How often do you eat fast food?

[Capt. Obvious]

For US adults, 11 percent of daily calories come from fast food, government study says

On an average day, U.S. adults get roughly 11 percent of their calories from fast food, a government study shows.

That’s down slightly from the 13 percent reported the last time the government tried to pin down how much of the American diet is coming from fast food. Eating fast food too frequently has been seen as a driver of America’s obesity problem.

For the research, about 11,000 adults were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours to come up with the results.

-----

One nutrition professor cast doubts on the latest results, saying 11 percent seemed implausibly low. New York University’s Marion Nestle said it wouldn’t be surprising if some people under-reported their hamburgers, fries and milkshakes since eating too much fast food is increasingly seen as something of a no-no.

“If I were a fast-food company, I’d say ‘See, we have nothing to do with obesity! Americans are getting 90 percent of their calories somewhere else!’” she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/for-us-adults-11-percent-of-daily-calories-come-from-fast-food-government-study-says/2013/02/20/c6d7cc26-7bb4-11e2-b147-36af0e207220_story.html

I heard about this on our local news radio and was kind of shocked it was that low. The radio's daily poll question today is "how often do you eat fast food?"
I went to vote and since "Once a year or less" is not an option I have to vote "Once a month"

http://boston.cbslocal.com/wbz-daily-poll/ - fast food poll question.

But how often do you eat fast food? Do you parse fast food chains? Consider McDonald's bad but Subway good? How about your family?

[OceanEcosystem]

1. More often than I should. N/t.

[bama_blue_dot]

2. I never eat fast food..

Mainly because I have a fear of germs, but I also don't like many of the fast food options..

[el_bryanto]

3. Probably about two to three times a month

more often if things get busy, but I usually avoid that.

Bryant

[CanonRay]

4. Only when traveling cross country, couple of times a year

[CTyankee]

5. would you call "pizza by the slice" from a local pizza parlor "fast food"? It is certainly

fast. He makes his pies early in the day and serves it up by the slice for workers coming in to grab a quick lunch. I often buy a slice for my lunch when I am out shopping in that little shopping center. Maybe twice a month.

If you mean a fast food chain, I do occasionally stop in Taco Bell for their 3 crunchy taco lunch, gawd help me...but I try to limit it to once a month, if that.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Once or twice a month.

Sometimes when out shopping or doing errands, at or near lunch time.

[customerserviceguy]

105. Same here

If I didn't have any leftovers to bring for lunch, and the canned soup in my bottom desk drawer just doesn't trip my trigger, then I will mosey on down to Burger King, most often for a fish sandwich.

Sometimes my lady and I grab a bagel sandwich from the deli down the street, would that qualify as fast food?

[TheCowsCameHome]

109. I'm not even sure how one defines "fast food"

Honestly, I don't.

[alpizzy]

7. Almost never.

I will eat it if there are no other options (turnpike rest stop). I try not to eat packaged food but it is nearly impossible.

[Brickbat]

8. About once a week, because of traveling for kids sports and practices, but we heavily favor Subway

and I don't let the kids get pop every time.

[Starry Messenger]

9. Maybe twice a year.

[Coyotl]

10. Better question: How often do we eat processed foods? Does your sausage have corn syryp?

The better question is how often do you eat a processed food, one with additives not in nature? Does your "healthy, lean" sausage actually have corn syryp, for example?

[Capt. Obvious]

14. That deserves its own thread

[Jersey Devil]

27. Yep, note all the responses here that they eat Subway, as if it is health food

All processed meat and cheese. I cut out all processed meat about 2+ years ago, carefully read the labels now, never eat fast food (including Subway), avoid cheese and I lost 65 pounds eating about the same quantity of food as I did before but more healthy foods such as whole grains and tons of fresh fruit and veggies. For those who are on the road a lot there is always salad at every fast food place (of course you have to watch the dressing).

[Capt. Obvious]

31. I included that in the OP

"do you parse fast food? McDonald's bad. Subway good."

[SoCalDem]

42. At our house, if it comes in a box or bag, we don't eat it

There are a few exceptions (rice,beans etc), but for the most part, I cook the original ingredients and we do without the prepared stuff..

Fast food? maybe once every few months we drive through Portillos..

[KharmaTrain]

11. I Get Bored With It...

When we travel we end up with lots of food on the run...and after a couple days I miss good ole home cooking. When I was in my struggling years going to a fast food joint was considered a luxury...now when I can go anytime I feel like it, not so much. If I'm going out I'll take a nice restaurant...preferably family-owned...

[Happyhippychick]

12. Maybe once a year if I'm driving a long distance. Even then I tend to pack something at home.

[Silent3]

13. My wife and I eat out all of the time, mostly not fast food, but some.

Chipotle once or twice a week. Panera maybe once per week. I had been getting an Egg McMuffin at McDonald's about once a week, but lately that's only been about once every two-four weeks. Over the summer, when they had sweet potato fries and wheat buns available, I was eating at Burger King about once per week, but now that's much less frequent.

Since I've lost 72 lbs since last April, and still dropping, I've apparently done a reasonable job of figuring out how to choose the healthier options while eating out, fast food or not.

Given 21 meals in a week, if I eat 3-5 as fast food, I'm eating about 20% fast food. Since breakfast (generally my lowest calorie meal of the day) is the only meal I typically eat at home, I'm eating out around 70% of the time, with 20% fast food, and 50% left to divide up between the cafeteria at work and "sit down" restaurants, mostly not-too-expensive chain restaurants given that it's already crazy enough how much my wife and I spend eating out as it is.

[LisaLynne]

15. Does Chipotle count?

I eat that maybe ... once every other month. Other than that, I don't eat at fast food chains, mostly because I'm a vegetarian and there just aren't many options.

However, my brother and his family probably eat fast food at least every other day, if not more. They are trying to cut down, but they both work and have very active kids and sometimes, I can see how it's just too tempted to grab something on the way home or to basketball practice, you know?

So, yeah, that research seems a bit off from my anecdotal evidence.

[2naSalit]

78. After being a cook for a couple years

and seeing what even finds its way to your plate in a "sit down" food place, I don't eat out more than a couple times a year when someone else invites me out. What arrives in the kitchens of most eateries is not much better than what you'll get at fast food joints, it's still heavily processed and laden with chemical preservatives, salt and HFCS stuff.

I have speculations as to how and why all that stuff ends up in our food but I would have to spend a couple hours gathering citations. I can say, though, after cooking for others in a public venue, I did my best to use pure ingredients and make things from scratch as much as possible but even then I had to settle for some ingredients that I was not thrilled to serve. I did make one promise to my clientele... I promised that I would never serve them anything that I wouldn't eat, and I sat down and ate with them so they knew I wasn't lying.

Fast food, not even deli sandwiches thank you very much. When I travel, I bring my own food unless I know there's a place where I can get unprocessed food to prepare myself, and I carry my own water as well... even if I have to bring ten or more gallons of it. I drive wherever I go so I don't have to deal with not having that available. I'm sure that's a hardship for many who travel but I have been able to hold to it for years now and I'm all the healthier for it.

[obamanut2012]

16. Two or three times a year, tops, and always Subway

When circumstances force me to eat any.

[yellerpup]

17. Never.

Fast food is food substitute, not nourishment.

[Silent3]

94. That's way overstated.

I know people in threads like this can't wait to flaunt their extreme disdain for fast food, processed foods, for anything that is "pure" by whatever metrics of purity and wholesomeness that they hold dear.

But let's get real. It's food. It's certainly better than no food at all. You can sustain yourself on it. Even though it's far from the healthiest choice you could make, a lot of people could probably eat fast food and nearly nothing else from being toddlers all the way up to a ripe old age, and get by reasonable well all of those years.

And it's not like if you eat only "pure" and "wholesome" foods that you're guaranteed to live past 100, running marathons everyday.

All of these food choices do nothing more than shift averages and tendencies, lower risk of that by a few percentage points, higher risk of some other thing by a few percentage points, average of a few more or a few fewer years of life, a matter of a tendency toward leanness or obesity.

Acting as if one or two trips to McDonalds or Taco Bell per week is practically a death sentence, as is such food is POISON!!11!1!!, is fanaticism and pretentious posing.

[yellerpup]

97. Tell yourself whatever you have to

Last edited Thu Feb 21, 2013, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

but show me a person who is a "ripe old age" and healthy who has lived on fast food their whole life. Life is not about living the longest time; if you are sick or weak or disabled you won't enjoy living longer anyway. I'm not a fanatic. I have eaten fast food in my life, but not for the past 35 years or so. I merely answered the question posed in the OP truthfully. I am also an expert in nutrition, so yes, a human body can be 'sustained' on fast food but people die miserable deaths from it every single day. If anyone is being fanatical or pretentious, it is you.

[Silent3]

110. People who do everything "right" die miserable deaths too.

Less often, but they still do. I'm not saying it's a good idea to eat lots of fast food, and certainly not a good idea to try to hypothetical of eating nothing but all your life. I'm arguing against the hyperbolic "not food" description of something that can, as you admit, sustain you.

As for you being an "expert in nutrition", that's a subject with a lot of differing opinions and unsettled issues, and an area of study that tends to draw a lot of fanatics. My sister considers herself an "expert" too, and gets paid to coach people in diet and exercise. She's also a right wing fundy nutcase, and her food advice is as tinged with absolutism and extremism as her politics and religion. You'll pardon me if your claim of expertise doesn't bowl me over.

Since (and I think this should have been obvious to you) a person who eats fast food every day of their life was a hypothetical construct, I obviously can't point one out to you -- nor did the point I was making require that I could. Most of us, however, know plenty of people with terrible eating habits who nevertheless get away with it, and people who make great efforts for good health, but still end up with bad health problems anyway.

It's a matter of shifting the odds, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, of healthier outcomes.

Since it's just odds, not absolutes, and eating fast food once or twice a week is a long way from eating it for every meal, I think it's a fair guess that such a relatively infrequent indulgence isn't going to show up as such an enormous shift in outcomes that it warrants treating such food as POISON!11!1!1!.

[yellerpup]

111. What I said was...

"Fast food is food substitute, not nourishment." I don't know how you can extrapolate that post into this (second) wild eyed rant. Sorry if your sister gets under your skin, but I'm not her. I suggest you cut back on the cheeseburgers and the hyperbole.

[Silent3]

112. So how many cheeseburgers can a person safely eat in your esteemed professional opinion?

None? One per year? Maybe a few more if they're not fast food burgers, but lean free-range organic beef served with locally made organic cheese on organic whole-wheat (or perhaps gluten-free) buns?

Otherwise it's just a "substitute" for food?

You said, and I quote, "Fast food is food substitute, not nourishment." And you talk to me about hyperbole? Not nourishment? Even though nearly all "fast food" provides carbs and protein and fat, some of which contains (even if in small quantities) vitamins and minerals which... um... nourish your body?

It's hardly the best of nourishment in most cases, of course, and it might cause (but usually only with long-term excess) varying ill effects depending on the type of fast food... but still, it is most certainly food, not just a substitute for food, and it is nourishment.

There are still plenty of people on this planet who can't get a hold of enough raw calories to sustain themselves. People starve. It's only with the excess of calories our relative affluence provides us that we can get so snobbish as to call foods that don't fit some idealization of nutritional optimization mere "substitutes" for food.

[City Lights]

18. Once every few months at most.

I don't really find fast food appealing.

[Javaman]

19. After I read "fast food nation" (avoid the really bad movie version) 13 years ago, I quit. nt

[AngryAmish]

20. 4-6 times a week

[MuseRider]

21. Never.

Used to but it has been years since I have had anything like that. Hate the stuff now.

[Aerows]

22. I can't resist Taco Bell

At least once a week I get a craving for it. I'm well aware that it isn't good for you, but I don't have a weight problem so it's no big deal.

[Capt. Obvious]

24. "but I don't have a weight problem so it's no big deal"

I salute you.

[Aerows]

58. I'm a junkie

for spicy foods. Taco Bell is a convenient way to get my fix on those days where I have to have something light up my mouth. I keep Tabasco handy and usually put that on them along with the hot sauce.

[sir pball]

38. It's my terrible, unbreakable habit

I got addicted back in high school, we would seriously sometimes eat it three times a day. Then again, we were all varsity runners, putting in 5-15 miles in said day, so it was sort of a non-issue. We have a running joke to this day that it's our best fuel - funny thing though, my pre-race gorge before my half marathon PR just last October (1:32:39) was TB.

And that flap about their "beef" being more filler than cow? The fillers are vegetable proteins, the stuff they sell at vegan markets, the stuff that I get told I should try if I want to keep eating meat but be "healthier"...where exactly is the problem? Shit, if they made the stuff 100% veggie but still so tasty, I'd eat MORE!

ed speeling

[Aerows]

55. When I was 14

I played golf, and carried my bag for 18 holes in a junior tournament. I was STARVING by the time we were through. I ate 4 Taco Belle Grande's in one sitting LOL. Those were the ones that were a size and a half of the taco supremes. I have no idea where I put all of it, but I started with two, and they just weren't enough.

Speaking of no meat, their bean burritos, imho, are terrific. I also get the pintos and cheese side item sometimes, too. There is only one thing on the Taco Bell menu I don't like - it's those horrible Dorito tacos. Ick.

[sir pball]

60. Heathen!

The Dorito tacos are brilliant! And just four old-school Supremes? Man...after a very long training session once I ate something like eight normal tacos, Nachos BellGrande, a couple of bean burritos and a quesadilla. Then again, I always had an elastic stomach.

I do like their burritos, but they just don't have that amazing synthetic-faux-Mexican-taco-seasoning flavor..

[Aerows]

64. BellGrandes

They were a supreme and a half, each. And LOL at sythetic-faux-Mexican-taco-seasoning flavor. I think that is what has me pretty much addicted to them. I think it's some form of food drug designed to get us hooked

I was in an area that was very hard hit by Katrina, and naturally, it wiped out all of the Taco Bells. I endured 4 months with no Taco Bell. I literally took a road trip out of desperation to find one - I had to go like 40 miles. I think I enjoyed that meal more than any I had eaten in years, simply because I had done without for so long.

[ellenfl]

72. i make my own taco bell . . .

non-gmo organic shells, grassfed lowfat beef, lowfat cheese, low sodium seasoning, lettuce. one of the quickest meals to make. i also mix gf beef, fat free refried beans (can = bad. oh well), lowfat cheese, sauce, black olives, onions on whole wheat tortillas, pan fried (tortilla folded in half) in olive oil. yum!

i have been successful enough with restricting my salt that most processed or fast food (VERY seldom) that i eat now tastes really salty.

i DO eat processed low sodium boar's head turkey (from the supermarket) and an occasional subway 1/2 sub but have always been very good about NOT eating fast food. compared to what americans eat nowadays, i feel mostly virtuous. oh, and i drink a soda once a decade.

[Aerows]

82. I don't drink soft drinks at all

Unsweetened tea for me. I detest soda.

[ellenfl]

84. i only drink water and milk (cow, soy & almond). . .

and an occasional wine or single malt scotch.

[Aerows]

86. I also drink milk

and wine .

I'm curious - do you have a weight problem? I don't - I have a problem in the other direction that I have to be careful to eat enough. My sister's entire family is overweight, and she has two adopted children, but they drink soft drinks like they are going out of style.

My parents are like me - we don't have weight problems, so I'm pretty sure it isn't genetic.

[ellenfl]

115. i have always thought i was overwieght even though i was not in my younger years.

when i was 5'6" and 140lbs. now i definitely am fat! but i rationalize well . . . i'm post cigarettes, post-menopausal and have thyroid dysfunction. works for moi!

[Orrex]

23. Each morning I puree two Big Macs

I then hang them in an IV bag beside my desk and drip them directly into my veins throughout the day.

[CrispyQ]

28. I wanted to post LOL to your comment, but I see you've placed me on ignore.

[Jersey Devil]

25. Only the salad at Wendy's about once every week or two

Otherwise only when I travel, then always grilled chicken or salad.

[ellenfl]

73. check the details on that salad. i read that they are really bad. eom

[Ganja Ninja]

26. less than 6 times a year. n/t

[AndyA]

29. A couple of times a year at most.

Almost always while traveling, when other choices are few. I do usually try to eat the least offensive thing I can find, but I know that even "healthy" food items at the fast food places are often loaded with a lot of bad stuff.

[Neoma]

49. I check online menus on my iPhone before I order.

Seems to work out okay.

[CrispyQ]

30. Never.

There aren't a lot of vegetarian options at fast food places & even those that are, are suspect. Did they cook the veggie burger next to the greasy meat burgers? Probably. Are the French fries cooked in the same grease as chicken & fish? Usually. I did have a bean burrito at Taco Bell a few years ago when I was out with friends. I could not believe how salty it was.

Watch a few episodes of Restaurant Impossible or Bar Rescue & you'll be leery of eating at any restaurant.

[KurtNYC]

32. Most fast food chains are publicly traded so they publish their numbers for wall street.

No need to rely on self-reported behavior surveys of 11,000 people. As pointed out, self reported behavior is not very reliable and always downplays anything perceived as a negative behavior.

McDonald's sings a different song in their press releases aimed at investors than the one aimed at regulators and health entities (June 2012):

Global comparable-store sales rose 3.3% for the month, ...
In the United States, though, McDonald’s is still seeing strong growth. Comparable-store sales there climbed 4.4% in May.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2012/06/08/golden-arches-losing-some-shine-mcdonalds-sales-growth-slows-again-in-may/

[unblock]

33. lost about 25 pounds without even trying, just by cutting out the mickey d's.

the only fast food we ever eat now is subway, and we're now vegetarians so it's just salad on bread.

[Jennicut]

36. Subway is something my husband and I go to a few times a month.

You can better control what you put on the bread although not the bread itself so much.
My husband used to eat at Wendy's all the time as he works on the road all day for a utility. He feels much healthier since he stopped eating there.

[unblock]

50. i remember when wendy's first opened (i actually went to high school with wendy thomas)

i was astounded at the notion that their smallest burger was the size of every other biggest burger. at the time it seem crazy.

but the original burgers certainly tasted far better than the competition (and actually, better than wendy's own burgers even just a few years later), and they were evidently right about america's appetite for way too much food.

i remember many more morbidly obese customers at wendy's than at other fast food joints, often eating triples AND chili AND fries AND....

one thing i certainly liked about wendy's is that they were REALLY good at special orders. at the time, mickey d's would make you wait 30 minutes for a plain cheeseburger! since then the other burger places have mostly figured out how to do that better, but it took them a long time and pressure from wendy's.

[pipi_k]

35. So seldom

that I can't even remember the last time.

If I had to guess, it would probably be maybe 3 times a year.

[alcibiades_mystery]

37. From fast food chains? Haven't in more than ten years

Not a single bite.

Obviously, I'll go to a deli or local hot dog shack or pizzeria, but that's not industrial fast food in my view.

[Neoma]

48. I don't think the OP said chains.

[alcibiades_mystery]

51. I did offer it as my definition

I don't eat anything from any fast food chain, and haven't since before 9/11, really.

I grew up in NYC, so I make a distinction between McDonald's and Amore's Pizzeria, a little one-store pizza shop that makes everything more or less fresh on scene. Or a little deli. Whatever. I don't think it's merely my own distinction, either. I think there are substantial differences in the way the food is prepared.

But if you think a one-shop owner operated delicatessen is the same as a Subway in terms of "fast," by all means hold on to that belief. I won't try to challenge it.

[Neoma]

56. The only real competition would be Mr. Submarine...

But I can't walk there, and I would say it's like subway, except they don't make it in front of you. Plus, their sandwiches are huge compared to subway! If you cut it up right, it's about 3 meals in one.

But I don't think either of them is fast food. Sandwiches have always been quick to make, but to me, fast food is fried in one way or another. Might as well call fast food fried food instead. And in the case of pizza, I definitely don't go to chains anyways, and it takes pretty long to get a pizza as always...

But blah, I walk 3 miles to get my fix of authentic Chinese food. What's this talk about fast food?

[Capt. Obvious]

63. "I don't eat anything from any fast food chain, and haven't since before 9/11, really"

So 9/11 DID change everything

[Motown_Johnny]

39. 11% of calories could be misleading

since fast food tends to be higher in calories than other foods



just saying

[reformist2]

43. True - just one visit per week could bring you up to 11%!

Just one 1500 cal meal / (2000 cals avg per day * 7 days a week) = 11%

[sir pball]

40. I pay very little attention to what I eat, so, quite a bit.

I've been known to eat a rotating buffet of fast food (generally Checkers and Taco Bell, with a generous spoonful of Popeyes and a pinch of McD's/BK/Wendy's - I won't count Shake Shack or Schnipper's since the product is Real Food [and so is the bill] even though it's even less healthy) four or five days in a given week, but the long-term frequency is around once or twice a week. I also love eggses, delicious eggses...I usually go through close to a dozen a week. Mostly scrambled in European-style (extra high fat) butter on buttered whole wheat toast with some sharp cheddar and lots of black pepper, it's an excellent pre-long-run snack.

My doctor blanched when I told him that - and then the numbers came in. 5'10, 163lbs, RHR 51, BP 134/66, cholesterol 102. My electronic scale puts me at 9.3% fat, but I'll be on a hardass 10K program in a couple of weeks so that will take care of itself

[marions ghost]

65. I don't eat food substance

--too sweet, too salty & too full of chemicals. I hate the excess sweetness the most. Have had my face swell from preservatives in a pre-packaged muffin. Memorable.

I would eat it more out of expediency, except I don't feel good when I do. The efficiency can't be denied, but why feel bloated, queasy, and tired after eating? I think healthier fast food IS possible, and when some genius agrees with me & it becomes available, I will eat it. But not before.

Negative conditioning.

[deutsey]

41. Very rarely

I think it's once every few months.

[Dpm12]

44. About

a couple of times a month, on average

[Romulox]

45. Almost never. I can't digest the stuff. nt

[marions ghost]

66. My problem too

my system immediately says, "and what in the hell was that?"

[Neoma]

46. I really don't consider subway to be fastfood... It's not unhealthy enough.

Otherwise, I probably eat too much fastfood such as Taco Bell and Dunkin Donuts, but I guess it's not often enough to get fat. Otherwise the thing that would get me fatter wouldn't be fast food anyways, it would be Chinese vegetable fried rice.

[Arugula Latte]

47. About 3 or 4 times a year, and always from the great "fresh, local, sustainable" chain Burgerville

I don't eat red meat, but I do sometimes get the halibut fish 'n' chips or a veggie burger or something. It's more expensive, but worth it. They also have seasonal items like fresh strawberry shortcake in early summer. I believe the chain is only in the Northwest.

http://www.burgerville.com/

On edit: If pizza counts as fast food, then my fast food quotient is considerably higher.

[tridim]

52. 5 days a week, and I maintain my ideal healthy weight.

I eat fairly healthy food at home and I exercise every other day. It's not rocket science.

I also don't typcially order big fat slabs of red meat at fast food places, that probably helps too.

[laundry_queen]

53. Anywhere from 0-3 times a month

When I'm in exams I might buy it more often so I don't have to cook for the kids. When I'm broke, I don't go near them, as it's too expensive for me and 4 kids. I don't generally parse chains. I have a friend who worked in a beef rendering plant that made McDonald's 'beef mix' and he said it's the only fast food place he'll eat in. So I don't feel super guilty when I eat, say, McD's over Subway or have a cheeseburger and fries over a Wendy's salad.

It is becoming less and less though since I've had my gallbladder out, I often get sick if I eat fast food. Usually it's only certain menu items. My mom is the same way. We can both eat McDonald's burgers, but A&W burgers (do you have those in the U.S.?) do a number on our stomachs. Milkshakes are a no-no, but fries are fine. It's strange.

My teenage (& preteen) daughters and I sat down and watched Supersize Me a few weeks ago and now my oldest dd is on board with my plan to mostly grow all of our own food sometime in the future. She now wants to become an organic farmer

[spinbaby]

54. Depends on what you call fast food

I eat in my company cafeteria almost daily and a lot of that is highly processed. Other than that, only when I travel and even that is minimal because I pack along a lot of string cheese and protein bars to tide me over.

