I love fast food. I might even have an addiction, which is why I found myself eating Rally’s for breakfast and McDonald’s for lunch one Saturday .
That Saturday my best friend and I drove many miles to reach the McDonald’s with a drive-through because the one on 17th forces us to get out of the car. Upon reaching the window, my friend excitedly shouted out her order.
“A number one, Super Size it!”
There was a pause.
“Um, we only have medium or large,” the drive through attendant said. My friend looked at me in horror.
“OK. And can I have a cheeseburger Happy Meal with a juice box?” she said. Mmm, my favorite.
“Would you like french fries or apples?”
What? Is that even a question?
Herein lies our problem. You see, I don’t go to fast food restaurants to be healthy. I go there to have a greasy and satisfying meal.
Healthy food options have ruined my life.
It’s even happening in schools. In high school, I used to have the option of getting anything from Doritos to pork rinds to Twinkies. Then suddenly, the vending machine only had baked chips. BAKED CHIPS! I couldn’t handle it, so I had to bring my 500-calorie snacks from home.
Healthy food options not only clutter and sometimes replace my favorite food items, they guilt trip me into eating something I might not want to. When almost everything in the vending machine is 3-calorie snacks, I feel fat just because I opted for a Twix. (Well, maybe three Twix.) I usually eat nothing in this time of guilt. Sometimes, if I’m really hungry, I’ll eat a stick of gum.
Hunger is a constant in a world of healthy food options. My mother likes to buy me 100-calorie frozen meals and snack packs. I’d like to say that 100 calories taste like air. My 100-calorie Smart Ones pasta is only two spoonfuls of food. My 100-calorie muffin snacks are each the size of a quarter. How can people survive on so little food? It’s borderline anorexia. Worse, it costs so much more for this healthy food option. A hundred calories for $5? Well excuse me then, I’m going to go outside and eat some grass, which not only tastes like 100 calories but is free.
Why is this happening?
Some say the reason children are fat in American schools is because of the food served there. Others blame fast food chains for the current trend of obesity.
This could be true. But I know exactly whose fault it really is.
It’s your own fault. I mean, lets be serious, Taco Bell did not trick anyone into getting fat. I would say most people would agree which foods are fattening or not. If someone chooses to eat a Super Size Big Mac meal more than once a week, it is safe to assume they are going to pack on a few pounds. If you don’t know what is fattening, I can tell you that anything made in a deep fryer could possibly give you Type 2 diabetes.
I am not saying that healthy food options are bad. They are a good thing, but what they show is a lack of personal responsibility. Before places such as McDonald’s had the option of giving you fruit instead of fries, people already had healthy food options; eat fast food, or pack a sandwich and an apple for lunch. People should also exercise self-control. Do you really need to eat four beef and cheddars and three curly fries, boys? No. Probably not.
Maybe people should admit they need to make healthier life choices. Fast food can be fine every once in a while (and when I say that, I mean once every four days for me). Perhaps people could alternate Wendy’s for a home-cooked meal every now and then, or they could exercise. Or maybe…we could drink a little less beer?
I was totally kidding, OSU. Never.
Everdeen Mason can be reached at [email protected].
