OT: Healthy Fast Food Suggestions?

[sachmo71]

Well, my wife decided that we were going to start dieting after the holidays, so yesterday we began the Dr. Phil diet. I'm sort of excited, because I would really like to drop a couple of hundred pounds, but there are a few issues.

1. Sweets. I am a candy junkie, and it will be very hard to give this habit up. I know there are alternatives, but I was hoping that some of you who had already been through this could give me some suggestions of low sugar, good tasting sweets.

2. Fast Food. Just about every day, my coworkers and I head out to lunch. That's part of the reason that I've put on a few over the past few years. Does anyone know of any fast food chain that serves decent healthy food? I know that Subway does a decent job, but that will get old fast.

3. Exercise. Anyone have any suggestions for someone without a ton of time or money? We have a treadmill, but that's about it.

4. Any other dieting advice/stories/facts would be appreciated. I really want to stick with this and get thinner and healthier, and so anything that will help me get "over the hump" would make my life easier!

Thanks!

[mckerney]

Wendy's Double Stacks. Not sure about the healthy part, but they're damn good burgers. And at only $.99 you can eat like 4 of them for lunch.

[corbes]

haha. I don't think that's helping.

My sophomore year of college, I went to Wendy's and got a Double Cheeseburger every night for about two months.

That translated into 25 pounds.

That's when I discovered the weight room. It's more fun than jogging.

[Subby]

I lost about 50 pounds over 3 or 4 months in 2002 by doing the following:

1) Running for 30-45 minutes on the treadmill 5 times per week.
2) Cutting my caloric intake to 2000 calories per day.
3) Eating 5 "meals" per day.
4) Drinking only water and no soda or juice.
5) Not eating after 8pm.

Breakfast was usually a cup of fiber-rich cereal and some fresh fruit, with 2 cups of coffee. Morning snack was a meal-replacement bar (I recommend ZonePerfect). At lunch I got a 6-inch Subway ham & turkey sub on whole wheat with no cheese - or I went home and made a similar sandwich. For afternoon snack I had another meal replacement bar and a piece of fruit. I had whatever for dinner, but no more than 1.5 servings.

I also got 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Lack of sleep plus simple carbs equal overeating - plain and simple.

As far as sweets go, you have to just quit them. No one loves sweets more than me - I rewarded myself once in a while, but I didn't really miss them in my daily routine.

Start a dynasty here about your attempts. I found that setting a goal and keeping a journal really helped me. I went from 245 to 195 and have hovered around 200 since.

Good luck.

[corbes]

Subby makes a good point about no soda and juice, and no eating after 8pm.

Those two rules alone can help A LOT.

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by corbes
Subby makes a good point about no soda and juice, and no eating after 8pm.

Those two rules alone can help A LOT.

Yep, I'm doing low-carb, but I stick with plenty of water and nothing to eat past like 8:30 or so. I think that helps on any diet.

[rkmsuf]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Yep, I'm doing low-carb, but I stick with plenty of water and nothing to eat past like 8:30 or so. I think that helps on any diet.

If you eat past 8:30 do you do a Gremlins thing?

[amdaily]

I've got the opposite problem. I can't gain weight!

I used to eat healthy all the time, but eventually said "screw it," after I gain some weight I'll begin taking care of body. And with that I began to eat Wendy's, McDonalds, every type of candy bar, and others all the time. Due to an unrelated health problem I even stopped exercising. A year later I have not gained 1 single pound :(.

[corbes]

Originally posted by amdaily
I've got the opposite problem. I can't gain weight!

I used to eat healthy all the time, but eventually said "screw it," after I gain some weight I'll begin taking care of body. And with that I began to eat Wendy's, McDonalds, every type of candy bar, and others all the time. Due to an unrelated health problem I even stopped exercising. A year later I have not gained 1 single pound :(.

Eat protein, son!

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by rkmsuf
If you eat past 8:30 do you do a Gremlins thing?

Yes, I'm all over Phoebe Cates.

[MikeVic]

I've lost close to 20 pounds since the beginning of summer (yeah, it's not much, but I wasn't out to really lose weight as much as eating healthier) simply by drinking less soda, and quitting on the snacking on chips and stuff before I go to sleep. I still snack sometimes, but it would be a lot less at a time.. eating a few meals a day instead of one big lunch and one big supper also helped.

[rkmsuf]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Yes, I'm all over Phoebe Cates.