[bhikkhu]

57. 6 or 8 times a year

...mostly when we're out on a shopping trip with the kids one town over, or on a road trip to visit family.

on edit - Subway is first choice, then Quiznos, Burger King or generic local burger place. McDonald's and KFC are - never, not if you paid me.

[politicat]

59. Define fast food...

From one of the big chains? Never. We're vegetarian and their selections are miserable to none.

However, once a week, we get takeout from our local, family owned Japanese noodle shop, and another night a week, we stop at the (local, family owned) Indian chaat house associated with our Indian grocery for their daily special -- usually daal and a vegetable curry.

If I had to cook every day, we would not eat until 8 most nights.

[forestpath]

61. Haven't for over 2 years - since I first heard about pink slime.

[bullwinkle428]

62. Typically once a week, and predominantly at "fresh Mex" places like Chipotle these days.

As far as burgers, I'll stick with Culver's or Steak & Shake here in the midwest, but I can't make any promises when it comes to self-restraint if I'm out west in the general vicinity of an In-N-Out burger! Haven't touched a burger from any of the "Big 3" in years and years.

Regarding McDonald's, there's only one thing on the menu that I'm willing to eat - Egg McMuffin. Makes for a decent breakfast on the go when I'm traveling and looking for something ultra-convenient and quick.

[REP]

67. Usually, 3-4 times a year except after my shoulder surgery, then ate it for a week

My husband doesn't cook and I couldn't use my right arm at all, but we mostly had less-toxic swill, like barbeque and Clarke's, not MickeyD's. As soon as I could manage real food, I did - I had two surgeries in January and figured I should be eating real food as quickly as possible.

[RebelOne]

68. Maybe once a year. n/t

[senseandsensibility]

69. I was going to say never, but I admit I've had an iced coffee drink from McDonald's

a couple of times lately. The caramel one is SOOOO good. I also used to get a salad there occasionally, but they discontinued the one I liked. Now I do frequent Panda frequently. Love their food.

[intheflow]

88. I was wondering if people were counting Starbucks as fast food.

Any of the chain coffee places. I know a lot of people who drink it almost daily but would claim they never ate fast food. As if fast food = grease, not industrial chains processing foods that aren't good for you in excess.

That being said, I love Starbuck's vanilla and eggnog lattes.

[TheMightyFavog]

70. I admit, I go maybe once every couple of weeks.

Although now, I've decided to cut out fries when I eat at one of those places. Just get the sandwich.

[MoonRiver]

71. Never

And I never will unless a healthy vegetarian fast food chain opens up.

[Hayabusa]

74. Subway about every other week

I get a footlong ham sandwich.

As for major fast food, usually once a month when my Flames of War group has a big event at the game store. The majority of us stop at Wendy's and gets lunch before we play.

[ecstatic]

75. Rarely. I don't think it's sanitary

For the past 8 years or so, the thought of eating fast food really grosses me out, although I do it from time to time. One time, I found the top to the drink dispenser in my cup of soda.

If you're addicted to it, look at the health inspection score of the restaurant and ask yourself if you're sure each employee is washing his/her hands. My mom used to work in the emergency room and she said most of the people coming in with Hep A episodes worked in restaurants.

[2naSalit]

76. I quit eating that shit decades ago.

I like feeling healthy and undiseased.

[shanti]

77. hardly ever anymore

before i was dx'd with T2 diabetes, and when i was still raising my youngest son, i ate fast food a LOT due to my son's hectic basketball schedule. fast forward 5 years and now retired...i maybe have fast food (and only chipotle and panda express, at that) once every other month or so. i used to love kfc, but it's been about 3 years since i've had any of that...don't really crave it either.

[auburngrad82]

79. Maybe two or three times a year

Since cutting out fast food and soda my cholesterol, which has been a problem for decades, has never been better. My pocket also has a lot more money in it.

[temporary311]

80. I more or less stopped in June last year.

Got a double double from In n Out around christmas time, but thats about it.

