Fast food blues!!

ZoeLifts

I slipped up several times this weekend and drove through fast food places, making some good choices and some not so good, all because they fit in my calories and I had a craving for some fast food. So, I didn't really go over my calories very much (at the most 140), but I did go over in fat and I know it was not the good fats, but I found myself still hungry, whereas during the week when I bring my own food and make dinner, I can barely meet my calorie goal of 2260.

I know I have read somewhere that there is something in the fast food that makes you crave it, has anyone heard of this? I feel my weekend splurges has made me feel worse (not as healthy), even though I didn't go over by much, and it has never fully satisfied my hunger, or even my craving for fast food. I want to be able to make this a lifestyle change, but not where I deprive myself of absolutely everything.

I also know that this is not the end of my healthy lifestyle because I made some bad choices over the course of a couple of days. I will drink plenty of water and make better choices again and resist the FF cravings and set limits on how much I may "treat" myself with fast food. I know there are many of you struggling with this as well, I know I am not alone. How do you deal?

BuckeyeLife

MSG is something that makes you hungry. Not sure if fast food uses it or not, don't care, that is just one of the issues.

I find fast food just empty almost. High carb, low protein, high fat(some just bad). Empty carbs suck, eat, feel bad, 2 hours later starving again, that is my cycle. Eating healthy natural sources of carbs is almost always going to be more filling(fiber built in helps.) Also protein helps me keep my appetite in check. I am looking to eat like 2100-2300 calories a day and that is actually hard, so now I just need to find more fat calorie dense foods(read: nuts basically) to help fill that gap.

I don't worry about eating out personally, but I find the flavor of fast food is just not all that great anymore to me. I splurged a lot last week, probably caused some of my weight damage, but didn't worry too much. This week, on to healthier eating and realizing that food I ate last week wasn't even remotely good enough to waste the money on.

ZoeLifts

Yeah, that is the thing. I give in and get some because I am craving it, but it doesn't taste as good as I pictured it would in my mind. I do need to keep a supply on hand of better choices, I think. That is why it is easier during the week because all I have on hand is my protein shakes, bars, the leftovers I have brought from home, nuts, etc. All good things. Weekends, those are the hardest to deal with.

fludderbye

my biggest issue is chinese food- I love it!!!
so i find recipes and make my own- which is much healthier and still tastes great !!!


now McD and such is hard to do this with- like there French fries---mmmmmmm
so splurges will happen just keep it in check-


Just remember not a diet a lifestyle change!

If i know i am going for pizza i try and get all my veggies & good stuff in earlier so I dont feel guilty eating 3 slices LOL

good luck !!

broox80

I know too that I am not doing my body much good by going and getting a double cheeseburger instead of a salad. However, I think it helps me keep my cravings down to give in when I want something. I try to only do it once a week or so and keep in my cal range. If I dont, I will have a binge that will make me go way over and that will undo any good I have done. Good luck!!!!

ZoeLifts

You all speak very wise!! Each day is a new day, a new set of choices!

tigersword

Nothing wrong with fast food in moderation. As for empty calories, well, not really. High calorie, yes, high fat, yes, unhealthy fat, somewhat (not all,) but also, decent protein. Look at say, a Whopper (no cheese) from BK, 37 grams of fat (only 12 grams actually saturated,) 57 grams of carbs (including 5 grams of fiber,) and 31 grams of protein. Plus it covers a most of your daily requirement for iron, and has some calcium in it. And, believe it or not, it contains over half of the daily recommendation for Omega-3 fatty acids, plus Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, and Selenium.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9280/2

Now, is that a daily item to eat? Hell no, because it's very high calorie, but it's certainly not going to ruin your diet or your health to eat it once in awhile.

Oh, and for the record, I chose the Whopper for my example because it's generally the least healthy of the major fast food burgers.

BuckeyeLife

Nothing wrong with fast food in moderation. As for empty calories, well, not really. High calorie, yes, high fat, yes, unhealthy fat, somewhat (not all,) but also, decent protein. Look at say, a Whopper (no cheese) from BK, 37 grams of fat (only 12 grams actually saturated,) 57 grams of carbs (including 5 grams of fiber,) and 31 grams of protein. Plus it covers a most of your daily requirement for iron, and has some calcium in it. And, believe it or not, it contains over half of the daily recommendation for Omega-3 fatty acids, plus Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, and Selenium.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9280/2

Now, is that a daily item to eat? Hell no, because it's very high calorie, but it's certainly not going to ruin your diet or your health to eat it once in awhile.

Oh, and for the record, I chose the Whopper for my example because it's generally the least healthy of the major fast food burgers.

