Foods

I am completely in love with fast food (sourdough jacks from jack in the box to be exact). There was a point in my life where I would literally eat it 5 times a week. On an extreme day, I would order the following from Mcdonalds:

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Small Fries

Big Mac

Double Cheeseburger

Large HI-C Orange

I would eat that in one sitting! Lately I've been coming to my senses and have gone about 2 1/2 weeks without eating a burger.

So my questions are--how often do you eat fast food, what is your favorite place, and what do you eat in order to fight the cravings? I actually thought of making healthier versions of them!

I either make healthier versions or eat it. I eat badly once a week, for one meal with some moderation. Thursday is usually my day as it is the day my boyfriend and I go out together on the town and have a meal, and if it's fast food it's fast food. If it's a sit down joint, I have something with a little more bang in the gut than usual.

Now this isn't license to go all out. I stayed away from burger joints for EVER because I was afraid I'd fall into my "order 5x of everything off the dollar menu" style that got me into this mess. I think I went.. -thinks- 6 months before stepping foot in a Wendy's again. In that time I did go to Five Guys and Cheeburger Cheeburger but they are more expensive, and I was less likely to load up on "oh it's just .99 lets get a lot of them.." items.

There's also the substitutions game. At Wendy's for instance, now instead of the classic double large fry and chicken nuggets I get a plain grilled chicken sandwich w lett/tom, baked potato (plain) and bring my own hot sauce to jazz it up ;). If you're a mayo or sour cream lover I don't know how to help you there lol.

You can also try eating half of your entree and save it for later. Eat half of the Quarter Pounder or Big Mac, and half of your fries. Savor it twice in one day. ;)

 

My fast food downfall was Chinese food.  I avoided it cold turkey-style for about 4 months.  Took the number off speed-dial, shredded the menu.... LOL! 

I did learn how to make healthier chinese food.  The upshot was that when I finally caved and ate some takeaway 4 months down the track I actually appreciated how salty, fatty and sugary it was.  I've never touched it since!

Best of luck avoiding the stuff that's been making you fat.... it's well worth it. :-)

I love (in the present tense) fast food.  However, I rarely eat it anymore.  When I first started college I would stop at MacDonald's for breakfast, have Chic-fil-A for lunch and a real meal for dinner.  Needless to say I gained the freshmen 15. 

Now what I order are ... KID'S MEALS!  You get to eat the food you are craving but it MUCH SMALLER PORTIONS.  It is just enough to satisfy but not blow your diet for the day.  Just don't fall into the trap of getting the 'Big Kid's Meal' .... i.e. the one that has just as much food as for an adult.  :) 

Also, you'll find that if you stop eating fast food for a couple of months and start making healthy versions of chicken nuggets, burgers, and fries at home the real fast food will make you ill.  That's my problem now.  All of that grease and fat chews my stomach up.  My versions taste great and don't leave me feeling bad afterwards!

Oh wow I know. I got a quarter pounder the other day because I said to myself "haven't had one in a while". It felt like lead in my stomach. I still love Wendy's Grilled Chicken though.

Everything in moderation I always say. I still eat crap, no doubt about it. I just eat slightly better for me crap. I always check out the nutritional information before I go somewhere, and find the things to stay away from. For example, a chili's burger has over 800 calories, but a huge chunk of them come from the bun! So if I really crave the burger (it's so good) I will order it with a whole wheat bun and save a ton of calories! I give my hubby half my fries and I don't feel nearly as bad. We also stopped ordering the unlimited chips and salsa starter!

But all that said, fast food isn't good for you, so I try not to eat it more than once or twice a week.

Making your own is a very good idea... I felt like getting fast food for lunch the other day when I was out with DH, but then I decided I really didn't need the grease and salt... so we stopped at the supermarket and for $15 I picked up ground beef, nice bread, potato chips, and some other stuff we needed, then I took them home and made us each a hamburger. Boy it was good, and it cost half the price of buying it at the fast food store.

(Not that I don't eat fast food... I like it every now and then, but I order off the dollar menu and don't buy a drink so I'm not wasting the calories on soda. One junior-sized burger eaten slowly is just as satisfying as a double whopper with cheese gobbled down fast.

Skinny people go into Mcdonald's.....fat people leave.

What's with the rumor that taco bell uses instant powdered ground meat, just add water...I know the beans are instant, but the meat? I'll have to do some research...

Eating low calorie fast food items means you're still taking in way too much sodium, which leads to heart attack, stroke, kidney problems, etc.

Watching "Super-size me" always wards off cravings for a few days....

I completely agree after watching Super Size Me is what helped me to kick my fast food habit.  Yes it tastes good, but after looking up the number of calories that you are putting into your body makes you take take a second look.  You can go to any fast food resturaunt  and see the calorie count for everything that they serve.  At Mcdonald's I thought I was making the good choice and going with their grilled chicken snack wrap with spicy BBQ sauce, lower on calories but has a gram of transfat. 

From what I have read experts say that people should only have fast food one a month or less.  If you need to have the deep fat fried goodness, make it at home.  Food network is a great souce of how to make things right. I love Alton Brown.

-Katie

Love Alton Brown and Ellie Krieger...My all time favorite cooking show was "fit cuisine" hosted by Jim Shiebler on the health netowork, I actually wanted to eat the stuff he prepared cause the guy was so ripped....