The last few days I've had some odd gastrointestinal problems.
I gained four pounds suddenly -
and I'll spare you the rest of the details - but suffice it to say - the symptoms were troublesome enough to get me up on the Web MD and study the contents of my toilet bowl closely.
After diagnosing myself with pancreatic issues and malabsorption, I've come to the conclusion that my symptoms may just be due to an over zealous consumption of Greek Kalamata Figs.
Amen.
But this post is about McDonalds -
I'm a food snob. It's true. I'm also a coffee snob.
With that said - let me tell you how much I enjoyed the Dollar Menu at McDonalds and gas station cappuccinos before embarking on 'The Great Change of 2011'.
I've watched 'Supersize Me'.
I know there are 70 ingredients in the McRib.
I remember finding a chicken hip socket in one of my chicken nuggets.
No lie.
I've read in places that one McDonalds cheeseburger can represent up to 100 cows.
And yet - sometimes I'm able to shut my mind off and eat the danged things.
It's been months and months since I've had a burger there - and honestly - I don't think I COULD shut my mind off and eat one anymore. The meat freaks me out.
I haven't ingested a nugget since the hip socket incident.
Please don't let your babies eat McDonalds.
I heard about this a week or two ago - and I'm so intrigued by it - I have to do it.
A woman supposedly has had a McDonalds hamburger sitting on her counter for one year and it has remained unchanged.
Now sisters, that's something I gotta see to believe.
I've heard it true of Twinkies - but a meat product?
I was hoping that if I did this experiment - that it would keep Glen and the BoyChild off them for good.
So today - I get the burger.
Plain cheeseburger.
Several reasons why I think I may fail this experiment -
1. I don't know that I can stand the smell of it - even fresh now - the burgers turn my stomach.
2. What if the cat jumps up and eats it while I'm gone?
and actually - this reason should have been first -
3. I don't think my OCD will allow a rogue cheeseburger to sit out of place in the kitchen for a year.
In fact, I'm going to be surprised if I make it two days.
A cheeseburger shouldn't be sitting somewhere like that - it's just disgusting and it's not tidy at all.
I might have to make a special spot in the basement for it to sit, so I don't have to look at it.
I'll keep you posted with weekly updates and photos of the burger.
I'd like to challenge you today -
Do you think you could make it ONE week without fast food?
Discuss.
Your weight loss is wonderful. You look great. We need protein in our diet and beef is one way to get it. If folks would cook their own food them would know what is in it. The groceries stores are as bad as a lot of the food is prepared in bags ready to eat. That what we have pots and pans for.
ReplyDeleteJayme I am pretty sure there is also a lady with Breadbeckers (healthy wholesome living) that has a burger still in tact from Mc Donalds that she uses in her teachings against such foods. She ordered a plain hamburger and has bun and burger still in package, no insects have even been drawn to it. What a great post!
ReplyDeleteglad to hear you have found what was giving you issues. tummy issues not cool at all. you are so silly. thanks for the laugh this morning. (:
ReplyDeleteJayme, I think it is awesome how you changed your life. I think you were always beautiful, but the transformation is stunning!
ReplyDeleteAbout the burger: I don't think the neat freak in me would have a nasty burger sitting out on a counter for a week, let alone a year. And about eating fast food, I don't even remember the last time we had any. Just not a fan...
Yes! I absolutly could go a week without fast food! Home cooked is just better for you, tastes better and will help save you money. Although, I am a curious about the burger experiment. Really scary when you think about it. I so enjoy your blog!
ReplyDelete"Please don't let your babies eat mcdonald's."
ReplyDeleteAMEN!!!!!!!!!!!! Can we stress this enough?
Hope you are feeling better! :-)
Carissa
XOXO
i do think that figs can do a number on a person, lol. Glad you figured it out. I have not heard of this leaving a McD's lying about -- yuck, lol. I do swing thru the drive thru there a few times a week -- for a large diet coke. Theirs in my favorite although I don't know why :)
ReplyDeleteOh, youngest son work there cooking for a few months -- he will NEVER eat there :)
Blessings!
Gail
You are too cute! I love this post. I am not a big fan of fast food, however, after reading what you've posted I shall have no problems skipping out in the future..."yes, I'd like a hip socket with that!"
ReplyDeleteMy consumption of fast food is approx 2X a year..Not even kidding ...and any Mc Donalds would not even be allowed to set in my kitchen..experiment or not...YUCK!
