How to Kick Your Fast Food Habit

Knowing how to kick your fast food habit can be a very powerful tool to help you lose weight and regain your health. Fast food can have such a hold over your life and your wallet! Kick your fast food habit with these solutions.

Why would you want to give up fast food?

There are many reasons why you might want or need to kick your fast food habit. Fast food is absolutely packed full of man-made chemicals and un-healthy fats. It also contains preservatives in the food which makes it difficult for your gut bacteria to break it down.

I believe (from personal experience) that some fast foods are addictive. This makes it incredibly hard to get out of the habit. You may be addicted to the contents of the food, the way the food makes you feel, or the convenience of it.

To put it frankly, if you want to get healthy and lose weight then fast food is not for you.

Planning how to kick your fast food habit

I cannot stress enough how much easier it is to avoid fast food when you have a plan. You will need a plan to keep you on track and a plan to empower you.

When building a plan you need to consider alternative meal options, weekend plan, mindset, self talk, and budget.

Kick your fast food habit with: Alternative Meal Options

Using weekly meal planning you can be sure to avoid the daily ‘what do we want for dinner?’ question. Meal plans allow you to take control of your eating and to set yourself boundaries or goals.

Planning your meals for the week can significantly increase the amount of healthy food you are consuming which over all will impact on your health and well being.

After a long day at work the last thing you want to think about is ‘what’s for dinner?’ By meal planning, this takes the thinking part out of ‘what’s for dinner?’

It allows you to create dinner without the dread of having to think about what to cook with the ingredients you have in the fridge.

You will feel much more ‘at peace’ with your food choices when you know exactly what you going to cook ahead of time. You will also know that you have all of the ingredients on hand.

How to meal plan

I put aside time on a Sunday to prepare my weekly meal plan. 

I then head to the grocer and buy my foods using the food list provided. Super easy!

I certainly resist the drive thru a lot easier when I know I already have a plan for dinner. I would really recommend trying meal planning as it takes the unknown out of your week.

You will feel empowered and in control of your food choices.

 

Grab our free printable meal planning sheet here:

 

Kick your fast food habit with: Weekend Plan

The weekend is an easy trap to fall back into your bad habits. This is likely because you are out of the work day routine and you want to feel more relaxed.

For me, we got into such a habit of having fast food for Saturday breakfast, it was super hard to break this habit. If you are social in the weekend with your friends or family, this can also make it difficult to break the fast food habit.

Knowing there is a routine that needs to stop is the first thing. Admitting that your weekend eating is less desirable and counterproductive is the first step.

Take time now to reflect on your weekend meals. This probably wont take you long to know that it is time for you to make a change.

If you are used to having a more relaxed weekend, you are certainly able to keep this relaxed feeling. However, you do need to exchange your fast food choices for healthier choices.

This may mean selecting foods that you allow yourself to have in the weekend only. So you can really look forward to them in the same way that you look forward to fast food in the past.

For example, you could make your favorite dessert on a Saturday or make a roast on Sunday. Maybe you have barbecue on a Saturday and invite friends or family around.

Think of something that will make you steer clear of those fast food temptations!

Keep yourself busy! In the weekend, you are more likely to eat fast food if you are sitting around board.

Balance your relaxation with keeping busy in the weekend. Go for a walk, sit in the sun with a pitcher of iced sparkling water, go to the beach.

By keeping busy mixed with weekend relaxation, you will keep your mind off of fast food. Also, because you have a different routine to your weekend, you will steer clear from your usual weekend routines of drive thru.

Kick your fast food habit with: Budget

Other than health, your budget is a huge motivator for your decisions, I bet!

Imagine for a moment the money that you could be saving every week by simply cutting out fast food. I know right! Now grab a calculator and times that across 52 weeks.

This is now how much money you can save over a year!

$15 Weekly spend   = Monthly spend: $60 = Yearly spend: $780
$30 Weekly spend   = Monthly spend: $120 = Yearly spend: $1,560
$50 Weekly spend   = Monthly spend: $200 = Yearly spend: $2,600
$75 Weekly spend   = Monthly spend: $300 = Yearly spend: $3,900
$100 Weekly spend = Monthly spend: $400 = Yearly spend: $5,200

When you start adding up your daily spending and keeping track of it, you will start to notice the impact that your fast food habit is having on your budget.

You could put the money aside each week that you would usually spend on fast food and treat yourself to a new pair of boots, clothes, holiday, anything!

Kick your fast food habit with: Mindset

The most powerful thing you can do if change your mindset. Your mind is such a powerful tool. You can achieve anything that you put your mind to.

When your cravings set in, or you have a huge desire for fast food. Think about your own self-worth. You are worth more that what fast food can provide you. You deserve more that the chemicals and preservatives in the fast food. You are worth so much more.

If you can believe this, and change your mindset, you can overcome your fast food habit.

Knowledge is power. Look over the internet around the impact that fast food has on your body. Look for the ingredients of fast foods. Use this knowledge to change your own mindset.

You are worth it!

Grab our free printable meal planning sheet here:

 

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