commuters -- how do you handle the drive home?

2

Replies

  • buzzcockgirl
    buzzcockgirl Posts: 260 Member
    This may sound really 'simple'...but drive another route home. My guess is that you have a specific McDonald's that you hit up, either close to the on ramp when you get on the freeway, or close to the one where you got off by home.
    CHANGE THE ROUTE! Just simply don't drive by that specific McDonalds. If it means getting off 1 exit earlier and taking surface streets home, do that. Kind of "out of sight, out of mind".
    I'd definitely have some snacks in the car, some music, some other distractions from food - but by simply going a different route, you make it easier to skip the unhealthy option and just get yourself home and eating a meal that you've thoughtfully planned out ahead of time!!
  • UsernameStillLoading
    UsernameStillLoading Posts: 299 Member
    You could condition your cravings....I would normally have a craving for a double cheeseburger...now I've conditioned it for chicken. So instead of wanting to stop by a local burger joint, I just stop by El Pollo Loco.
    But if the craving is strong, you can always vary your food so that it's not that bad. If you want a burger, get a turkey burger (or protein burgers which some places offer). You'll have your burger but you won't wind up getting a burger that will affect you too much. Get wheat bread instead of white if they offer it.

    You could also start bringing hardier snacks that can fill you up longer (usually rich with protein or fiber)

    That or you could relax before the drive. Sometimes the hunger can be a substitute for comfort (hence comfort food) when all you really need is to unwind from a long day's work. I know I feel a little hungry during rush hour than any other time. It's psychological.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    I commute about an hour and a half each way. In the morning it's coffee and talk radio. No food allowed in the interior of the car. (I eat breakfast at work).

    On the way home, I use the time to mentally unwind. If I'm super hungry or planning to go to yoga class, I eat a luna bar, but keep the rest of the box in the trunk. That will hold me over until I get home where *I know that I have food that I like and is easy to prepare*. (very important to keep me on track)

    I try not to run errands after work because I end up buying junk food even when I pledge to stick to my shopping list - candy, chips, etc. I don't have the fast food issue, as I don't eat the stuff.
  • thirstyflea
    thirstyflea Posts: 114 Member
    My commute is about an hour in the morning, and 1-2+ hours in the evening. The only way I got myself out of the HABIT of stopping for food on my way home or ordering take out / delivery (healthy snacks just aren't the same), is like others have said- I make sure I have something for dinner that will take almost no prep when I get home. Like leftovers, or quick-cook meals like a fillet of tilapia with a side of frozen veggies I can microwave- things like that. If I know I don't have anything to eat or make quickly at home (I don't get home til 7:30pm most nights), or it "ain't happening" and I make baaad decisions for which I feel guilty all week for, just because I didn't plan in advance.

    All it takes is breaking old habits and planning, planning, planning!
  • Wickedbookworm1977
    Wickedbookworm1977 Posts: 162
    NOW, with all of the road construction, I don't even feel comfortable reaching down and grabbing a sip of water. 3 lanes to 5 lanes, then back to 2 lanes in less than 2 miles. WITH big concrete ?? on either side of you when you reach the 2 lane only part. Awful!!
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
    15 minute commute here :) Off at 4, home at 4:15. Realllllly good in the summer because I'm on the patio at happy hour while most people are still at their desk.
  • turkeyhunter60
    turkeyhunter60 Posts: 319 Member
    a bottle of water is always sitting there.
  • dukes418
    dukes418 Posts: 207 Member
    75 minute commuter here both directions. I pack all of my daytime meals from fruits, snacks, lunch etc. Also works in line with my smaller meals throughout the day. Something as simple as a piece of fruit or a mix of pumpkin seeds, almonds, granola and raisins all seem to curb any urges to hit up a drive thru.
  • misifer
    misifer Posts: 114 Member
    I would eat a snack right before leaving work or right when I got into the car. Nuts, string cheese, SOMETHING. Curbed my hunger feelings. Oh and music...have yourself a little dance party and the time flies!
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    My "commute" is 6 blocks :laugh:
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    This has never been an issue for me, geng off the highway or diverting from my path just seems like a collosal pain in the *kitten* that simply delays me from getting where I want to go. Turn on some good music, and dig deep and find some self control to stick with the snack you pack. You have to have some at some point and drop your excuses, be accountable, if you don't start now you never will.
  • lizpirate
    lizpirate Posts: 92 Member
    I commute about 75 minutes each way and I find that listening to a podcast on my way home keeps me entertained and makes the drive go really quickly.
  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
    Lately I've been rewarding myself with money!

    Every time I'm tempted to eat out but make a conscious decision to eat at home, I take the money I would've spent and it goes into my vacation jar.

    that is a freaking great idea!!!
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
    I WALK. MY CAR IS A PAIR OF NB'S. IT'S AWESOME.
  • alishacupcake
    alishacupcake Posts: 419 Member
    I WALK. MY CAR IS A PAIR OF NB'S. IT'S AWESOME.

    That sounds effing awesome! :smile:

    I also have this problem!!! I drive an hour and a half one way everyday. There are some great tips in here. I started going straight to work out after work then I am rushing to get home (so I don't have to pay the babysitter more money) and there is no time to stop.
  • Calantorntain
    Calantorntain Posts: 172 Member
    I'm a commuter, but I'm a bike commuter. I handle the ride home by having an awesome time :D

    Would moving closer to work be a good choice? Before you immediately dismiss the idea, please consider the REAL cost of commuting! http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/
  • neilisfat
    neilisfat Posts: 20 Member
    I commute across Nashville most days by bicycle. There's not much room for me to carry a hot meal on the bike. That keeps me safe. I get 10 miles across town faster on the bike than I would driving.

