So how did you all fix your cravings for fast food?

cassandralee2591 wrote: »

I am looking mainly I guess for recipes or tricks that will trick my craving into thinking I am eating fast food, but am really not.... lol.

I am a fast food junkie and so far the only thing that has helped curbed my cravings for the most part is the sushi you can get from Albertsons . lol.

But like tonight when my boyfriend gets home I asked him to go to burger king and get a cheese burger with fries, cause I have been craving for the last week , and I have done it before where I deprived myself and that usually ended up making it worse , because then I would gorge out non stop!!!

So any advice or help would be appreciated. My main goal is to one day ween off completely off the fast food, but the steps to do that is what I am looking for.

hopefully this made sense. _ Cassie.

Don't deprive yourself. You know it'll only make it worse. You did great by getting something small... the only thing you have to do is make sure it fits into your daily calories.

I personally went cold turkey my first month, but mostly because I thought it was a bad thing to eat (you know, "diet mentality" instead of thinking lifestyle change). It was actually my first post too, cuz I was really craving it... after all I used to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at fast food places. The advice was just that: don't deprive myself from it, make it fit into my daily calories, and it's not bad food.

So now, every once in a while when I really want it, I make sure I have enough calories for the day (usually making sure I exercise that day), and I get what I want. Just last week I went to McDonald's and got me a Big Mac meal, and enjoyed it all. No need to feel guilty about eating it. So since it's no longer something that's off limits, I guess that feeling of wanting it all the time has just gone away with time. And I continue to lose weight even when I include fast food. :flowerforyou:

Turkey burgers and baked frozen fries help me with my craving for burgers and fries.

I noticed that for ME, a huge part of the appeal of fast food was purchasing it. I can't explain why. Any who so when I'm craving fast food I just usually choose the healthier, lower calorie option like KFC's grilled chicken.,. Or a charbroiled chicken sandwich. If I plan ahead I can get some grilled seafood. These choices usually calm me... The biggest red meat eating, fast food fanatic you'll ever have the pleasure of not knowing.

Once a week i make a low fat,no sugar cheesecake and that helps with my sweet tooth! There is a cheesecake group that share recipes on MFP ...
Anything in moderation as long as you've calculated for it ...

Fast foods are very tempting, since they're on pretty much every corner and oh so convenient. Here are some of my tricks...
I try to plan to have it over the weekend only. so if I crave it on Wednesday... I'll tell myself to wait til the weekend, by then I've forgetten or something better has replaced the craving.
I try to get to bed early...so no late night cravings.
I also try to prepare snacks.
If I really want that burger, I have to go get it...in other words, don't send someone to do your "dirty" deed. If I'm not willing to get off the couch, get dressed, and walk/drive to get the burger, then it's not worth it. Be accountable either prepare it or get it yourself.

I do still eat takeaway food but ive gone from around 3 times a week to 1-2 times a fortnight.

Trick for me is to save the meals I really enjoy to a weekend when I would normally eat a takeaway. Mastering a lower calorie alternative helps me vastly!

So I now can make a beautiful Indian curry, i have mini nan bread with this. Chicken stir fry, Home made burgers with low fat coleslaw and home made chips. Chinese curry, Chicken fried rice. you can even buy prawn crackers to make yourself and you can do them in the microwave so your not deep frying!!

Fajitas is a weekend treat for me too. if you want any recipes inbox me xx

lgutches wrote: »

The fast food places usually don't hold any appeal to me because, thanks to the news shows and internet articles, I know it's garbage. It kind of grossed me out for good. When I'm on the road, I would much rather walk into a grocery store (usually within a mile of any fast food restaurant) and grab a whole box of granola bars and a bunch of bananas for the cost of a value meal. My calories are less, I've eaten some real food, and have something to put in the kitchen when I get home.

Lol @ "real food"... yeah ok.

