Fast Foodd?!?!?!

Are you incapable of packing a lunch for the day for any reason?

Why is fast food "absolutely horrible" for you?

McDonald's Premium Sweet Chilli Chicken Snack Wrap w/ Grilled Chicken, or a couple of small hamburgers Wendy's Chicken pecan salad is freaking amazing. Grilled chicken sandwiches from anywhere are usually a good lower calorie high protein choice.

If I have fast food it's usually Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich or subway roasted chicken sub with no sauce.

I like the charbroiled chicken on wheat at chickfila, only 310 cals

I also like the fresco menu at taco bell, tacos for 140 cals

carls jr has a lot of turkey burger options on wheat for under 500 cals

starbucks has an awesome spinach cheese and tomato wrap on wheat tortilla for I think 280 cals... super good!!!

any chain fast food restaurant that has more than a couple of locations publishes their nutritional info online. Check it out and make your choice from there. If you don't want a salad and they don't have any other low calorie option you can make common sense choices to at least reduce the calorie content:
- don't eat the bread
- choose leaner meats (grilled chicken, turkey, ham)
- pass on cheese and high calorie condiments like mayo
- sub fries or chips for fruit and veggies

It isn't rocket science and you can easily lose weight eating the right things at fast food places. It has been done a million times.

When I don't have time to pack my lunch I usually resort to one of the following:
1) Grocery Store Salad Bar (i.e. Market Street, Whole Foods, or Kroger Signature, or Tom Thumb). Usually around the same price as fast food and takes about the same amount of time to grab- just lots of healthier options and they always have pre-made salads/wraps/sushi for on the go if you don't want to take the time to make it on your own.
2) Chipotle- Stick to salads or bowls (sans dressing-opt for salsa instead) and they have a cool nutritional calculator on their website where you can build your meal and it'll tell you the nutritional info. They offer brown rice, meats are primarily hormone free, and most other menu items are GMO free (if you care about that stuff).
3) Subway- New Chopped Salads are pretty good and low in calories as long as you don't slather in dressing and in general you can get a decent sandwich (although the meat is processed if you're picky about that)
4) Chic Fil A- Marketstreet Chicken and Fruit Salad, fruit cups, grilled chicken sandwich on wheat…. They've got a decent fresh selection
5) Jason's Deli
6) Grandy's Southwestern Grilled Chicken Meal
7) Panera Bread

In general, there are lots of options. Just search online. Hope this helps!

i usually go for a chicken and salad or steak and veggies without fries.

If am leaving home 5 am going to work and then directly to Uni and coming home 11pm i have just time to take a shower and sleep.

kfc mini breast fillets, 4 for 508 cals, really filling and high in protein
but skip the chips!

Chicken , fish, or bean tacos with no or light cheese are a great option. Lots of places offer or at least can make veggie sandwiches or wraps. Local places usually do carry out and their salads are usually way better than fast food salads. Grocery stores offer premade salads, fruit bowls, veggie plates, etc. Any broth-based non-starchy soup from almost any restaurant would work.

Get a kids meal at any fast food chain and it will probably be under 500 calories, some are under 400. McD's kids meal with the apple slices instead of fries is a good option.

I try to pack my lunch everyday, but I work in a funeral home and get called away at anytime for many different reasons, and may or may not have remembered to bring my lunch with me when I got called, so on the way back to the office or if we got called out of town we usually swing through drive thru to grab something "quick" to "hold us over" until supper time.

What an interesting job you must have! I bet you have a story or two you could tell us.

So the first thing I'd like to say is, all hope is not lost - there definitely are some solid solutions for this issue!

One is the great recommendations people have made on here about healthier choices you can make at the drive-thru. Great advice because you'll definitely need that as a back up on occasion.

But what I'd like to suggest/challenge you on, will be infinitely better for you and possibly even more fun and interesting.

First, I suggest you invest in a few things:

*A couple of small coolers (not like little lunch bag-types, I mean like the medium-sized soft kind you'd take to a ball game with drinks in them)
*re-useable ice packs
*re-useable plastic utensils
*tupperware containers
*a few thermoses, large and small
*reuseable water bottles
*hand wipes
*napkins
*plastic grocery bags

What are you going to do with these things? You are going to start making your own "to-go" food and they're going to travel with you, in the car, wherever you go.

On Saturday, think through what you'd like to have the following week, make your menus, then your shopping list, then cook your food/assemble your stuff on Sunday.

For example - is it going to be really cold next week? Then how about a nice warm crockpot chicken casserole of some sort that incorporates chicken, vegetables, sauce, and maybe noodles or whole wheat dumplings/biscuits? Keep the pan in the fridge, and each morning before you leave, heat up a serving and stuff it into the thermos. It will keep hot until it's time to eat. Even if you're driving, you can pop open that thermos and have a hot and delicious casserole which is contained in the thermos (i.e., won't get all over the place). Casseroles are extremely versatile, taste great, and contain all the items you need for a good, hot meal: meat, vegetables, and some kind of rice/noodle/biscuit, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Or, you can make kabobs with meat and veggies, pull them off the sticks, and put them in a big baggie. Again, each day pull out a serving, heat it up and stick it in the thermos to keep it hot. Even easier to eat in the car.

How about cold things? Salad-in-a-jar is a great way to go. Cut up veggies and deli meat and cheese on Sunday and keep them in baggies. Each morning, put some dressing in the bottom of the jar, then layer several of those items in the jar, leaving some room in the top of the jar. Keep it in the cooler. In the car, simply shake up the jar , twist open the cap, and eat while driving. Again - the jar contains the mess.

What about deconstructed sandwiches? Cubes of bread, turkey, ham, cheese, tomato in a tupperware container with a little tiny container of "dip"? How would this be different than chicken mcnuggets with sauce? Answer: not any different.

Or what about wrap sandwiches in tortillas? Make them up in the morning, wrap tightly in foil, and unwrap just like a mcsnack wrap in the car. Again, possibilities are endless with that one!

Crackers, cheese, cubed up fresh veggies, veggie-based chips, cubed up fruit, cubed up meat, non-spillable "dips" (like spinach dip, or alouette cheese spreads) - these are other ideas.

Of course the drinks are easy - you could even make fruit and yogurt smoothies and keep them in your re-useable bottles, keep in the cooler, shake before drinking, and enjoy.

Be sure to pack your utensils, napkins, wipes, and a grocery bag in the cooler.

Do this every day during the week and I promise, you'll be happier, and healthier, and most of all PROUD that you took care of yourself so well! What do you think?

Or, you could just not eat lunch?

With all due respect, I would reject this suggestion wholeheartedly.....