    Not to mention, I don't want to wander around a market / resturaunt in my lycra superhero outfit.

    1 pound to go!
  • blacklabelbabe
    blacklabelbabe Posts: 48 Member
    I commute an hour and a half each day. I have no problems in the morning but on my way home I get hungry so I eat an apple. It keeps my mind busy because I can't just gobble it up really fast. And the fiber keeps me full. I also drink water, chew gum and crank up my radio. This is also how I quite smoking!
  • hypocritelecter
    hypocritelecter Posts: 61 Member
    Willpower. If I'm driving, I always have water with me and some gum. The world won't end if I'm hungry during my commute, and just because I'm hungry doesn't mean I should splurge on fast food. I find that, when you can, not bringing your debit/credit card or cash with you also helps. I use to work at a gas station and surrounded by processed, prepackaged goodies was torture. I gave myself three months to not bring my debit card and just suck it up with the food I brought from home, and at the end of those three months I had no desire to eat the 'indulgences' at all. Problem solved. I think the secret is to reward yourself with other things, rather than food, and remember that you're on the road to health and that McDonald's doesn't fit on that road.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    I just road rage during my commute so I'm usually so worked up that I'm burning calories from all of the hand signals AND upsetting my stomach enough with anxiety to keep me from wanting to eat much of anything for at least an hour. My commute is thankfully only 20 minutes. I do not condone 3x as much road rage in one sitting, it can be addictive. :tongue:
  • annepage
    annepage Posts: 585 Member
    Yes. I commute a few different places, minimum of an hour each way. I don't make stops on the way home. Make sure you use the bathroom before you leave so you don't have to. Don't pack just a snack.

    Pack a large lunch with extra snacks or a lunch and a dinner. I've been doing it for over two years now and don't have the urge to stop at those places.

    If you can, eat something healthy before you leave for home. Apples are great for the car ride home, so are protein bars because they keep you full. Chewing gum helps as well. A slice of bread with peanut butter also helps because of the protein.
  • jenniferswooten
    jenniferswooten Posts: 137 Member
    I also commute an hour each way and I arranged my route where I don't pass any fast food joints at all. I drink a liter of water on the way home every day so I am not tempted to eat. So far this has worked for me.
  • JenSD6
    JenSD6 Posts: 454 Member
    35-60 minute commute each way, but it's very rare for me to stop. If I do stop, it's at the grocery store for something healthy I can quickly make up fresh when I get home. I'm usually more focused on what I'll make when I get home so that stopping to pick up dinner doesn't cross my mind.

    Plus no eating in the car. I can't stand the thought of food bits rotting away in the nooks and crannies where it's fallen.
  • jennmodugno
    jennmodugno Posts: 363 Member
    I drive an hour and a half to my karate class twice a week, and an hour home. (Traffic going, but none coming back. Nice, that.) I get the most horrible dairy cravings after class, and it had been a habit of mine to stop for a milkshake to get rid of them. And then I started tracking calories and realized how bad they were, and I knew I had to stop. But I had an hour-long drive home, and the cravings are awful. In the summer it's so hot I can't even just keep a milk in the car during class like I do all winter. So now, the moment I get in the car, I put my wallet in the trunk, and keep my driver's license in the little compartment next to me. If I have to get out of the car to get my wallet, chances are I'll just drive right home instead. Then I crank up my music to occupy my subconscious mind, and force myself to remember the chocolate milk and two or three cookies I can have when I get home if I don't go get a milkshake. So far, so good! Only one bad night with ice cream in the past several months. :)
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Sometimes it is just music to chill by. Sometimes no music and thinking through some things in my head. Sometimes I just roll the windows down and enjoy the weather. All depends, but through it all I just chill. I pretty much stay in one lane and go with the flow. I stop worrying about time or if things go too slow...oh well.
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
    I used to snack an awful lot in the car during my 45min each way commute but found that since buying a new car and realising I don't want it full of crumbs, wrappers and sticky fingerprints on the gorgeous brushed metal finishers has weaned me right out of that habit lol

    It will be a different story when we go on holiday later in the year as we'll go in my husband's car and that is officially snack central so I'll need a plan!
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
    Water bottle and Podcasts!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Willpower!!!!!
  • Gracerrr
    Gracerrr Posts: 141
    My bank account stops me!! Stopping for food is simply not a wise financial decision, especially when I have smart purchases waiting at home for me :)

    Try specifically packing a snack for the drive home.
  • cindygretz
    cindygretz Posts: 94
    I have a short commute but some days I'm at work 10-12 hours and very active while I'm there. When I leave work on those days I'm exhausted. The thought of actually cooking something when I get home goes right out the drive-thru window.

    I have learned to make healthier choices that fit into my daily calories. Taco Bell crunchy tacos, fresco style, are only 140 calories each. You can order any sandwich at Hardees 'lo-carb' and they leave off the bun, instead they wrap it in lettuce and wax paper so it can still be eaten in the car. The new grilled cod fish sandwich, no bun, 240 calories.

    If I have a decent 6-8 hour day and I know I'm cooking when I get home I always carry home made 100 calorie snack bags. My favorite is 7 almonds and 18g of raisins. I have one of those and some bottled water, or an apple, or some grapes, and I'm satisfied until I can get home to my healthier choices.

    I also do as a previous poster suggested and purposely drive a route that doesn't pass any fast food, or any food, places when I know I'm cooking at home.

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