I was a huge fast food fan (still am). I limited myself financially, by withdrawing a certain amount each week, and then only using that much to pay for anything through the week (I did it for all "treats" such as alcohol too.) That way I was restricted to how much (more expensive) fast food I could have during the week and perhaps aimed to save up for a weekend when I would be drinking.

It also depends on what you want to eat. We don't have a Burger King nearby (luckily) but have KFC and McDonalds both close. Even a large chicken nugget meal from McDonalds is under 800 calories which even at home some larger meals I find end up being that much. With my exercise routine, which is 20 minutes on the exercise bike at a brisk pace, followed by however many minutes extra I want to do at a slightly more relaxed pace, so if I know that I've had more to eat that day, or plan on the next day, I can get some more minutes on the machine.

I make it at home and now honestly I don't crave fast food at all anymore... I can make it myself for less calories, and it will be tastier and more filling.

But if I crave something I can't easily make at home, I have it and try to make it fit in my calories.

I'm a big supporter of eating fast food within calorie limits. However, I find that I am not eating as much as I did when I started. I learned how to grill my own chicken breast, I started buying lean beef 93/7 at my grocery stores, and on occasion I kept the extra sauces I got. I also bought potato chips with the right ingredients to meet my needs. So chicken sandwiches, burgers, and fries all taken care of . I still eat pizza at least once a week if not twice.

I eat fast food when I really want it, which turns out to be not very often. I quickly adjusted after realizing that most of the time I was eating fast food out of habit and because of a lack of planning. The other part that made it easy was logging my food and staying within my calorie allotment. Even now when the urge hits me I first decide whether I want to spend so many calories on just one meal. If the answer is yes, then I indulge.

Gosh ...A lot of hostility here. Sry to bring that out in you. Just trying to help with an idea of how to avoid the thing that you are trying to avoid eating a lot of.

I really don't have 'bad' food cravings anymore - they happen very rarely. A few things I did:

Slowly replace something I craved that was unhealthy with a better for me alternative: with soda, I switched to seltzer + 100% fruit juice. Over time, I reduced the fruit juice so I drink plain seltzer all the time, and putting in a little fruit juice is a rare treat- I just don't crave that stuff any more.I have found ways to make foods I love less calorific. Instead if heavy cream in soups, I've found that 0% fat plain Greek yogurt is a good stand in. For white flour pasta, I've found that the quinoa pasta works great for me- I actually like it better than the white flour kind. You get the idea...

I have learned to tell the difference between hunger, thirst, and stress craving. I found a lot of times when I used to get cravings it was because I was thirsty, or I had waited so long to eat I had built up massive cravings for everything sugary and bad! Or, if I'm super stressed out and sad I Woukd want dessert or a glass of wine. I now try to address the real issue. I drink when I'm thirsty, I eat before I get crazy hungry, and when stressed or sad, I go outside and take at least a 15 min. walk, or do a workout- the more ridiculous the better. If I'm stressed I need to laugh. Anything with women in leotards and leg warmers from the 80s usually does the trick.

I plan my groceries and my meals in advance. During the week, I have fun looking at various recipes, and on Fridays, I take all the fun things Ive seen and build my meal plan for the following week so that I can grocery shop Saturday morning. Having food ready to be prepared, with all ingredients on stand by has allowed me to cook or eat left overs every day. I used to eat fast food because I was too exhausted at the end of the day to cook. Now that I don't have to think about what to cook, I actually find the kitchen time to be ME time.

Finally, I haven't made any of my 'bad' cravings taboo or off limits. I'm in a pretty low cal diet, and have been using a technique where I rock above my daily intake by about 300 calories 1 day a week- it's also the only day every week I don't do formal exercise- I usually eat some of these foods on that kind of day. One week I may choose to have a couple of glasses of wine, on a different week, I may choose to eat whoopie pies.

You'll have to find strategies that work for you, everyone is different. Good luck!

Well the food is not good for you. I guess I am judging the food lol. Not you though. Going to the grocery store while on the road IS a viable alternative. Sorry I offended you.