Agh! Fast food rant

abatonfan

Of course, I was tempted by fast food and am now kicking myself in the rear end for giving in and biting off more than I can really chew.

I first went to Chick-Fil-A and was pretty decent there. I ordered a grilled market salad with low fat berry vinaigrette, and it only came out to about 300 calories and 23 carbs. On the plus side, it was also very delicious and filled me up quickly. Because none of my siblings like that place, we then went to McDonald's. Of course, they offered their "one-dollar frappe Friday" deal, and I gave into the temptation and ordered a small chocolate strawberry frappe with a small french fry. (Thank you, Mother Nature :grumble: )

I get home and do the carb counts. At McDonald's, the frappe was 560 calories and 88 carbs for a small. The french fries added on an additional 210 calories and 29 carbs. In total, the meal was 140 carbs.

I was incredibly stupid in my mental math and calculated 150 carbs, and I took 11 units of insulin to compensate for it (instead of the 10 units I should have taken). While eating, I also became too full to eat the now liquid frappe, and I was only able to eat half of it. Though the first few fries were also good, they became ice cold within the ten minutes it took to get back home and eat them, and, after eating them, I wanted more "terrible" food (possibly from the salt).

I am annoyed that Chick-Fil-A seems to be the only place that is more health conscious. I can get a choice of grilled chicken nuggets, a few salads, soup, chicken wraps, and fresh fruit all for the same price as the high-calorie, high-carb, high-fat, high-junk stuff at McDonalds. It shocks me that one McDonald's frappe is almost 600 calories, when I know I can make a frappe at home with coffee, splenda, whipped cream, and unsweetened almond milk for less than 200 calories and 20 carbs. Though McDonalds is trying to become more "healthy", it is not helping when the only thing that is low in carbs and calories are the same flavorless salads (and they already got rid of the Caesar salad a few months ago).

So now, I am going to have a fun time going into very severe hypoglycemia within the next few hours -I took insulin for 54 carbs that I did not eat and will certainly go low. :sick:

keziak1

I hope you are OK. I also like Chick Fil-A for their healthy options. Around here Panera Bread is good, too, but only if you actually get the lower-calorie option, not the incredibly delicious/fattening mac and cheese! A similar place is Boston Market - plenty of high-calorie yummy foods but also better options.

Francl27

There are good choices at McDonald's. Their salads are fine, just take grilled chicken and low fat dressing. A McWrap is like 360-420 calories for the grilled ones, and pretty filling....And they have the snack wraps too... 250 calories for the grilled chicken.

You're just making excuses, IMO... You're the one who picked the 600 calorie frappe. I highly doubt that many fast food places have better ice cream options.

navyrigger46

Not sure why you're ranting about fast food, no one put a gun to your head. Fast food is not the problem in this equation, the problem is your breakdown in self control.

Rigger

__freckles__

I love Mc Donald's. Don't hate.

lisawinning4losing

Fast food is evil. Evil and delicious.

sara4159

I was just thinking along these lines. My SO insisted on taking me out to lunch. So the turkey sandwich that was 400 cal that I brought for lunch sits in the fridge, while I log 700 cal for a turkey sandwich, 200 cal for a soda. Now I have almost nothing left for dinner!

UrbanLotus

There are good choices at McDonald's. Their salads are fine, just take grilled chicken and low fat dressing. A McWrap is like 360-420 calories for the grilled ones, and pretty filling....And they have the snack wraps too... 250 calories for the grilled chicken.

You're just making excuses, IMO... You're the one who picked the 600 calorie frappe. I highly doubt that many fast food places have better ice cream options.

Agreed! Look up stuff before you eat - and I'm not sure why you expected a mcdonalds frappe to be the same NI as the almond milk/Splenda one you made at home...obviously theirs are going to use full fat milk/Ice cream and sugar. Chalk it up to a mistake, and next time look up items first.

jlmuise25

There are good choices at McDonald's. Their salads are fine, just take grilled chicken and low fat dressing. A McWrap is like 360-420 calories for the grilled ones, and pretty filling....And they have the snack wraps too... 250 calories for the grilled chicken.

You're just making excuses, IMO... You're the one who picked the 600 calorie frappe. I highly doubt that many fast food places have better ice cream options.

