I miss bad food

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Mari143h
Mari143h Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I was an avid going out to eat person and I miss my burgers and fries. I'm doing my best to stick with eating good, but when the weekends come, I'm having the hardest time. Since I'm a teacher, my weekday meals are consistent but I've been getting thrown off on the weekends. Any ideas????? I need to find healthier choices at different restaurants.
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  • heb14
    heb14 Posts: 42 Member
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    I always split food with my friends or boyfriend when I go out! Then I get a little taste of my bf's burger, but my meal is a majority of my salad. Sometimes restaurants will allow you to order lunch portions in the evening (Applebee's is good about it), which gives you a small portion of a burger, pasta, sandwich or salad. I
  • khrys1
    khrys1 Posts: 444 Member
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    Allow yourself to have a "free" meal once in a while- also, you can check restaurant calories online before you go- I just did that, and some of my favorite foods are WAY lower in calories than I thought they were.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    You could try to make healthier versions of those foods at home. Oven fries are yummy and healthier than fast-food ones, and you can do a burger with lean meat and yummy seasonings.

    If you must go out though, you can always look at the website and see the nutritional info for your favorites. You can then choose a lower-cal option that will still satisfy you, and/or burn off the extra calories with exercise.
  • sanchez112807
    sanchez112807 Posts: 9
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    healthydiningfinder.com this helps me when i go out to eat on the weekend !
  • Jizes318
    Jizes318 Posts: 409 Member
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    Like someone told me.. pre plan your meals before you go to a restaurant if you can. Look at they're menu and research the calories on here!
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    I still have my burgers, just not as often and I most often only eat half. Also, order a side salad instead of fries. Even if it's not on the menu, many restaurants will substitute for you.
  • ally1385
    ally1385 Posts: 14
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    I'm the same way. It's really not as bad as you think. I eat fairly well during the week and we still go out to eat on the weekends. What I found helpful is learning what is good and what is bad. One thing I do, is look up where we're going online before to look at nutrition facts. I'll then pick out a few things that sound good and write them down on and keep that info in my pocket and refer to it when we get there. In general, stay away from the fried items. I would say as long as you are going to a sit down restaurant 99% of them should have healthier side choices. Opt for the grilled veggies instead of french fries. After you do it the first time, it just gets easier. Most places also have healthy options noted on their menu. The only issue I still run into is if we go to a local restaurant and not a national chain. They most likely will not be in MFP nor will their nutrition facts be easily accessible. In that case I search the name of a dish I pick and pick one that is likely close to what I ate. You can still figure out what is healthier based on the descriptions too. Grilled chicken and fish are going to be healthier options that steak, veggies instead of pasta. Hope that helps!
  • leiamt
    leiamt Posts: 12
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    hi for eating out try a restaurant called nandos its great chicken you can have rice instead of chips plus corn on the cobs and coleslaw and then get the frozen yoghurt which is fat free and very filling i've found it great for eating out add me as afriend if you want i'll let you know if i come across anywhere else thats good and filling
  • imbwy420
    imbwy420 Posts: 29
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    hungrygirl.com, cookinglight.com, and raw food cookbooks are great aids for making good stuff at home. as far as dining out, i've done it all. fridays has the dragonfire chicken which is delicious, applebee's has shrimp and low fat chicken skillet meals that are great (as well as low calorie cocktails), and panera's soup and salad combos can be very low in calories. good luck!
  • Thorneapple
    Thorneapple Posts: 154
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    A lot of restaurants have sliders on there appetizer menu now. can you split an order with someone? That way you can have your burger without being too bad.
  • jenn1ferb
    jenn1ferb Posts: 4
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    I havent deprived myself of all bad food...Once a week I allow myself something but just watch how much I have. I am still losing.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    You need to focus on the fact that going out to eat is more about the company you are with and not about the food!!! Just remember than and order healthy. Tell your serve to hold all the bad stuff, give veggies instead of fries.

