EVIL Temptation of Fast Food Restaurants

chudgarsm

I am a newbie when it comes to counting calories and MFP, and I have been exercising twice a day for 60 minutes while trying to meet my 1200 calorie daily limit. Some days I do well and stay under my limit by 50 or so calories. But other days I mess up the hard effort of exercise and watching what I eat because there are about 5 fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Bojangles, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and Chickfila) on my way home from the gym.

I am starving after I finish my daily workouts mid-morning and mid-afternoon (usually consisting of 30 min of cardio, 30 min weight training and/or abs) and so when I am driving home, the temptation is screaming out my name. Sometimes I keep a banana in the car, but the days I forget or don't bring something to eat, I usually stop at one of those places and basically negate the calories I just burned at the gym. My battle with weight loss has ALWAYS revolved around dieting... I love to exercise but my willpower is minimal at best when it comes to the evil fast food chains.

How do I stop shooting myself in the foot and eating out but at the same time not depriving myself of the occasional cheeseburger? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

-Shefali

katiedoyen

I would definitely make a sandwich and bring it with you for post-gym munching! I know that I don't truly appreciate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until after an exhausting day/workout!! And make sure to drink tons of water- you may be dehydrated!

Shannon4J

I always keep some kind of snack in my purse/bag. Maybe a 100 calorie granola bar? An orange, apple, or banana?

Way to go on the working out!!! Woo Hoo!!!

sparkles321

It's definately a result of not planning well. If you already know you're starving after your workout, you need to plan ahead better and do what you need to do to make sure you will have a snack ready and waiting for you in the car. You may need to buy a small cooler and ice packs if you want to keep things cool until after the workout. Or get a shoebox to store behind the passenger seat filled with trail mix or other snacks that will keep when stored in a vehicle. I had alot of trouble skipping the drive-thrus too, but found that once I already had another option with me (having already packed my snacks and whatnot) I didn't even look at the drive-thrus anymore.

DrBorkBork

After a great workout, your tummy isn't craving just any food... it's craving PROTEIN! Make an effort to get in the habit now about bringing something with you to eat during and after your workout. If I don't eat 1/2 way through my workout, I bonk (blood sugar drops, world goes neon, not so fun). So I always bring a protein bar with me like larabar. I eat half of it, and it's just enough to get me through my workout and home.
You can also take an alternate route home so that the fast food temptation isn't there. Best news of all: fast food doesn't taste as great after you eat healthy long enough, and that's not long at all!

stylistchik

Do yourself a favor and check out something like fast food nation, food inc, or supersize me... it will become MUCH less tempting!!

pmjsmom

I am a newbie when it comes to counting calories and MFP, and I have been exercising twice a day for 60 minutes while trying to meet my 1200 calorie daily limit.

-Shefali

What nobody has bothered to mention is if you are working out for 2 hours every day and only eating 1200 calories a day you are simply not eating enough! here are some threads for you to read:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition?page=20

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Once you are eating enough you won't be getting hungry and the fast food places won't be as tempting. I haven't been to a fast food place in almost 8 months now and just the smell of them makes me queasy (there are 2 in the complex where i work).

wb2glp

If you must hit the drive-thru, ask for a grilled wrap and a bottle of water. Make smart choices and keep the portion size down.

If you notice, the drive thru people ask if you want your meal "medium or large." No mention of small. It's a deliberate tactic to up sell your order, up size your waist, and down size your wallet.

katie30

Like everyone else has said, its all about planning. Beside having the right food/drink with you for after the gym, maybe it is time for another small change in habit. No drive-thrus. Tell yourself that if you are going to stop by a fast food restaurant you have to park the car and walk up the counter. This really helps me not stop at such places when I am on my way someplace else.

Heather75

Try to tell yourself that fast food is made of cow ovaries and colons. Just don't eat it.

123gonnareachit

Don't bring money with you

vinjama

Read "Fast Food Nation" and then rent and watch "Food Inc."