ReplyDelete~~HUGS~~
Does a diet coke count as fast food? :) I don't like it out of a can as it's too bubbly but I will admit that a student at our school did a science experiment testing the bacteria on fast food drink dispensers and you can imagine what a "successful" experiment it was.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I know I shouldn't be drinking diet coke. How about the healthy salads and baked potato at Wendy's. Are those ok?
ReplyDeleteI could easily go a week without fast food....I often go months and months without. I rarely drink soft drinks. But chocolate...a different story....that is my demon.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a very small town in the middle of nowhere, with NO fast food.....at first, I thought I'd die without my beloved Taco Bell, but now we eat at home most of the time, have lost over 50 lbs., and have never felt better! Even if we someday move back to "civilization", I don't think we'll change the way we eat at all....can't WAIT to see what happens with your experiment!
ReplyDeleteThis new years day i had fast food for the first time in 8 years....an Egg McMuffin...i haven't miss a thing...and it'll probably be another 8 years before i eat fast food again....ugh!!!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck with the burger and congrats on your weight loss...
Enjoy
We haven't had fast food in over 6 years.... That was about the time we started voraciously reading about our food and where it comes from. Needless to say, we now grow our own, and buy local meats from farmers we know. So....glad you have said goodbye to McDonalds!!!
ReplyDeletePS....Jayme, you look super great! So happy you took time for your wonderful self!!!
ReplyDeleteYou look incredible and YUK, hip sockets??? OH MY, I would definitely never eat them again either! I don't eat much fast food for these same reasons, although once in a while I just have to have a pizza or Subway;)
ReplyDeleteExcellent . . ., (not the tummy distress but "fast food"). I can't wait to see your hamburger photos!
ReplyDeleteFortunately I have not had a passion for "fast food". I emerged before fast food became "the thing." However, hubby and I have done restaurant "take away" much too often. This past year we changed up some of our eating, to more vegetables and legumes and less meats. Amazing the changes we have felt . . . We just need to keep doing more of the same.
Your transformation has been wonderful to observe . . .
My daily outdoor walk is the best part of my day . . . great for mind, body, spirit . . .
I pointedly avoid our small town at lunch time, as the entire high school - including my youngest - is racing to McDonalds, Taco Bell and Subway. I can't even think about it. Back when the kids were under my control, fast food visits were few and far between, but now that he's got his freedom, it's another story! Additionally, he is currently eating me out of house and home. Five....FIVE pulled pork sandwiches on Monday night. I think we've got a growth spurt underway.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself, I've been known to indulge in an order of fries and a chocolate shake while on a hell run, but I'd be hard pressed to eat any form of fast food meat. It scares me.
hip socket...what the you could of had a lawsuit. Law! Selah! I am shocked by this! I must tell my "babies' mothers this story!!
ReplyDeleteI believe it...I believe it all. Put the burger in the basement. Somewhere that the cat can't get at it. And a hip socket...oh my stars....that's just icky! I'm not big on fast food. If I do, it comes in the form of Taco Bell. I don't know why, but I love TB!! However, I don't eat much of it. And that's okay with me!! Not too keen on fast food. A hip socket....wow!
ReplyDeleteI think I could make it a week without fast food. I actually don't pick up fast food that often because nothing fits into my husband's approved idea of food - but I do personally like to stop at McDonald's occasionally. And as much as I like to stop - I normally don't. It's on the wrong side of Sheridan Road, so the convenience is not really worth the inconvenience of having to cross the median.
ReplyDeleteI rarely eat fast food so no challenge there but I like the fish sandwichs at McDonalds. Funny, I don't like fruit with the exception of strawberries and other berries.
ReplyDeleteHate to spoil your like of fish sandwiches here but my grandfather ordered one and took a bite and right there that would've been in his mouth the next bite if he wouldn't have seen it was an eyeball! Pretty sure it was a fish eyeball but YUK!!!! I just can't eat at McDonalds anymore!!
DeleteI strongly believe the obesity problem in our country is tied directly to a generation brought up on chicken nuggets.
ReplyDeleteSorry Jaymee, but I have to fess up, that big mac picture makes me mouth water. . .
ReplyDeleteI remember once, and I shant lie, I remember telling my friends isn't Miccky D's the best food in the whole wide world. lol. . .
