Skip the Drive Thru

It's week four of the 14 Weeks of Real Food Mini-Pledges, read the entire post here.

Here's the challenge:

No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.

As stated in the original post, the goal (besides a healthier you) is for you to plan ahead and figure out alternatives for eating while away from the house.



If you need reasons to stop eating fast food or frying your own food, here's some more data:

An article from the National Institutes of Health says, " Fast-food consumption has increased in the United States over the past three decades. “It’s extremely difficult to eat in a healthy way at a fast-food restaurant. Despite some of their recent healthful offerings, the menus still tend to include foods high in fat, sugar and calories and low in fiber and nutrients,” said lead author Mark Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. People need to evaluate how often they eat meals at fast-food restaurants and think about cutting back, according to Pereira.

One reason for the weight gain may be that a single meal from one of these restaurants often contains enough calories to satisfy a person’s caloric requirement for an entire day."

This article from the Huffington Post adds that the dangers of fast food or immediate, "Researchers and health professionals have long been aware of the consequences associated with eating fast food, but until now, no one realized how quickly the damage begins. A new study, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, indicates that damage to the arteries occurs almost immediately after just one -- that’s right, one -- junk food-type meal. Based on the science, moderation with junk food doesn’t really exist.

Read the entire article here, Fast Food's Immediate Damage to Your Health.



Action Item: Plan head. Make your lunch. Put healthy snacks in your backpack/purse if you're heading out shopping or going to the park. And always carry water; you might eat because you're thirsty.

For Further Reading: Travel Snacks, Eat Real Food and Statistics of Health Risks from Eating Fast Food