[no_hypocrisy]

81. I eat "fast food" 6 days out of 7 and it's healthy.

It's called leftovers.

[Yo_Mama]

83. Maybe once a year?

It's a very rare thing for me. Someone else must be eating there a lot to make up for me.

It's not that healthy.

[Earth_First]

85. Rarely. I can count the number of times in a year on one hand.

On the other hand, the amount of times that we dine out for a sit-down dinner at a resturant.

[jberryhill]

87. Maybe once every two months or so

Once in a while, I engorge on Taco Bell or have an Arby's sandwich.

[Carolina]

89. Never

[Capt. Obvious]

90. This thread is fascinating

I'm logging off for the day soon so wanted to give this a kick for later folks.

[Silent3]

95. With a few notable exceptions, I think DU's frequest fast food eaters are mostly being quiet...

...rather than being as few in number as the responses to this thread might indicate.

On the other hand, those who don't eat much or any fast food, and who wear their rejection of fast food as a badge of honor, can't wait to leap in and express their disdain.

[Capt. Obvious]

114. It could be that

This thread seems to cover a good swath of the spectrum of fast food eaters.

I didn't expect as many people to be "defensive" in trying to defend certain chains/locals as not being "fast food" or in some cases, declaring them to be healthy.

[tabbycat31]

91. occasionally

When I'm on the road for work, it's a lot more (12 hour work days, 7 days a week leaves you little time for cooking). That is my usual diet when I'm traveling.

Every now and then I get a craving for Pizza Hut, which I satisfy.

[malaise]

92. Once or twice a year n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

93. About as often as you.

It's close to never but every once in a while when I'm traveling and have no better choice it happens.
I don't eat that much in the way of convenience meals at home either.

[DevonRex]

98. Never. Ever.

Can't stomach it.

[Blue_In_AK]

99. Never,

unless you consider the occasional local pizza delivery fast food. I can't remember the last time I ate at McDonald's...possibly a McMuffin a couple of years ago on the way out of town.


Ed. Subway or Quizno's now and then, but I don't really consider that fast food.

[GoneOffShore]

100. Never.

Gives me really bad digestive problems.

[DCBob]

101. 2-3 times per month.

KFC and burgers when we are too busy to cook and dont want to spend $$$ at a real restaurant.

[Cleita]

102. Once a year, if that much, but I almost never eat out anywhere so if I did, it would probably

be more frequently.

[brewens]

103. Maybe five times a year. Usually taco's. Once a year we have a community blood drive at the

blood center I work for. Usually I'm out on mobile blood drives but for that, I work at the front desk. There just happens to be a small regional burger chain fast food place next door that is really pretty good. They also do huckleberry shakes that time of year! The jumbo is something to behold! The cup it comes in is really a chicken bucket I think! I get one of those per year. That along with their top of the line burger called The Buster! It should be called The Gut Buster. The rest of the week if I eat there, I go with the salad bar. Of course what I can do to a salad, isn't much healthier.

[Warpy]

104. The closest I come to it is deli stuff at a health food store

and the occasional splurge on something at Costco. I really can't stand fast food, mostly because of the salt content and partly because when you're not used to heavily processed stuff, it tastes like it's been dipped in house paint. Oh, and there's a rare trip to a Chinese restaurant for takeout and lunches at the combo Vietnamese restaurant and car inspection station (I patronize both sides).

Otherwise, I eat my own cooking.

[ellie]

106. Very rarely, almost never.

Unless I am traveling but even then, I try to pack protein bars, nuts, and fruit.

[Lifelong Protester]

107. Subway, veggie sandwich

3-4 times a year. I'm not a meat eater. Once every 2-3 years I start jonesing for a Shamrock Shake, then if I get one, always regret it.

[TorchTheWitch]

108. never - haven't since I was a teenager n/t

[Retrograde]

113. What's fast food?

If it's the big chain burger places, I confess to eating at In-n-Out when I'm in southern California, defined by me as south of Atascadero - and then only once per trip. Maybe once a year. If it means stopping by the local taqueria or Indian buffet or my favorite noodle place, then once a week.

[Luciferous]

116. Once a week usually, sometimes more if I'm really busy.