Staying away from fast food
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I really refer to go to a place like Panera, which has several salads I like in the 260 calorie range (with a generous amount of sliced chicken breast), and a couple of soups (black bean and pesto garden veg) in the 80-90 calorie range. I get the apple on the side, or a bag of chips to take home, eat the leftover scraps of my daughter's baguette, and save the 99-cent bakery add on for breakfast the next day. Boom, a filling dinner and an awesome nutritional profile for fewer than 500 calories.1
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To stop eating at fast food you need to learn how to eat right. Try to learn 1 simply recipe a week to have a few other go-to options. Most importantly, remember that you will gain the weight back if you don't change your lifestyle. You can loose weight by eating fast food and staying under your calorie limit, but that goes out the window once you reach your goal weight. Of course the occasional drunk taco bell is perfectly acceptable.0
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I just don't go there unless I'm really craving something... but considering that I can make the same stuff at home with less calories, better taste, less sodium, and more filling... I don't really crave it.
So basically if I crave a cheeseburger I just buy some 90/10 hamburger and buns and make it at home instead. I make very tasty fries too with just a bit of olive oil.1 -
When I could eat it I would drive to and from work where there was less fast food areas.0
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I wasn't 100% sure if the OP meant: what to do about cravings (ie they like fast food)? or how to not wind up having to resort to eating fast food (out of necessity/time crunch/fatigue)? (I guessed the latter when I answered)0
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..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.0
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..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
In Canada a combo is $8+ and there are tons of combos that are way less than 3000 calories1 -
..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
I'm sure it depends on the area and the fast food joint, but when I used to eat it regularly I averaged just under $3.50 per day (lunch only). Which isn't a fortune but when I bring my own I average less than 1/2 that. It adds up.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
In Canada a combo is $8+ and there are tons of combos that are way less than 3000 calories
Maybe it's different there?..every fast food chain I've been to in Buffalo (McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's,..) has a dollar menu, and pretty much every reasonable-portioned item is on it. So cheeseburger + small/'value' fries = $2+tax.0 -
laureneh01 wrote: »How does everyone stay away from fast food? Need some advice
In threads like these, I think it is helpful to ask for more details about what your goals are and why you are trying to stay away from fast food. Are you trying to save money? Trying to break a habit? Avoiding a particular trigger food? Trying to "eat clean" whatever that might mean to you? Avoiding certain foods for medical reasons (high sodium for hypertension for example)? Believe you can't fit those foods into a calorie deficit?
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singingflutelady wrote: »..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
In Canada a combo is $8+ and there are tons of combos that are way less than 3000 calories
Maybe it's different there?..every fast food chain I've been to in Buffalo (McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's,..) has a dollar menu, and pretty much every reasonable-portioned item is on it. So cheeseburger + small/'value' fries = $2+tax.
I'm amazed that anyone could find a cheeseburger and a small fries filling.4 -
A ) I find that I spend SO MUCH LESS money when I make meals at home. Huge bonus.
B ) I stopped eating meat. Not because I wanted to stop eating fast food, but the result has been a lot less fast food because it isn't as gratifying to go to McDonalds just for the lettuce.0 -
I love me some Bojangles fried chicken. It's amazing. And it's not even very calorific, especially if you're like me and don't eat the side (I always get Mac and cheese and give it to my son).2
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laureneh01 wrote: »How does everyone stay away from fast food? Need some advice
OP, I mostly eat leftovers from home, so I have fewer opportunities. However, I don't avoid it, when it fits my time/calorie/financial budget I eat fast food. It isn't poison, its just typically calorie dense.JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I'm trying to keep money and lose weight. The "fast" in fast food in reality is a description of your poverty.
This is total *kitten*.
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Personally I don't. I just fit in into my calories. I am one of the weird people who can get full and stay full on a reasonable calorie fast food meal. Give me a Big Mac, and a Side Garden Salad no dressing, and I can barely finish the salad and am full for hours afterward. 570 calories if I recall correctly, which is pretty normal for a meal for me.0
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OP, you don't have to give up fast food if you don't want to. Check out the calorie info online, and make a list of options that will fit your calorie goal. I get fast food a couple of times a week (plus pizza on Friday nights) and always have. I just make better choices now.
If you are trying to avoid constantly defaulting to fast food when you are tired or rushed, pre-prepping and planning can be a big help. Cook up a bunch of chicken cutlets or pork chops, make a big pot of rice or soup, chop up a bunch of veggies, cook some hard-boiled eggs, and put them all in the fridge so it's super easy to just pick a way to reheat everything throughout the week and add a different spice or sauce. I also keep some Lean Cuisines in the freezer, so if I work late and just can't deal, I can have one of them with some added frozen veggies and leftover chicken or something like that. Find ways to eat the best you can but still be realistic. You don't have to be perfect
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..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
Probably most people talking about $10+ are probably buying for a family, not just themselves. I can feed my family of 4 for far less with home cooking than I can going through a drive up.
