Yep
McDonalds took out all the stuff that made their food worth eating, in the name of being healthy. The thing is, that’s all they had. It was the bad stuff that made them successful. Now they aren’t good tasting and they still aren’t healthy. They should have just owned it.
Also if you eat healthy, your tastebuds change and then there is no appealing aspect to McDonald’s.
I don’t know about “cardboard” specifically, but I have a similar tendency to try Jack in the Box occasionally. I always used to love their food. After getting back on track with fasting/no sugar, fast food just doesn’t taste good. It’s like I can taste all the sugar and oil in everything! It’s way too much!
I also tried a frozen burrito from the supermarket, after going a long time without any processed food. I always thought of the burrito as a somewhat bland, but filling food. After fasting… it was almost too spicy. It wasn’t even a spicy food! Just way too much artificial flavor. It’s funny how our tastes change :)
I don’t eat at McDonalds - haven’t regularly since I was a kid. I do eat at Wendy’s when I want fast food, and it’s fine.
Now after years of not eating Twinkies or HoHos or any of those pre-packaged treats, I had one a couple months ago and they were awful. I’m not sure if it was my brain being reset from their taste, or if they’ve changed their flavor, but my god they were bad.
McDonald’s has been brainwashing kids for decades, so, unless you’re older than 60, if you grew up in the United States, then yes, you are brainwashed. The memories of school field trips and happy meals, fun times with your friends and family are all buried deep in your subconscious. Every time you get that craving you need to make a conscious effort to remind yourself that McDonald’s is garbage and you don’t need or want it.