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How do you choose a salad over a Big Mac?
Replies
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sampsondavidj wrote: »McDonald's has always been a nemesis for me. I have stood in line, pondering if I should get a salad or McWrap instead of a Big Mac. 99.97% of the time, I choose the Big Mac....I did get the McWrap once. What I am looking for is "decision process information" that helps you choose the salad. What I mean by "decision process information" is any thoughts or reasonings that you have that lead to the decision to eat the salad.
I wouldn't. I would only go to McDonald's if I had enough calories and thr right macros for a big mac and fries (or whatever my meal of choice there was)2 -
When I first started and was struggling with the change in eating and how to fit it into my busy life, I wrote down the calorie counts of my favourite menu items - that way if I ended up getting McDonald’s for dinner after work, I could at least avoid eating 2 days worth of calories. It also made it easier sometimes to just go home and cook at 1am.
Now I pretty much avoid McDonalds - I have the meal prepping/planning to eat down and don't find any need to go there anymore.
(sorry about the size of the images - don't know why it's so large)
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2 things I haven't seen mentioned yet:
1. For me, smells are triggering. If I'm standing in line waiting, smelling fries, I'm definitely getting the burger and fries. If my goal is to get the burger and salad, drive thru might be more successful.
2. I have more willpower to make good decisions earlier in the day. More likely to be successful and follow my plan if I'm stopping in for lunch than if it's late in the day, I'm tired and hungry on the way home from work.7 -
I don't see anything wrong with a having a burger and fries if it fits my calories. When I do have them they're either homemade (so less calories than McDs) or out at places of higher quality than McDs (Five Guys, Smashburger, Red Robin, Bareburger, etc.).
I also
- have a light breakfast
- eat my most calorie dense meals during lunch
- have a small low cal salad/vegetable soup for dinner
- exercise consistently throughout the day
I walk past a dozen of cheap fastfoods places on my walk home and it does take willpower to resist walking in. To build that willpower, I decided to learn to cook the foods I found myself buying. I did not want to give them up entirely. When I can make the same foods at home, the temptation to buy them decreased. The only time I noticed that willpower shrinking is when I work late and am hungrier than usual during the walk home. In those cases, I'll get Subway, Panera, or Chipotle for dinner and expect the high sodium content to mess up my weigh-ins for the next couple days.6 -
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
I remember as a kid there were people trying to say that McDonalds burgers were made out of worms.5 -
Here is my strategy:
I'm hungry
I go to McDonalds
I ask myself "what is my calorie goal for today?"
I then ask "how many calories have I eaten today?"
I then think "that much? god, you're a loser"
That moral scolding notwithstanding, I am still hungry
I look at the various menu choices
They all have calorie amounts listed next to them
I figure out a calorie goal for that meal
I choose the item (or combination of items) that meet that goal
I ask myself "why are you the only person who still eats a filet-o-fish?"
I order, pay my money, and receive my food.
I eat the food.
It sounds like a lot of steps, but it really is a quick process.15 -
My McDonald's order on the rare occasion I go is 2 small hamburgers (2 × 250 calories) and kids fries (100 calories). This fills me up and doesn't derail my deficit. When I go somewhere I know doesn't have any good options for my goals I simply leave.
You are in charge of what you consume. I could blow my whole daily allowance on a burger but what good is that when it will set me back in my goals. I've changed my thinking from short term gratification to long term gains.3 -
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TavistockToad wrote: »
In the US, too. But ever since the "pink slime" nonsense people have been trying to claim various other ~scary~ additives that don't exist.9 -
diannethegeek wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »
In the US, too. But ever since the "pink slime" nonsense people have been trying to claim various other ~scary~ additives that don't exist.
The definition of "pink slime" I heard from someone who was fearmongering was just a needlessly gross explanation of what ground meat is...11 -
UUUGGGG - read what really is in McD burgers. It's disgusting. That was enough to turn me off for good.PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »There's a fair chance that what you read was propaganda.
Strangely (or appropriately) enough, when you do a search, one of the first results that pops up is an article from Mercola. MercoLOLa, the fearmongering quack.
McDonald's burgers are made from 100% beef. Relax.6 -
stevencloser wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »
In the US, too. But ever since the "pink slime" nonsense people have been trying to claim various other ~scary~ additives that don't exist.
The definition of "pink slime" I heard from someone who was fearmongering was just a needlessly gross explanation of what ground meat is...
That's really all it was. It was a great way to avoid food waste by cleaning the useable meat left on the bone. But it looked scary so they were forced to start wasting meat again.4 -
I just plan for the Big Mac....and nuggets....and water. I don't go to McDonald's for a salad.4
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Why not just stop going to McD's in the first place? Anyway a big mac has less than 600 calories, so it's not the worst thing in the world, assuming you don't get the fries and a "diet coke"7
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I usually pick the salad. All things equal, I’d take the Big Mac, but in my mind things aren’t equal. I do believe that micronutrients are important, so the idea that there’s more nutrition per calorie in a salad helps. Also, it’s not my last chance at a Big Mac. I tell myself that I can get one next time, if I must. Occasionally, I opt for a burger or something. Usually, when I’m on vacation, or with friends. For the most part, it’s just food to me. I know not everyone thinks this way, and that fine. It’s just why I tend to pick the salad and don’t issues w it.1
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sloth3toes wrote: »
I got a diet coke today with my McDonald's order, but I didn't get the fries. How do I rank on the global disasters scale?13 -
I used to eat fast food every day and then i just committed to myself. I learned to cook and stopped eating fast food entirely.
