When you HAVE to eat fast food

dmgarner already posted this once, but I don't think it got much attention.  I'm re-posting because I think it's a good tool.

If you know that you're going to have absolutely no choice but to eat at a fast food place, check out this site before you go...

http://www.fatcalories.com/

I like the macro search.  Click on it the black button (not the searches they already have saved), then check the restaurants you'll be going near, and then sort by calories, or grams of fat, etc.  You can then make an educated choice as to what fits in your calorie/fat budget for the day.

It's fun to play with the "sicko" search too...my previous fave hamburger was Jack in the Box's Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger...now I know it's 1090 calories and 78 grams of fat!!!  That would literally make me sick now if I ate it. 

why would anybody HAVE to eat fast food?

being tied to a chair with your jaw forced open is unlikely.

i do think thats helpful, thanks for bringing this up again. i know i wouldnt be tied down and force fed lol, but especially since im getting over an ED, if i go to a fast food place with friends or really NEED food (ive been on road trips with little options...) i cant afford to get back into the starvation cycle.

some of the options are scary! but its good to have some safe ones :) thanks again

Original Post by garnet18:

why would anybody HAVE to eat fast food?

being tied to a chair with your jaw forced open is unlikely.

If I'm hungry & there's only fast food available, I'd rather eat it than starve. Eating fast food occasionally won't kill you.

You can also interpret the "have" as meaning that you're really craving fast food & going to get some regardless. At least with that website you can know how much damage you're doing. But again, fast food really isn't the worst thing to eat. everything in moderation. =]

We usually go on road trips during the summer.  Ocassionally we find ourselves out late and wanting to get home fast.  We may stop for fast food.  I visited the sites of some of the more common fast food places that we go to and printed out the nutritional information.   Then I highlighted the lower calorie foods.  It took a little time, but it was worth it.  I know what to get before I go inside the restaurant.  Internet is not always readily available when you're on the road. 

Yesterday at lunchtime Sonic was the best of several bad alternatives. I counted the basic burger I had there as 350 calories. At least it had fresh lettuce and tomato on it, and I got some protein.

Original Post by garnet18:

why would anybody HAVE to eat fast food?

being tied to a chair with your jaw forced open is unlikely.

Wow, was that necessary??  You know, if you can't say something nice...

Anyhow, what I meant was like today, I was at work and unexpectedly was told that I had to be somewhere at 1:30 -  absolutely NO time to stop by home and get my healthy lunch.  So I used this site to figure out the least damaging yet most filling of the many evils I would be passing on the way.  Wound up getting Arby's Ham & Swiss melt, 268 cals, 5 g fat...not too bad for fast food.

 

 

I hardly ever eat at fast food places BUT....

I understand sometimes depending where you are you don't have a choice.

One really good example is when you are driving cross country or from state to state and you are stuck on major interstate highways.  Yea all the stops are fast food joints.  One time my boyfriend and I veered of the main coarse to follow some signs to an actual family owned resturant that was advertised since we wanted some real food and not just a burger joint only to find they were not even open anymore.  So to the trucker stops it was.

The important thing is to try and make healthier choices out of what your option might be in those situations. 

On a side note sometimes people forget that you can stop into a grocery store to get lunch/dinner on the go as well now a days and your options there are a lot better then a Mc Donalds.

Original Post by starcrossdlovex:

Original Post by garnet18:

why would anybody HAVE to eat fast food?

being tied to a chair with your jaw forced open is unlikely.

If I'm hungry & there's only fast food available, I'd rather eat it than starve. Eating fast food occasionally won't kill you.

You can also interpret the "have" as meaning that you're really craving fast food & going to get some regardless. At least with that website you can know how much damage you're doing. But again, fast food really isn't the worst thing to eat. everything in moderation. =]

oh.. lol.

oh well, i'd rather not eat than eat fast food but that's just me haha. i don't mean like starving a whole day, though. i'll give you that. but it's unlikely i'll be away from my own food for an entire 24 hours *shrug*

i personally don't believe in giving into 'bad' cravings; i find that restricting those things from my life keeps me in check and prevents me from overeating.

i guess i'm just different haha.

But for a lot of people, garnet, giving into those "bad cravings" occasionally and in moderation prevents them from going on binges and keeps them on track.

i know, which is why i pointed out that i must be different.

i haven't binged since i've started my diet/healthy eating, so i guess i'm worried that if i were to give in once i might fall into that. does that make sense?

Original Post by garnet18:

i know, which is why i pointed out that i must be different.

i haven't binged since i've started my diet/healthy eating, so i guess i'm worried that if i were to give in once i might fall into that. does that make sense?

It does, because i am pretty much the same. (Though i flew off the wagon in the most spectacular fashion today, and managed to put away a staggering 3021 calories....half of which came from fast food)

Cool website.

I find sit down restaurants much more deadly than fast food joints though!

Thanks for the link - now all I need is one for the UK :)

Actually I never "have" to eat fast food - I want to. If there are no other options then so be it - just don't go overboard!

Yesterday I had to eat fast food. 

I did a demonstration skydive into an airport festival.  We spent longer there than anticipated.  I started to get hungry, dehydrated and weak.  Not a good combination when you have to squeeze back into a hot airplane for a 20 minute ride "home" and jump out again.  For the safety of myself and the other 9 jumpers, I ate the healthies option offered - coke and a bratwurst.

Even if I couldn't have afforded it calorie-wise, I still would have downed the small regular coke and sausage.  Saftey is key; my weight can wait!