Does anyone else feel guilty when eating out?

AnilAnhirode
AnilAnhirode Posts: 20 Member
in Motivation and Support
I don't know if it's just mind games or what!

I have the calorie budget to get a burger from McDonalds. I've also been eating 90+% clean the past two months. I'm also at the gym 5-6 times a week (mainly strength training).

When I was eating with my sister at McD I didn't really enjoy my food. I think it's gotta be just in my head.

Anyone else feel the same way about fast food during their weight loss?
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Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Nope. This is all part of the journey, learning how to incorporate things like the occasional eating out. It's okay to enjoy those things. I have had though on occasion gotten fast food and found I just didn't enjoy it like I used to or it hits my stomach too hard after changing my diet, but that's about it.
  • roachrypt
    roachrypt Posts: 34 Member
    I don't really shame myself for eating foods. My diet is pretty crappy if I'm being honest. The only thing I care about is fitting it into my calorie goals tbh.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I don't feel guilty, but I also like to make sure I am enjoying my food choices. If you don't enjoy fast food but still want to eat out, choose something else. I love eating at restaurants or small local joints, I like good quality fresh home cooked food which is worth it for me to indulge in.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    I never find I enjoy McDonalds as much as I think I'm going to. Fast food is cheap and quick but I wouldn't think of it as an indulgence in terms of taste and experience.

    But if you did feel anxiety or guilt about not "eating clean" then that is a real problem. I don't usually subscribe to "food is fuel" but it might be worth taking the time to remind yourself that whether the proteins, fats and carbs are arranged as a burger or as a salad and bread or a lentil stew or a grey nutrient slurry, they're all essentially the same. Don't let the marketing get you in reverse, there's nothing about fast food that makes it evil and there's nothing wrong with an indulgence.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I don't. Why would I? Guilt means I'm doing something wrong, and I never consider enjoying a meal wrong, no matter where I eat it. The only time I feel bad for eating within calories is when I spend my calories on something and it doesn't feel like it's worth it. It's not exactly guilt, more like a feeling that I could have used those calories better, a feeling similar to "buyer's remorse".
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,534 Member
    I eat out a lot. I go to McDs quite a bit, especially if I’m on the road. But my picks there are very limited. A lot of my old favorites don’t taste all that great anymore.

    That said, deprivation is a real program killer. The best weight loss tool may just be staying power. If you like it, can fit it into your program and you are still losing weight, not only is there no reason to let guilt keep you from McDs- maybe you should make a point of going there.

    I eat ice cream nearly every day, about 120 calories worth. So figure about 840 calories in a week. At the end of the week should I think gee, but for that ice cream I could have beaten another 1/4 lb off the scale? No, I think how tough can this be if I get ice cream? The fact that ice cream is coming later keeps me away from cookies and candy during the day. Its all trade offs, balancing the books and being satisfied with how you are living. The eating austerity plan will likely bite you in the end.
  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
    I mean... Not like I'm going to jump but a little
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,267 Member
    I don't feel guilt but I make sure it fits in my calories. I'm going out to eat tonight with my in laws and i'm so excited about it.
    No offense but McDs would NOT be the food I would choose if I had calories to burn...might be why you weren't enjoying it.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I wouldn't say I feel guilty, but I feel annoyed because usually the meal is not satisfying enough for the calories. Maybe the guilt is stemming from eating something that you don't feel is "worth it". I will often call unsatisfying, caloric foods "expensive" lol.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    No guilt, but I wouldn't be choosing McD's. Freddy's on the other hand....
  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 393 Member
    Maybe you just don’t like McD. I don’t. It isn’t filling to me. I feel frustrated at times when I save calories for a meal and it ends up tasting bad.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    edited February 2019
    AnilAnhirode wrote: »
    I don't know if it's just mind games or what!

    I have the calorie budget to get a burger from McDonalds. I've also been eating 90+% clean the past two months. I'm also at the gym 5-6 times a week (mainly strength training).

    When I was eating with my sister at McD I didn't really enjoy my food. I think it's gotta be just in my head.

    Anyone else feel the same way about fast food during their weight loss?

    when I eat out I realize - this is not exactly healthy food - and yes that bothers me - sometimes I eat it anyway but honestly when I go home and eat a salad or any other healthy meal instead I feel so much better about myself.

  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    I have gotten rid of my fast-food-is-unhealthy guilt completely, but replaced it with “fast/food-is-expensive” guilt, which I need to listen to more.

    I have just gotten down 81 lbs over 8.5 months, and I order takeout like 4 times a week, maybe more. I just make sure it fits in my calories. I usually get burgers, side salads, grilled chicken, wraps/sandwiches (eating only half at a time), soups, tacos, and sushi. I just order WAY LESS than I used to, save leftovers for lunch the next day, and log everything (adding calories for cooking oils etc).

