Our family is giving up fast food for a year!

So today we did the thing that is typical for us on the weekend... around 12:30 the kids start hollering for lunch and we decide let's just get fast food. Or we ask the kids what they want for lunch and the overwhelming response is "Donald's" (McDonald's), even from Ben, who is only 3. So off Bill goes to get fast food and he brings back McDonald's for us and Taco Bell for himself. On opening the McDonald's, we realize they gave us the wrong size fries in one order and didn't fill the fry container up in another. Upon eating the lunch, I realized that it just didn't taste good, but I kept eating it anyways. Replay this once or twice more per week and you will get what has become the norm in our family. 

I am not proud of that fact at all. In fact, today it hit me. Why do we keep doing this? Why do we keep spending lots of money each week on food that is sub-par and is not good? Why has it become norm in our family to have fast food at least 2 times a week and sometimes more? When did getting McDonald's stop becoming a treat, and started becoming the norm? Bill and I complain about our weight all the time, however we still continue to order fries and hamburgers and greasy tacos from fast food places. Why? Something has got to stop.

As we were sitting around the lunch table, I was thinking about all this and I am sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. So I decided to bring up the idea of not having fast food at all during the next year to Bill. At first, Bill was talking about not having it for the rest of this year. But why stop there, I suggested that we give it up for an entire year. Surprisingly my husband agreed, with a few exceptions. 

So basically, starting today, November 14, 2015, our family is giving up fast food for one year. This means no McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. We will also be limiting our eating out to sit down restaurants to maybe once a month or so. Like I said, I did agree to a few exceptions. Those are: 

• we let the kids pick out a special lunch on their birthdays. If they choose to go to a fast food place, we will do that.
• if we are in a group gathering and the group decides to get fast food, we will do that.
• if we are traveling for vacation, we reserve the right to stop and get fast food on the trip. When we get to our destinations we try very hard not to eat fast food, but to eat at restaurants we can't eat at in our hometown. 
• my husband can stop and get Subway if he is working one of his 15-20 hour days during tournament time, if he forgets to take food with him from home. But he can only get Subway, no burger joint.  
• We always get Wendy's on trick-or-treat night so we will continue to do that. 

I am hoping we can do this. I feel different, more determined going into this. I need to do this so that my kids can see that getting fast food is a treat. I need to do this so we can improve our eating habits and become healthier. I need to do that so that we aren't wasting our money on food that isn't worth it. 

I know that it will be hard. I know that we may fail at times. But I am ready to do this! Wish us luck! 

Have you ever given up anything for a year?