You will never eat fast food ever again.

sparkles321

Do yourself a favor and check out something like fast food nation, food inc, or supersize me... it will become MUCH less tempting!!

I've been watching these, and others, lately......all I can say is...WOW! I am currently making some additional changes in my life because of these enlightening documentaries.

asltiffm

I read an article in the New York Times recently about the ground beef most fast food chains use, and public schools, some prepressed burger patties as well. They take the pieces that no one would want to eat and put it in a heated centrifuge. The fat melts off and all that's left is meat. They take that meat and grind it up then inject and/or spray it with ammonia to kill e-coli and salmoniella. When they first started doing it they used a lot more ammonia than they do now but people were complaining of the taste. So they cut back on how much they use and found that the levels they could use and not have the taste was enough to kill some bacteria but not all. So even though it's not doing it's job, they're still using ammonia in meat...and you eat it. And get this...that kind of meat is only about 9 cents cheaper a pound than pure ground beef. Anyway, they only have to have somewhere around 9% pure ground beef to list it as ground beef and they're required to list it on the ingredients but it is listed as "processing agent". Think about that next time you want to grab a quick burger.

Your best bet is to have a stash of snacks that will keep in a car so you only have to think about restocking once a week or so. Nuts and dried fruit are the easiest but apples, oranges and baby carrots can hold up pretty well in a hot car for a few days. I've even had a bag of grapes in a car in the Southwestern summer heat for a week and they were still good.

smuehlbauer

Take a different route home. Don't brin cash with you. DON'T DO IT!
I'll tell ya a quick story:
Use to work at a fast food joint that sold Fried Chicken. A co-worked of mine dropped an entire tray of chicken on the floor - and they picked it up, put it back on the tray, and served it.
Do you know how dirty floors are in fast food restaurants?
I can only imagine what the other places do.

workingitout

I have to drive past a few of those places on the way home from my gym, too. I only keep $2 to $3 in my glove box. If I've had a really big workout, I drive through McDonald's and buy a lowfat chocolate milk. Delicious and great for muscle recovery. Most days, I drive through and buy a Diet Coke. That's my treat, and I know it's not the best thing in the world due to the NutraSweet, but at least it's zero calories and I really enjoy it! I have learned to not even look at the drive through menu so I'm not tempted, and when I'm at the window paying and picking up the drink, I think about how fatty the air smells and how much it smells like cleaning chemicals, so I basically try to gross myself out about how bad the food is there!

Yurippe

Read "Fast Food Nation" and then rent and watch "Food Inc."

You will never eat fast food ever again.

I will agree with you that fast food is gross and in an ideal world none of us would EVER eat it. I have a hard time avoiding it though and would like some suggestions on how to do so.

I travel for work. More than 50% of the time I am working in another state and living out of a hotel w/ no refrigerator. Working a 15 hour day is not unusual. Under those circumstances with no kitchen and VERY limited time how would you feed yourself?

KS1980

I have the same problem and what I try to for the cravings is look for something "healthyish" on the menu. I always find that the Fresca menu at Taco Bell is a little more friendly than any other place.. It is still not the best choice, but if you are looking for fast food this might work for you and is better than some triple bacon cheese burger..

nikiamn

Plan your meal before your workout! I prepare my healthy dinner/snack and put it in MFP before I leave so I can hurry home after the gym and eat it. Or only take your license with you when you go. Then you have no money to spend!

NOLA_Meg

Take a different route to and from the gym?

DeathIsMyGift

How do I stop shooting myself in the foot and eating out but at the same time not depriving myself of the occasional cheeseburger? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Don't stop.

DeathIsMyGift

Also, every time you pass those places think about how none of the employees wash their hands after they use the restroom. Or how they drop food on the floor and serve it anyway (was told to do this by a manager when I worked fast food as a teenager). Or think about all that time it took you to prepare to get to the gym, the effort it took you WHILE working out and to just go cancel it out by eating at these places. Trans fat. Grease. Need I go on?