Agh! Fast food rant

littleburgy

Unfortunately you might not be able to be as spontaneous as you would like when eating out given your medical condition.

I agree that many fast food places do not have nutrition information always readily available, though some are getting better. I would try to obtain it online for several places you like to eat at and keep them handy.

Generally, while some places have options available, fast food joints really aren't geared for low calorie eating and people should plan accordingly.

LRoslin

No one put a gun to your head and made you eat there. Deal with it.

Yep, this. OP, I know you said the people you were with wanted to go there, but surely they didn't bully you into ordering something? Do they know you're diabetic? If so, you could have ordered an unsweet iced tea, or a diet soda, and just said, "Eh, no, I already ate my lunch and don't want to use more insulin." And they should have respected that. When I was in grad school, I had a friend who had Type 1 diabetes, and he did this a lot if we were all hanging out and he'd already eaten, or if he was planning to eat later and had already planned out his insulin dosage. And you know what? None of us gave him a hard time.

So if the people you were with made you feel like you *had* to order a frappe and fries, well, they're not supportive people. If they didn't, then it's not the restaurant's fault their food is so delicious and tasty.

craftywitch_63

OH MY GOD.

None of you people have the right to criticize this OP.
If you people didn't have weight issues, you wouldn't be on this site. (If the shoe fits, wear it.)
Diabetic or not - we all have or HAD diet control issues and fast food compulsions.

OP should be proud of his/herself because you learned that you don't appreciate McD's like before.
Buzz off, you haters. Sheesh.

I hope you are okay, OP.

Love,
Your friendly neighborhood RN

Judging from your photo, I was an RN long before you were born. As an RN, you should know that your job is to educate, not tell people everything they want to do is "okay," especially diabetics. This is how they end up losing digits, then limbs, then kidneys, eyes, go into ketoacidosis, finally, lose their lives.

I do understand the OP's problem. I have a long-standing ED and am Type 2 diabetic myself. Educating OP about the dangers of her compulsions and how to deal with them is not criticism, nor is it hatred. It's tough love. It's the same thing that you should be doing when you tell a patient to get up and walk to prevent pneumonia and DVT even though you know they hurt like h***. Sometimes they have to be told directly with no (sorry about the pun, OP) sugar-coating.

withintherose

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.

Agreed.

trojan_bb

Why on earth would you eat fries and a frappe while taking insulin?

Insulin is incredibly easy to use, just takes some basic planning. And I'm not sure why you were freaking out about a 1 unit miscalculation? That's nothing. A gulp of orange juice fixes it. It's simple to reverse going hypo when you feel it coming on, and even easier when you know in advance you're under

I'm sure you know, poor choices while taking insulin can be very dangerous. That should be motivation enough.

Valereee

Hi Valerie! Welcome to SSA (Shamrock Shake Anonymous!)

Ha, too funny!!!! Thanks, you made my day!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

__freckles__

I am also frustrated that the nutrition information is not easily accessible. I am young and still want to be spontaneous, and it is difficult to be spontaneous when the information I need is unavailable. Even when I try to get the nutritional information in advanced, a lot of restaurants and places where I live do not have it or is a severely outdated version (eg: Waffle House, local restaurants), and it leaves me having to take a wild guess as to how much insulin to take. More often than not, I do not know what is going to be for dinner, so I cannot calculate my carbs in advanced.

So I don't really understand what you expect from us? Do you want us to be angry that Mc Donald's didn't have the amount of carbs posted, underlined and bolded on the menu? Really? You got a bunch of great advice and it sounds like you threw it all out the window and value being "spontaneous" and going out above your health and dietary needs.

Good luck OP. Sounds like you have a lot of growing up to do.

pseudomuffin

Sometimes we have to mess up to realize how bad something is... just make better choices next time

ChaplainHeavin

Eat Mor Chikin!

