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

I still eat fast food. if I eat a small breakfast, a giant romaine salad with cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes, and tuna for lunch, there's plenty of room for McDonald's dinner. But I've never been one to order a quarter pounder or a large anything, and i don't drink soda, so when I go I get small or med. fries and a regular cheeseburger. Fits fine within my calories. I allow it because twice a week I have both lunch and dinner at work, and packing two meals to take gets to be a pain. So I plan, and get small size fast food options for the 2nd meal.

goldthistime wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

lgutches wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

lgutches wrote: »

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.

you judged people based on food choice....people responded...not sure why you are surprised.

? I'm confused. Fast food is universally acknowledged as not being healthy, despite some efforts made to adjust that image. The OP herself is asking for adviceon how to avoid or reduce consumption. I think you just enjoy arguing. I have done nothing but agree that it should be avoided and offer my way of doing it (for me and my kids). OP, again I apologize for this distraction. I will stop my part in hijacking your request for ideas. I hope you get some great ideas here!

Fast food IS unhealthy. But folks can get away with eating some unhealthy foods. I find it easier to do with out (easier to stay at my maintenance level, and easier in terms of how I feel). But some folks prefer adding it in to their diets.

really, how so?

I find your campaign to stop people from name calling of certain foods fascinating. Reminds me a bit of efforts to stop people from using pejorative terms for sexual orientation, race, disabilities etc. Amusing to think of "junk food" as the maligned underdog. I DO agree that it is not always unhealthy. Context matters. Maybe I have been sweating a bunch and need that extra salt. And there have definitely been times where I needed something sugary (like during a tennis match that has gone on too long and it's now lunchtime). But I also agree that in most situations, you can make a much healthier choice than "junk food".

I think a lot of people want all foods to be seen as "available" during a diet because studies and experience prove that allowing yourself an indulgence or a treat is 10 times more likely to result in successful, safe and maintainable weight loss. To me, it isn't so much about defending fast food as it is helping people succeed. If they know that nothing is off limits, they are less likely to binge after a long stint of depriving themselves. In the process of indulging occasionally and in moderation, they are further learning to think about food differently. They are learning about what their food is made of (as far as calories and macros) and how to meet those goals via portion control so that they can make a lifestyle change instead of just dieting to meet a goal and then going back to the old way and gaining everything back.

CountessKitteh wrote: »

rybo wrote: »

I just stopped wanting to eat crappy food.

This.

When it finally registered that the crap I was eating was the reason I felt like crap...mindblowing.

These!

randomtai wrote: »

Lolz @ this thread.... Never change MFP... never change.

HAHAH my thoughts exactly.

dbmata wrote: »

Ellaskat wrote: »

Umm, no, not everything is processed technically. If you eat all whole foods you cook yourself, you're not eating commercially processed foods.

Yes you are.

Unless you're gathering from your own animal kills and garden.

What do you think you find in the market? How did those things get there? Seriously, just think.

^Exactly! Even if you grow it yourself, or raise the animals, somehow, you have to process it. Or are you eating it raw, or living animals? Technically, you are processing it. How do you can your veggies and fruit, if not processing it? And are you adding anything to it?

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I don't eat it. Plain and simple.

Once in a blue moon we'll get something from a fast food place, but by now it has no real appeal for me. But to get to this point, I just stopped eating it.

This was the same for me, although I stopped eating it years ago and managed to gain weight anyway, sigh, so that's a separate issue, IMO.

I currently have it on rare occasion if on a road trip or some such. I don't specifically crave fast food ever. I do sometimes feel like a burger and fries, but prefer either the dinner I might make with ground beef (sometimes on a bun with mustard and onions and all that) and roasted potatoes, plus some veggies (which is no more difficult to fit in my calories or eating plan than any other regular dinner) or--if I feel like splurging--I fit a really good burger and fries from a restaurant that I like in (or pizza or Indian or whatever). (This could easily be more calories than fast food, depending on what you order.)

For me, fast food just isn't that good, so it's rarely worth the calories. The convenience aspect is the major draw, I suspect. What does not appeal to me about fast food is that when I want to splurge on calories I want it to be amazing.