The only thing I could get at a Wendy's for $2 or less is a Jr Cheeseburger or a 4 piece nugget...which isn't going to do much for me.
When I go, which is a rarity I usually get a salad...they're around $8 with tax.0 -
Oh! Something I can answer! Fast food was without question the main reason I got fat in the first place. It's so convenient! I was eating fast food probably a dozen times a week. It was basically all my breakfasts and lunches during my work week, and maybe a couple times over the weekend, too. Craziness.
The single biggest change to my habits has been preparing breakfast, snacks, and lunch the night before a workday. If I have it ready to go, then it becomes even more convenient than fast food! I just spend a few minutes after dinner assembling the next day's food--usually less than five minutes, maybe 15 minutes if I have some actual cooking to do. I usually cook for three days at a time.
I do have fast food once in a while now, but it's no more than twice a week, and in less ridiculous quantities. By doing this, I'm eating healthier, saving money, and being better for the environment. It's working great and I'm proud of myself!3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »For the most part I find it to be basically on par with pig slop, so it's not much of an issue. I've never been a big fan. Occasionally I will get a salad and/or baked potato from Wendy's and that's about it.
Admittedly I'm a total food snob...fast food is just gross to me for the most part.
I can relate to this. Most of if it doesn't taste good to me AND makes me sick afterwards, so it's not a temptation at all.
I do like some of the higher quality fast food places though, like Shake Shack, Chipotle, Panera and Five Guys. I eat them maybe 2-4 times a month. I also really love home made food, so I don't feel drawn to eating at those places more frequently.
What might help OP is figuring out what you like most about fast food - is it the flavor or convenience? Because you could learn to copy the flavors at home in your own cooking, and also batch cook to have food easily available.
You can definitely lose weight while eating fast food often, but if your goal is eating a higher quality diet then cooking the food yourself can help you achieve that.
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Honestly, I don't have an issue because I'm just too frugal/cheap. Those fast food meals add up fast. I avoid Starbucks too - $5 and change for a drink?! No thanks. My bank account thanks me.
This for me too. Once I embraced my frugal side, I saved so much money that I'd previously spent on restaurants. For me, traveling is my passion so putting my money towards that helps motivate me to eat out less. Is there someplace else you'd rather put your money, OP? That might also help you resist.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »..and fast food IS pretty cheap. I see a lot of people referring to spending ~$10 in posts about fast food. Unless you're getting one of their ~3000 calorie 'meals' or a specialty sandwich, it's closer to $2.
Probably most people talking about $10+ are probably buying for a family, not just themselves. I can feed my family of 4 for far less with home cooking than I can going through a drive up.
The only thing I could get at a Wendy's for $2 or less is a Jr Cheeseburger or a 4 piece nugget...which isn't going to do much for me.
When I go, which is a rarity I usually get a salad...they're around $8 with tax.
We are a family of 5. We easily spend around $30 when we go to Chick-fil-A! That's 3 kid meals and 2 combo meals.
I'll never forget going to the air and space museum in DC and spending $35 for 1 combo meal and 3 kid meals!
I'm not looking forward to when my kids out grow kid meals and I have to get adult meals for them...
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Planning is a must if you want to avoid it. Nobody loves the taste because face it, fast food isn't about gourmet dining. It's about convenience. So if I have healthier options in the car with me, I can skip it. I try to pack an insulated lunch bag or at least have some string cheese, or a Fiber One bar & extra water with me all the time.
Grocery store salad bar is a sensible alternative. I can get a roasted chicken breast & some veggies which are lower in calories & more food as well as more filling for roughly the same price. The problem there can be time & the inability to eat that while driving.
If you must get fast food learn the calorie count of various choices. All fast food menus with nutrition info are available on line through your phone. I found a beef burrito on the Taco Bell value menu, for $1.29 plus tax & only 190 calories. It's a very small portion but usually enough for me for lunch or at least to get me through to my afternoon snack when I have more time.0 -
laureneh01 wrote: »How does everyone stay away from fast food? Need some advice
I don't. I ate fast food several times a week during my weight loss phase and had no problem losing around 50lbs. Now I'm several years into successful maintenance and I still eat fast food every week. I enjoy eating out so I've learned how to fit it into my calorie goals 0 -
To stop eating at fast food you need to learn how to eat right. Try to learn 1 simply recipe a week to have a few other go-to options. Most importantly, remember that you will gain the weight back if you don't change your lifestyle. You can loose weight by eating fast food and staying under your calorie limit, but that goes out the window once you reach your goal weight. Of course the occasional drunk taco bell is perfectly acceptable.