Amazingly she doesn't have an issue with the big ears, green skin and replusive demenor...

[AnalBumCover]

Originally posted by Subby
Start a dynasty here about your attempts. I found that setting a goal and keeping a journal really helped me. I went from 245 to 195 and have hovered around 200 since. This is a great idea. Right before the old board switched over, someone had started a diet dynasty. It attracted many readers and it created a great support group. I wondered what happened to that guy after we moved to this board.

[Daimyo]

If you have to eat fast food I'd reccomend going with a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or "special sauce." Get a side salad or baked potato over french fries and don't add butter, sour cream, or fatty dressings. I don't think fat is so bad as long as its used efficently in something filling... but adding 10+ grams of "empty fat" in a tablespoon of sauce is killer.

[rkmsuf]

Originally posted by Daimyo
If you have to eat fast food I'd reccomend going with a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or "special sauce." Get a side salad or baked potato over french fries and don't add butter, sour cream, or fatty dressings. I don't think fat is so bad as long as its used efficently in something filling... but adding 10+ grams of "empty fat" in a tablespoon of sauce is killer.

I want to see you try to get fast food without special sauce or mayo and not either wait 20 minutes or return your item 3 times...

[AnalBumCover]

Carl's Jr: BBQ Chicken sandwich and a garden salad.

[scooper]

I've lost about 20 pounds in the last 2 1/2 months by doing much of the above. Namely cutting down on(but not out) simple carbs found in breads/pastas/sweets.

I rarely drink soda and it's diet when I do.

I drink A LOT of water.

No eating late at night.

Running. I started on a treadmill. My suggestion is put it in front of a TV, pick something you can watch for 1/2 hour and walk in front of it 5 times a week. After a couple weeks, start speeding up for a couple minutes at a time. Eventually, start extending the running time and maybe set goals such as finishing your first mile in *** minutes or burning *** calories every *** minutes. If you set those goals, you'll 1. keep it intersting, 2. find yourself working harder to achieve those goals, 3. find yourself getting in better shape and looking for new ways to challenge yourself.

The last couple of weeks, we have hit some pockets of warmer weather and I have been able to get outside and run a few times. There is a park nearby with a two-part path, one hilly one flat. I go there and run both paths, covering a few miles each time. On the treadmill, I'm up to jogging five miles at a time.

My energy level is up, my weight is down and I can't wait for consistant better weather so I can really push myself outside and maybe change things up by running in different locations or getting out my not-so-often used bike.

As for fast foods: Many of those places offer salads, but be wary of the dressings they offer.

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by scooper
I can't wait for consistant better weather so I can really push myself outside and maybe change things up by running in different locations or getting out my not-so-often used bike.

Funny. I've been trying to motivate myself to exercise right now with the fact that by the end of March, I'll be ready to hibernate until October. I wish I had a place to put a treadmill, but I don't.

[Turd Ferguson]

1. For sweets try Jelly Belly's there only 4 calories each. Also I would have at least 1 square of dark choclate in the morning as it is said to speed your metabolism. This should also help since going cold turkey with sugar is likely to lead to binge eating.

2. Subway will get old. Try packing your lunch sometimes. It's usually less calories then eating out and it's cheaper. Or try Jason's Deli if you have one, they have some pretty healthy meals on their menu. Load up on vegetables, fruits, and proteins and stay away from a lot of carbs because they will make you tired after lunch.


3. I would advise against working out at home unless you think you can do it. My roommates and I have a weight room in our garage and it does little more then collect dust. I would join a gym.

When I have a lot of free time I usually get in 25 minutes of cardio to get my body ready and then work out with free weights. Everyone is different and you need to find what fits your goals. Some people like to split cardio and weights into morning and night and some people like to split cardio all together.

4. Combined from the past two summers I have gone from 240-200 and then last summer from 210-193. Right now I'm back up at around 205 or so and am getting ready to begin a 12 week program.

Some tips I have picked up through magazines and what not:
-Don't eat complex carbs after 4-5pm try to have a tuna steak, lean cut beef, salad, etc. You will feel lighter the next morning.
- Always carry a bottle of water with you. If you get hungry after you just ate drink a bottle it should help to curb your hunger.
- Eat slowly! Your brain takes about 10-20 minutes to register when the stomach is full. I like to read a book during lunch to help from digging in.
- Do not skip breakfest. I know I know! Its the old cliche. But breakfest is the most important meal. It jumpstarts your metabolism and keeps you from binge eating later in the day.
- Eat healthy snacks. I like the meal replacement bars that are around the 200-250 calorie range. A slice of wheat bread and peanut butter is also pretty good.
- I've never had the commitment, but try to write down everything you eat in a food journal.

