of which 48 grams were fat. How is that even possible? I was still a bit hungry afterwards. Not that I finished the fries, but somehow I don't think that will make enough of a difference. I just can't do that anymore. Even when it's hot. Even when I have a craving. That is just insane. When did it become ok to have that many calories in one meal??? And not even a fancy meal! And not even including dessert!
Fast food scares me.
Tomorrow I'm thinking spinach salad for lunch. Brought from home.
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