My biggest struggle: Fast food!
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At this point in time, the only time I eat fast food is if I'm in an airport or I'm on a road trip.
But, in my early years I had a fast food habit. Nothing beat McDonalds chicken nugget and french fries. Or a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Wendy's. McDonalds Milk shakes/Apple Pies, DQ, you name it.
How did I beat it? Baby steps. First I reduced my reliance on them by making my own food. Making sure I had something to eat so I didn't have to go out. But I still let myself go once in awhile. Then I decided that I could have a sandwich only - no fries - anywhere. So if I went to a restaurant of any kind, I could eat as much of the sandwich as I wanted, but I wasn't allow to get fries (substitued for broccoli or something). I knew I had to change my habits in baby steps.
I go to fast food restaurants so limited now that I didn't even know that Sonic doesn't have an inside.0 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »A year ago I was in a similar boat, although with bar food rather than fast food. If you want to cook more at home and can afford it and live somewhere it's available, I'd suggest you try one of the meal kit delivery services - Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, etc. It has made a huge difference for us to get that box every week, and my husband has generally found the recipes fairly easy to follow (he does all the cooking). Blue Apron was more "learn new cooking techniques!" than Hello Fresh, which are the two we've tried. I like the HF recipes better and there's usually enough for two dinners and one leftovers lunch in each meal. As others have said, you don't have to stop eating fast food entirely, but swapping out for three home cooked meals a week will likely be a big change.
Seconding the meal kits! We've done Blue Apron and HelloFresh (preferred the visual amount of food on the plate in HF but the flavors, especially the 'international' dishes, of Blue Apron). They were a good reminder about simple salads (greens, lemon juice, shallots) and different ways to prep the same stuff. We have remade a few of them, and there's some we use pieces of. One BA pork chop recipe had an apple salsa topping, and now that apple-habanero salsa is my go-to dish to bring to work potlucks. It's simple and I know exactly what's in it...much less sodium than store-bought salsa! Or making a romesco sauce (red pepper, garlic, onion) to top meat dishes instead of gravy.
Making about a year's worth of kit dinners also made us more confident cooks and we've branched out significantly since then...and eating better at home makes me want fast food less, because I know what we make is so tasty, while fast food sometimes really disappoints. There is almost nothing worse than working hard for a treat (CURLY FRIES) and then getting underseasoned or limp fries. Ask me how I know...1 -
I don't cook and have no desire to. I have tried in the past, but I just end up wasting a ton of time, money and sanity on food that is inedible. I eat a lot of freezer meals (lean cuisine, mostly) and have fast food a couple of times a week. I just make it work. I like Panda Express because the teriyaki chicken is 300 calories with 36 grams of protein. I get the two item combo and order double teriyaki and measure out a serving for one day and have the rest the next day. I also like to make quick sandwiches. The Budding meat packages are perfect for one sandwich. I put a package of Budding on a single slice of bread with a bit of mayo and maybe some avocado if they aren't too expensive, add some steamed veggies or some baby carrots and it's a perfect lunch for me.
There are other quick things I can make work into my calories goal. Costco has these microwave cheeseburgers that are 500 calories, which is reasonable for a single main meal, and I just add some steamed veggies. I also like microwave burritos or really anything I can make in the microwave in less than 5 minutes.
Maybe some day I will marry a guy who cooks, but until then, the microwave is my best friend.0 -
I broke that habit actually 17 years ago, long before I found myfitnesspal. I was a 10-time-per-week fast food consumer, at least. It may have been 15 or 20. I did not eat for nourishment. Rather, I ate for habit. When I decided to break that habit, I did not suffer for lack of nourishment. I did not have a goal of losing weight. I only had an intent to avoid the expense of drive-through food. I did lose about 100 pounds, quite accidentally, but that was never the purpose of breaking that habit.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »Everybody jumps all over me when I say this and I get that fast food is a business and not obligated to care about your health blah blah blah...
But they don't give a damn about you... If they can profit by selling you poison in a bag, they will do so systematically...
It's obvious they think we are all complete Fools by the way they market to us...
Once in a while isn't going to kill you, but they want you to come there 7 days a week and have teams of chemist and food engineers, and marketers that do everything they can to make sure that you do...
Realizing this was half the battle for me
Nobody denies that businesses (including fast food) aren't obligated to care about our health.
