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krucifyd
krucifyd Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
I am just about always on the go, especially on the weekends (Friday through Sunday). I eat a LOT of fast food, and lately I've been trying to make better decisions on what I order (like ordering grilled chicken sandwiches and salads instead of burgers and fries), but it's still fast food and is not good for me. How does one who is too busy to cook eat healthier? I've also noticed that I'm having a lot of trouble on here getting enough calories without going WAY over on the fat and sugars. I usually end up with at least 200 calories left allowed for the day, but in the negative on fat and sugar by 20 or more. Not good.

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  • redrustdobe
    redrustdobe Posts: 43
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    Keep a stash of protein bars in the car and take fruit and string cheese with you when you leave the house.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    getting the fat out of your diet is relatively easy. I actually had to lower my fat percentage because I have a hard time meeting my fat percentage. Feel free to look at my diary.... (I always go over on my sugar) but my meals are relatively simple to pack and take with me..

    I like a bagle with honey (raw wild honey)

    Meat and cheese slices (freeze a waterbottle and that is a good ice pack in a packed lunch)

    Dried cereal is a great source of fiber and whole wheats i reccommend kashi cinamon harvest shredded wheat it is SO FRIGGIN GOOD!

    Power bars make some great Snickers like bars.

    Throw a scoop of protein powder in a empty waterbottle. then when you are out and about stop at a convinent store and grap a single serving milk and pour it in your waterbottle, shake up and enjoy.

    Cheese sticks are great mix them with almonds

    Single pieces of fruit a great and natural sugar, you don't ahve to count your natural sugars as much

    Whole grain baked chips are a bad but good for you snack, better than some but worse than other treats

    Pretzels are great I like melba toast too

    Its all about packing your meals the night before... it only takes 10 minutes but 10 minutes can save you tons of money and tons of pounds.
  • brograjen
    brograjen Posts: 2
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    I struggle with the same issue. I find it helpful to bring a small cooler with ice packs in my car during the day. I bring a protein shake, fruit, vegetables and some crackers or nuts if I am going to be gone all day. It helps a lot. I have maintained a 35 pound weight loss for 4 years doing this. I now need to lose the last 25. Fast food is really out of the question. I ate Chick-fil-a yesterday. I was volunteering in the classroom and my cooler was in the car. When my kids got out of school it had been over 6 hours since I had anything to eat so I gave in and ate fast food. A huge part of this strategy is not allowing yourself to wait until you are starving to make a food choice, that never works out well. I will be bringing a snack with me into the classroom from now on. Planning is so important when you have a busy schedule and spend a lot of time in the car:)
  • newdaynewlife
    newdaynewlife Posts: 14 Member
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    When I am super busy on weekends running around and I know I wont be home for awhile, I carry a little cooler in my car with stuff like an apples, pears, nuts, energy bars, carrots, celery, and sometimes cut up grilled chicken in a ziploc. Really takes the temptation out of stopping for junk!
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Another thing to remember is that even subway (although its a healthier option) can be completely bad for you too! but it can be great as well

    If you eat there try having them tear some of the bread out of the middle of the bun, that will save you tons of calories, choose vinager over mayo, and don't do any cheese lean meat like turkey is a good choice, pile on the veggies and then skip the chips and the pop. choose water and apple slices or yogurt instead.

    I am sure you know this, but most people think SUBWAY=HEALTHY and that just isn't the case.
  • aimsies
    aimsies Posts: 1
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    The harsh truth is you are most likely going to have to do some cooking to keep the nutritional value of your food at a good level. But there are also other ways to start thinking a little differently about what might consist of a meal. Personally I like to cook most of my meal ingredients on one day of the week and freeze or refridgerate untill needed. I usually cut up chicken breast or steak in cubes or fajita like slices. (easiest to cut while they are still somewhat between frozen and thawed. I then cook them untill just done, bag them up in 3 oz serving size bags for an easy grab. You can also do this with rice and pasta and potato (I do a half of a cup a serving). Then you can use these bags to make a really quick meal just by heating up adding frozen veggies and adding a seasoning. You can also do the same thing with salad ingredients. I cut all kinds of veggie goodies for the week and can put them togher at any time for a side salad or add meat for a meal. However if you change your idea about what might consist of a lunch you can also use these bags for an "on the go travel meal" . If you keep a lunch size small cooler in your car you can, for instance, grab a bag of refrigerated chicken cubes, add a bag of penne pasta, some frozen sugar peas or brocoli and some fat free itallian dressing. and you have an instant pasta salad that you can grab in the morning, with and ice packet and a piece of fruit, and throw into your cooler to eat anytime you have a moment in your busy day. The combos are limitless. I also keep some food staples in my car for a quick snack or meal for those days when you didn't realize you were going to be so busy and the fast food would be really tempting. Low cal fiber bars. 100 calorie bag snacks dried fruit and nuts etc.

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