    No need to feel guilty! We can’t cut out all the delicious foods that give us happiness 😎 just enjoy them in normal quantities!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    There's nothing wrong with eating fast food, so no, it's never made me feel guilty. I can be a healthy and fit person, a kind person, and a fair person and still eat some fast food every once and awhile.

    Food does not have morality, unless you steal it or have issues with the ethics of how it was created. Unfortunately the media tells us constantly about "good" foods and "bad" foods. Try to shut out all that noise. If you simply don't feel like McD's is worth the calories, then by all means pass it up. But if you like it and can fit it in your calories, don't let diet industry myths get in your head :drinker:
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I lost my weight ..not by counting calories..but more by rules of eating. One of which is.. no fast food. As I watch American waddle around.. I'm pretty darned sure Fast Food is part to blame. Your guilt is a good sign in my opinion. I will say posting the calories on the fast food menu board is enough to make me turn around and walk out empty handed.

    Other western countries are definitely not far behind 😂. Although it’s an easy culprit, it’s not fast food that’s the problem. It’s our general perception of portion sizes. It’s warped, and other western countries’ perceptions of portions are heading that way too.

  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    No guilt, but I wouldn't be choosing McD's. Freddy's on the other hand....

    Sometimes I just need a Big Mac :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited February 2019
    No guilt for not eating "clean" or eating out...but McDonalds would definitely be very low on my list of places to spend calories on. I'm not really a fan of fast food in general...I don't find it to be tasty or an indulgence. Fish 'n Chips at Two Fools Tavern on the other hand...or a pizza from Village Pizza...I'm all in, but only occasionally.

    I pretty much only do fast food when we're on a road trip and need to make a quick stop to eat...usually Wendy's. I can't remember the last time I had McDonalds...it's probably been at least a decade which is way before I lost weight. If I do crave a fast food burger I go to this local fast food chain called Blake's Lotaburger. They always use real Angus beef.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Dining out, for my weight loss effort, is not an occasion of despair. Use it as a time to demonstrate your mastery over their offerings.
  • born_of_fire74
    born_of_fire74 Posts: 776 Member
    Not guilty but generally a little regretful because the fast food calorie bomb has used up so much of budget for the day that I really have to skimp on everything else to make it fit. It's analogous to being house poor or car poor. I can afford it in that I can make the payments, strictly speaking, but so little is left over for the rest of my life that it's not really worth it.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    edited February 2019
    I eat out more times than I eat in. If I am choosing to do something, it is under full knowledge that either I will be going over calories that day, staying at my goal, or somewhere in between. I don't sweat it so long as my general trend is going in the right direction.

    I can't eat fast food much anymore (most places aren't friendly to my allergies), but if I COULD, I would. I lost the bulk of my weight eating lots of delicious tacos from Taco Bell. XD (I miss soft tacos so much. Flour tortillas... I am not a huge food person but I think I'd stuff a tortilla in my mouth right now if it didn't make me ill... ahem, I digress).

    My tastes have changed (yay more options for me!) and I'm slightly LESS picky than I was, so now I have more food options but less "going out" options. Still, we make do because both my husband and I are not into cooking at home all the time. >.> So I do what's sustainable for me and don't subscribe to guilt over food.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    I eat it, I log it, I hit my calorie and macro goals with it and I call it a day. Nothing to be guilty about.
  • AnilAnhirode
    AnilAnhirode Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks for the responses guys.

    I definitely don't enjoy fast food as much as I used to. Some of you shared the same mind set as me, I would agree going to a restaurant trumps fast food. I love me my fried chicken wings!

    When I see the calories in a McChicken I think of the quantity of food I can eat at home and be more satisfied.
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
    Yes and no, but not because I'm eating out. It's more that I have become picky about where I use my calories if I'm not eating at home. I will save calories for something I absolutely LOVE, but 500+ calorie crappy fast food burgers are no longer worth it to me. Unless it's more of a convenience thing, like that's all I can choose from.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    I do a iifym approach to weight loss so nothing is off limits.
    I used to love take out food, and now Ive lost the appeal for it. I thinks its the 1500 calorie in one setting of heavier/fattier food that doesn't go well with me. Plus the sodium. It take good but I feel so crappy from it that I just don't want it anymore
  • hazeleni
    hazeleni Posts: 87 Member
    Yeah I do feel guilty.. But I ve gotten used to guestimating calories so I am still within a deficit.. If that burger was good I have a beer and call it maintenance day..
    Think of it thjs way.. When you were larger and tried to eat healthy or less just one day, did it make a difference? No, it was just one day, it was not possible to make a difference in your overall physique. Now work it the other way around.. Same thing..
  • skykyo
    skykyo Posts: 3 Member
    I eat clean mon-fri and Sunday Saturday is saved for if I fancy something which actually helps me put it off if I want it say wed

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