So, what happened to our

30 Days of No Fast Food Challenge? Honestly? It didn't last 30 days. At about two and a half weeks we quit for Buttercup's birthday and, frankly, didn't want to start it up again. Why? Well, we quickly figured out our fast food habit wasn't because of the food. (Some of you are saying, "Duh!", but hey, we're slow learners!) This challenge was awesome, however, and we learned a lot about ourselves and our family.

Firstly, we realized that Superman and I really, really counted on our weekly breakfast date and missing two of them in a row made us cranky. My friend at Generations Gone By knew this was going to happen (she's so smart) and warned us to be on the look-out. With three children (even with one in the dorms now), me homeschooling the younger two, and Superman's stressful job, our weekly dates were special time for the two of us. We needed them. I lay in bed one night talking with Superman and I said, "I just really miss you." Well, that was that...we ended the challenge right there.

Secondly, as homeschoolers with cabin fever, the kids and I were using a fast food run as a way to get out of the house during the grey days of winter. The challenge caused us to stop and think, "Why is it I want to go to McDonald's? Do I just want to get out of the house?" By stopping and asking ourselves the question, we have been able to redirect our energy to healthier alternatives.

Finally, the fast food hiatus gave the kids the time to calculate the opportunity costs of the fast food meals they were having. Quickly they began to notice things in a quantitative manner. From the simple: "Wow, if we don't go to McDonald's for lunch, we can go to the roller skating rink for the same amount of money," to the more complicated: "Mom, if we only spend $100/mo going out, including your dates, we could have a Wii in 4 months and it wouldn't cost us any more money than we've already been spending!" My kids truly became conscious spenders. Maybe, just maybe, this will help set them up to be good stewards of their resources at a young age.

So, since the first week of April, we've semi-quit the fast food habit. Superman and I still go on our dates once a week, but the kids and I aren't going out the same way. Instead, they are being smart spenders. Valiant figured out that a frozen yogurt at Costco was $1.50 and we could easily share one after our shopping trip. We're all being conscious of why we want to go out and that has helped us get rid of the craving and feel better when we do have a little treat.

All in all, I think the No Fast Food Challenge was completely worthwhile. We learned a lot about ourselves and our motivations and, in so doing, have been able to redirect our efforts towards healthier attitudes. If you're stuck in a bad habit rut, I encourage you to try a challenge of your own: No Oreos for 30 days, No potato chips for 30 days, whatever...you might be surprised at what you learn about yourself.

30 Days of NO Fast Food! - Day 4

Update to our challenge...we're on Day 4 and are doing fine. I am really not missing the food and now that I understand why we were going out so much, I am able to redirect myself when I feel the urge. So far, so good.

Having said all this, I have a question for you all. Today when I went to Target with the kids, we shared a popcorn/soda combo while we walked around. Superman says we broke the challenge by doing that, but I disagree (obviously, or I wouldn't have bought it). I'll admit to bribing the kids by buying the popcorn, because I wanted more time to browse the clearance aisles , but our goal was not to go out for food when we left the house. After we went to Target, we went to Home Depot. Would Superman have been happier with us if I had bought them each a can of Pringles at Home Depot?

I maintain that we didn't break the challenge. What do you think?

30 Days of No Fast Food - Day 2 - update

So, today was Day 2 of our 30 Days of No Fast Food challenge. I must confess here, however, that it was Day 1 for the kids, only because they didn't know about our implementation of the moratorium. (This means Superman and I received one day free of tears or pouting to begin with.) They didn't take the news too well. In fact, if any of you happened to hear a despairing shriek of unidentified origin at around 11:00 AM PDT, that would have been Buttercup expressing her dismay at our decision. To say she was not happy would be an understatement. Seriously.


It turns out, however, that Buttercup had the epiphany we'd all been looking for. Out of the mouths' of babes: "Then every day will be the same!" Wow! She was right...after thinking about it all day and then discussing it with Superman, we realized that the $200 we spend on fast food every month is really our "entertainment fund". Obviously, this is not a good thing on many levels. Realizing what we were doing, however, will allow us to change this habit for good. Valiant was quickly able to quantify our alternative possibilities for $200, while Buttercup has been holding tightly to her fast food outings...we'll see how it goes as the month progresses...

P.S. Buttercup's 10th birthday is March 25, so we've agreed that we can go out for a fast food breakfast or lunch on her birthday and tack on another day to the challenge...do you all agree that this is in keeping with the spirit of the challenge? Let me know...

30 days of NO Fast Food...

Here at the Nagle5, we love fast food. We don't eat huge quantities of food when we hit McDonald's or Jack in the Box, but we eat fast food far more frequently than we should. It seems, in fact, to be the last source of bleeding in our budget and Superman and I have decided that we need that to stop. Just so we're clear here, we (unlike so many others) are not condemning the fast-food industry, the quality or the lack of quality of the food, or anything else. We are simply making a budget/habit decision.

To put it another way, we did the math:
4 - 6 morning dates a month at $9 = $36 - $54
4-6 lunchs with the kids a month a $8 (really! we share) = $32 - $48
4 Friday celebrations (held on Saturday due to scheduling issues) at $25 = $100

Adds up to $168 to $202 a month on fast food. That is, in our opinion, far too much.

Now, we've tried saying, "We'll just cut back," but it doesn't ever happen. Given that, we've committed to each other that we will have NO fast food for 30 days, beginning today. In addition to spending less, we're also trying to figure out what running out for fast food is "feeding". Are we bored, are we lazy, what do we get out of fast food that, until now, we haven't been willing to give up? So, don't be surprised if I start writing about how much I wanted to go get an Egg McMuffin or how the kids would love a McChicken...we're on a Nagle5 journey here and I'm using our blog to keep us honest.

What about you? What might you be continuing to do that doesn't fall into line with your stated goals? Spring is a time of new growth, so why not let that apply to yourself, as well?

P.S. You can buy the mousepad at Zazzle: http://www.zazzle.com/no_fast_food_mousepad-144122390298714785