OP again. A Wendy’s salad feels a like big step in the right direction since I would normally get a burger and bacon pub fries. But maybe it’s not as a good enough change as I thought.

To answer the question above, fast food is just habit and I really love it. Plus after a long day, I’m hungry and the thought of making something at home that won’t taste as good as a Taco Bell cheesy gordita crunch is hard.

But I’m now envisioning the crap food going to my heart and bringing me to an earlier death. This visualization has been working better than anything else I have tried to lose weight. I just am trying to hold on to it and move in the right direction.

This is OP. Thank you for all the helpful specifics. I’m trying to be realistic about what I will do. I’ve been eating fast food every day on the way home from work for years. So even easy prep meals is a big change. But you have given me some good ideas. Plus I’ll be sure to check nutrition labels for sodium.

Why is fast food your only option? You need to prioritize your health and put some time and energy into what you are putting in your body. Sorry, but a Wendy's salad is not your answer to better health

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

I have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and need to lose about 40 pounds. My doctor scared me at my last appointment so I need to make some diet changes.

My current diet is terrible—fast food daily. Realistically, I won’t spend much time prepping healthy food, so I’m looking for suggestions for healthy food I can pick up or quick prep healthy food.

I’m thinking

Baja chicken bowl at Panera
Apple pecan salad at Wendy’s
Grocery store rotisserie chicken on packaged salad kit
Hard boiled eggs

I like Salmon. Does anyone have quick prep and healthy suggestion for cooking? I was thinking of getting a ninja Foodi grill?

I know I am super lazy, so trying to make realistic changes.

None of that processed crap is going to help you lose weight. Easiest thing to make is soup from scratch. The first pot takes a little time but after that you just add stuff to it every few days and let it simmer all day while you nap.

I lost weight while still eating Panera. The chicken noodle soup and chili are pretty low calorie. Just avoid cheese and get a soup and half salad or half sandwich if you need to be out. Packing a salad, soup or turkey sandwich is even better.

My quick salmon / rice / veggie meal:

Get a bag of frozen fish filets. Pull one filet out in the morning and put it in the fridge to thaw.

Also get a pack a pre-cooked rice that only needs to be heated in the microwave, and steam in the bag broccoli or green beans.

When you get home, heat the oven or air fryer to 375. Put the salmon on a foil lined tray, sprinkle with salt, and cook until it's done. Timing depends on how thick the filet is, but check it after 10 minutes, then every 5 minutes until it's cooked through.

While it's cooking, heat the rice in the microwave, then cook the veggies in the microwave according to package directions.

Have a little butter or soy sauce at the table when you sit down to eat.

^^ for the salmon, I put spicey brown mustard on it and dill

The easiest dinner to cook, and healthiest, is fresh fish with rice.

You put fish slab on a disposable tray (grease with little olive oil) in oven 375 degrees for 30 minutes. ProFish sells a ton of types of fresh fish and they have several neighborhood weekly pick ups. Their mahi mahi, Wester Ross salmon, kampachi, swordfish is all excellent. Season it with Old Bay or McCormick Perfect Pinch Lemon Pepper.

For the rice, TJs sells frozen rice, or you can buy those microwave in a bag pouches.

The problem with your fast food suggestions is that the sodium is really high. The Baja chicken bowl for example has 1470 mg of sodium. All that sodium is probably contributing to your high blood pressure. Rotisserie chicken is really high in sodium too.

If you are going to spend all that money on take out food, you might as well just do a meal delivery service. The meals are actually pretty good. Mighty Meals and Territory are two options in our area. Both will have initial discount codes.

What vegetables do you like? Canned green beans or baby corn? Bell peppers?

The absolute best thing you can do is center vegetables. Whatever vegetables you like and will eat and can access easily, build around that.

This makes fast food very hard. But Whole Foods buffet has a ton of hot and cold prepared veggie dishes.

The kale salad with cranberries (in a salad kit) is also my favorite. I eat it every day. But the poppy seed dressing has a lot of calories, so I don't use it. I use Brianna's French Vinaigrette - it's full calorie but I use less than a tablespoon and massage it for a few seconds with my hands.

But if I were you, I wouldn't make a lot of overnight drastic changes -- you'll feel deprived and it won't be sustainable. I would concentrate on making a few small changes a habit, and then once they become "normal," make a few more. Good luck.

If you don’t belong to Costco try Trader Joe’s. Buy a couple bags of frozen chicken tenders. It’s just white meat sliced smaller so cooking time is quick.
Buys some bags of salad. They are all good but the kale w/ cranberries is my fave.
Get air fryer. Toss in 3-4 tenders, 8-10 min. Toss on salad. You can do the same with fish.
TJs has frozen brown rice that I toss in a bowl w/ bagged spinach and protein lunch. Maybe put scoop of hummus on top (homemade Cava bowls).

Go to Costco and pick out some frozen fish filets that look good to you. You should also get their salmon burgers, they're really easy to make on a stove top and go great in salads. Also get a bag of walnuts, frozen berries, hummus packets, avacodo mash packets, pretzel crisps, skinny pop pop corn, and one of the nut bars.

You need to up your fiber intake, it will help with your cholesterol levels and make you feel full longer. Start your day with a big bowl of oats mixed with heated up frozen berries, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and maple syrup.

For lunch have a nut bar and a serving of the pretzels crisps dipped in either the hummus packets or avocado mash packets. Have an orange, apple, or banana with lunch as well.

For dinner you can quickly make the salmon burgers or fish filets in the oven or on the stove top. You can also mix it up with chicken breast. Have it with a salad or heat up some frozen veggies. Also include a baked sweet potato or regular potato. When you get home you just poke them with a fork and throw them in the oven at 425 degree. Their done when you can poke them easily with a knife.

It sounds like you are probably not one to enjoy grocery shopping, which is why I suggest Costco. One trip every couple of weeks.

Hello,

I have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and need to lose about 40 pounds. My doctor scared me at my last appointment so I need to make some diet changes.

My current diet is terrible—fast food daily. Realistically, I won’t spend much time prepping healthy food, so I’m looking for suggestions for healthy food I can pick up or quick prep healthy food.

I’m thinking

Baja chicken bowl at Panera
Apple pecan salad at Wendy’s
Grocery store rotisserie chicken on packaged salad kit
Hard boiled eggs

I like Salmon. Does anyone have quick prep and healthy suggestion for cooking? I was thinking of getting a ninja Foodi grill?

I know I am super lazy, so trying to make realistic changes.