Are you under the impression that there is an industry that does care about you personally or isn't trying to make a profit?
Did I say anyone was denying this?
Did I say I was?
And do you honestly fail to see the difference between the fast food industry trying to profit off of your own health and say... The movie industry trying to get you to see their films...
Your question implies that you obviously agree with me when I say the fast food industry does not give a damn about you or your health...
Therfore you fail to make an argument, if that's what you were trying to do...
You prefaced with with this: "Everybody jumps all over me when I say this . . ." but now you say that nobody denies it? That doesn't make sense.
Or is the "this" referring to some other statement? What, specifically, are people jumping on you for?
I don't think that any industry has a particular concern for me. What I question is why people hold this against fast food in particular instead of, say, the movie industry (which also has the capacity to harm people).
I agree with you that fast food isn't obligated to care about our health and doesn't care about us personally. My argument (since you didn't pick it up in the previous post) is why is this more significant for fast food than it is for all the other industries that have identical non-obligations?
Oh Geez, here we go...
First, my apologies, I didn't realize that you weren't trying to jump all over...(rolls eyes) And for stating something that you apparently agree with no less.
You make a valid point about the harm done by the movie industry, but that doesn't get the fast food industry off the hook.
And let's concede to you that the fast food industry, isn't any different from any other industry trying to make a profit. I disagree but I'll sacrifice my knight for the inevitable checkmate lol...
That still doesn't change the fact that they don't give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag to make a single penny...
Do you usually take anything less than fawning agreement as someone "jumping on you"?
I am not trying to get fast food "off the hook," rather trying to make the point that this is a "hook" that all industries are on. None of them are legally obligated to care for us. All of them are legally obligated to consider the needs of their shareholders (that is, turn a profit). The board of Whole Foods doesn't care about me any more than the board of McDonald's does. So instead of spinning conspiracy theories about fast food, maybe we should all take a bit more personal responsibility and realize that no business is here to hold our hand through life and ensure we're making the best decisions for ourselves.
If you concede and then say you disagree, that doesn't make sense to me. Why concede if you think there is a valid point to be made for your argument?
What industry do you think cares about you or has an obligation to do so? Since you disagree that fast food isn't different, I'm curious to know what industry you are thinking of.
Okay, I've got it...
"The fast food industry, like every other industry, does not give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag, while hiring chemist, food engineers and marketers to make their food as addictive and appealing as possible...
So you need to exercise some personal responsibility, avoid their products and make healthier choices..."
There, better?
I knew we could do it!
Friends?
2 -
There are almost always "healthy food choices" at fast food places anymore. Not that you just eat healthy. It's just what I've chosen. I've found the cleaner I eat, for the most part, I achieve a larger bang for the buck. I usually will get a grilled chicken sandwich, which is very local cal compared to the burgers. I do especially well when I don't order the fries.
Nothing wrong at all with getting a burger at five guys, as they cook theirs very clean, achieving a lower cal burger.
Taco Bell especially has many healthier lower cal options. Power bowl, power burrito, seven layer burrito.2 -
Log everything. Just logging your meal choices will make you consider better ones. Most fast food meals are fatty and sugary, and the "healthy" ones tend to not be all that healthy, and have only small portions of the more expensive ingredients with lots of low cost filler such as iceberg lettuce. You can do better, and it will be easier to lose weight on a larger portion of good food than a small portion of nutritionally poor food.
Grocery shop properly. You can't cook at home unless you have food at home. Plan out what you are going to make and buy ingredients for it. Get a whiteboard for your fridge and make notes on it, so you don't let yourself "forget" what you bought and let it go to waste.
Come up with one or two easy and delicious meals you can quickly make at home - two of my favorites are turkey pumpkin black bean chili, and stir fry with garlic and ginger, but there are billions of recipes and some have to be things which sound amazing to you. Make them! Make enough to have some in the fridge for when you get hungry.
Try changing your driving route so you don't go past the fast food places.
Since having fun times is linked to fast food in your mind, make home meals fun too. Pack a picnic basket and go to the park. Make your dining area in your home cheerful - if it's a mess, pick it up. Buy yourself some fun tablewear if it helps. Just changing the light fixture over my kitchen table completely changed the way my husband and I feel about breakfast - now it's a time we look forward to, whereas before it was a dark, crowded corner.0 -
Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »Everybody jumps all over me when I say this and I get that fast food is a business and not obligated to care about your health blah blah blah...
