The Year I Gave Up Fast Food and Soda

It was 2008. I was in my second  year of college and had visited my brother in the military during the holidays. He wanted to run a  marathon because anything physical fitness-related runs in his blood (pun intended) and I somehow agreed to run a half-marathon beside him. To remind you, my actual running experience extended to making it around the high school track four times in a row.

This was going to take some changes. Being on a student budget meant habits of grabbing the cheapest and quickest meals. I didn’t drink alcohol so a fresh fountain soda was my daily vice. I decided to make choices towards my health in addition to exercise:  no fast food or soda for one full year. My definitions were essentially no eating at places with a drive-thru or of the likes. Soda was any carbonated beverage aside from carbonated water. Here’s how it went:

Note: Fast food itself does not equal unhealthy or bad. For me, this goal meant introducing a new attitude and breaking my cuisine routine. 

FAST FOOD FASTING

1. I expected this to feel difficult- it wasn’t. Other “diets” always felt restricting. But unlinke giving up a certain food or limiting caloric intake, I was changing where I frequented. By setting a goal of shifting WHERE I ate instead of WHAT I ate, I felt free to still eat what I enjoyed all the meanwhile nutritionally poor habits were falling by the wayside.
2. I felt better. I’m not sure how to describe it other than feeling clean. One of the most surprising impacts was that the better I felt, the less I focused on weight and waist size. I honest to goodness don’t remember how my body visually shifted, but I can still remember how great I felt. This changed my entire attitude on health and helped me mentally shift to a better relationship with food. I saw how it related to the functions of my body instead of the appearance.
3. I noticed support from family and friends. Now, this choice wasn’t rocking anyone’s daily routine other than my own, but people were accommodating and supportive. For example, I was concerned I would miss out on crunch-time midnight meal study-sesh get-togethers with my college crews. My friend instead suggested other places to grab a bite, keeping in mind my goals. One family member sent gift cards to a place still on my list of where I could eat. I felt appreciative, but the accountability factor of others contributing in this way helped me stay focused and honest.
4. I discovered new places to eat. In breaking routine of foregoing the double decker taco order, I was forced to expand my horizons. I felt more connected to my community in supporting small businesses, restaurants, and cafes. It became an adventure to discover hidden gems. I also revisited a routine of grocery shopping for one meal. It was just as quick to grab an avocado, banana, and a small item from the deli than it was to sit in a drive-thru line, and my food was as fresh as it could get.
5. I actually saved money. We are fed to believe (yes, pun intended) that fast food saves money because it’s “cheap”. I realized that it was truly no less expensive than a deli, and when I depended on grabbing a quick bite off the main road, I always had a fall back that kept me from planning out meals. It also allowed me time to rethink my instant gratification. My finances didn’t suffer and I was more cognizant of how much fast food ate into my budget (aaannnd final pun complete).
6. I stopped craving fast food. To spoiler-alert my own story, I made it the full year. In fact, there were many months past that year that I still refrained from eating fast food. My body didn’t desire it anymore. This was likely the most satisfying part of the entire journey in seeing a long-term shift of my body and my mind.

FOUNTAIN SODA FANTASY

The comfort of having a fresh and cold beverage at my fingertips. The comfort of liquid when I needed it. The break in the day for a little gas station love. I missed all of this for 365 days. I still maintained my goal of not drinking soda for the full year, but I REALLY felt it. The heart wants what it wants! I distinctly remember being at the New Year’s Eve party and looking around to see everyone with their fine beverage in hand to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new year with love’s kiss. I was sitting with a 2-liter of Diet Dr. Pepper counting down the seconds until that plastic bottle touched my lips.

EPILOGUE

In the end, there was no half-marathon. My brother went into training for another deployment a few months after we made our plans and so our run was canceled. I didn’t do anything touching like still running in his honor while he was gone (and he did return safely). But it wasn’t all for naught- I learned I could do something different, something hard for me, something that took daily change, and something much more satisfying than a #6 meal.

Pictured: enjoying a 44 ouncer of pop. 

Caroline Dotson