Is fast food worth it??

Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about fast food. I used to love the stuff. Especially in my younger years. I think I typically ate a couple of Whoppers a week while I was in high school. It seems like such an easy, cheap way to feed me and my family, but at what cost??

And just a quick disclaimer before I get started; while poor, defenseless McDonald's typically gets the brunt of fast food criticism, I am referring to fast food in general during this post. (Yes Jared, even the "healthy" Subway).

To get started, I want us to reflect on the origins of modern day fast food. Ray Croc brought the idea to life in the 1950's. During this time period, everyone was looking for easier, faster, better, cheaper... many of our modern day conveniences came to fruition around this decade. And we have all of these conveniences for what? To have a life filled with more leisure, right? Then why is it that 80% of all households are now surviving off of two incomes?? The easier, faster, better, cheaper... just gave us more time to work!! Woo-hoo! Thank you Ray Croc. Ok, so maybe it wasn't poor old Ray's fault. But take a minute to think about how crazy that seems...

Ok, so now that I'm done with my tangent about how fast food has not improved our quality of life because of the time freedom it provides, let's talk about how it has drastically lowered our level of health as well.

Here is the article that originally got me thinking about this. You can take a minute to read it later if you want.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/how-bad-is-mcdonalds-food_b_754814.html

In it, the author talks about the effects fast food has had on the health of our society. Here is a paragraph that caught my attention.

"The standard American diet -- in which 62 percent of calories come from processed foods, 25 percent from animal products and only 5 percent from fruits and vegetables -- is nothing less than a health travesty. Our fast-food culture has produced a population with widespread chronic illness and is a primary reason that health care costs are taking a devastating toll on just about everyone. "

Wow. 62 percent. Even more shocking to me is the mere 5 percent of calories from fruits and vegetables. Ok. So you get it, eat more fruits and vegetables, right? But can fast food really be that harmful in moderation? So let's look at a couple of other "nuggets" that have caught my eye this last month.

Let's start with nuggets actually. Here is a picture of what they look like before they become the beautiful little golden morsels that we feed to our children.

Love it, right? This is mechanically separated chicken. And wait, this is before it is cleaned with ammonia, then has coloring and flavoring re-added to it to make it the delicious snack we all know and love. Ok, so nuggets aren't the only ending spot for this beautiful, soft serve-esque meat, this goes in hot-dogs, salami, pepperoni... all sorts of good stuff. If you are interested in learning more about this lovely stuff. Here is another article:

http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/08/03/guess-whats-in-the-picture-foodlike-substance/odlike-substance/

Alright, have you had enough yet? Well that's too bad because here's one more thing. Yeah, check out this gem. 180 days on a table, undisturbed, and this is what a Happy Meal looks like. You can watch the whole progression here and read up on it:

http://gizmodo.co/m/5662271/watch-six-months-of-a-happy-meals-eternal-life

But the most interesting thing to me is that, regardless of what it looks like, it was not attacked by maggots or any other critter. That means, something even maggots won't eat, we gladly feed to our children. Lovely.

But maybe you're one of those people who says, "Yeah Kelly, that is gross, but you haven't shown me how that stuff is actually bad for me." Here's another quote for you from the original article I read.

"Medical care costs in the U.S. have not always been this excessive. This year, we will spend more than $2.5 trillion on medical care. But in 1950, five years before Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald's restaurant, Americans only spent $8.4 billion ($70 billion in today's dollars). Even after adjusting for inflation, we now spend as much on health care every 10 days as we did in the entire year of 1950. "

Still think all this convenience isn't hurting you? Than do some research of your own, and explain where else those numbers came from??

So, in conclusion, I first want to say again, that McDonald's is not the only one to blame here, most fast food chains use a lot of the same practices. McDonald's is just the biggest, and maybe the worst, but I have nothing to support that other than the way a hamburger looks before it sits out for 180 days (not much different than the picture above).

Also, even though fast food is a HUGE convenience, especially for a busy mom of two, my children and I will rarely be seen eating it, and when I say rarely, I mean only if we are forced. My husband on the other hand, is a different story.

And here is a challenge to you. This week sometime, rent and watch Food, Inc. It will definitely change the way you view what you eat. I've only attacked the tip of the iceburg here...

Thanks for reading and please leave me a comment below, good or bad, to let me know what your views are on fast food!

