Life was simpler with... fast food.

Yesterday driving home from Pittsburgh we got hungry. Looking around for an appropriate restaurant that wasn't crowded wasn't easy. Stopped at Red Lobster (not a favorite) but seemed like an option - but with a 45 minute wait - nope. I just wanted to get home. (We ended up at Boston Market and I was served pink turkey - a story for yet another day.) I had the thought that on long trips in the past... I didn't need a sit down restaurant. We would just do drive through... grab a burger and fries and iced tea and be on the way. It was something to quench the hunger, quick and easy. There just aren't alot of good choices for quick and easy these days. I don't usually do much from the bread category (don't ask about the 1/2 a bagel I've had the past couple of days and this morning too) and haven't done any sandwiches at all. On the occasions that I've had bread it's been toasted or I've picked the crust of something warm in a basket on the table. It's been very limited. As for faster foods, all I've done post-op is Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich minus the bun and pickle several times in the past year and then I've had Wendy's chicken strips 2 or 3 times. That's it for fast food. No burgers. No fries. No super sized anything. Life was simpler with fast food. It was quick and easy. It didn't make you have to think long and hard about "what can I eat there". Now I have to have much more forethought as to what my options on in the particular restaurant. Being away these past few days, of course we ate out a few times. Unfortunately no menus in the store windows to peruse in advance so it is sometimes hard to decide whether to try the place or not. We did find a couple of decent places in Pittsburgh near the hotel- one Italian and one Mediterranean that had decent options for us. I don't miss fast food except for the speed and convenience. I'm sure my memory of what things tasted like are not what they would taste like now that I've been away from it for well over a year. I'm sure my memories give the food more credit than it deserves for taste. (Been there done that before in my life when stepping away from certain foods.) While life was simpler with fast food, life is so much better without it. Kathy

I am a confessed fast food junkie. I do miss it sometimes. But now when I eat it my pouch has other thoughts and I don't enjoy it. The only fast food place I can eat now is Taco Bell and I eat just the insides of the taco now. When my parents and I went there a couple of Sunday's ago I got that Grilled Taco thing that has a soft shell on the outside and a flat crispy shell on the inside. I ate some of it and ended up giving the rest to my mom. It just didn't taste good. Oh well. I know its for the best if I stay away from it. Jan

I had a simmilar experience this weekend. Coming home froma a long way out and we decided it was time to grab something to eat. While hubby has no problem with going to a fast food burger joint, I have not let that stuff back into my life so far and would prefer to keep it that way. So I ran across the street to a chain pharmacy and was able to fing a good protein bar and vitamin water, and that made me happy. Now that's a big change from the old days!

I must say that I am the master of "what to eat at a fast food resturant" With a 7 yo daughter and a hectic night job I have got it down pat. Wendys, Chick Fil A, Taco Bell, Arbys and Subway would have to be my top picks. I will admit that I have had a McDonalds double cheeseburger minus the bread one time in the past year and thought I would throw up every where...wish i had been able to! I just order something not deep fried and then remove all the bread. It may have a high fat content but I just haven't needed to concern myself with that to much. They laugh at me at work when I scrape the contents of my grilled stuffed burrito into a cup and enjoy! Also I think every single fast food place has a nutritional info site on the web so I can just look it up when I come home or before I go out and know I will be confronted with it. Sometimes you just gotta make work what ya got!!!!

Oh believe me Jen... I assume there are many that can adapt fast food restaurants to their needs but I'm not one of them. Luckily, I don't have as hectic a lifestyle as others especially those with kids - goodness I have friends and my head spins at their schedules. I find fast food a complete blurr and find it hard to see what fits in my plan. I know the nutritional info is out there but with our usual routine... it is easy to just drive right by. Life was indeed simpler when I didn't have to think about all of this! Kathy

so much simpler, I was away this past week, and my hotel had a mall sized food court, I ended up eating at the mor eprocey restaurants just to have better choices.

As a previous fast food addict (read: like heroin!) I try to stay away from them as much as possible. Granted I've eaten there a few times, like I've had the Chicken Selects at McDs once (ate 2 of them and got very nauseous), a chicken nugget kids meal there once (ate the nuggets and a few fries), 1/2 a whopper at BK once (ate the other 1/2 for bfast the next a.m.) and I think that's it for my fast food - oh no, I've had taco bell a time or two also (3 taco supremes once, a nachos once, and one of those wrapped tostitos). But, my personal choice is Subway where I can get a wrap. They are really good and low carb. I load them up with spinach and black olives and either get tuna or the chicken, bacon, ranch one. Yum! Michelle

I, too, was a fast food lover. Now I avoid them, because the smell of french fries still makes me crave them. I doubt that will ever go away. If i am travelling and have to eat on the run, I pretty much always opt for Wendy's. A small chili and side salad still taste pretty good to me. My family still loves Taco Bell, and I might eat the insides of a burrito supreme, but I usually regret how I feel afterward. These days, as I am still on my no grains (not even good ones), and no bad carbs food plan, I'm staying away from pretty much all restaurants to avoid temptation. Have a great, if soggy Monday, Debra M.