Soon as i adjusted to this process, fast food wouldn't even feel appealing. I went from having it every day to not having it for years.
I lost the bulk of my weight in under 7 months. I went from 265 to 200 in that time (overall i went from 285 to 190). You just need to decide what you want more. Consistency leads to results and each day it gets much easier.4 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »sloth3toes wrote: »
I got a diet coke today with my McDonald's order, but I didn't get the fries. How do I rank on the global disasters scale?
Somewhere between the Black Plague and Chernobyl.11 -
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Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
I remember as a kid there were people trying to say that McDonalds burgers were made out of worms.
I heard that about BK burgers from a kid in high school who worked there. I went home and told my mom. She said "No, no, no...They use worm bedding. As a filler. It's fine." Thanks, mom!
I mean, would it really be so bad if they were made from worms or worm bedding? Worms are probably nutritious, and the bedding is probably just cellulose. If it's not making me sick, then whatevs, amirite?9 -
sloth3toes wrote: »
The diet coke is the worst thing, everyone knows if you'd just get the BigMac and fries you wouldn't get as fat.9 -
The process gets easier as you create new habits and break old ones. To get over the tempting food "trap" I would just think of what I feel/felt like AFTER I ate said item (for me, it was usually ice cream). I'd imagine swallowing the food (and how wonderful it tasted and felt) and then what it felt like as it hit my stomach (usually like a rock) and then what I felt later that day and the following day (usually heavy, bloated and irritated). If I was willing to put up with the negative feelings associated with the tempting foods, then I went for it! If not, then I'd pick my healthier option and I would follow through with the same process (eating, swallowing and feeling) and there were usually more positive emotions associated with it!
A quote I like to tell myself when I am tempted by something that seems UNBEARABLE -
"...a habit can be the best of servants or the worst of masters..."
Do I want to be a servant to my lower brain or do I want to be its master?!6 -
I used to eat fast food every day and then i just committed to myself. I learned to cook and stopped eating fast food entirely.
Soon as i adjusted to this process, fast food wouldn't even feel appealing. I went from having it every day to not having it for years.
I lost the bulk of my weight in under 7 months. I went from 265 to 200 in that time (overall i went from 285 to 190). You just need to decide what you want more. Consistency leads to results and each day it gets much easier.
I used to never get fast food, since losing weight I started eating it more because counting calories took away the fear of "I'll never lose weight if I eat stuff like that!"11 -
I won’t be able to help with this one. I have a wheat allergy so I couldn’t eat a Big Mac even if I wanted one.
Occasionally I do go to a place locally that has huge burgers I can eat though, and when I do I go all out. I just plan for it and adjust the days around it.1 -
stevencloser wrote: »I used to eat fast food every day and then i just committed to myself. I learned to cook and stopped eating fast food entirely.
Soon as i adjusted to this process, fast food wouldn't even feel appealing. I went from having it every day to not having it for years.
I lost the bulk of my weight in under 7 months. I went from 265 to 200 in that time (overall i went from 285 to 190). You just need to decide what you want more. Consistency leads to results and each day it gets much easier.
I used to never get fast food, since losing weight I started eating it more because counting calories took away the fear of "I'll never lose weight if I eat stuff like that!"
That’s the main reason I count, if I need to readjust for some reason. Ppl act like it’s bc I’m obsessive (I’m already fit), but it’s so that I can get an idea of how to readjust my eating, without depriving myself. I’m not okay w the 2 lbs a year creap, and I’m also not okay with banishing wine or pizza.6 -
SigrnOddgeirsdttir wrote: »Wow many comment. Well I think that if you crave junk like McDonald´s then you you don´t have healthy diet in general, am I right? .
Nope. I have a 120-square-foot garden, made 90 percent of my own food (well, I don't grow the steer and poultry and fish -- don't live on a farm), and generally eat a minimally processed way of life.
Sometimes, a girl just gets a craving.
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I don't. If I want a Big Mac, I get a Big Mac.
But lately, only reason I stop @ McD's is if I'm pressed for time, and it ends up being a 20 piece chicken nuggets plain ... about the only stock item that isn't horrible LCHF macros. I eat half, and save the rest for a 2nd meal.1 -
diannethegeek wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »
In the US, too. But ever since the "pink slime" nonsense people have been trying to claim various other ~scary~ additives that don't exist.
That's not quite valid. Pink slime is a newer product than ground beef, made by a patented process by a specific company. Yes, it's 100% beef, but it's made from trimmings (next to the skin, not the bone) that used to be discarded because they were unable to be cut cleanly. They are treated with ammonia before being ground. Pink slime is nutritionally different because of where it's cut from - it contains more collagen than standard ground beef - and to me at least has a faint ammonia smell when cooked. It won't hurt you, but it's not a high quality product. The main problem with it was that due to lobbyists, the FDA regulation was that not only did ammonia treated beef trimmings not have to be labeled, you COULDN'T label meat as not having been treated with ammonia even if you wanted to, since consumers were too dumb to be trusted to make decisions and might decide they didn't want to eat it if they were given the choice not to. At one point the majority of grocery store ground beef and most fast food chains had a percentage of pink slime added to ground beef with no change in labeling or any way to determine the mixture. Speaking for myself, I have nothing against anyone who wants to eat it, but I do think you should be allowed to tell what you are eating and choose what to eat.
This is a conversation which doesn't apply today, since consumer backlash caused most places to stop using pink slime. Including McDonalds I believe, although I would have to look that up.7
This discussion has been closed.
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