But they don't give a damn about you... If they can profit by selling you poison in a bag, they will do so systematically...
It's obvious they think we are all complete Fools by the way they market to us...
Once in a while isn't going to kill you, but they want you to come there 7 days a week and have teams of chemist and food engineers, and marketers that do everything they can to make sure that you do...
Realizing this was half the battle for me
Nobody denies that businesses (including fast food) aren't obligated to care about our health.
Are you under the impression that there is an industry that does care about you personally or isn't trying to make a profit?
Did I say anyone was denying this?
Did I say I was?
And do you honestly fail to see the difference between the fast food industry trying to profit off of your own health and say... The movie industry trying to get you to see their films...
Your question implies that you obviously agree with me when I say the fast food industry does not give a damn about you or your health...
Therfore you fail to make an argument, if that's what you were trying to do...
You prefaced with with this: "Everybody jumps all over me when I say this . . ." but now you say that nobody denies it? That doesn't make sense.
Or is the "this" referring to some other statement? What, specifically, are people jumping on you for?
I don't think that any industry has a particular concern for me. What I question is why people hold this against fast food in particular instead of, say, the movie industry (which also has the capacity to harm people).
I agree with you that fast food isn't obligated to care about our health and doesn't care about us personally. My argument (since you didn't pick it up in the previous post) is why is this more significant for fast food than it is for all the other industries that have identical non-obligations?
Oh Geez, here we go...
First, my apologies, I didn't realize that you weren't trying to jump all over...(rolls eyes) And for stating something that you apparently agree with no less.
You make a valid point about the harm done by the movie industry, but that doesn't get the fast food industry off the hook.
And let's concede to you that the fast food industry, isn't any different from any other industry trying to make a profit. I disagree but I'll sacrifice my knight for the inevitable checkmate lol...
That still doesn't change the fact that they don't give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag to make a single penny...
Do you usually take anything less than fawning agreement as someone "jumping on you"?
I am not trying to get fast food "off the hook," rather trying to make the point that this is a "hook" that all industries are on. None of them are legally obligated to care for us. All of them are legally obligated to consider the needs of their shareholders (that is, turn a profit). The board of Whole Foods doesn't care about me any more than the board of McDonald's does. So instead of spinning conspiracy theories about fast food, maybe we should all take a bit more personal responsibility and realize that no business is here to hold our hand through life and ensure we're making the best decisions for ourselves.
If you concede and then say you disagree, that doesn't make sense to me. Why concede if you think there is a valid point to be made for your argument?
What industry do you think cares about you or has an obligation to do so? Since you disagree that fast food isn't different, I'm curious to know what industry you are thinking of.
Okay, I've got it...
"The fast food industry, like every other industry, does not give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag, while hiring chemist, food engineers and marketers to make their food as addictive and appealing as possible...
So you need to exercise some personal responsibility, avoid their products and make healthier choices..."
There, better?
I knew we could do it!
Friends?
I prefer friends who can communicate without condescending or using hyperbole, but thanks.6 -
Just don't eat the bad food . Once you stop doing it and you start losing weight you'll be so happy you said no to that fast food. Losing weight is motivating trust me once you see that scale moving down your gonna keep wanting it to go lower2
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janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »Everybody jumps all over me when I say this and I get that fast food is a business and not obligated to care about your health blah blah blah...
But they don't give a damn about you... If they can profit by selling you poison in a bag, they will do so systematically...
It's obvious they think we are all complete Fools by the way they market to us...
Once in a while isn't going to kill you, but they want you to come there 7 days a week and have teams of chemist and food engineers, and marketers that do everything they can to make sure that you do...
Realizing this was half the battle for me
Nobody denies that businesses (including fast food) aren't obligated to care about our health.
Are you under the impression that there is an industry that does care about you personally or isn't trying to make a profit?
Did I say anyone was denying this?
Did I say I was?
And do you honestly fail to see the difference between the fast food industry trying to profit off of your own health and say... The movie industry trying to get you to see their films...
Your question implies that you obviously agree with me when I say the fast food industry does not give a damn about you or your health...
Therfore you fail to make an argument, if that's what you were trying to do...
You prefaced with with this: "Everybody jumps all over me when I say this . . ." but now you say that nobody denies it? That doesn't make sense.