Kelly

Adventure Day!

So Tuesday morning I woke up thinking, "Ahhhh, must be close to 7 because I am wide awake!" Guess what? It was only like 5:15. Ugh! As I lay in bed contemplating whether or not to get up, I had a strong urge to just put my pillow over my head for the rest of the day and pretend I didn't hear my kids yelling for me and just sleep and wallow in pity. Since that's not really an option for me, I decided to devise a plan to get me moving! It took me a good hour to roll out of bed (don't worry, the kids didn't start yelling until 7) and when I finally did, it was a good thing.
The plan I came up with was to have a day of adventure! I really wanted to get outside, go on a hike and be somewhere near the ocean. The first thought that came to mind was Dungeness Spit, just past Sequim. I forced myself out of bed and on to the computer to do some research. I also called my sister, luckily she didn't have anything else going on, so off we went!
It ended up being such a beautiful day and such a wonderful time. The drive wasn't too long, the kids mostly cooperated, there were no clouds in the sky and it wasn't too cold. And, thank goodness, being with my sister is just so easy to do. There's no reason to have to pretend that I wasn't in a foul mood. Which can sometimes be the most exhausting thing of all!! The day was such medicine for my soul. The sound of the crashing waves, the smell of the salty air and the little bit of a workout hiking to the beach and back, all helped me regain my sanity.
The lesson in balance I learned here is that even though I felt like doing almost nothing when I woke up, forcing myself to do something more than lay around the house and be a grump all day was the best possible solution. When the world seems dull and like a never-ending grind, a little adventure day helps to balance out the soul.
So, next time you are down and out, get out and have a little adventure of your own. Even if it's just a walk down the street. Trying to be and do everything for everyone can sometimes become a huge weight. Taking that weight and casting it off for a day isn't going to hurt anyone but it is going to do a world of good for you.

-Kelly

(The top picture is of me and my kids, the bottom picture is my sister and her daughter, I don't know how to add captions on here... sorry.)

What am I doing??

So, in my atempt to be balanced, I have discovered this "28-day Jump Start to a Healthy Lifestyle" thing, sounds fun right? I have been researching it for the past week or so and just this morning listened to some testimonies from people who have gone through it and I am very excited to see the results. But, I am more than a little nervous about getting to the finish line.

Now, just to let you know, I am not super concerned about weight loss. Yes, I could stand to lose a couple of pounds, but really, I'm not at an unhealthy weight right now and I'm definitely not one of those girls that's always like "Oh, I'm so fat..." when they are obviously not, and just trying to fetch compliments about it. But, I do have a couple of inches around the midsection that could stand to pack their things and go. Which, if you also have midsection fat, is probably due to toxins, just a little something I have learned while researching this program.

What I am most excited about is the hormonal balance. I am one of these women who turns a little crazy once a month. Now in all fairness, I did just come off of some hormonal biggies with two pregnancies and nursing. Both of which actually balanced me out a little. So these last few months of emotional turmoil have been a shock to my system, and my family's for that matter. And whle there are a couple of other things I have yet to try in the world of hormone balance, this seems to be the most promising.

Weight loss and hormone balance aren't the only two things that are supposed to be addressed by this plan, there is a whole list of other things including; energy levels, clarity, sleeplessness, acid reflux, headaches... the list goes on and on. I am also excited about these, but without the hormone balance piece, I don't think I personally would have the motivation to make the 28 day shift. If you are interested in the entire list, please just let me know and I can get it to you.

So, I won't bore you with the details of the program just yet, but I do plan on keeping a bit of a journal on here about my experiences. And just so you know where I am coming from, here are a few of my fears with the program:

1. I won't be able to stick with it myself.

2. My husband says he is interested in doing it to, but what will happen when there are no chips or coffee in the house? Or milk??

3. What am I going to feed my kids?

With all of that being said, half of the success in the program is being psychologically prepared. So any cheering on would be greatly appreciated. And if you wish to join me, there is still time. I will probably also help lead one of these programs once the New Year comes around, so let me know if you would like to give it a go once you see me go through it. And if you have any questions about specifics, please feel free to ask. If it is a personal question you don't want all of cyberspace to know about, please e-mail me at kpartyke@aim.com.

Well, here I go off to make my gluten free, dairy free, coffee free, low glycemic grocery list. Wish me luck!!



-Kelly