North Carolina (southern food as a special challenge)

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  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
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    I live in NC and do not have any issues; however you might try not "dining" at fast food joints. All the places you listed are fast food aka fat food.

    I do go out to lunch with my team at work and I always look at the menu online first. You can choose lean meats, have a salad (vinaigrette dressing on the side), I don't eat an appetizer (unless that is going to be my "meal"), no eating the bread they put on the table. request veggies sans butter or just lightly grilled/steamed. I skip rice when we go for Thai and stick with a vegetable dish light on the sauce (I don't care for heaps of sodium) and I always drink water.

    Not only am I keeping off the weight, I lost 35 lbs
  • GhostriderMav
    GhostriderMav Posts: 308 Member
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    I am a Chef and I grew up in the south. I sometimes get cravings for southern food but really I stay away from it. My weight gain is over eating period. Even healthy foods I eat too much of!!
    As far as southern food goes I look at it as a special treat. I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast once in 4 years. My kids loved it and I said " enjoy because you will be lukcy to have it in another 4 years"
    I grew up eating that type of breakfast weekly and I won't do that to my kids.
    I know there are a lot of healthier non southern type restaurants in Charlotte and Winston Salem. The main problem is the people that grew up here don't always love change so you yourself have to change your order style. I know its not easy.
    Another idea is look up recipes for Oven Baked "fried" chicken. These types of recipes will help for sure.
  • kristy_n0831
    kristy_n0831 Posts: 108 Member
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    North Carolina girl here!
  • yumesoraki
    yumesoraki Posts: 4,859 Member
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    Alabama girl here. Eating out, yeah that's a disaster waiting to happen down here. In addition to your traditional fast food, Meat and 3's, and great BBQ load down on the calories and salt. The bigger cities do tend to have more vegan-friendly/health conscious selections (Atlanta, Bham, Mobile, etc.) but are typically not "southern cuisine".
    My family's cooking of southern food, tends to be less calorie dense and salty (comparatively speaking anyways), but we've had a garden or a family member has where we would eat lots of fresh seasonal veggies and fruit which don't need as much doctoring to taste good. I think that has helped quite a bit.

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