Thanks Mom!

Fast food was never a major component in my childhood. My mother was extremely strict on our diets as kids meaning that she always had a home cooked meal on the table and did all of the grocery shopping to limit how much junk food we had in our pantry. My diet consisted of the right amount of protein and starch, fruit, and lots of vegetables. My mom never bought anything that she thought had too much sugar, especially not any kind of junk food.  I do recall this one moment when my dad did the grocery shopping. He let my siblings and I pick out the treats we wanted, but because we never ate junk food we had no clue what to get; so my dad bought everything that caught our eyes. We left the store with sodas, cookies, chips, and bags of candy. He even let us eat some of what we picked out on the car ride home. I remember thinking that it was the best day ever and how we should do the grocery shopping all the time. When we got home, we proudly showed my mother what we picked out and she was absolutely furious at my dad. So furious that my mom took all the food and donated it to the homeless shelter the next day. I remember crying and thinking that my mom was so mean because all the other kid’s moms would let them eat junk food and buy them happy meals. I constantly thought about how I couldn’t wait until I was out of the house and able to choose my own diet.

It wasn’t until I was living on dorms that I finally had the freedom to choose what I ate. College was the first time I ever tried an In-n-Out burger or McDonald’s chicken nuggets. My friends from the university had their rooms full of junk food that they would occasionally share with me and across the street from the school was a gas station that all the college kids would buy food from. For that first semester living in dorms, junk and fast food is all I ate. I started to develop a rash because of my new diet and usually after eating from In-n-Out or McDonalds I would puke out everything. I continued to eat the unhealthy foods regardless of how my body was reacting to it because I had such easy access to it and I thought it was incredibly delicious. I didn’t care that how eating junk food was affecting my body, I was addicted to it. When I went back home during Christmas break, my mom noticed my rash and my slight weight gain. She questioned me on my diet until I finally had to tell her that all I was eating was junk food. She didn’t get mad at me, but she did make sure that for my stay at home I was not allowed junk food. My body was not satisfied with the home cooked meals; I wanted and craved junk food. After a hard month of home cooked food and no fast food, I went back to the university for my second semester with no rash and a promise to limit my junk food intake.

            It’s safe to say that I don’t rely on fast food. After my experience in college with junk and fast food, I try my best to stay clear of it especially from In-n-Out and McDonalds. Every once in a while I will have that sugar/salt craving and indulge in it, but I do still have a slight break out or get an upset stomach after eating it. Now that I’m older, I don’t think my mom is some horrible creature for not letting us eat junk food. I’ve grown to be quite thankful for her being on top of my diet and making me live a healthy lifestyle.