What do you do when you want fast food?

BigBoneSista

I make my own. I have a toaster over so I stick my seaoned fries in there and while they are cooking I get some 96/4 lean beef and season it up and make a nice pattie. I take my 100% whole wheat bun and put a little bit of garlic butter on both sides and brown those side in a pan. I add sauteed onions and a thin slice of pepper jack cheese.

No fast food restaurant can top it.

flabfighter31

They way i see it its apart of my lifestyle just not as big as it used to be i have it once in a while but i do tend to up the exercise and every other day of that week is perfect so it doesn't hinder my weight loss plus and i know some of you will think this is cheating a bit but i have it at the begining of my week which starts a friday after morning weigh in. although now i used to get a big mac meal (uk) now i get hamburger small fries although i never eat them all and water.

enjoy in small amounts

therequiiem

Awesome advice everyone, thank you

debbiequack

Like burger king, wendys, etc. Sometimes, I just want some friggen french fries and a burger! But then I look up the nutritional information on their website and it usually deters me, but I still want them. Do you guys let yourself eat fast food once in a while? Does it hinder your progress?

I gave up fast food a long time ago. Not only did I want to eat better, but I made out a budget and realized I was spending far too much. This was about ten years ago when I adopted two kids and I got it together to start pre-preparing meals on Sundays that were healthier and cheaper.

Fast food has never been m downfall (brie cheese at a party would be ) but like everything else---- moderation? I think once a month would be okay

Just my humble opinion...

Best,

Debbie

MrsT_2009

I don't eat it anymore. I got food poisoning from McDonald's the day after Christmas this past year from a chicken sandwich. Since then I've only eaten fast food one time and it was only french fries. So every time I think I could go for some fast food I remember being sick and tell myself it will make me sick again. I've found that I really don't miss it anymore. If I'm going to eat a burger and fries I want to have the best of the best and that is not from a fast food joint! I stick with Subway or a grocery store salad bar salad if I need something quick.

LeonaB17

I very seldom want Mcdonalds - but if for some reason I do - I get a happy meal. I think you can do that under 600 cals if you get a diet beverage. And I personally think it's ok to have small indulgences every now and then - because if you deny yourself something too much it could make you want it even more.
I will say my biggest fast food weakness is Chick Fil A - again I seldom eat there - but if I do - its a chicken biscuit breakfast - or the chicken sandwich and waffle fry meal - no kiddie meal is gonna satisfy me there. Which is why it is a very very rare occasion that I even go there. Like once every two months.

Seajolly

The only fast food I ever really liked is Taco Bell, since I'm a vegetarian and they have really yummy bean, rice, and cheese burritos! So if I'm craving one of those, I'll make an Amy's organic cheddar cheese burrito. Sooo tasty!

grimnir

I usually don't. The main thing about eating fast food (or bar food) is that the amount of fullness you get from the calories you eat is extremely low. So if I have 600 calories to eat in a meal, I can have like two little cheeseburgers. OR I can have a massive salad with nuts and cheese and dressing, or a big honkin chicken breast and a massive pile of stir-fried veggies (or a very slightly smaller pile of those green giant veggies in cheese sauce at 150 calories per package). The difference in fullness just isn't worth it, I'll be hungry after the fast food so quick, especially if I had fries. Sometimes I'll have a grilled chicken sandwich or something if I'm out and about, which isn't too bad, but it's not really nicer to eat than bringing a turkey sandwich from home for half the price, which I can put on incredibly rich 21-grain bread, and have sprouts and cucumber and heirloom tomatoes and hummus instead of mayo (I love spinach hummus best), and include really sharp cheese besides, and be more full, with all my taste buds ringing from the flavor explosion.

Not that I don't love burgers and fries, but I'd rather lose weight and be full while doing it. I feel similarly about macaroni and cheese. It may be epicly awesome tasting, but I'm not really full unless I eat 1000 calories of it or more, so it's not worth it to me most days. Sometimes if I know I'll be going where there's a lot of food or I'm planning on going out to eat or I really have a huge craving for some sort of junk, I'll restrict my calories all day and be hungry so I have room left over to have that burger and fries or big plate at the potluck or full restaurant portion or whatever. But I'm eating 1800 calories a day (which is 1400 less than maintenance), so I have more wiggle room than most people. I try not to eat a bunch at lunch and make up for it with dinner, that kind of sucks for me.

If I'm on the road or out where there's mostly just fast food available, I'm perfectly happy going to subway or chipotle instead of getting something greasy and loaded with calories.

kitinboots

It's the sort of food I crave atnight, so I just have to distractmyself until everywhere is closed.

