…………… Fear Fast Food? Media leads us like the Pied Piper to Fast Food Joints around the world and simultaneously slaps us on the wrist for eating at these “sugary,” “caloric,” “fatty,” greasy spoons. We are not only told that these foods are bad—but that we are indeed bad for eating them. How do these messages affect our teens? Rebecca Tishman, our resident teen writer who brought you this popular article, (Are Schools Helping Kids Down the Path of Eating Disorders) provides her view…not just as a teen but as a teen who has been recovering from an eating disorder. Let her tell you why fearing Fast Food is bad for our health.
The Rub with Greasy Grub
By: Rebecca Tishman
If you are anything like I was a year ago you may not even being able to step foot in a fast food restaurant. I mean, most people think that fast food is either the root of all evil or it’s the best thing since sliced bread. I was definitely leaning towards the former, so it might surprise you to know that after spending less than 24 hours in a Eating Disorders treatment facility last January, I was confronted with the big bad F words- Fast Food.
Wednesday nights are restaurant challenge nights at the Klarman Center and even though I had just arrived the day before, I was no exception to the rule that you eat or you replace your meal with CIB (Carnation Instant Breakfast). Well let me tell you, eating Burger King as my fourth meal in months was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. I’m sure that sounds funny to some of you out there—but its true. After not eating for so long and certainly not eating “THOSE foods” it takes a lot out of you to do something that seems “out of character.” But I did it and I’m so glad I did.
As soon as we were allowed to use cell phones that night, I called my mom and in between sobs of glee I was able to choke out “I feel soooo normal! I can eat like a normal person and go to fast food places without having a panic attack!” Well, I was far from recovered but I was on the right road.
I finally got it through my brain eventually that I was actually scared of eating Fast Food. But there is no need to fear fast food joints. Why should I? Why should you? Some argue: “it’s fatty and greasy; you’ll get heart disease and be obese if you eat it.” While they are right in some respect: it can make you obese if you eat it EVERY meal of the day and supersize each order and some of the foods do contain high fat contents, there is no reason to cut it out of your life entirely. Supersize Me is oh so very convincing in saying you should never allow yourself to eat fast food because Morgan Spurlock develops such awful health problems-well duh! That’s the consequence of eating “supersized” meals everyday for a month! Do we really need a documentary to tell us that? Isn’t it common sense?
I’m not asking people to eat fast food for every meal; that would just be absurd; I’m saying let’s embrace fast food and eat it when we want to without the worry that OMG this burger and fries is going to kill me in my sleep tonight. Obviously one order of burger and fries every once in awhile will not do a single thing to you other than perhaps save you a few dollars here and there.
The atmosphere at Klarman the night of the fast food dinner was tense. You could cut the air with a knife-pun well intended! And that is just what we did- we used forks and knives and every other utensil in our possession to band together and help each other through what we, at the time, saw as an excruciating activity of eating a meal from Burger King. Yes…I say excruciating because many of us had been conditioned for years and years to never take another bite of this food. It’s amazing, but it takes eating a food that we labeled “evil” to help us reach recovered and healthy status.
Yes, I was out of my comfort zone. But yes, I now know that I can eat Burger King without dying and I know how to fit the foods offered at these kinds of Fast Food places into my regular diet. While I haven’t yet gone out and gotten a big Mac (mainly because I’m a vegetarian and that falls way outside my realm of possibilities) I know that if my friends and I are running late for a concert in New York we can grab a quick (and might I add- cheap!) meal at a fast food restaurant and eat it on the go, saving ourselves time and money.
For me, incorporating fast food into my meal plan was a process. I don’t want to push anyone to eat something they don’t agree with, but I do want to encourage people to step outside their comfort zones and realize that no food is evil. We can’t live in fear and we shouldn’t have to—we have to send the message to children and to ourselves that we can eat Fast Food every once in a while and you know what? We can enjoy it too.