I hope some of this helped. Good Luck!

[General Mike]

Originally posted by corbes
haha. I don't think that's helping.

My sophomore year of college, I went to Wendy's and got a Double Cheeseburger every night for about two months.

That translated into 25 pounds.

That's when I discovered the weight room. It's more fun than jogging.

Agreed. The 2 years I went to college I commuted and every day for lunch I was eating either Wendy's, Steak Escape, Chinese Food, Au Bon Pain, pizza or at the grease trucks. The weight piled up fast.

[scooper]

As for lunch, if you are eating healthy dinners, try making one extra serving to take for lunch the next day. It's easier to say no to running out to Burger King when you have a good piece of baked chicken waiting for you as opposed to a bologna sandwich or something.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by General Mike
Agreed. The 2 years I went to college I commuted and every day for lunch I was eating either Wendy's, Steak Escape, Chinese Food, Au Bon Pain, pizza or at the grease trucks. The weight piled up fast.

Good thing you avoided Gerlanda's... boy did their pizza suck. Actually, the one in the Bush Campus Center was great, but for some reason the RSC one was absolutely horrible.

The RSC also had that back corner spot (left of the Wendy's) where food place after food place would fail.

[WSUCougar]

Right there with ya, sachmo!

As noted by several others, avoid regular soda like the plague. If you can't stomach diet soda, try the flavored soda waters (big grocery chains usually have a store brand) that have zero for calories, etc.

Be realistic with your dieting goals. Don't aim to high, but build on a little success and then keep at it.

On the fast food front, avoid fries! And mayo, and sauces, and cheese. Try Wendy's. They have decent salads, plain baked potatoes, and chili that is tasty and not to fattening. Taco Bell has started a "Fresco style" line-up which is targeted at healthier eating and lower fat. They also have a "nutrition calculator" on their website which lets you see what damage you can do. ;)

Taco Bell (http://www.tacobell.com/)

Good luck!

[Daimyo]

The thing that helped me the most was that I weighed myself every morning and kept an Excel spreadsheet with the date, my weight, and my BMI. At any point I could graph my progress and look at it. That was a pretty awesome motivator.

[sachmo71]

Thanks a TON, folks. I am already doing many of the do's...

1. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day.
2. Eating 5 times a day.
3. Keeping calories below 2000 (I think)

Great tip on not eating after 8 pm, and also on the treadmill goals. I can do that. Last night, at about minute 20, I was looking at the little speed dial and getting depressed that I wasn't in the Fat Buring area. I kept thinking..."Do they want me to run? Or can skinny people walk this fast?"

It's going to be a long month. :) Maybe I'll start a dynasty to make myself stick with it.

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by WSUCougar
Right there with ya, sachmo!

As noted by several others, avoid regular soda like the plague. If you can't stomach diet soda, try the flavored soda waters (big grocery chains usually have a store brand) that have zero for calories, etc.

Wal Mart's flavored waters kick ass. Some stores have pseudo-flavored water, like there's a hint of a taste but it just tastes like carbonated water. This stuff has actual flavor.

After a year of low-carbing and staying away from regular pop, I can now drink diet pop with no problems at all. It's like going from whole milk to skim - once you switch and stay on it for a while, whole milk starts to taste like cream.

[General Mike]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
Good thing you avoided Gerlanda's... boy did their pizza suck. Actually, the one in the Bush Campus Center was great, but for some reason the RSC one was absolutely horrible.

The RSC also had that back corner spot (left of the Wendy's) where food place after food place would fail.

I had the Gerlanda's pizza over on Busch quite a bit, mainly because I was in the school of engineering. It wasnt too bad, they had some good rareties like the Hawaiian. The place to the left of Wendy's in the RSC is a coffee place. It might be part of Gerlanda's.

[MikeVic]

Question: is stuff like Minute Maid "100% Pure Orange Juice from Concentrate" not as good as I think? :( And what do you guys do for morning? I can't stomach a big breakfast.. I usually drink tea, and have a muffin, toaster strudel, or something else like that...