Atlantique

Getting naked in front of a mirror will usually kill a fast food or junk food craving. Whether you like what you see or what you don't!

wonnder1

You're going to get two kinds of answers on this site.

The Live and Let Eat people, who will say, "go for it, try to stay away from anything that advertises it's size...BACONATOR!! WHOPPER!!"

The Eat Clean or DIE people, who will say, "if it didn't grow on a tree somewhere, then the government should hunt you down and kill you."

Okay, I've exaggerated both of those.

I say, just try this...
NO FAST FOOD FOR A MONTH. 30 days, of cooking only at home. On day 31 go to your favorite place and order whatever it is you usually would get. Did I mention, make sure you have a couple days off work? You'll need them. Also, make sure your bathroom is stocked. Reading, knitting, your taxes...

I'm not a purist, I eat food out of packages, sometimes even out of a...ACK!...deep fryer. But I make my choices in life, and I live with the consequences. So, if you want it, get a kids meal.

I would recommend Wendy's over Burger King, from what I've seen, that's the worst fast food joint out there.

tameko2

I just can't work french fries into my calories usually but if I was really craving them, I'd do a really healthy day and then have the fries with something low cal. DItto for most fast food although most places have options that are not so bad (usually as long as you ask for no mayo or cheese)

vatruitt

When I have a fast food craving (not very often but it happens) I'll usually just go get a small portion of whatever I want. My general approach is that if I eat a balanced diet most of the time and exercise portion and calorie control I can eat whatever I want. I just treat it as a dessert because I hate sweets.
If I'm craving burgers I'll just get one small-ish one, if I want KFC I'll just get 1 or 2 small pieces of chicken with no nasty sides, taco bell I just get a taco or 2.

ivyjbres

I work at Carl's Jr., so I eat there at least 5 days a week, some of those are 2 meals a day (sometimes all 3 or 4 meals). I have my calories set to maintenance at my goal weight, so my calories aren't extremely restricted. I loose about a pound a week with exercise. I eat kid burgers a lot of the time, also salads when I have time (which is not often). I try not to eat fries to often, maybe once a week, and then I'll have a kid fry instead of an adult portion. Onion rings are my weakness, especially the ones that look perfect, but I use that to my advantage, and I only eat the perfect onion rings (so if you ever wonder why you've never seen a perfect onion ring, its cause I ate the one perfect onion ring that comes in each batch).

Avoid the shakes unless you haven't eaten anything that day and won't get to eat real food for another few hours, cause they are ridiculously high in calories! But yeah, if you pay attention to what you order and what you eat, you can lose weight eating fast food almost constantly, so you should be able to lose the same weight eating fast food only occasionally as well.

Jennfur2610

I try to remind myself of the documentary Super Size me. I just watched it a few weekends ago and it's really stuck in my mind. I haven't gone back to a McDonalds since. I find once I start on fast food like McDonalds I crave it more often.

putnam80

oh and one other thing on this. Maybe someone posted it. cutting out things you have eaten your entire life usually will lead to failure in your plan. You need to just find out what works best for you. If you can cut weight and get your body in better shape and occasionally eat the "bad stuff" by all means do it. I have been doing this only for a few months, but I have not cut out anything that I had before. I just eat smaller amounts or eat it less often. Working my *kitten* off doesn't hurt either

rileysowner

You're going to get two kinds of answers on this site.

The Live and Let Eat people, who will say, "go for it, try to stay away from anything that advertises it's size...BACONATOR!! WHOPPER!!"

The Eat Clean or DIE people, who will say, "if it didn't grow on a tree somewhere, then the government should hunt you down and kill you."

Okay, I've exaggerated both of those.

I say, just try this...
NO FAST FOOD FOR A MONTH. 30 days, of cooking only at home. On day 31 go to your favorite place and order whatever it is you usually would get. Did I mention, make sure you have a couple days off work? You'll need them. Also, make sure your bathroom is stocked. Reading, knitting, your taxes...

I'm not a purist, I eat food out of packages, sometimes even out of a...ACK!...deep fryer. But I make my choices in life, and I live with the consequences. So, if you want it, get a kids meal.

I would recommend Wendy's over Burger King, from what I've seen, that's the worst fast food joint out there.

Even after months of not eating fast food, I have never ever had a problem following eating it. Either fast food in Canada is far superior to elsewhere, or we must have very good fast food restaurants.

wonnder1

Even after months of not eating fast food, I have never ever had a problem following eating it. Either fast food in Canada is far superior to elsewhere, or we must have very good fast food restaurants.

Can't be...I'm Canadian. Your stomach must be lined with iron.