That's just not true. I eat fast food on a regular basis and I'm approaching 4 years of maintaining a bmi of around 21.2 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »To stop eating at fast food you need to learn how to eat right. Try to learn 1 simply recipe a week to have a few other go-to options. Most importantly, remember that you will gain the weight back if you don't change your lifestyle. You can loose weight by eating fast food and staying under your calorie limit, but that goes out the window once you reach your goal weight. Of course the occasional drunk taco bell is perfectly acceptable.
That's just not true. I eat fast food on a regular basis and I'm approaching 4 years of maintaining a bmi of around 21.
It's not true for me either. Once I reached my goal weight, I could actually eat *more* because I was no longer aiming for a deficit.4 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »To stop eating at fast food you need to learn how to eat right. Try to learn 1 simply recipe a week to have a few other go-to options. Most importantly, remember that you will gain the weight back if you don't change your lifestyle. You can loose weight by eating fast food and staying under your calorie limit, but that goes out the window once you reach your goal weight. Of course the occasional drunk taco bell is perfectly acceptable.
That's just not true. I eat fast food on a regular basis and I'm approaching 4 years of maintaining a bmi of around 21.
Yeah I didn't understand that at all. How is it possible to eat fast food while losing weight, but when you reach goal weight, and presumably have more calories to work with, it's impossible?3 -
It has so much sodium.
If I'm thinking about it, I'll go to the website and look over the nutritional information and decide if there is something that fits my goals.0 -
I figured out why I was eating it. At first I thought it was for time and convenience so I made sure I had some quick goto meals I could make at home faster than fast food. Which was all well and good for awhile but I still found myself eating that food more than I wanted to.
That's when I realized that my "healthy" meals (lean meat, whole grains etc.) weren't satisfying. I liked them well enough but they didn't taste anywhere near as good as say, a pizza, for an example. I started eating a low carb high fat diet and that resolved that issue. Roast chicken, pot roasts, gravy, steaks and the like are really delicious, nourishing and just really satisfying to me so I no longer looked for an excuse to ditch my healthy food plan in favor of fast food.
The final bit for me was just keeping my kitchen clean. If I needed to clean my kitchen before I could cook dinner I realized I was more likely to pick up fast food or order take out.
Take some time and think about why you're eating fast food when you don't really want to and then you can make the needed changes. Best wishes.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »I figured out why I was eating it. At first I thought it was for time and convenience so I made sure I had some quick goto meals I could make at home faster than fast food. Which was all well and good for awhile but I still found myself eating that food more than I wanted to.
That's when I realized that my "healthy" meals (lean meat, whole grains etc.) weren't satisfying. I liked them well enough but they didn't taste anywhere near as good as say, a pizza, for an example. I started eating a low carb high fat diet and that resolved that issue. Roast chicken, pot roasts, gravy, steaks and the like are really delicious, nourishing and just really satisfying to me so I no longer looked for an excuse to ditch my healthy food plan in favor of fast food.
The final bit for me was just keeping my kitchen clean. If I needed to clean my kitchen before I could cook dinner I realized I was more likely to pick up fast food or order take out.
Take some time and think about why you're eating fast food when you don't really want to and then you can make the needed changes. Best wishes.
Your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs are so true for me.
I find it's easy for me to resist buying fast food at lunch when I pack lunches with foods that I truly enjoy eating. When I bring things I'm not looking forward to, that's when it's difficult to resist the temptation to go grab something.
And having a clean and organized kitchen (that is stocked with ingredients for meals that I find delicious) really cuts down on the motivation to either pick something up on the way home or order in. Another thing I found helpful was getting the right tools for certain cooking jobs. It's so much easier to prep vegetables with a decent knife, for example. When you're not struggling with your tools or your surroundings (or piles of dishes from previous meals), cooking can be fun.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »To stop eating at fast food you need to learn how to eat right. Try to learn 1 simply recipe a week to have a few other go-to options. Most importantly, remember that you will gain the weight back if you don't change your lifestyle. You can loose weight by eating fast food and staying under your calorie limit, but that goes out the window once you reach your goal weight. Of course the occasional drunk taco bell is perfectly acceptable.
That's just not true. I eat fast food on a regular basis and I'm approaching 4 years of maintaining a bmi of around 21.
Yeah I didn't understand that at all. How is it possible to eat fast food while losing weight, but when you reach goal weight, and presumably have more calories to work with, it's impossible?
probably depends on starting weight - A deficit at morbidly obese might be more calories than maintenance at a healthy weight?0
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