However, I haven't had McDonalds in years. . . although, I remember one day being reallllllly clogged up, oh lordy, it was days. . .out with the man, and we stopped for a mac and fries specifically for that reason, and wala it worked, instant colon cleanse. . .
thanks. . . I'll try the kalamata figs Ü
We don't do fast food much at all. Maybe a few times a year. Just prefer to eat at home or at a real, good restaurant if we're out and about. Now, I'd LIKE to eat out more often but that's a different story.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I am not a very "disciplined" person when it comes to eating ;) but I haven't eaten McDonald's since Sept. 2006 nor any fast food since Summer
ReplyDelete2007. I read about four pages of a book (can't remember the name) in Barnes & Noble one day in 2006 about McDonald's chicken nuggets. Talk about turning my stomach. Sickening! Every once in awhile I might be tempted to get some fries but I don't want to break my streak. ;) I'd rather be able to say, "I haven't eaten fast food in 4 1/2 years." =D
I probably eat fast food once a year.... unless our local pizza parlor counts as fast food, but burgers, fries, etc... heck, I don't even go to Starbucks. We cook at home mostly because it's just the economical and tasty thing to do. Good luck with that burger... I'll definitely stay tuned to see the outcome.. urp.
ReplyDeleteYou look great--I remember when I first read your blog and you talked about losing weight. I lost lots of weight about 6 years ago and I too am a huge food snog. So many of my friends just hate that I won't eat in fast food places. I am fascinated that you are doing this with the hamburger. This is probably why I like your blog so much. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI can totally believe that and can't wait for you to prove it!
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!
Maybe you could put the burger in one of those glass cookie jars, like he uses in "Super Size Me". 4 lbs. all of a sudden is a little off putting! I expected you to say it was because you had that burger. wasn't expecting figs.
ReplyDeleteWell at least the chicken hip joint proves that the nugget was at some point in time actual chicken.
ReplyDeletethere is a local chiropractor that has a mcdonalds happy meal sitting in a clear box in her office. it's been there since june. it still looks the same...just a little drier.
ReplyDeleteWow! My daughter conducted a science fair experiment on bread molds. The homemade bread got moldy within days, but the mass-produced bread didn't mold up for sometimes WEEKS! It's not just food from drive-thrus that's bad for us!
ReplyDeleteCould you post (or repost) the turkey sausage recipe that you eat? I have searched your site but cannot find it...thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hate fast food. I love soda.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed that on many ground beef packages it says Product of USA, CANADA, MEXICO and NEW ZELAND?
that freaked me out. It was just a tiny package...so now we don't buy regular beef. scary jerry.
Haven't eaten fast food in close to a decade. My mom used to ridicule me, but she was recently living at a motor home park near a CAFO and has changed her tune...can't wait for the photos and completely understand the need to hide it in the basement :)
ReplyDeleteHaven't eaten at a fast food place since we saw "Supersize me" and I don't think my kids have either! I once dumped a couple of cups of white flour into our worm box and a year later it was still there...they didn't recognize it as food...tells you something, doesn't it! By the way, you look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLove your post! Once in a while, we would love to be able to just grab something quick that we didn't have to prepare...but then we start thinking about all the garbage that's in it and, well, eeewwww! (Not to mention the cost vs. making something ourselves.) We are trying to eat as much unprocessed food as possible and as soon as we get moved onto our homestead, will hopefully be growing as much of our own food as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you Jayme, a declared food snob. I haven't eaten fast food in over 20 years, plus I buy all food local and in season, and I'm a vegetarian. I think it's a great experiment. If you decide to take on the challenge keep us posted as to the lack of deterioration of the meat and other products used to make the cheese burger. I wouldn't be surprised if the burger remained the same when a years time was up.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I don't know how anyone can eat fast food or processed food. I just don't get the attraction to it.
Bridgemor
I eat fast food one, two times tops per year. I just love home cooking & knowing what I'm eating. My alcohol consumption on the other hand...sheesh!!
ReplyDeleteI could go forever without eating it!! if the hubbs decides he has a hankering for some mickey dees, then I eat a salad or come home and whip up some raman noodles with parmeasan cheese :) probably not that much better but I cant stand fastfood anymore, just doesnt taste right to me. I will eat chick fil a at least i can tell Im eating a real chicken bit but havent gone there in at least a year, cost is a big factor too, being a family of 6 I hate dropping 40 bucks and those places! the kids even my 18 year old son have proclamed they dont like it anymore. I think if you go awhile without it you realise how nasty it is :)
ReplyDeleteHey Jayme, I've made it two years without fast food, the thought of it turns my stomach! Just as the thought of most meat turns my stomach, I do still eat salmon because of the Omega 3. Now that my cholesterol is higher than the Doc likes I'll be cutting out yogurt, parmesan cheese and feta cheese...according to web info. I found I should only be eating cottage cheese...which is OK cause I like it too! Look forward to hearing (and seeing) how your McDonald's Cheeseburger experiment goes! Oh I wanted to tell you I started vacuuming my apartment yesterday...finished the living/dining area, left the vacuum in this area all night, redid the same area again today and left the vacuum in there again...please don't freak out! Baron (dachshund) and I live alone...so it's really OK...I'll tell you what I did get done...up on my little step stool to clean the mega dust off the bedroom fan! Don't cry! I'm almost 70 and I've spent a lifetime cleaning...and you know what the dirt just keeps showing up again! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHmmm... just the thought of the burger sitting somewhere for a year is disgusting. However, now I"m curious as to how it would turn out.