Agreed! Look up stuff before you eat - and I'm not sure why you expected a mcdonalds frappe to be the same NI as the almond milk/Splenda one you made at home...obviously theirs are going to use full fat milk/Ice cream and sugar. Chalk it up to a mistake, and next time look up items first.

^^ This!!

Yesterday I knew that we were going to be out so I did a little research. First hubby said Chipotle and after researching I didn't have enough calories left for the day. Even with just a veggie bowl (which is what I usually get). So I checked around for the different restaurants I knew we would be close to and we ended up going to Panera Bread instead. I got the "You Pick Two," and had a soup and salad. It was amazing. It was filling. I didn't feel overstuffed and I knew what I was going to get before we got there. I had backup choices too just in case.

Skrib69

After working at McD for 9 months I will never eat there willingly. Some things you learn the hard way. HOpe you are OK on the insulin.

Kina7381

You need to have more self control. My office has all kinds of goodies and order lunch from bad places all the time. All you have to say is NO.

I know it can be difficult..but you can do it!

Psychgrrl

I wish Panera would lower the sodium in their food--it's crazy! Chipotle too, with their jasmine rice. Eating out is not really a treat for me because of the nutritional trade-offs (most of the time).

writergeek313

If you're diabetic to the point that you need to take a certain amount of insulin based on what you eat, then it's your responsibility to make sure you're calculating what you're eating accurately.

You made a healthy choice at Chick-Fil-A and didn't at McDonald's. Griping about McDonald's would be like giving Chick-Fil-A credit for you choosing to eat a salad. There's a common denominator here: you. You have to own your good and your less good choices. Everybody splurges, but we all have to try our best to make informed choices. That's twice as important for you since your insulin dosage depends on it.

Jruzer

OP: Learn from it and move on. It's OK. I'm willing to bet many of us have had experiences akin to this.

And I just want to say that I wish we had Chick-Fil-A in southern Wisconsin. And In-n-Out.

We do at least have Culver's.

Annie_01

I was just thinking along these lines. My SO insisted on taking me out to lunch. So the turkey sandwich that was 400 cal that I brought for lunch sits in the fridge, while I log 700 cal for a turkey sandwich, 200 cal for a soda. Now I have almost nothing left for dinner!

Not sure where you got your turkey sandwich but I got a small from Schlotzsky's for 330 calories. Their large is a little less than 500. I got a whole wheat bun that I think is really good.

abatonfan

There are good choices at McDonald's. Their salads are fine, just take grilled chicken and low fat dressing. A McWrap is like 360-420 calories for the grilled ones, and pretty filling....And they have the snack wraps too... 250 calories for the grilled chicken.

You're just making excuses, IMO... You're the one who picked the 600 calorie frappe. I highly doubt that many fast food places have better ice cream options.

Yes, I gave into temptations, but it is annoying when I get the frappe, bolus for it, and then decide that I am too full to eat it. Either I will eat all 600 calories of it, even though I 100% know I am full, or I can stop eating it and be short 44 carbs and know I will go low. In these types of situations, I cannot win. If I eat something I 100% know I will eat fully, I risk it not being enough and having to waste an insulin needle taking insulin for more food to make me feel full. If I try to get all the food I might eat into one injection and do not eat anything, I risk going into hypoglycemia.

The McWrap is also 50+ carbs for a flour tortilla with grilled chicken, cheese, and lettuce (much higher if I consider crispy), and, even then, what is considered as a "healthier" option will set me back 3 or 4 units of insulin; though the snack one is lower in carbs, it is just a "mini" version of the McWrap, and I would probably need two of them just to feel full. After calculations, that would turn out to be another 4+ units of insulin.

There are three salads available that meet my carb needs (I prefer really low carb foods. I do not want to stab myself with a ton of insulin), but those are the only foods I have found that really would be able to fit into my lifestyle. I do not know when I might be going out for a quick snack/meal, and there are times where I want something to eat but do not have insulin with me (meaning I will have to choose something less than 7 carbs). It is not helping when one of my previous go-to's for McDonalds was removed for no apparent reason. At Chick-Fil-A, it seems like I have more options as to what I can eat if I were in a situation that I cannot take insulin.et the nutrition, I risk having either a really high or really low glucose.

