Do you live in the DMV area? I think you need to stop going into the same fast food establishments and go places with healthier options: Cava, Poke places, sweet green, chop't, other bowl food kind of places with whole grains (to help your cholesterol) and greens. sushi?

Anonymous wrote: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.

I could not switch to a fast food salad, personally. What I can do at Wendy’s is get the baked potato with cheese and a cup of chili.
At chick FIL a I get the big soup and the yogurt parfait thing. I look for anything on the menu that is a combo of sides, smaller portions. Definitely the half portion at chipotle. Avoid the drinks, bring your own beverage (I Carry hot tea in a thermos) and carry it with you everywhere.

How have you made it this far eating fast food daily? Exactly how high is your bp and have you been on medicine for it or are you trying diet change to avoid it? You have to retrain your palate: this is your challenge. Fast food is so full of sodium, etc that you probably couldn't taste or enjoy fresh, natural foods. Eating a home prepared chicken breast on a salad likely won't go over well with your taste buds.

Anonymous wrote: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.

I totally get what you mean about your routine, but I'd encourage you to switch your thinking to the absolute reverse. So, you love the burger and fries from Wendy's and think you'll ease off by still going to Wendy's but get the salad instead. Switch it: eat the burger and fries, but make them at home yourself. You'll still get to eat a burger and fries, which will taste WAY BETTER than a terrible Wendy's salad, but you will cut your calories dramatically simply by making them at home from real ingredients. (And you can get a lot of the ingredients pre-prepped: frozen patties, lettuce, tomatoes, buns. You can even start out with the frozen french fries in a bag, but maybe work up to cutting and roasting your own potatoes. Maybe someday you'll work up to a chicken burger as well. And a bean soft taco rather than that cheesy gordita crunch.)

I've lived by this mantra for many many years: I can eat whatever I want as long as I make it myself. I haven't had fast food in years and do not miss it at all.

Anonymous wrote:You'll feel SO much better once you get away from fast food and processed foods. Fast food honestly makes me sick now. A burger and Fries from Macdonald's literally makes me feel ill.

You are also spending just as much time if not more, in lines at the drive thru, as it would take to cook something easy at home. There is really no excuse to keep up the fast food habit. You will never get heathy like this

Trader Joe's has lots of decently healthy pre-prepared foods that taste really good. Do you have a TJ's near you? That might be a nice middle ground between fast food and cooking everything yourself.

But I think it's a decent start to look at the calorie counts on the fast food items you normally get, and get something relatively healthier.

Anonymous wrote:Hard boiled eggs -- take a few minutes on Sunday evening to make a big batch, then they will be ready to go for the week.

Skinny pop popcorn -- the individual portions are 100 calories -- good for satisfying urge for something crunchy, salty.

Babybel cheeses, string cheese, etc...

Hummus cups

Plain greek yogurt plus toppings (nuts, etc.)

Oatmeal plus toppings like nuts and berries.

Salmon fillets with store-bought marinade -- brush fillet and bake in oven for 20 minutes, serve with big portion of microwave veggies on side. Truly takes no time.

Omelettes for dinner.

Avocado toast.

Soups or chilis -- can make big batches and have leftovers ready to heat when you get home.

If doing fast food, good options are non-creamy soups. The skinny turkey sandwich at potbelly's on multigrain with light or no mayo is a good one too. Or eat less of what you get...eat half of whatever you get and save the other half for the next night.

Skinny pop????? Why not just kernels that you pop yourself? Skinny pop has way more calories.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more time from OP. I have lost weight in the past still eating daily fast food. But now I’m trying to eat healthy too. I have never had eating healthy as a goal before. Just losing weight was the goal. The reason I have a weight problem is because I binge. But that’s a separate problem.

If you’re prone to bingeing I bet individual sized fast food actually has helped you. Maybe don’t veer too far from that. The suggestion of premade prepped meals is probably a good one!

Agree. OP you are spending just as much on take out. If you get the meal prep it’s all there. Being deliberate about your eating is 50-80% of weight loss in my experience. Same goes with maintenance and overall health. Your BP numbers will come down if you start learning to eat without all that sodium and your sleep will improve. Trust the collective here.

First, get vitamin K2. Start taking it. Second, eat cabbage, lot of cabbage. In meals where you would use pasta, switch it for cabbage. Where you could put tried potatoes, put cabbage. Eat sugar free oatmeal.
And you can eat potatoes, just boil them, with that salmon you like.
So, cook ground beef with onions, then add fresh finely chopped cabbage to it. Make a dressing you like, such as hot one, tabasco, sugar free ketchup and vinegar. Top it and eat it.
Do not warm fresh cabbage, that is gross.

You'll feel SO much better once you get away from fast food and processed foods. Fast food honestly makes me sick now. A burger and Fries from Macdonald's literally makes me feel ill.

Anonymous wrote:One more time from OP. I have lost weight in the past still eating daily fast food. But now I’m trying to eat healthy too. I have never had eating healthy as a goal before. Just losing weight was the goal. The reason I have a weight problem is because I binge. But that’s a separate problem.

You have to stop with the fast food OP. Period. You need to learn to cook for yourself. Break the takeout cycle for your heath’s sake.

Hard boiled eggs -- take a few minutes on Sunday evening to make a big batch, then they will be ready to go for the week.

Skinny pop popcorn -- the individual portions are 100 calories -- good for satisfying urge for something crunchy, salty.

Babybel cheeses, string cheese, etc...

Hummus cups

Plain greek yogurt plus toppings (nuts, etc.)

Oatmeal plus toppings like nuts and berries.

Salmon fillets with store-bought marinade -- brush fillet and bake in oven for 20 minutes, serve with big portion of microwave veggies on side. Truly takes no time.

Omelettes for dinner.

Avocado toast.

Soups or chilis -- can make big batches and have leftovers ready to heat when you get home.

If doing fast food, good options are non-creamy soups. The skinny turkey sandwich at potbelly's on multigrain with light or no mayo is a good one too. Or eat less of what you get...eat half of whatever you get and save the other half for the next night.

Lean proteins - chicken, turkey, eggs.

Veggies for snacks, or a handful of nuts, turkey pepperoni slices, light mini babybel cheeses.

Cut out sugar.

Anonymous wrote:One more time from OP. I have lost weight in the past still eating daily fast food. But now I’m trying to eat healthy too. I have never had eating healthy as a goal before. Just losing weight was the goal. The reason I have a weight problem is because I binge. But that’s a separate problem.

If you’re prone to bingeing I bet individual sized fast food actually has helped you. Maybe don’t veer too far from that. The suggestion of premade prepped meals is probably a good one!

One more time from OP. I have lost weight in the past still eating daily fast food. But now I’m trying to eat healthy too. I have never had eating healthy as a goal before. Just losing weight was the goal. The reason I have a weight problem is because I binge. But that’s a separate problem.