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TCNJ | Wellness

I Went One Year Without Fast Food and Here’s What Happened

Maddi Ference Student Contributor, The College of New Jersey
Kyra Mackesy Student Contributor, The College of New Jersey
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCNJ chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Yep, you read that right.

I went one whole year without  the famous four for fours at late hours of the night, salty french fries that dry my mouth out, and even chicken McNuggets that I usually go crazy over. Don’t get me wrong, it was difficult. Especially when I was super lazy and didn’t want to make myself food, or when all my friends were going to Wendy’s and I thought ‘just one cheat day won’t hurt!’ But there was a reason to my madness, and I felt it was necessary for me to take a break from fast food for a period of time.

Before I went on my hiatus from fast food, every time I ate it, I felt sick.  I would either feel extremely sluggish or I would get a stomach ache. I didn’t know if it was the fast food or something else that was making me feel that way, so I decided to give it up, just to eliminate it as an option. I wanted to give it up, as crazy as that sounds, in order to hopefully not feel the way I felt.

As I progressed through my year, it got easier and easier to just forget about my craving for fast food. I noticed I didn’t feel as sick as I had before, and I was really happy with the positive effects cutting fast food had on my health. It’s not that I overall felt healthier by cutting fast food from my diet, but I felt healthier with the other foods I was eating instead of it. When I would go out with my friends and they would stop for fast food, I just wouldn’t get anything, and I slowly began to stop regretting my decision to not eat it.

Of course, now that my year is over, I have gone back to fast food, but I don’t eat it as much as I did. I still feel sluggish after I eat it, but, to be honest, I really only eat it at late hours of the day after a night out, so I usually go to bed shortly after.

Overall, it was a pretty rewarding experience — and I walked away saying that I actually accomplished it. Plus, it’s pretty funny to see people’s reactions when I say “Yeah, I went a whole year without fast food.”

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Maddi is the current President and Campus Correspondent for HCTCNJ. She is a senior journalism student at The College of New Jersey who loves pugs, napping, and all things food.
Kyra Mackesy graduated The College of New Jersey with a BA in Journalism and Professional Writing and a minor in Criminology in 2019. While at TCNJ, she was an active member of their Her Campus chapter, holding a wide array of positions: President and Campus Correspondent, Editor-in-Chief, Senior Editor, Marketing and Publicity Director, and Social Media Manager. She loved seeing her chapter grow throughout her four years in college, and will remain an active Her Campus Alumni.