Say Goodnight, Greasy.

(Title rendered with apologies to the late, great, and reunited Burns & Allen)

Fast food and I parted ways gradually. It wasn't like I set out to stop eating overpriced made-to-order frozen burgers. It's true that after one too many viewings of Super Size Me I declared that I would never eat at McDonald's again. But I haven't eaten McDonald's "food" in at least six months. And it had been at least six months before that time. And I got sick both of those times. It's safe to say I'd de-SuperSized myself some time ago. But that didn't stop me from a weekend benders of Jack In The Box, Carl's Jr, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Popeye's... you get the picture. I was a junkie. During the workweek, I was fine - Subway was as fast as my food traveled. But the weekends were a solid six meals of badness. At a certain point, it became obvious: all of that food was going somewhere and so was all of that money. And what I really wanted to keep was the money, but the food was quickly becoming my body's permanent houseguest.

So in January, I joined a gym and I started watching more closely a diet that hadn't so much spun out of control as it had mutated into a quiet addiction. The thing is, I actually like healthy food. Tofu, whole wheat bread and vegetables don't gross me out; they entice me. I have a major love of sushi. So to waste my time with food I didn't love, but had simply grown accustomed to just didn't make any sense anymore.

So one by one, more of my bad habits fell by the wayside. Taco Bell (aka "crack disguised as fake Mexican food") was replaced with El Pollo Loco. The long-gone McDonald's, my beloved Jack-in-the- Box, and Carl's " I think I'll miss you most of all" Jr. were replaced with the very occasional In-N-Out burger. (I long ago kicked my family's sick addiction to carbonated soda. I've even identified it as the cause of my persistant teenage twnetysomething acne.) I didn't really miss any of it. The sushi runs were infinitely tastier. Buying my veggies every week at the store was far cheaper. Between the diet changes and the regular workouts, I saw major changes to my body and my attitude. I'm still working toward my goal, but the metamorphosis in barely four months has been amazing. By my birthday I should be H-O-T. Which is good, because I'm going on a long vacation the day after.

So what's the point, you ask? I probably couldn't have told you at the start of this post; I certainly couldn't have told you at the start of my "health reorganization process" (which is so much more accurate and healthy than the word "diet"). But I can now. You see, last year, I didn't cut bad habits, but, with help of an amazing support system, I cut out bad people. And I can now see how my battle with fast food mirrors my battle with "fast friends" - those empty emotional calories who take time and space away from the good stuff. I like being happy and I love the company I keep. In less than four months, I got it about the food. It took nearly a year for me to get it about the people. But flowers bloom when they're ready. Here I am.

Goodnight, Greasy.

J.

This post was sponsored by the Fresh Food, Fresh Friends Committee.