ReplyDeleteI always feel crappy after I eat at one of those places, so I don't do it much anymore.
That picture made me hungry. Sorry. Just being honest.
ReplyDeleteI wanna play devil's advocate here.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the exact same thing that Patricia said (I had to read everybody's comments)...at least we know they must use REAL chicken. Looks like...smells like...it must be -chicken.
And girl, have you never heard of an 'emergency french fry'?
I know of someone who always asked for fries with NO SALT...to assure she would always get FRESH, hot fries...then she would go and add her own salt.
And then there are the babies in the back of the vehicle who always beg and grandma's who love to treat every now and then. ;)
I quit eating beef around 2000, 2001 when I was doing Weight Watchers. I just can't do it anymore. It gets down in my bowels and twists and rolls and protests and sets up camp and refuses to leave and UGH. A big ol ball of beef can be worse than Occupy. Occupy of the intestines. And french fries? ICK. greasy thick stuff in your mouth. Once I had to use the bathroom and I stopped at Five Guys. I could barely walk across the floor for the grease! It was like being on ice.
ReplyDeletexo, Cheryl
Jaymes..... Girl......
ReplyDeleteMy aunt is a representative for Juice Plus (look it up if you need to know about that), anyway she has a hamburger from Mickey D's in a ziploc bag that is 5 years old! No joke! It looks exactly the same. BUN and ALL! What in the world?
My man and I watched Super-size Me and were craving Big Macs the whole way through. the next morning we had Egg McMuffins for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteBut, I'm about to start reading Fast Food Nation. Pretty sure that'll turn me off... that and your hip socket story. Honestly, I haven't has a McNugget since the Jamie Oliver episode showing how they're made. Yuck-o.
I try to avoid fast food as it just upsets my stomach. I have never eaten a McNugget and never will as they do not even remotely resemble real chicken and totally gross me out. I do not like the taste of hamburger, which is why I will eat a McD burger. lol As to the person (Nancy) inquiring about "healthy" Wendy's salads....uhm, sorry but they are not very healthy and are loaded with calories, fat and sodium. See http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/wendys071410.JPG
ReplyDeleteMy doctor has a hamburger and fries sitting on the desk at her weight clinic that is 2 years old and it looks perfect. I did notice though that it did not have condiments on it and I was wondering if that would make a difference Maybe you should do 1 with condiments and 1 without and see what happens. Then you could have 2 burgers to have anx about. I apologize in advance for possibly giving you the idea for 2 burgers to put somewhere in your house.
ReplyDeleteJayme if that thing was in my kitchen sitting there for 5 minutes, I would have already ate it!! I was a Fast Food Freak! I said Was!! My doctor just gave me a Wake Up Call last Staurday. NO More White Food.. I am overweight, high blood pressure, high cholestol, and diabetic. I have been doing as she said for 1 week today! I feel so great! No starches. I can scan a label on food in seconds! I may go for my Master on label reading!! lol Watching those Carbs! Now I need to get MOVING (( exercise)) Thank you for sharing your weight loss/Life change with us! I am not saying I am on a diet! I call it Better Eating 2012! lol Thank you for the pictures or you on your journey. They are a real inspiration! If the Coop Keeper can do it so can I!!! lol
ReplyDeleteI once saw a photo of one month old McDonalds french fries and homemade steak fries side by side. Huge difference!
ReplyDeleteOh no. YOu just reminded me that at a party we had, we made up a time capsule (a tin can) and we put a bunch of stuff in it, including a twinkie! Law..that was when the clock turned over to 2000! Wonder how that twinkie is doing. The time capsule has been in our basement and I haven't opened it since we put the lid on it.
ReplyDeleteCindy Bee
I know all about McDonald's food ingredients. I've seen multiple documentaries on McDonald's and I still eat there. I wish something like a hip socket happened to me so I would stop it!! ahahahhahaaaaaa.
ReplyDeleteJayme, I am taking your challenge. One week without fast food. Next week I may try soda! Thanks for your inspiration!
ReplyDelete