Bad Fatty is Bad!!!! :(

Releven

Smart, Funny, Outgoing, Energetic ..Oh wait this isn't plenty of fish lol

I have recently embarked on a journey to hit a target weight of around 190 possibly 185 if it's not to unhealthy looking. I have always been active in all things that are sports from multiple softball leagues to a recreational indoor football league and even bowling if you want to call that a sport. I ran my first 5k a few weeks ago and became addicted to the thrill of being around those who share a passion for fitness and sports (plus I kinda liked this girl that went with our group and blah blah blah had to impress her, still kinda want to but it's not my main motivation sort of thing). I have never been a strong will powered guy when it comes to eating. I usually have a decent breakfast and lunch but then dinner comes I think playing 2 hours of softball is gonna cancel the fact I just ate 4000 calories at Mcdonalds. I have joined MFP to have a visual guide to track my eating habits and to keep them at bay so they do not ruin the progress I make at the gym or during my leagues.

Since I'm giving up Double Cheeseburgers and Bacon, I need to replace them with something just as awesome and i'm pretty sure some of you if not all of you could fill that void.

Look forward to meeting some of you and good luck to all!

norahwynn

Welcome!!

kayemmgee5

Welcome!

Lalasharni

First of all, welcome - and well done for taking the step.
giving up cheeseburgers and bacon really doesn't have to happen - you just have to stop going into McD's to have them LOL!!
My diabetic husband loves a burger, and I make him lean venison burgers with a half-fat cheese square on them, in a wholemeal or multigrain bun. OK, they're not low calorie per se, but a damn sight better for you than processed burgers. There are lots of recipes on the web for getting your own, and as for bacon, well as long as its not cured with nitrates, I still include the occasional bacon (once a week) in my macros, and 70lbs lighter, it hasnt done my program any harm.
You look like a kinda strong, fairly fit guy, your exercise program will help you burn off any calories that the odd burger and bacon contains, just ditch the fries - unless of course you make your own baked sweet potato fries, which are awesome.
Good luck on your journey, I hope you reach your goals without too much pain and deprivation - and I hope that chick gives you another glance.......and a smile.

mschf3

Go ahead and eat the double cheeseburger, but skip the buns, and don't get them at McD's. Make them yourself or get them someplace where the food is actually REAL. A couple books to check out:

1. Why We Get Fat and What To Do About IIt by Gary Taubes.

2. Fitness Confidential by Vinnie Tortorich.

Vinnie also has a VERY entertaining and informative podcast you can get on iTunes or his website vinnietortorich.com.

Good luck - and remember that this is a journey, not a sprint.

happieharpie

After YEARS (andyearsandyearsandyearsandyears) of being a crave-binger, I came to realize that I had to find a VERY satisfying, super nourishing way to eat, to prevent health issues from ruining my presently delightful life.

I have a son who is doing very well in Weight Watchers and another son who is pretty steadfastly Paleo, so I began pulling together some of the elements of each, plus intermittent fasting, plus a couple ideas I picked up on the journey.

After one day of omitting salt, sugar, grain, and dairy, I had NO cravings.

Explore what you do, and see if you can come up with alternatives that will give you a positive for every single bite, and NO negative things into your mouth. NONE.

I hope you will find yourself feeling so much better in a relatively short time that you won't even want to think about returning to your past life style. If you do all your plannng yourself, you'll also be able to give yourself all your own pats on the back!

Releven

I was just poking a little fun at myself for being lazy, I'm fairly certain i'll eat both of those somewhere down the line I just need to make sure to keep myself away from the temptations that really kill my progress. Appreciate the awesome advice though

Ellenorm

Welcome if you need an alternative to the McDonalds just let me know, I have a few recipes I use if i am craving some grease. But overall I cant eat McDonalds anymore. I tend to feel very sick.

Releven

I cook a lot of chicken for myself when I actually take the time to sit at home and eat. I think my biggest problem is always being on the run from working 12-14 hours a day, then having to rush the second I get home to make it to the field or whatever else I have planned and by the time that's all said and done, I have to sleep because I work in 6 hours. I wouldn't mind having a few new recipes thrown my way, it's never a bad thing to have options.

kayemmgee5

Do you work multiple days in a row? I like to prep all my food for the week on my last day off (which, for me, it's Sunday) all breakfasts and lunches go into gladware/pyrex dishes and get stacked in the fridge for the following week. This week I have a cinnamon/apple baked oatmeal piece for breakfast every morning and brown rice quiche for lunch. I'm at about 600-700 cals by the time I get home. It works so perfect for me to plan out all my meals. Less tempted to grab to-go food and like you, I'm pretty busy as well!! Lots of people do food prep and this site has some good ideas.

Releven

Yea I work about 6 days a week, never have worked a sunday. I average from 5am to 6pm sometimes earlier sometimes later, Then have to either be at golf league at 6, softball from 6-7-8-9 or bowling at 7 and by the time I get home from these it's basically time to sleep. I usually try and make my sunday the laundry and housework chores kinda day (the guys always give me **** telling me i'm gonna make someone an awesome wife someday haha) So it's possible that I could use an hour or so during the day on sunday to calculate meals and prepare them for dinners and stuff during the week, that's an excellent idea for me!

Any suggestions on what keeps and/or freezes well? It looks like i'm sitting at 1400 calories a day from what this made it out to be and with the calories I burn during my activites I should be in fairly decent shape to have some hearty meals.

kayemmgee5

I'm not sure what your favorite types of foods are, but I'll give you a few ideas of some things that I like to make for lunches and dinners!

Breakfasts: Greek Yogurt, some sliced up fresh fruit on top and a little granola. Bananas. Cold Cereal. Eggs (you can hard boil and peel them all or make them in a muffin tin like this: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/eggs-in-muffin-cups). Oatmeal for a quick heat & eat in the morning. I want to try Overnight Oats but I haven't yet. (Google it! Sounds interesting!!)

Lunches: brown rice, veggies, and chicken. This is my go-to! I portion it out into 5 containers and grab one each morning. Sometimes I use broccoli/cauliflower/carrots as my veggie. Sometimes I have a brown rice/chicken/black beans/corn mixture with a little salsa on top. Sometimes it's good all stir fried together. Sandwiches are not my favorite, I don't love bread very much.

Dinners - Lots of salads. On our softball night I always make a "salad bar" out of all the veggies in the fridge. Spaghetti squash will keep in the fridge for a few days if you portion it out, too. You can add sauce to it when you're ready to eat and it's like spaghetti. Wraps with lunch meat and a tortilla.

Just trying to think of a few ideas that take less than 10 minutes to whip together between your work/activities!