450.

it has now been over a year since i last partook of the greasy goodness we call fast food :)  unbelievable. i am so thankful for such a dramatic change in what i choose to eat. and what a difference it has made in the way i feel, both physically and emotionally.

eating healthy everyday is a choice, and i don’t always choose wisely. i do know that removing this one temptation has helped tremendously.

again, i want to encourage all of my readers to choose to eat healthier. one of the hardest, yet most fulfilling ways, is to not eat fast food. your pants will get looser and your wallet will get fatter :)

365.

ONE YEAR WITHOUT FAST FOOD :)

can you believe it? i can't! this is such an exciting goal to have reached. it doesn't feel like it was a year ago. and now i'm here, on the other side. it feels so good. and thank you to everyone who has been so encouraging to me through this personal challenge.

some things i have learned over the last year about my previous relationship w/ fast food: 

1. i am no longer an emotional eater b/c what i would go to for comfort was fast food. no more! 

2. i don't have a desire to eat fast food. i actually think i would feel bad, emotionally, eating it again. (though i'm not ruling it out in the future, but i would like to go as long as possible w/out it.)

3. if i were to calculate the amount of money i have probably saved over the last year i think it would be somewhere around $500-$700. maybe even more. (that's ridiculous!)

4. i feel so much better, inside and out. i was eating so unhealthy three months prior to giving up fast food. it's really embarrassing how much of it i was consuming. 

some words of encouragement for anyone wanting to give up their fast food habit: 

-fast food is a convenient option when you are in a hurry, don't want to cook and are on the road. i get that. but it is not your only option. fruits and nuts are an easy snack to curb your hunger while on the road or while you wait for a meal to be prepared. you can choose to eat better.

-ask someone to take the challenge of not eating fast food w/ you. it's always helpful when you have someone else to walk through something w/ you, even as trivial as this may seem. accountability is so helpful. crucial even.

-take it one day at a time. i didn't begin w/ a year in mind. i just started out hoping to see that i would be able to go a long time choosing to eat healthier things. challenge yourself to a month. the first week was the hardest for me, but i did it. and so can you.

-telling people about what you are trying to achieve will help you. they will encourage you when you need it. they will help you. they will cheer you on as you reach for your goal.

may we all choose healthier options NOW.

you CAN do it!

300.

i'm almost at a year without fast food! (technically day 300 was on december 20th, but the holidays happened.) i'm so excited to almost have reached my goal of one year. and it didn't begin that way, to go an entire year, but i'm so glad it is going in that direction.

i doubt i will head out to a fast food restaurant on day 366 and order something i used to eat. i have enjoyed this healthier lifestyle and i really crave better things now. part of me thinks i will feel bad about eating fast food again, when or if it happens. but i don't see that as something awful. it was really a guilty pleasure, convenient and quick fix. it really is all about eating things that are better for you, even if that means taking the time to cook something healthy instead of instantly gratifying yourself w/ something that is bad for you.

so day 365 is in sight. the end of february will be a celebration for sure. what a goal to reach! 

thank you all again so much for all of the encouragement. you can do this too!

as we head in to 2014, what will your new goals be?

happy new year!

250.

it has now been 250 days since i last ate fast food :)

i am so close to a year!

at this point, it feels like i won't really ever want it again.

though recently i went into a wendy's w/ some people and got a salad, yet the smell of those fries made me want some.

of course i didn't get any.

and i just don't think they would taste the same.

i depended on fast food to fill this hunger void quickly which just equalled long term nastiness, but now i've replaced that void w/ things that are so much tastier and so much better for my body.

one of the best things about not eating fast food is feeling so much better and having more energy.

as much as i love fries i love chips, and now i replace them at lunch w/ either a salad, grapes or clementines (which i lovingly refer to as fruit crack!)

and at night when i'm craving something salty and crunchy i make popcorn w/ coconut oil. 

or i buy the plain kind from the store and put some lemon pepper seasoning on it. 

nothing.like.it.

when a year rolls around at the end of february 2014, i'm not so sure i'm just gonna run back to those golden arches.

i almost never want to have it again.

but ask me that in three days and i may say something different :)

to anyone who thinks they can't do this, let me be the first to tell you that you can! 

fast food is not what you need it's what you want, in that moment.

choosing healthier options will always be what you need and better for your body and your wallet in the long run.

it will be hard, but it will be worth it.

200.

200 days since fast food.

i decided a few weeks ago that i am going to go for a full year without it.

at least.

and i'm over half way there :)

not only do i feel better and look better, but it's nice to not spend money on a bad meal as well.

it's kind of crazy.

but a good crazy.

i love to cook and this pushes me to do more and choose healthier options when i do eat at restaurants.

if i can give it up then so can you :)

150.

it has been 150 days since i last ate fast food.

you may be wondering what i mean by fast food.

to me that consists of certain restaurants that may or may not have golden arches, crowns, stars, cows or  a little red headed girl w/ braids in her hair in their logo.

i just felt gross from eating so much of it over the 3 months prior to stopping.

it was a decision that needed to be made and i love a good challenge :)

it's a new discipline.

the first week was so tough, but i really have not craved it since.

keeping it real though, i miss french fries the most.

what have you given up to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself?