As a young girl, I went through tons of different food fads. It ranged from eating only pudding, then it went to popcorn, moved onto ice cream, and I even had a persimmon phase until my hands started to turn orange. I’m not sure exactly what it was, really. I wasn’t trying to prove or research anything for an article, I had just barely hit my double digits. Maybe i’m just a creature of habit or thought that other types of foods would do me no good. Or maybe I really just wanted to drive my parents crazy.
Either way, here’s what happened during my Subway phase which lasted for a nearly month. I would sit down at family dinner with my parents and my brother, wait for everyone to finish, and then have my dad take me to Subway. Every night I would order the exact same sandwich, a six-inch sub on whole wheat bread with turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mustard.
The first few days (Day 1-4): As far as I remember, I was filled with excitement. After being such a particular eater, I had found something that I really loved eating, enjoying every bite and wishing it would never end. I told myself I could totally eat this every single night. Little did I know, I actually did.
After the first week (Day 7): I couldn’t believe that for an entire week straight I had eaten the exact same subway sandwich. I started to understand this was going to be a thing, and that I was going to need to switch up locations each time to protect my image.
More than a week in (Day 10): To be honest, I was doing just fine, but I’m not sure how well my family was. My mom was getting frustrated that I wasn’t eating her food, and my dad was getting annoyed that he had to take me out every single night. But I was stubborn, and only wanted my precious subway sandwich.
Two weeks in (Day 14): Ok, so maybe it was getting a little old, but I had gotten so used to it. It became such a ritual and it’s all my body really craved. I couldn’t go a day without it.
Three weeks in (Day 21): The six-inch sub wasn’t always enough, I started to get really hungry and accepted that I would need to change things up, at least a little bit. I would sometimes even start to get a 12 inch sandwich, but with same ingredients of course.
Nearly a month in (Day 25): My parents approached me that this habit was not healthy and that we need to sit together as a family. My body was probably missing tons of nutrients, but I probably ignored it, and I continued to beg for subway.
28 days in: My parents decided to not give in anymore and refused to take me. In my situation at the time, I couldn’t afford my own subway sandwich. I secretly knew they were doing the right thing for me and joined them for dinner without any subway sandwiches involved. My stomach thanked me too.