[Ksyrup]

No breakfast for me. Light snack in the mid-morning and a decent-sized lunch, followed by a small dinner and dessert/snack shortly thereafter (certainly before 9pm).

[Samdari]

I know you are asking for serious suggestions sachmo, but the title of this thread struck me as too funny.

While we are at it, anyone know of any porn sites that are safe to read while at work?

[Daimyo]

I think things like orange juice and grape juice are really just sugar to your body. They have to be healthier than coke because of the vitamins and minerals, but I don't think they're very diet friendly. Skim milk has a lot of sugar, but it also has a lot of protein.

[Masked]

Great tip on not eating after 8 pm, and also on the treadmill goals. I can do that. Last night, at about minute 20, I was looking at the little speed dial and getting depressed that I wasn't in the Fat Buring area. I kept thinking..."Do they want me to run? Or can skinny people walk this fast?"


Unless you have a fairly fancy treadmill that is monitoring your pulse rate, the guage is close to worthless. It is calibrated for one type of person. A skinny person walking at your speed probably wouldn't be in the fat burning area; however, put a 75 lbs backpack on him and his pulse rate would go up.

[Logan]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
Good thing you avoided Gerlanda's... boy did their pizza suck. Actually, the one in the Bush Campus Center was great, but for some reason the RSC one was absolutely horrible.

The RSC also had that back corner spot (left of the Wendy's) where food place after food place would fail.

If you haven't been there recently, its now a Middle Eastern joint.

And Steak Escape has been replaced by Subway.

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Wal Mart's flavored waters kick ass. Some stores have pseudo-flavored water, like there's a hint of a taste but it just tastes like carbonated water. This stuff has actual flavor.

After a year of low-carbing and staying away from regular pop, I can now drink diet pop with no problems at all. It's like going from whole milk to skim - once you switch and stay on it for a while, whole milk starts to taste like cream.


Hmm, I'll have to see if they have that at Sam's Club. I get flavored water from Food Lion and Safeway, and they're both pretty good (Safeway might have too MUCH flavor sometimes for my tastes, and you have to watch as some of theirs has calories).

I can no longer drink regular soda, at least not in large quantities. The stuff tastes sickeningly sweet to me. I have been going through Diet Barq's and Diet Coke/Pepsi Vanilla by the 12-pack though.

As for the fast food alternatives, has anyone tried one of the Atkins wraps from Subway yet? This seems like a FANTASTIC idea to me, I'm surprised more Atkins foods or even restaurants devoted entirely to the diet haven't surfaced.

[corbes]

Originally posted by cuervo72

As for the fast food alternatives, has anyone tried one of the Atkins wraps from Subway yet? This seems like a FANTASTIC idea to me, I'm surprised more Atkins foods or even restaurants devoted entirely to the diet haven't surfaced.

I've seen Atkins menus (or menu sections) popping up in restaurants here and there.

Dunkin Donuts could have an Atkins menu. It would be easy -- a bright red sign that reads, "You Shouldn't Be Here."

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by cuervo72
As for the fast food alternatives, has anyone tried one of the Atkins wraps from Subway yet? This seems like a FANTASTIC idea to me, I'm surprised more Atkins foods or even restaurants devoted entirely to the diet haven't surfaced.

Well, since you brought it up...

Yes, I've had them several times since they introduced them last week. They are especially great for someone like me, who has a family that likes to eat on the run. Now we have a fast food place to go when we are traveling, for instance. Rather than buy 3 Arby's sandwiches and throw away the bun, I can eat like a normal person. They cost $.50 extra for any of their 6" subs, or you can get the wraps that they are advertising.

Also, Hardee's/Carl's Jr. has introduced a lettuce-wrapped thickburger. We don't have either chain in this town, though, so this doesn't impact me much.

I get angry when I see how these kinds of things are covered in the press, though. They actually did an article about the Hardee's low-carb burger, and the entire article was devoted to discounting the potential "healthiness" of the burger. Now, I understand that hamburgers aren't the healthiest food to begin with, but you could tell the article was biased against low-carb and that the main goal was to make people think there were no benefits to eating the low-carb burger instead of the regular - until the absolute end of the article, when they listed the calories, fat grams, and carbs for the regular and low-carb - half the calories, half the fat, and about a tenth of the carbs. Now, you can argue that it's still not a healthy meal, but if someone's dead-set on eating a burger for lunch, which one should they eat?

