Healthy Fast Food Choices

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VeryEirry
VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I knew that discussion title alone is a contradiction! My step dad is in the hospital right now. My mom passed away two years ago and my step brothers live almost a thousand miles away, so I am the only one in town to take care of him. I am trying to lose weight and make healthy food choices while on the go since I have not had a chance to get groceries or cook a meal. Today for lunch, I chose a KFC grilled chicken breast with a side of green beans and unsweet iced tea. Tonight, I settled for a Rev Turkey and Cheese Wrap with a bottle of Naked Green Machine juice from a convenience store. Yesterday's lunch was a Subway turkey breast 6 inch on honey oat with all the veggies , oil and vinegar , a side of apple slices , and a large unsweet iced tea . Last night, I had a grilled chicken fajita taco from Whataburger with poblano peppers and onions, with a large unsweet iced tea.

I would like to hear what others grab when on the go from local fast food and convenience stores to help them stay on track. Suggestions, please? Hopefully, my step dad will be out of the hospital quickly, and I can get back into a healthy prep and cook routine. Thanks in advance for your comments!

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  • WigglexWigglexWiggle
    WigglexWigglexWiggle Posts: 29 Member
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    I used to work at subway. Your best bet for low cal is a six inch on wheat as the honey oat is just the wheat bread rolled in stuff and then baked. I usually put mustard on my sandwiches but vinegar is great too. Not so much the oil but sometimes it's needed! You can pretty much get away with any of the "cheap meats", think turkey, ham, roast beef, even the blt. Just don't go crazy and get a pastrami with triple cheese. I love cheese, (really it's a problem) buuuut you will not really miss it with all of those veggies. If you get a side be very careful. Those stupid cookies are awful-nice job with the apples though!

    I have also worked at Jimmy John's. Working there I was at my heaviest weight but eating there now isn't so difficult. Anything on a lettuce wrap except the gargantuan will be decent and great for protein. Try to not get mayo or ask for "EZ" mayo-they'll put less on. Also, even though it's great, skip the cheese and you can always ask for extra veggies at no cost! If you get a giant club sandwich, (anything on the right side of the menu board), ask them to take the bread out if you get french bread...every bit counts.

    ...and to add to the list I've worked for a very large gas station chain. So difficult to eat healthy and cheap there...pretty much impossible actually. If you want a breakfast anything get it on a muffin. The roller grill is basically off limits...just don't do it. They will typically have protein bars but be careful as some of them can have 1/2 a days worth of calories. They have fresh fruit but for the price just run into a grocery store...so not worth it. Actually none of that food is really worth it if we're being honest but in a pinch...

    The nice thing about chain restaurants is that they HAVE to publish their nutrition info by law. Will it be as accurate as you cooking it? No. It will give you a relative idea of what you should get though. My best advice with these places is to go in with a plan. It's amazing how many calories they sneak into some of those things!

    Best of luck and a speedy recovery to your stepdad!
  • Rooskie73
    Rooskie73 Posts: 30 Member
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    Subway is a great place to eat. Besides the sandwiches, they also have the delicious salads that you can get, just watch the toppings. Does the hospital have a cafeteria? They may have some foods there that could help you out. Sending prayers for your stepdad!
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Thank you for your thoughtful reply with hints and tips, Wiggle! I actually asked for wheat bread at Subway, but they were out, so I settled for the honey oat. I usually just add vinegar, no oil, but I'd already missed two meals, so I allowed the oil. I like mustard too-yum! Convenience stores are the worst! I was trying to hurry to the hospital this evening, but needed gas, so I grabbed food while I was there. They had no fresh fruit, the only other decent option to the Rev was a Clif Bar, and I wanted REAL food. I should have gone with the Clif Bar. That Rev thing was disgusting! The meat and cheese were tough and salty, and the tortilla was just nasty! I won't make that mistake again!
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks, Rooskie! The hospital's cafeteria was closed this evening. I didn't even think of it for lunch- I just grabbed something between church and the hospital. Sometimes, the most obvious choice is right in front of you!
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    And I didn't even think about subways new chopped salads! I tried one the other day and it was awesome! I really enjoyed it. I'm going to make a little cheat sheet of the healthiest options on all of my local fast food menus so I will have a quick reference when out and about, and don't have time to run into a grocery store. I made one for myself several years ago and it was a lifesaver. I have some of the knowledge still stored in my head, but some of it has left the building!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    To me it sounds like you're making very good choices among what you have to choose from. Usually when I get fast food I get one thing, and then water or black coffee to drink. So then my one thing can be pretty high cal like a burrito bowl or something. Like another person suggested, I get mustard on my subs & burgers usually. Very good and just a tiny fraction of the calories in mayo.

    My husband has me convinced that Long John Silvers is pure evil and one of the worst-for-you fast foods. So I don't eat that anymore. But calorie-wise, I used to love getting their snack portion of a piece of fish and green beans, or 2 pc fish and double green beans.

    At Steak N Shake I get their triple burger with mustard, pickle, onion & lettuce. No fries. Water to drink.

    Some grocery stores, especially higher end ones, have salad bars that are by the pound and include a ton of food options. I LOVE that. I always seem to err on the side of caution when anything is by the pound but it's never very expensive and allows you to have a big range of options, many of them very tasty, and plenty of opportunity to get in your veggies and also protein.

    In convenience stores I usually get boiled eggs, yogurt, or the grab n' go fruit. Sometimes my husband and I will each get a banana and then split a Skor or Heath bar to go with it, and that is surprisingly even yummier to me than eating a whole Skor bar for example. This isn't "healthy" but one thing I have found in convenience stores, when I am in the mood for an indulgence, they usually have Snickers ice cream bars with 250 calories which is like the same or maybe less (?) than a regular size Snickers chocolate bar and seems waaay more decadent.

    Sorry kinda got off track! Thinkin' about Snickers ice cream bars can do that to me. haha I hope your stepdad is okay.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    Go more for grilled chicken if you can, and stick to vegetable dishes. A salad with grilled chicken (minus high calorie dressing) is usually a good choice.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Evil Skors and Snickers! Shhh!!! I tend to be a binge eater, so I'm trying to avoid sugar like the plague! I had thought about the hard boiled egg or fruit options at the convenience store, but they didn't have anything like that in this particular one. The only refrigerator case options were those nasty sandwiches loaded in calories and sodium, or a lunchable. The lunchable probably would have been better for me then that stupid Red thing I ate! At least it would have tasted better! In the future, if I need to eat something from a convenience store, I will try to make sure I stop at one of the stores that I know carries bananas, apples, and oranges at the checkout counter. Many of them used to carry Slim Fast shakes. Those are the perfect choice either, but better than these other things I had to choose from. I don't know if anyone carries those anymore though. I haven't seen them.
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Good advice, Ninerbuff! I would have liked a salad for lunch today, but I was trying to grab something I could eat while driving on the way to the hospital. I should have just grabbed the salad, and taking it up to the hospital room with me. I could have eaten it in his room while visiting. I think I'm just juggling too much right now, and my common sense has gone out the door!
  • Tigerlily2u
    Tigerlily2u Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2016
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    My method is go eat where you want to eat, try to go with a small portion of what you really like or a low cal option...check the calories and make sure you are active after eating...for example if I eat a turkey burger from Carl's Jr it's 490 calories....I burn 350 calories in one 45 min cycle on the treadmill! So I do not worry so much about the where or the what I am eating as long as I use portion control, it's more about getting active to burn calories after the fact! This has made it easy for me to enjoy this lifestyle change!
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Fiyafox, I am working up to that method. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in my knees in addition to being completely sedentary for the past two years. I have put on a ton of weight and any little physical exertion winds me or causes me quite a bit of pain right now. I just joined Planet Fitness yesterday. I have a meeting with a personal fitness trainer Thursday night to work up A fitness routine for me. I am excited about getting active again along with a healthier diet. With the added exercise, I won't be as concerned about a few bad food choices. Thanks for reminding me that exercise helps cancel some of that! With all of the running around town I have done in the past 24 hours, I should have burned off everything I ate! I could have had a big giant juicy burger! Lol!
  • nuffer
    nuffer Posts: 402 Member
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    I have been in similar situations in the last year and understand how difficult it can be to stay on track when spending so much time in a place where you can't prepare your own food. Here are some ideas that helped me:
    * Buy fruit and have it on hand
    * Jerky (if you eat meat) is portable, shelf-stable and all protein.
    * As seltzermint said, grocery store salad bars. Even fast food salads can be ok if you don't use their dressing.
    * Nurses will probably let you store food in their fridges if you're nice to them (my wife's a nurse and does this all the time). You can keep a better salad dressing in that fridge.
    * when all else fails and it's 0300 and you are absolutely starving, go for pretzels from the vending machine. And then have a piece of fruit. Worry about the sodium later. Better yet, a bag of pretzels from the store that you have on hand for this food-911.

    It doesn't have to be fast food. In this trying time, you are there for your family and you just need food to keep you going so that you're an asset and not a liability. Best of luck to your stepdad and you.
  • VeryEirry
    VeryEirry Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, Nuffer! Getting to the grocery store is my goal for tomorrow. After work, I am going to try to run in and grab a few good choices. I was going to the grocery store last night, but they put my step dad in the hospital, & I never made it there. I am not staying at the hospital since I live right here in town. I waited until they put him on his CPAP machine for the night before coming home. I expect he will come home on Tuesday, but I also expect we will be coming back to the hospital repeatedly. This is the 5th time he has been admitted to the hospital in the past two months. He has congestive heart failure, diabetes, and his left diaphragm is not working. He is having an MRI on Tuesday to find out if the diaphragm not working is neurological and if it is irreversible. Now that I am focusing on my health again, I plan to keep baggies and containers full of quick and easy "go to's" like shredded chicken, salad, cut up fruit and veggies, yogurt, and nuts on hand for easy grabbing as I head out the door.

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