And no concern for that trans fat thing? Like you said moderation(IMO extreme is far better, but I won't pretend to stick to that, though I plan to eventually) and you can certainly make better options. (passing on the fries is pretty much a good decision IMO, even if they are yummy as hell.)

tigersword

Nothing wrong with fast food in moderation. As for empty calories, well, not really. High calorie, yes, high fat, yes, unhealthy fat, somewhat (not all,) but also, decent protein. Look at say, a Whopper (no cheese) from BK, 37 grams of fat (only 12 grams actually saturated,) 57 grams of carbs (including 5 grams of fiber,) and 31 grams of protein. Plus it covers a most of your daily requirement for iron, and has some calcium in it. And, believe it or not, it contains over half of the daily recommendation for Omega-3 fatty acids, plus Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, and Selenium.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9280/2

Now, is that a daily item to eat? Hell no, because it's very high calorie, but it's certainly not going to ruin your diet or your health to eat it once in awhile.

Oh, and for the record, I chose the Whopper for my example because it's generally the least healthy of the major fast food burgers.

And no concern for that trans fat thing? Like you said moderation(IMO extreme is far better, but I won't pretend to stick to that, though I plan to eventually) and you can certainly make better options. (passing on the fries is pretty much a good decision IMO, even if they are yummy as hell.)

Only 1 gram of trans fats, and to be honest, no. No concern. Is it artificial, or a natural trans-fat? Yes, trans fats do actually occur in nature, in meat usually, and some of those trans fats are actually good for you. For example, CLA is a natural trans fat. Since I'm talking about a burger that doesn't have any kind of fried component, I'm going to assume that the trans fat in the burger comes from CLA and vaccenic acid, both naturally occurring trans fats, and both good for you. Natural trans fats occur in 2-5% of animal fat, and 1 gram of trans fat in the whopper equates to 2.7% of the total fat in the sandwich, which is right where it should be. Trans fats, as a whole aren't the issue, like saturated fats, as a whole, aren't necessarily bad. What you need to look out for are hydrogenated oils, and looking through the ingredients of everything BK uses, they don't use any (I managed a BK for a year, I'm familiar with the ingredients, plus you can look up all the ingredients direct from their website.)

So it's really not as simple as "trans fats = bad, no trans fats = good." And the amount in a Whopper is not enough to bother me, because, you'd probably get a similar amount in a fresh, hand trimmed steak.

Susabelle64

Our "cheat" days are on Saturday. A couple weekends ago my husband and I went to Arby's.......man was I sick later! I dont believe for a minute this "cured" me forever, but I'm good for a good while now LOL! We felt sluggish and just plain icky for the rest of the day! I do admit that I miss McD's fries, but I'm still good for now. If I cant hang with it in a few days, I will go and just get a small order of fries, no burger or other crud.......... I'm learning to walk out the door with an apple or banana on my way to the store or running errands, that way if I get hungry, a banana always does the trick long enough for me to get home and prepare something that is not going to make me feel like something died inside me.

BuckeyeLife

Nothing wrong with fast food in moderation. As for empty calories, well, not really. High calorie, yes, high fat, yes, unhealthy fat, somewhat (not all,) but also, decent protein. Look at say, a Whopper (no cheese) from BK, 37 grams of fat (only 12 grams actually saturated,) 57 grams of carbs (including 5 grams of fiber,) and 31 grams of protein. Plus it covers a most of your daily requirement for iron, and has some calcium in it. And, believe it or not, it contains over half of the daily recommendation for Omega-3 fatty acids, plus Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, and Selenium.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9280/2

Now, is that a daily item to eat? Hell no, because it's very high calorie, but it's certainly not going to ruin your diet or your health to eat it once in awhile.

Oh, and for the record, I chose the Whopper for my example because it's generally the least healthy of the major fast food burgers.

And no concern for that trans fat thing? Like you said moderation(IMO extreme is far better, but I won't pretend to stick to that, though I plan to eventually) and you can certainly make better options. (passing on the fries is pretty much a good decision IMO, even if they are yummy as hell.)

Only 1 gram of trans fats, and to be honest, no. No concern. Is it artificial, or a natural trans-fat? Yes, trans fats do actually occur in nature, in meat usually, and some of those trans fats are actually good for you. For example, CLA is a natural trans fat. Since I'm talking about a burger that doesn't have any kind of fried component, I'm going to assume that the trans fat in the burger comes from CLA and vaccenic acid, both naturally occurring trans fats, and both good for you. Natural trans fats occur in 2-5% of animal fat, and 1 gram of trans fat in the whopper equates to 2.7% of the total fat in the sandwich, which is right where it should be. Trans fats, as a whole aren't the issue, like saturated fats, as a whole, aren't necessarily bad. What you need to look out for are hydrogenated oils, and looking through the ingredients of everything BK uses, they don't use any (I managed a BK for a year, I'm familiar with the ingredients, plus you can look up all the ingredients direct from their website.)

So it's really not as simple as "trans fats = bad, no trans fats = good." And the amount in a Whopper is not enough to bother me, because, you'd probably get a similar amount in a fresh, hand trimmed steak.

Cool, thanks for the information. I knew about naturally occurring trans fats and the likes, not that indepth though. Also wasn't sure about what processes BK used.

Oh I forgot to mention, the other issue w/ fast food, raging sodium counts. Those can really kick your *kitten*.