Why McDonald's Sucks

McDonald’s Sucks.

Ok before you get mad at me… I don’t really think McDonald’s sucks. In fact I love Mickey D’s. I crave it. The very smell of those delectable fries causes a potent reaction in me to get those darn things at all costs. If given the choice of all fast food options, hands down I would choose McDonald’s. And that is precisely why they suck. They are so good at creating temptation, craving, and desire.

I, like many, have been eating at this place most of my life. Back in the day, it started with happy meals, chicken nuggets, or sometimes a cheeseburger. Then in my teen years, I graduated to the quarter pounder with cheese. I stayed with that choice until my early 20’s when I discovered the double cheeseburger. That damn thing brought me to my knees. I adored it. I thought about it all the time. I ate it at least once a week; with fries and of course, and icy coke.

And through my 20’s I began gaining weight… a lot of it. I started year 20 weighing about 100 pounds give or take a pound. I’m only 5’0 so that’s a decent weight. By 25 I weighed 150 pounds. Yes I gained 50 pounds in 5 years. I’d like to be able to say it was all the fault of McDonald’s but let’s be real. I was eating a lot of food from a lot of places. And no one from McDonald’s or anywhere else was force feeding me! I was in a bad place in life… things weren’t working out quite like I planned and apparently (although I wasn’t conscience of it at the time) I thought food would make it all better. Sound familiar? I am not the first, nor the last, person to be seduced by the comfort of food when times are tough. At 26 I’d had enough and began my first active weight loss adventure. I lost 20 pounds in about 3 months and settled in at a comfortable weight of about 130. Much higher than I used to weigh but I felt good there.

But it was a temporary feeling. I quickly reverted back to some old habits, namely, my weekly love affair with those darn double cheeseburgers. I was still in oblivion about fat, calories, carbs, etc. This being the 90’s it was all about low-fat, fat-free diets and my choices definitely were not inline with that fad. So my weight fluctuated up and down for years as I tried many versions of weight loss programs. By the time I hit 29 my weight was pretty high again (I’ve blocked what it was from my memory) and I was willing to do anything to lose it. I heard of the Atkins diet and that I could eat meat, bacon, and cheese. Are you kidding me??? I can eat at Mickey D’s as long as I take the bun off? I’m so in! So I did that diet for 45 days and lost a ton of weight… I got on the scale on my final day of that diet and weighed… wait for it… 118 pounds. Oh baby I was skin-ny I tell you. I was so thin that people at work were telling me I shouldn’t lose any more weight. That’s a good feeling for a former pudgy girl.

I would love to say that I maintained that weight loss but would I be writing this story if that were true? Nope, sad to say I went back to my previous habits, including double cheeseburgers- buns included. And we all know what happened after that.

Fast forward quite a few years. I was trying to change my habits for good. I had been going to Weight Watchers and successfully and healthfully losing weight. I felt pretty confident that I had beaten my cravings into submission. I was not tempted to go to McDonald’s or other places that I knew just did not serve my goals. And then it happened. I was innocently watching television when McDonald’s unveiled their latest marketing campaign. It was absolute genius. Genius I tell you. The camera focused in on a Big Mac, a close up shot of hot meat, melting cheese, gooey special sauce, lettuce crisp in appearance and a bun so fluffy it looked like it could float on its own. I was mesmerized. The last words spoken in the commercial, “You know you want one.”

Yep I do… I thought to myself. Suddenly I was completely enraptured by the Big Mac; a sandwich I had not eaten, or desired to eat, in years. Upon discovery of my much adored double cheeseburger, all other menu options became invisible to me. Apparently many others had chosen options other than the Big Mac too and McDonald’s came out guns loaded to remind us of its existence. From that point on, all I could think about was that stupid Big Mac; knowing logically that it won’t be nearly as incredible as it appeared in the commercial but still unable to erase it from my memory. I waited patiently for Saturday to arrive… you know “weigh in then pig out” day. For you non- Weight Watchers people out there, many WW people I knew, myself included, would abide by the rules, diligently recording points for the week. Then on weigh in day, immediately go and eat whatever food was vexing you knowing you had a full week to work it off again. Hey it’s not like I’m the only person who does this. I’m just saying.

But I digress. I drive to those beautiful, torturous golden arches and order the Big Mac; with fries and an icy coke- naturally. I drive home to eat it in private and I think it’s good. Quite good. Good enough to want it again. Good enough to divert me permanently from my double cheeseburger. Really. McDonald’s knows exactly what they are doing.

So to recap; McDonald’s sucks because the food is in no way good for you or in line with a healthy lifestyle. It isn’t and I don’t want to hear anything about salads and grilled chicken because that isn’t what I order when I go. I go to McDonald’s because I am looking for a cheese and meat and greasy fry fest. And dang it if they don’t keep coming up with reasons to get me to go. And I’m pretty sure they sprinkle a little crack on their fries.

I knew I needed a new plan. I drive by a McDonald’s every day on my way home. The temptation is there constantly. I needed to devise a method to avoid the siren song of meat and fried potatoes. I knew I needed to stop the impulse created by a simple TV commercial. If you are anxiously awaiting my profound decision you may be a tad disappointed because it’s quite simple. I can’t go. I just cannot go. It doesn’t fit with my goals and honestly it doesn’t make me feel good after I eat there. It’s a fleeting feeling of joy, as most food binges are, that I have decided I will overcome just through sheer mental desire to do so. There is no logical or compelling reason to allow myself to eat there. So I just won’t. And when those damn commercials come on I do one of a few things.
1. Walk away and do something else during commercials since most are often food related or an attempt to get me to part with my hard earned money. I get that- they sell stuff. It’s their job.
2. Tell myself that I don’t want whatever is being presented to me on the screen. It doesn’t serve my goals. Repeat as necessary.

3. Remind myself of the yucky tummy feeling that quickly surfaces when I make food choices that like. Remind myself of where I’ve come and how hard it was to get there and then ask, “Do you want to go back to that place?” The answer is always no.

I don’t have all the answers in life for battling weight loss. I have good and bad days. I have days filled with anger and frustration; days filled with envy of those that I perceive to have it better than me. Sometimes I contemplate giving up and going to McDonald’s or Taco Bell, or the carne asada burrito joint down the street and just eating until I cannot anymore. The good thing is that I never actually do that, knowing full well what the consequences will be. And I’ve decided that some places are just not worth the damage. Sadly, my beloved McDonald’s and their addictive offerings are on that list.

This is the choice I have had to make in order to get the consequence I want. And that, as they say, is life. My life anyway.