Or is the "this" referring to some other statement? What, specifically, are people jumping on you for?
I don't think that any industry has a particular concern for me. What I question is why people hold this against fast food in particular instead of, say, the movie industry (which also has the capacity to harm people).
I agree with you that fast food isn't obligated to care about our health and doesn't care about us personally. My argument (since you didn't pick it up in the previous post) is why is this more significant for fast food than it is for all the other industries that have identical non-obligations?
Oh Geez, here we go...
First, my apologies, I didn't realize that you weren't trying to jump all over...(rolls eyes) And for stating something that you apparently agree with no less.
You make a valid point about the harm done by the movie industry, but that doesn't get the fast food industry off the hook.
And let's concede to you that the fast food industry, isn't any different from any other industry trying to make a profit. I disagree but I'll sacrifice my knight for the inevitable checkmate lol...
That still doesn't change the fact that they don't give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag to make a single penny...
Do you usually take anything less than fawning agreement as someone "jumping on you"?
I am not trying to get fast food "off the hook," rather trying to make the point that this is a "hook" that all industries are on. None of them are legally obligated to care for us. All of them are legally obligated to consider the needs of their shareholders (that is, turn a profit). The board of Whole Foods doesn't care about me any more than the board of McDonald's does. So instead of spinning conspiracy theories about fast food, maybe we should all take a bit more personal responsibility and realize that no business is here to hold our hand through life and ensure we're making the best decisions for ourselves.
If you concede and then say you disagree, that doesn't make sense to me. Why concede if you think there is a valid point to be made for your argument?
What industry do you think cares about you or has an obligation to do so? Since you disagree that fast food isn't different, I'm curious to know what industry you are thinking of.
Okay, I've got it...
"The fast food industry, like every other industry, does not give a damn about you or your health and will sell you obesity and poison in a bag, while hiring chemist, food engineers and marketers to make their food as addictive and appealing as possible...
So you need to exercise some personal responsibility, avoid their products and make healthier choices..."
There, better?
I knew we could do it!
Friends?
I prefer friends who can communicate without condescending or using hyperbole, but thanks.
haha!
1 -
I gave up fast food by giving up meat. I don't hit the drive-thru anymore because there's nothing I can order there anyway. That worked like a charm for me, and believe me, I used to hit McD's at least once a week.1
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I like the cook-at-home meal delivery idea too. It's easy to fall back on fast food if you don't like what you're cooking or feel like the food you're cooking is boring and bland (or takes forever to make). Convenient and tasty food you can make at home are going to help you break your habit.
One thought is pre-tracking and planning your meals for a week. You don't need to go all out, but plan to cook at home 3 nights a week at first, then 4 nights. Schedule fast food meals and plan to make some of them "healthier" or lower in calories. You can even focus more on changing the number of times you're eating fast food in a week and improving cooking skills before you dive into calorie reduction - go slowly and work on changing one habit at a time instead of an all-or-nothing approach.
Example:
Monday - yogurt and fruit, lunch at Burger King, slow cooker chili
Tuesday - cereal, leftover chili, breakfast for dinner
Wednesday - eggs, leftover chili, McDonalds
Thursday - waffle, Panera with lower calorie options, homemade turkey burger
Friday - Starbucks breakfast sandwich, soup, English muffin pizzas and salad1 -
Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »Everybody jumps all over me when I say this and I get that fast food is a business and not obligated to care about your health blah blah blah...
But they don't give a damn about you... If they can profit by selling you poison in a bag, they will do so systematically...
It's obvious they think we are all complete Fools by the way they market to us...
Once in a while isn't going to kill you, but they want you to come there 7 days a week and have teams of chemist and food engineers, and marketers that do everything they can to make sure that you do...
Realizing this was half the battle for me
I love certain fast foods, such as chipotle and freebirds.
I understand what you mean since Taco Bell's meat was about 88% meat (a business claimed it was 35% synthetic, but they lied after researching it now) and the rest was... a mystery. And Subways chicken was actually not really chicken, half of it is soy.
I'd just consume healthier products, replacing those fast food meals. I have this drink daily called Orgain and it's a better meal than say an Egg White Delight McMuffin from McDonalds. The same exact calories, but Orgain has an organic protein blend, vitamin blend, carb blend, fruit blend, vegetable blend.1 -
Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »Everybody jumps all over me when I say this and I get that fast food is a business and not obligated to care about your health blah blah blah...