I keep a carb count book in my purse for these spontaneous "we're having fast food for dinner" nights, and almost NOTHING recent is included (and this is a 2013 edition). No frappes are listed for McDonald's, let alone one that came out less than a month ago. I check the info for Starbucks, and the same size for a similar frappe is 300 calories and 50g of carbs. It is almost a 300 calorie and 35g carb difference, and, if I were in that situation and could not access the internet to get the nutrition info, my glucose risks going crazy.

I try to prepare for these situations, but I cannot win either way. I am not saying "OMG! I want a frappe and I do not have the calories for it." I still have over 700 calories left for the day (I am at a 2100 maintenance), but I am annoyed that very few places offer foods that I know will work for my diary and my glucose.

And this is not McDonald's either. I've tried KFC, Burger King, Arby's, Dairy Queen, and McDonalds and, besides diet sodas and the basic salads, have not found a lot of options. I still want some variety in my life besides salads.

I know I might get flamed for it, but the people watching just calories have it simpler. Fast food places are now displaying the caloric info for their drive-through menus, but, as well as calories, I need to see what the carbs are. It is a lot easier to see "Oh! This cheeseburger is 500 calories" and not eat it than guesstimate "the calories for this frappe is 600 calories, but I am guessing the carbs will be around 50 based on this similar posting for Starbucks". I have also tried asking for nutritional menus while out, and, more often than not, the people look at me like I am speaking German.

Annie_01

I know I might get flamed for it, but the people watching just calories have it simpler. Fast food places are now displaying the caloric info for their drive-through menus, but, as well as calories, I need to see what the carbs are. It is a lot easier to see "Oh! This cheeseburger is 500 calories" and not eat it than guesstimate "the calories for this frappe is 600 calories, but I am guessing the carbs will be around 50 based on this similar posting for Starbucks". I have also tried asking for nutritional menus while out, and, more often than not, the people look at me like I am speaking German.

There are even less choices for those that need low sodium. I try to watch how much I consume because of high BP.

If I choose to eat out...I know that the sodium levels will be high. I make that choice though.

Even if I buy something at the store that I want that is not considered low sodium...I made that choice.

When you have health reasons to control certain things...the world doesn't cater to us...

It is all about us be responsible for ourselves...making choices...good or bad.

There is no way that a restaurant can be profitable and cater to every dietary need out here.

Mr_Knight

...I gave into the temptation and ordered a small chocolate strawberry frappe with a small french fry.

I get home and do the carb counts. At McDonald's, the frappe was 560 calories and 88 carbs for a:huh: all. The french fries added on an additional 210 calories and 29 carbs. In total, the meal was 140 carbs.

I'm not sure I understand...you're ordering Frappes and starches from McDonald's and then taking insulin to compensate for it...?

I am annoyed that Chick-Fil-A seems to be the only place that is more health conscious.

McDonalds has salads, too. Shouldn't you instead be annoyed with whoever made the food choices....?

Though McDonalds is trying to become more "healthy", it is not helping when the only thing that is low in carbs and calories are the same flavorless salads (and they already got rid of the Caesar salad a few months ago).

Since you knew that ahead of time, WTF are you going in there ordering food blind!?

modernmom70

If your diabetes is that bad, I would just consider not eating fast food at all!

FatFreeFrolicking

You brought this upon yourself. As a diabetic, you should know better than to eat a strawberry frappe and french fries. In fact, I wouldn't recommend eating fast food at all for someone with your condition.

__freckles__

I know I might get flamed for it, but the people watching just calories have it simpler. Fast food places are now displaying the caloric info for their drive-through menus, but, as well as calories, I need to see what the carbs are. It is a lot easier to see "Oh! This cheeseburger is 500 calories" and not eat it than guesstimate "the calories for this frappe is 600 calories, but I am guessing the carbs will be around 50 based on this similar posting for Starbucks". I have also tried asking for nutritional menus while out, and, more often than not, the people look at me like I am speaking German.

People watching just calories do have it simpler than you, it would appear. But it sounds like you need to put on your big girl/boy pants, realize that you have special circumstances, and accept that everyone is not going to cater to your needs. Look up the information beforehand, or don't eat out.