A Fast Food Experience

When I was a kid I used to eat cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets every other day from many different fast-food chains.  Now I eat these sorts of things at maximum once per year.  Today I had a coupon for a 10 piece nugget with a large fry.  My stomach already hurts halfway through eating and I'm not even drinking a soda with it.  If you are used to eating healthy and you splurge on fast-food you are more likely to feel yucky than someone who eats it all the time.  The law of diminishing returns hit hard for this meal.  The amount of enjoyment I experienced from each fry went down considerably with each one, but my body kept telling me to eat more.  This is exactly how they get you.  Fast food is high in the molecules our body craves - fat and simple carbs.  We are genetically programmed to want more of these when we start eating them.

French Fries
Nuggets

These two + sauce adds up to over 1000 calories and I don't even feel full.  I consumed a ton of fat and carbs and a small amount of protein.  Vitamins and minerals? almost none.  I also got trans fats and some cholesterol.  Your $5-10 could be utilized more effectively.

Here are some foods you could buy instead (assuming $6.50 spent on nuggets and fries):

• 6 tins of sardines
• 3 pound bag of frozen chicken
• Omega 3 trail mix and 1 apple
• Greek yogurt 32 oz and 3 bananas
• Cauliflower head and 3 oranges
• 2 10 oz cans of chicken and some frozen mixed veggies
• 6 cans of beans

and many other things.  The easiest and fastest way to save money and eat healthier is to cut out fast food and spend the money on groceries.  Cooking takes time, but not too much time as you improve.  I will be posting fast and easy recipes on my Healthy On a Budget page.  Its perfectly fine to eat fast-food every once and a while but to really save money and live healthier it's a good idea not to make fast-food a staple in your diet.

1 Nutrient-Dense Food Groups Have High Energy Costs: An Econometric Approach to Nutrient Profiling