Convenience

Thanks MAchick I loved deli meat before surgery and I love  cheese so this will definitely be an option in the future. Any tips on making meatballs without bread crumbs? I know how to make them with but not without.

Try ground up pork rinds in the meat balls they work great and barely any carbs if any at all in them or ground nuts also work. I also hard boil up a dozen eggs a week for a quick hard boiled egg or to cut up in salad or make a fast egg salad. I use lots of pre made meats or already marinated ready to cook meats there are lots available just make sure you check the label for hidden carbs.

Thank you Hislady! I forgot about pork rinds and how versatile they can be. My mom uses them as breading when she does a low carb diet which I had forgotten up until now. Now I don't think I'll be breading anything but to use them as a binder/moistening agent will work perfect.

I use the Costco rotisserie chicken all the time :) 

I was told not to do meatballs or hamburgers because often things are added, so I stay away from those. I also always make sure I have a few premier protein bars in the car (also at Costco!)

Well I am open to making my own hamburgers and meatballs, just gotta modify my recipe to not use breadcrumbs. But Costco Chicken is my favorite and so cheap for how much it yields. 

There are good choices and bad choices everywhere. I've seen a lot of processed crap at health food stores, and fast food places all have at least a couple of good choices.

The difference is first committing to make a good chouce instead of bad. And then it's learning how to tell the difference.

I know what you mean Grim, and that's why of course I would read labels on everything, I just needed some guidance. 

We do this too - some of our favorites include Boston Market (chicken and creamed spinach), there's an awesome BBQ place near us that we get burnt ends, pulled pork and pulled chicken from (no sauce). Just read the labels for hidden no no's.  And we usually carry peanuts, cheese and Quest protein bars with us when we go out.

Yum the burnt ends at any bbq place are the best! I also always took my toast black and over roasted almonds when I used to buy them before surgery because I like the 'overdone' taste. Thank you rhudson. Sounds like you have some good food places with wls safe and friendly options, I live in a smaller community in Northern Idaho so sometimes I find that challenging. But I will push on to make my life easier and my body lighter. 

That is how I got through my weight loss phase actually. I did avoid fast food. I also bought the Costco chicken once a week and used the chicken for a variety of super fast and easy options. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have a ton of terrific protein choices that work well and are just as easy. I would pre-pack appropriate snacks and stock my classroom with weightloss friendly options to keep me out of the crap in the staff lounge. If you take a little time and thought, you can figure out options that will work well for you and can still be fast and easy!

I think it is critical for those of us that are not more traditional cooks and consequently are drawn to fast and easy to develop a menu that fits the fast and easy AND on plan. Otherwise, we are at high risk of staying with fast and easy and gravitating back to crap food.