As for restaurants in general - they are coming around, big time. Atkins is securing licensing deals with a number of chains. Right after Thanksgiving, we had dinner at a Ruby Tuesday's, and I was shocked to see that they had an entire section devoted to low-carb. Plus, they had a chart that listed the carbs for all of their meals. A couple of weeks ago, we eat at Friday's - same thing. I hope that it will become standard practice at most restaurants to have a few low-carb selections.

[sachmo71]

Me too. But I did get to have steak last night. It was hard eating half of the amount that I usually eat, but I made it. When my wife took it out of the paper, I looked at her and asked, "So what are you going to eat?"

Dieting is hard.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm also going through the rigors of trying to diet and exercise this year. I think it had something to do with turning 29 ;) But seriously, I'm about 70-80 pounds over my ideal weight and my mother has been overweight her whole life and she just had a serious heart attack at the age of 52. Fortunately, she lived and had a double heart bypass and is doing better. However, this in combination with the impending "3-0", has motivated me to lose at least 50 pounds and hopefully more. I'm pretty much going to try what everyone has said on this board as I think it is right on target. I'm going to cut my carbs drastically. No sweets (except a very small amount at 25 pound weight loss and then again at 50 pound weight loss plateaus), only diet soda or water. I'm not going to eat after 7:00 PM. I won't be able to eat 5 small meals due to my schedule, but I will eat a small to medium breakfast, a very small lunch, and a moderate sized low calorie dinner. I've gotten a new exercise bike that I have in front of the TV so I can watch something interesting as I bike. I also will consider a dynasty on this board as it definitely would be added motivation to help me continue going as would hearing any other dieters stories on this board.

[jamesUMD]

For those that care. I live in Maryland and I have found in Safeway and Giant that they are now selling Low-carb Milk. It has 3 grams per serving instead of the regular 8 grams and has 50% more protein than regular milk. They have skim, 2%, and whole milk, and as far as I can tell they taste pretty much the same as regular milk. (disclaimer--I have only tried the skim so far.)

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by jamesUMD
For those that care. I live in Maryland and I have found in Safeway and Giant that they are now selling Low-carb Milk. It has 3 grams per serving instead of the regular 8 grams and has 50% more protein than regular milk. They have skim, 2%, and whole milk, and as far as I can tell they taste pretty much the same as regular milk. (disclaimer--I have only tried the skim so far.)

I haven't tried the white "stuff," but the chocolate stuff is pretty good. I call it "stuff" because the packaging goes out of its way to look like it is describing milk, but it never actually uses that word. I think the closest they get is "dairy product." It'll say something like "Vitamin D homogenized Chocolate." And that's it.

Still, as a milk substitute, it's pretty good. Wal-Mart Supercenter has been carry it for quite a while. In fact, WM has really beefed up its low carb section, carrying a number of bread and muffin mixes, cereals, etc. And of course, they're cheaper than anywhere else.

[DanGarion]

Originally posted by Subby

4) Drinking only water and no soda or juice.


Although IF you are going to drink soda switch to diet. No calories and regardless of all the crap people try to say about it not being good for you, if you need something with taste and are trying to lose weight it's worth drinking.


I've lost 30 pounds the past 6 months by sleeping 7-8 hours a day playing racquetball 4-5 times a week for 60-120 mins a day and keeping my calorie intake around 2100.

For the year of 2003 I went from about 290 and I'm at 250. Still working on it and I'd be happy to just get to 220-230 range.

I work out in the morning and have noticed since I stopped having a quick snack/breakfast that I've stopped losing weight, it's very important to get your metabolism going in the morning especially if you go to the gym in the morning.

[WSUCougar]

Originally posted by dangarion
playing racquetball 4-5 times a week for 60-120 mins a day
Oh, for the days when i could play racquetball this much...*sigh*

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally posted by rkmsuf
Amazingly [Phoebe Cates] doesn't have an issue with the big ears, green skin and replusive demenor...

Well, she IS married to Kevin Kline.

[Easy Mac]

Is cutting my soda intake to 1 at lunch and 1 at dinner good? Normally I have 4 or 5 a day, just to keep me up at night. But I've tried to cut back now that I finally decided to hit the gym daily to exercise. So far I've made it 3 straight days, the best I've done this year.

And I mainly eat steaks and hamburgers, so should I just not put a bun on my burgers?