EVIL Temptation of Fast Food Restaurants

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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

You will never eat fast food ever again.

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.

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!

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..

Take a different route to and from the gym?

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?