Wtn_Gurl

Would it be better to choose food that you wont have to take insulin to compensate? I mean, if you could choose good food so that you dont have to worry about insulin, then that might solve the problem.

i guess its like a whats called a cost benefit analysis. you decide if the particular food you are about to eat is worth it.

to me, if all i could do to feel well was not eat food that i must take insulin with - wouldn't that be better? i know the fast food might taste better temporarily, but is it worth having to go crazy when you think you need more insulin to compensate and then screw up and then panic thinking oh dang, now i had too much insulin?

seltzermint555

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

yep

seabee78

I don't understand why you took insulin for carbs that you didn't eat. I have friends who are on insulin and they shoot up the insulin for the # of carbs they ate. Actually ate, not planned to eat. Maybe you're taking your insulin too early?, sounds like you didn't even eat the carb food yet and ultimately ended up not eating it all.

I'm not diabetic, but about your hypoglycemia, couldn't you drink some orange juice so that the carb grams will be up to the insulin amount you took? I've seen my friends with low sugars and its not pretty.

Make good food choices. Taking huge amounts of insulin is not the answer to your diabetes. I believe if you keep shooting high amounts you will become insulin resistant.

KatherinesRiver

You have medical issues and you must try hard to practice self control. It is so important!!! I have medical issues too. You have lost a lot of weight! Keep up the good work and don't beat up on yourself. Just go on from here. Keep away from the Fast Food.

KatherinesRiver

Yea, I believe we do have the right to criticize!! We are here to SUPPORT each other and I feel that this involves kicking butt sometimes. We need to say what we feel when we care about the health of others.:noway:

easjer

I appreciate that the post is ranting and the frustration of trying to find balance when you want to be spontaneous, but take some responsibility. You are young, it sucks your pancreas stopped working, but as a result of that you now have to deal with certain realities. Among those are making sound nutritional choices and taking insulin appropriately - it sounds like you are doing neither.

Every place I've been has a nutritional menu available on request. But mostly, I simply don't go to McDonald's (or out to eat, or partake in staff lunches or staff birthdays). It does suck sometimes, but it's what is necessary for my health.

A_Fit_Mom

Ok, not trying to be rude but...This is fast food we are talking about. Not a little vegan shop you are going to. They make tons of money on their unhealthy food, doesn't mean you have to buy it.

This isn't 20 years ago, the nutritional information is very easy to obtain. I am sorry you have to deal with the insulin everyday, must be hard...but I hope you can find better food choices in the future for your health.

Natmarie73

OH MY GOD.

None of you people have the right to criticize this OP.
If you people didn't have weight issues, you wouldn't be on this site. (If the shoe fits, wear it.)
Diabetic or not - we all have or HAD diet control issues and fast food compulsions.

OP should be proud of his/herself because you learned that you don't appreciate McD's like before.
Buzz off, you haters. Sheesh.

I hope you are okay, OP.

Love,
Your friendly neighborhood RN

1) Firstly, not everyone on this site is overweight. I have never been overweight in my life and am on this site a) to learn more about nutrition and fitness as in bulking/weight lifting and b) for the amusing and highly entertaining conversations/discussion/arguements that pop up from time to time.

And 2), I don't think anyone is hating on the OP or being overcritical, more like pointing out that as a diabetic he is obviously not making the right choices in food and really shouldn't be blaming McDonalds for his insulin overdose when it was his choice to eat there knowling full well that McDonalds is not what anyone would call a healthy option.

But I agree with the person who suggested he find new friends who were a bit more sympathetic of his condition and thoughtfull about where they would go for lunch.

aelphabawest

Why do you even go into fast food joints? If you don't go in, you can't blow it on a frappe. Simple.

Annie_01

OH MY GOD.

None of you people have the right to criticize this OP.
If you people didn't have weight issues, you wouldn't be on this site. (If the shoe fits, wear it.)
Diabetic or not - we all have or HAD diet control issues and fast food compulsions.

OP should be proud of his/herself because you learned that you don't appreciate McD's like before.
Buzz off, you haters. Sheesh.

I hope you are okay, OP.

Love,
Your friendly neighborhood RN

Maybe we should have said..."Bad McDonalds for making the OP eat those fries and drink that frappe". Would that have been kinder? Would it have been more helpful?