We would love to hear from you and your reaction to Rebecca’s article. Please comment here or on my Facebook Fan Page. Your opinion matters!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Yet again Rebecca is a fantastic voice in recovery. She brings up valuable conversations to have. What happens when we teach kids there are “good” and “bad” foods. I dont think FEAR or shame is the way to go about health. Food isnt evil. It is all about moderation, balance, nutrition, and an individual deciding what foods they wish to put in their bodies. I have to say I COMPLETELY relate to Rebecca as a person in recovery from an eating disorder, when I was able to go to a restaurant, sit down, order something, and eat it without guilt or panic my life forever changed after years of struggling. I have been meaning to blog about that for a while in terms of recovery. Kudos to Rebecca, her recovery, sharing her voice, and bringing up the important topic of how we model to our children. We need to change the focus from shame and blame, and focus on proactive ways we can model and teach both parents and children all about nutrition and health. Hugs to Rebecca. I will probably go email her now begging her to do a guest post on my blog
Ugh, those restaurant challenges! I remember them well. But Rebecca, you are spot-on… we are better off for pushing ourselves through those “excruciating” moments and facing our fears. There were many years, even after I started recovery, when I continued to feel like there were some foods I simply could NOT eat. The biggest challenge for me was meat — (I’d been a vegetarian for nearly a decade, and it took me a long time to accept that the decision was, partially, based on my eating disorder) . Anyway, a few years back, I ate my first fishin 10 years, (tuna!), and that wall, too, started to break down. I still prefer my standard veg fare — tofu and boca burgers and bean burritos, oh my! — but I am slowly adjusting to the notion that when I crave chicken or other carniverous options, I can trust myself to have that, too. You mention you’re a vegetarian, so I hope you’ll understand that this is just my experience — not pushing it on you or anybody else. To quote your own words back atcha, “I don’t want to push anyone to eat something they don’t agree with, but I do want to encourage people to step outside their comfort zones and realize that no food is evil.” And whether one’s “evil” foods are Burker King or meatstuffs, it sure is liberating to be on the other side of I-can-never-eat-that mentality. Thanks for another great post.
I can’t say that I have gone to a restaurant and eaten without guilt or panic like you have but I believe that taking steps like incorporating restaurant food (of all types) into life is helping me towards that ultimate goal of enjoying food. I hope we can all reach that point one day.
Thanks for your insights and reactions, Kendra and Mary. So important to hear a variety of perspectives.
Kendra, as you can tell, Rebecca is a very special person with so much to share. Her perspective has opened my eyes as she has been such an open book. I’ve peppered her with so many questions already– there’s so much we can learn from each other and our experiences.
Mary- thank you for your honesty. What an important realization about yourself with regard to your vegetarianism. That must have taken a lot of strength and thought on your part to challenge your previous diet. I appreciate you sharing that as well as the realization that its different for everyone.
Mary, sorry I didn’t see your comment when I responded before but I’m so glad I saw it now. I am fully aware that vegetarianism was a precursor to my eating disorder. What better way to restrict food intact than to say “I can’t eat any of the foods you are offering because I’m a vegetarian.” Hardly anyone ever questions whether that is a way of restricting your diet; once I went away to treatment though and saw that about a quarter to half the girls were/are vegetarians I woke up. And you’re right, it’s not like that for everybody but I absolutely do not push being a vegetarian on anyone because I recognize how close a link there is between being a vegetarian and having an eating disorder.
Props to you for looking ED straight in the face and saying no to his hold over you. You are quite an inspiration to all readers! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us all.
Aw, back atcha! I think just realizing the link between strict vegetarianism and an ED puts you far ahead of many other people in recovery. So many hold steadfast to the notion that the two cannot be related. My friends always joke(d) that I am/was the one veg in the world who didn’t “push” vegetarianism, so I’m glad to know that’s not actually true! I wouldn’t push anyone out of it, though, either. I think there’s something empowering about coming to the realization yourself that this is something you want to stand up to and then taking the steps to stand up to it. It’s like the fast food point, or any other ED-inspired avoidance/ ritual/ etc. Eventually, you do what seems impossible and you learn you’re stronger than you think. Best. feeling. ever.
She’s right…it’s all about balance.
Especially with the mixed messages, which also flows into the grocery store. Which aisles have the largest choices of a single product? Cereal and snack foods. What are the primary ingredients in both (besides sugar and salt)? Wheat and corn. What two crops continue to be subsidized by government funds (re: YOUR taxes). Wheat and corn. But the government wants you to eat healthy as well. Why not subsidize a few organic vegetable farms???
oh yeah…their DC lobby isn’t big enough….
Oh boy don’t even get me started on supermarkets. I don’t understand how the world thinks kids are going to have “normal” eating habits when the grocery stores make the junk food look the best but then every other product says 50% less fat and 0 grams trans fat. It all is so confusing and in your face advertisement. As a child I wouldn’t know where to look or what to chose. As a young adult I don’t know where to look or what to chose because of all the competitive marketing schemes out there. It all gets so confusing