Fast food is wonderful; it’s cheap, delicious and extremely convenient. But, like many things in life, if taken in excess it can quickly go from a positive to negative (and lead to diabetes, extreme weight gain and other things you probably want to avoid). Here are some warning signs that you might be eating out a little too much.
1. Your bank statement could be mistaken for nothing more than a list of fast food eateries in your area.
Words like McDonald’s and Taco Bell should appear scarcely on your bank statement, not dominate the entire page the way a Big Mac dominates your arteries.
2. Your family gets you fast food gift cards as presents on a regular basis.
Nothing wrong with the occasional Subway gift card, but when fast food gift cards begin to become staples in your stocking, birthday cards, etc… you either have a very cheap family, are very hard to shop for or have an uncanny love for fast food that your entire family is aware of. It’s most likely the last one.
3. Every single meal becomes an internal struggle over whether you should waste money on more fast food or suck it up and make a sandwich.
Sound dramatic? I would think so too if it wasn’t for that time I drove all the way to Taco Bell as half of my mind berated me for being so insistent on wasting money on fast food while the other half desperately begged for a Doritos Locos Taco. I made it all the way to Taco Bell before the former somehow won, and I drove home empty handed. Yeah, that’s when I realized I might have a problem.
4. You haven’t bought groceries in months and aren’t planning to anytime soon.
Once you stop even attempting to have groceries on hand, that’s it, it’s over. Every meal you eat will be either fast food or a couple spoonfuls of that peanut butter you’ve had in the cupboard for months. Avoid that scenario.
Sometimes the siren song of fast food is just too much for some to resist, Photo by Inness Cheng
If you’ve found yourself guilty of one or two of these things then it’s probably no big deal. But if you noticed yourself nodding continuously as you read, it might mean you eat fast food a little too often and might want to lay off before it becomes an addiction. Or don’t… fast food is pretty tasty after all.