IMO...No...OP needs to be responsible...needs to take control.

Today I had a giant oatmeal raisin cookie...I knew before I ordered it that I would not have an accurate calorie count. I made that choice. What I didn't know is that it had sea salt all over it...I didn't notice it until I started eating it. I have high BP...trying to keep my sodium intake lower than 2500. Should I rant about the little cafe that sold it to me? Or should I learn a lesson and be more careful the next time. It is my responsibility to know what I am eating.

Oh...and I knew where I was going and tried to look for the nutritional values before I went...they were not available. I made the choice to go anyway because my son wanted to go...I didn't blame him nor the little cafe.

I did however feed part of it to the birds...they didn't mind the sodium at all.

lisawinning4losing

Don't go inside. You won't smell it and won't be temped to order anything. If others insist on going wait in the car and tell them to hurry up. Lol.

100toloose

We also have Pollo Tropical in S.Florida- not sure if they are everywhere... And just have dinner for 600 cals..
1/4 grilled white chicken breast,cup of spanish rice and tomato salad.. IT WAS AWESOME!
No soda,i had my bottle of water in my car..Mc also have grilled chicken salad with or without ranch dressing... i love that!

sarahthin

Thank you for your story about the frappe. I have been seeing that advertised and thought I wanted one. Now I know better.

Sreneesa

I have a really crazy solution to your problem: Don't eat at McDonald's.

Thank you. I'm reading this and just smdh, like,,, hmmmm don't eat there then! LOL

But in all seriousness I just think OP knows they made a bad choice and just venting.

Hope you are feeling better.

bethkeysear

OP, you have been a member of MFP since Jan 2012 and have about 4doz forums posts under your belt. It is reasonable to expect that by this time you have gleaned enough info from the site and the forums to determine that:

a) "Fast food" is loaded with fats, carbs and calories.
b) "Dessert-type" drinks are loaded with sugars, carbs and calories.
c) French fries are loaded with fats, carbs, calories and sodium

Face it, you made a poor decision. Own it.

Still can't figure out why you are ranting about fast food. From what you have posted, it appears that YOU are aware of your medical condition, YOU gave in to temptation, YOU miscalculated your amount of insulin to take. I don't see how "fast food" really had anything to do with YOUR decisions and YOUR actions.

Okay I get all that is said here but none of us would be here if we did not screw up now and then. Supportive comments are great. Challenging comments are great but verbally beating someone is not nice.

rml_16

OP, you have been a member of MFP since Jan 2012 and have about 4doz forums posts under your belt. It is reasonable to expect that by this time you have gleaned enough info from the site and the forums to determine that:

a) "Fast food" is loaded with fats, carbs and calories.
b) "Dessert-type" drinks are loaded with sugars, carbs and calories.
c) French fries are loaded with fats, carbs, calories and sodium

Face it, you made a poor decision. Own it.

Still can't figure out why you are ranting about fast food. From what you have posted, it appears that YOU are aware of your medical condition, YOU gave in to temptation, YOU miscalculated your amount of insulin to take. I don't see how "fast food" really had anything to do with YOUR decisions and YOUR actions.

Okay I get all that is said here but none of us would be here if we did not screw up now and then. Supportive comments are great. Challenging comments are great but verbally beating someone is not nice.

The difference is that when most of us screw up, we own it rather than blaming the restaurant for existing.

rml_16

we all have or HAD diet control issues and fast food compulsions.

Nope.

I am also frustrated that the nutrition information is not easily accessible.

It's easily available at McDonald's.

Andrea3030

I don't even think McDonalds is the problem here (although I personally 90% of the stuff there tastes disgusting).

It's the fact that as a diabetic, you didn't realize that a Frappe would be chalk full of sugar. That is dangerous! I'm not a diabetic and I know that.

EDollah

My take-away from this is that the OP's friends have terrible taste. Who goes to Chick-Fil-A and says "This place sucks, let's go to McDonald's"????? CFA is simply tiers above McDs.