    This is what you want! You have to commit and you will succeed.
  • Mari143h
    Mari143h Posts: 3 Member
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    Awesome ideas!!! Thank you everyone, this really helps. I have to step up my workouts too but sometimes with work I'm exhausted. How awesome and seeing how great everyone is doing is really an encouragement and motivation!! Thank you!!!!
  • petithamu
    petithamu Posts: 582 Member
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    I love eating out and that is definitely my biggest weakness. My last job was to discover new restaurants for my clients...and whilst that was fun...wasn't great for my waistline.

    I give myself one treat meal a week and it would be something I absolutely crave for. If I didn't, my cravings would get out of control. Before I go out to the restaurant, I would do my daily workout first, somehow it suppresses my appetite a bit. I then drink a lot of water and I hate either an apple or a clementine before I head out. This way I've 'lined' my stomach so I'm not starving when I get to the restaurant and want to eat everything in sight. When I do order, I don't think about calories, I think about how this is my treat meal and I deserve it so I order what I want to eat but I only eat half of it. Hard to believe I'd get full from half a plate but most servings at restaurants are ludicrously large! Then I make sure we walk home or at least walk 30-45 minutes somewhere. This way I feel less guilty!
  • JRIV60
    JRIV60 Posts: 732 Member
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    I miss burgers and fries, fried calimari, Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits, etc. BUT I miss my size 12 jeans more. 8(
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
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    A lot of restaurants have sliders on there appetizer menu now. can you split an order with someone? That way you can have your burger without being too bad.

    Beware of sliders too. My husband and I went out yesterday; we ordered the sliders and split them--I figured they were basically half a hamburger and wouldn't be that bad. Right?. When it was all said and done, I could have had a whole different entree all to myself. The 2 sliders (and 4 french fries) I had literally consumed my calorie and fat allowances for the day and was more than double my sodium allowance.
  • chauncyrenayCHANGED
    chauncyrenayCHANGED Posts: 788 Member
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    I love chicken nuggets... I mean LOVE chicken nuggets. So, I recently bought a big box of chicken nuggets that are better for me than fast food ones. It's helped SO much! If I have a craving for fast food ones, i remember my big box at home. win!
  • noahlh
    noahlh Posts: 3
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    Three tips:

    1. Don't fight yourself. If you're craving bad foods, then let yourself have a free day each week. That will give you something to look forward to -- just promise yourself that one day a week (Saturday or Sunday), you can eat ANYTHING you want. And go for it -- let yourself enjoy all the bad food you can. You should be so sick of it by the end of the day, you won't want to touch anything for another week -- but you have to be good during the week!

    2. Don't go cold turkey. Enjoy the burger - just have it one some lettuce instead of a bun. Or if you're not that ambitious, have it on a whole wheat bun instead of a white bun. And maybe skip the mayo. And for the fries? Enjoy some -- the key word is SOME. Don't finish the plate. Have a handful -- get the urge out of your system. It'll only be 50-75 calories' worth, which should be fine. Just make sure you stop yourself after satiating the craving.

    3. "Save up" -- if you know you're going out to a big dinner with friends, be EXTRA good the rest of the day and be sure to track it all on MFP. Budget ~1000 calories for a big dinner (that covers a big juicy burger and a handful of fries and maybe some light appetizer bites).

    After enough time, you won't even want the bad stuff :)
  • Mari143h
    Mari143h Posts: 3 Member
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    You all are awesome!
  • Othos
    Othos Posts: 33
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    I've found that it helps to figure out what exactly I loved about a meal, and trim off everything else. Often times that can save tons of calories.

    For instance, we went to Red Robin for dinner, and rather than getting a burger and fries, I got a burger with no mayo, and some fruit instead of fries. I decided that the thing I really wanted was the juicy burger, and the fries were always just a secondary concern.

    I've also found that quality is often more satisfying than quantity. Rather than getting a huge plus-size candy bar, I'll pay just as much for a very small, high quality square of chocolate from a local shop. It's only good for a bite or two, but it's ten times better tasting than the low-quality crappy candy bar.

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