But they don't give a damn about you... If they can profit by selling you poison in a bag, they will do so systematically...
It's obvious they think we are all complete Fools by the way they market to us...
Once in a while isn't going to kill you, but they want you to come there 7 days a week and have teams of chemist and food engineers, and marketers that do everything they can to make sure that you do...
Realizing this was half the battle for me
I love certain fast foods, such as chipotle and freebirds.
I understand what you mean since Taco Bell's meat was about 88% meat (a business claimed it was 35% synthetic, but they lied after researching it now) and the rest was... a mystery. And Subways chicken was actually not really chicken, half of it is soy.
I'd just consume healthier products, replacing those fast food meals. I have this drink daily called Orgain and it's a better meal than say an Egg White Delight McMuffin from McDonalds. The same exact calories, but Orgain has an organic protein blend, vitamin blend, carb blend, fruit blend, vegetable blend.
I love orgain... I swear by those when I'm away from home and can't rely on my normal blend of Tera's whey and raw meal1 -
ruffalicious wrote: »i started watching documentaries about junk foods and fast foods on netflix, so now everytime i see fast foods, i barf lol
Ya, I haven't had a fast food burger since seeing the ammonia plant in "Food, Inc.", chicken nuggets since reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma", or Subway since watching a piece on "The Daily Show." I am aware that Subway has since removed the yoga mat chemical, but knowing that it was there before turned me off.
All this information has made me value having more control regarding ingredients over convenience. I'm inclined to cook from scratch anyway, but got a little lazy* from time to time. Now I plan better and cook more.
* "lazy" refers to me and should not be construed to be a judgment on people who eat fast food.3 -
Salera_west wrote: »My mom had to have her gall bladder removed cause of the grease she ate.
Eating cholesterol does not cause cholesterol gallstones (as opposed to pigment gallstones) to form in and of itself unless there is other pathology going on somewhere. In fact, the #1 recognized cause of gallbladder cholesterol based sludge/stone formation is a patient history of chronically following a diet too low in fat to stimulate the gallbladder to express its contents entirely on a routine basis. Lack of regular full expression of all bile (cholestasis) leads to bile overconcentration which in turn leads to sludge/stone formation.
This is because bile is mostly comprised of cholesterol normally and independently of how much "grease" is eaten in the diet.
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Avoiding fast food is easy for me because I am so cheap. Fast food freaking expensive these days! Don't get me wrong I think a lot of it tastes great, but I can't afford to eat out every day.
So my suggestion is give yourself a financial goal - say, an awesome vacation or diamond earrings or a down payment on a big purchase and save all the money you would have spent on fast food toward it.1 -
perkymommy wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »A McDonald's side salad (which is pretty basic) has 15 calories before you add the dressing.
For a full meal salad, the Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad has 350 calories before you add the dressing, which is still pretty reasonable (hold the glaze and the tortilla strips and it goes down to 260). I feel as if lots of people can make salads at home that have more calories -- I know I have.
Should people research the calories in fast food salads before ordering? Sure. But for lots of people, they can be a reasonable option. To say that any basic fast food salad has more calories than what people are making at home just isn't accurate.
When I was doing weight watchers I could use up a lot of my points for the day eating a salad from a fast food or any type of restaurant unless I get half a salad. That's not worth it to me. At home I'm able to weigh and measure it all out before eating it. To each his own. But salads outside the home, more often than not, are higher in calories and especially in sodium.
If you skip the dressing or bring your own no calorie or very low calorie dressing you fix much of this issue.1 -
Hi everyone, I'm looking for anyone here that also struggles with the same issue as me, which is that I love fast food and always go to it, and I mean excessively! Growing up, my parents always went out to eat daily for lunch and dinner and sometimes even breakfast as well. I basically grew up on fast food and in my adult years it's still one thing that I always go to. I can stay within calorie range and still eat out fast food, but it doesn't come without its challenges. I would like to eat less fast food and do more home cooking, but the temptation is hard to break. The convience and ease of it.. The greasy tasting goodness, excuse my fattiness talking lol. Anyone here have the same struggle with fast food? I don't mean eating out 3 times a week, I'm talking about eating out 7 to 10 times per week..how did you break the habit?
Filled up my tank with gas and left money/cards at home. Can't buy anything without money.0
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