Bad Habits

I've been falling back into bad habits. It would be easy to say my bf is being an enabler but....

In the last 2 weeks we've been super busy and my BF has gotten Mcdonalds take out several times. I finally broke down and had 4 nuggets one night. Well since then, I've had a 4 piece nuggets at least 3 times. Once I had a subway meatball sub and ate only the meatballs.  Last night he ordered pizza, of which I just ate the cheese and toppings (sausage, ground beef and onion). 

I'm also failing at logging my food these last few weeks.

I had surgery in June and am down about 80 pounds. 

Am I the only one who falls into this fast food trap? Any tips for lazy food loggers?

First let me say I'm only a month ahead of you. There are a ton of people with years of experience here who will likely weigh in. 

Secondly, congrats on losing 80 pounds! That's a ton! 

So your food choices haven't been great but honestly what concerned me more was that you aren't logging it. I have to plan to stay under 700 calories a day so I have to log. If I ate even low carb fast food very often then I would be consuming more calories than I need to at this point. 

So I guess there's no easy way except just to log into my fitness pal or another app and plan. If something changes you just adjust. This isn't easy but I knew it wouldn't be. My old habits got me to 276 pounds. I've got to remember that every time I think I can eat cra*****t log. It's going to be a conscious effort for ME every day, probably forever I'm guessing. 

Life happens... and sometimes quick and convenient win out. Some choices I make if I have to do fast food: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2010/01/strat egies-for-eating-out.html 

Tips... plan better... the night before think about what your meals will be the next day (or 2)... and stick to the plan. When you are hungry and without a plan it's easy to I call it the "crap grab" grabbing any old crap that will just fill the void. 

Talk to your BF about supporting you in your renewed commitment to making changes.

Food logging... heard about this the other day... haven't messed with it: http://mashable.com/2016/09/30/lose-it-photos/#q40Zkm01Emq0 

Congrats on the -80!

Thank you so much! That app looks interesting. I would love an app I could just talk into tho!

I find planning my day helps... it makes me think about what I am doing, what is in the house to eat. This is hard sometimes... been having my own struggles lately...but it is one day at a time. Tomorrow you can make better choices. Honestly I don't think eating the meatballs was a horrible choice.

Check out the daily menu thread... that is a place you can be accountable

Many people use My Fitness Pal to keep track of their food.

I have a 911 bag in my purse. In it i keep:  a protein bar, a small bag of nuts, a small pack of beef jerky, and several packets of sugar free koolaid for a bottle of water. Knowing I have food with me, that I CAN eat on plan, helps the fast food drive thru urge for me.

At home I try to keep Oscar Meyer p3's, and low fat cheese sticks, for a grab and go.

As far as logging food goes, its only hard the first week or so. We are ususally creatures of habit and eat a lot of the same things, so after the inital entering its on your recent list :) Also my fit pal has a way to scan the bar codes in using the camera.

Hope this helps.

i eat at fast food places- we sometimes don't plan as well as we could and need food- I get a grilled chicken patty at Mcd's with a side salad with the light balsamic dressing. I dip my fork in the dressing then the greens.

wendy's i get the same- or I get a small chili as my meal. I try NOT to do that often due to the carbs in the beans but sometimes that is the situation.

There are good choices at fast food places...

You do need to be logging though. it is very likely you are over your calories if you are not logging and weighing which is going to impact your weight loss if it hasn't already.

Like the others said there are healthy options when eating at fast food restaurants.  A safe bet is always the grilled chicken...minus the bun.  A salad...minus the crotons or other fattening extras.  Just stay away from the fried foods and the cheesy options...there is where your calories will come in.

I will stay out of most fast food places because they seem to be habit forming for me.  But if there is a good substitute for me I will go there on a regular basis.  There is a place by me called Mooyahs.  That has a turkey burger and a veggie burger.  I will go there a few times a month.  There is a Buffalo wing place by me that has a grilled wing option.  I will go there too.  I will go to my area grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken.   

I have my go to places now because I know there are options for me, but I have 7+years of practice.  You are just starting out.  You will get the hang of this.  Get to know your area.  Go online study the menus.  See what the restaurants in your area have to offer.  That way the next time you have a time crunch you will know in an instant where you can go for a quick bite and not demolish your good eating habits.    

Watch chicken nuggets getting made...it's the best fast food prevention technique, heh.

Kidding aside, it's hard.  The struggle is real, as they say.  I struggle with this all the time.  I work in crisis 40 hours weekly and now I am going to add several face-to-face clients on to that.  It's the hardest thing in the world.  

As people have mentioned, meal planning is vital.  Eggface who posted below has one of the best blogs for us to meal plan.  Pre-cooking is really helpful.  

I do my "dice list" for meal plans.  I make 4oz frozen portions of cooked chicken, steak, and pork.  Then pick a low carb sauce and a low carb veg to go with it.  It's pre-made, saves a ton of money, and means I don't eat crap.

I mean, right now I work 60 hours a week including commuting and not counting my new clients I will get, and I still make 14 meals a week for me.  One normal meal is like 4-6 meals for us, remember.  I am extremely busy and I find time. And yeah, it's hard and I don't always succeed.  However, its definitely doable despite being busy.  

Pick a day and schedule the day around shopping and cook right after you shop.  Even if you cook 1 meal a week and freeze 4 portions, after a month you will have 20 meals for yourself frozen.  

At 4 months out, the surgery is doing all the work. You can pretty much eat crappy food all the time and you will still lose weight. You may lose slower, but you will still lose. But the further you get out, the more you can eat, and the choices you make will matter. Make a promise to yourself to learn good habits now before it is too late.