Traveling and Fast Food

I'd pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and avoid the fast food.

Grilled chicken sandwich, minus the mayo--ditch the bun (or 1/2 the bun) if you can. And forgo the fries--a lot of fast food places have apple wedges or the likes now.

That being said, as much as indulging can be a bit of a gateway, if you're truly dedicated to this lifestyle change, you can convince yourself that indulging this once is okay, but not to do it going forward when avoidable!

Have fun!!!

I just got back from a 9 day trip, and lost weight while I was gone. Subway seems to be a pretty safe choice. Just skip the lettuce if you don't want to make a mess in the car!

I'd pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and avoid the fast food.

We do this. McDonald's SW grilled chicken salad is good. Without the dressing it's only 299 calories. With dressing, it's 399. It's actually pretty good without the dressing. It's my go-to food when I'm in a hurry; however, not so easy to eat if you're the one driving.

I'd pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and avoid the fast food.

This is what we do too. Fruits and veggies travel pretty well. Sandwiches will easily make a 6 hour trip with a cooler and some Frozen stuff. You can even freeze water bottles and use that as the cooler.

Go to different fast food wesites and read the nutrition menu. You can pick out a couple of things from each menu that fit in your calories. (ex. Taco Bell al fresco tacos) Most fast food has gotten better about offering healthy options. You just have to research what those options are BEFORE you get there.

The BEST idea is just to pack a cooler with some sanwiches, fruits, veggies, etc. It is cheaper too.

Chick-fil-a is a great option if you see one. Their grilled chicken sandwich is really good!! Also a single cheese burger isn't a bad option, and Taco bell has a low fat menu now.

SUBWAY! Take some good snacks so you aren't starving when you get a chance to stop

I road trip often and like to pack a cooler with sandwhichs, grapes, crackers, gum, vitamin water, etc. for at least one meal. The other meal is usually fast food - Subway or Taco Bell's Drive Thru Diet are my favs.

You are right about the salads...even if you are carefull about the dressing most are loaded with other not so healthy stuff. If I'm going to indulge, it's going to be on a nice meal when I get to my destination, not a quick bite on the road.

If worse comes to worse and you find yourself in a bind, most places have a grilled chicken sandwhich. (w/o mayo or fries of course!)

Good idea trying to plan ahead!

First, if you have a smart phone and have the app, make sure you use it to guide your decisions. If you have a smart phone (or even just an iPod Touch) and *don't* have the app, go download it before you leave. It's free, it's a wealth of information and there's no reason to NOT have it.

Second, go out and look at the various fast food websites and look at the nutritional information. Plan ahead as much as you can, know what you want at 2 or 3 places, that way you're not overly confined if and when you stop. There's generally lower-calorie stuff available almost everywhere. My wife and I prefer stopping at places like Panera (where the calories are right there on the big board) or Chick-Fil-A (Chargrilled Chicken Sammich with a fruit cup side is only 500-ish calories), places we know we can get lower calorie items. Just be careful about the sodium at these places, they're usually through the roof and one meal can be more than your daily allotment!

As for the restaurant salads, the issue I have with them isn't so much the calories, it's how deceptive they are, especially for the uninformed (<--- key word right there). Someone may *think* they're eating something good for them, but when you add up the full-fat cheese, full-fat salad dressings, croutons, usually there's bacon on there, and then the protein (of which they never add "just" 4 ounces and usually there's butter involved in preparing it), the calories, fat and sodium can add up quick.

I'd pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and avoid the fast food.

^^ THIS is a great way to go! My family is planning a trip to a family wedding in September -- takes over 2 days driving. We've been doing research on healthy not-so-messy travel foods and snacks. Here are a few we've found (clearly some a little more calorie conscious than others):
Popcorn
Yogurt & Granola
Apples & Peanut Butter
Mini Pita sandwiches (hummus, for example)
Whole grain crackers
Natural fruit snacks (no added sugar / color)
Jerky (Beef, turkey, venison, etc.)
Grape tomatoes
Chex Mix
Olives
Baby Carrots
Mini-boxes of raisins
String Cheese
Pumpkin seeds / Sunflower seeds
Hard-boiled eggs

Do an internet search on "healty travel snacks" and you'll find even more suggestions. Good luck!

If stopping the car and having a salad sitting down isn't going to work (When our boys were that little, a 6 hour road trip actually became a 9 hour road trip because of diaper changes, feeding them, etc. so we had to stop often anyhow) I would suggest packing your own food in a cooler, food that you know you can eat without making a mess in the car and that will fit within your calorie requirements. Stay away from Starbucks on your travels, though . My husband always gets several coffees or lattes during our long road trips to keep him awake, and last time was the first he paid attention to the calorie count on it! Unbelievably bad!

Do you have a smart phone? Most fast foods have nutrition online that you good look up while on the road.

Good option:

McDonalds Chicken Grilled Cesar Salad without croutons is 190 then I use 1/4 pkg of the cesar dressing for 45 calories, and drink water.

Or pack a cooler then you have control of what you eat, everyone suggested some great options.