Cut the BS-- what did you eat *before?*

You know those people who eat reasonably and still gain? I'm not one of those people. As recently as last summer I would (under stress) eat:

McDonald's-- a quarter pounder with cheese, 20 nuggets, small fry, Sprite, chocolate shake  or... Wendy's- a single with cheese, potato with cheese bacon and sour cream, small chili, small nuggets AND take home a frosty! or.... Chik FilA-- 2 sandwiches, large waffle fries, 5 packages of MAYO(!) and dessert or.... well...this one particularly sucky day last summer-- I was on my way home from a bad situation with one of SigOt's kids-- stopped at a store and bought a Hostess pie, a package of Edy's Dibs, a large bag of Doritos and pint of sour cream and onion dip, a half pound of tuna and macaroni salad, and a bag of Chex Mix ...and polished them off BY NOON. Those were...some times.

For the past couple of years prior to December 2006, breakfast was usually two Egg McMuffins, four hash browns and a (get this) large diet coke.  I always ordered out for dinner and it was either a large pizza from somewhere and *two* two liters of a leaded soft drink (which I would often polish off both) or I would order from a place locally called Milano's.  From Milano's I would get a large variety of things but it was always two entrees, two appetizers, and four 20oz drinks, usually Coke.  I was on a name basis with delivery guys from at least three pizza places and Milano's. Reality check moment: I went by the McDonalds I used to go by every day a couple weeks ago to get a diet coke and the drive through guy said I looked like I had lost a lot of weight.

I had an Egg McMuffin and a Diet Coke every morning for 13 years. I do miss my McDonalds! Then the regular school lunch. Then--- on the way home...buy a TON of McCrap. About pizza? I used to polish off a half of a large one... regularly.

I NEVER ate breakfast, (well on the week-ends, gravy, biscuits, and bacon ~ noon) ate a reasonable lunch, but by the time I walked in the door at home I ate everything that wasn't nailed down.  I grazed......I would eat something to hold me over til the food was done, then I would taste test the food to make sure it was good, *wink, wink*, then I would eat whatever.....fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, or fried potatoes, beans w/ fat back, greens cooked with bacon grease, whatever..... Oh, and then I would eat the leftovers so they wouldn't go to waste, and then usually a fruit or ice cream before I went to bed at night. (or popcorn, or chips.....on and on) WOW, what a revealation.....great post Shari, makes me realize just how far I have came already

For me it was soda - - you know the sugary stuff with tons of caffeine.  Usually Dr. Pepper.  I would have 6 - 7 20 oz. bottles or glasses a day.  Now I limit myself to 1, if that.  Also breads.  Any kind.  Doesn't matter - if it's made with white flour and smells good it was for me!!  Ok, and chips.  I have a real salt fetish going on.  I totally refuse to even look at the salt & vinegar chips anymore.  Otherwise I would buy out the whole store.  I can't have potato chips, Doritos, tortilla chips, nothin in the house.  If I do I completely cave in.  I used to get really sleepy on the drive home from work (still do actually) and I would stop on my way out of the building at the gift shop and pick up a 32 oz. Dr. P and a big bag of Doritos - - not the "Big Grab", the full on large bag!!  That would be my snack on the drive and to keep me awake.  I still have a snack on the drive home, but now its usually a cut up Granny Smith apple and 20 oz. bottle of water.  Overall, I just didn't think about what or how I was eating.  Now I almost obsess over everything that goes in my mouth.  It is amazing when I think about it and realize how I've changed.  I still have those moments of weakness.  Usually on the weekends when I have a margerita with hubby. [yum!]

Oh this is such a good post.  Back in January I was still getting my breakfast 1 - 2 times a week at McDonalds.  It consisted of two egg and bacon bagels and two cherry pies.  With that I didn't have lunch, but did eat that in one sitting.  Wendy's was also a favorite.  I would get the breaded/fried chicken sandwhich with biggie fries, biggie drink (normally leaded), and then a jr. cheese burger.  Oh man, I have come a long way.  Also, sometimes for breakfast I would stop and get two big chocolate/chocolate chip muffins with a 2 serving container of 2% milk and drink that by noon.  I had also been known to visit Blimpie's and get a 12" Blimpie's best sub on wheat bread with three chocolate chip cookies.  THEN I would eat the whole thing in one sitting.  I haven't been to a Blimpies since February.

Breakfast for me was usually whatever McD's had on their 2 for 2 biscuit special.  If i went anywhere else it was Bojangles for their Cajun filet sandwich combo, GO LARGE, with a diet coke.  Lunch was a variety of things. If it was Wendy's then it was a classic double with cheese with chili for the side and 2-3 5 piece nuggets with a junior frosty to go because I was watching my weight.  If it was mexican it was 2 baskets of chips and salsa between 2-3 of us with me one hand in the basket at all times.  I would normally get a Peluza which covered a 12" plate completely and was piled about 3 inches high. I would eat it all and have a sopapilla for desert.   Dinner would be for example 2 large skillet fried in butter porkchops with all the fat in them, 3 serving size spoons of mac-n-cheese and 2 serving size spoons of green beans.  I'd eat that and then go back for more sides or have a ice cream sandwich for desert. It's amazing I wasn't more than 330lbs. This was an everyday thing for me and then I'd tell me friends, "I really don't eat that much at home.. Its just at lunch cuz I eat once a day.."

See, the soda never did me in, because I've always been a diet soda drinker.  But I'd got to taco bell, and get 4 Chalupas, 2 1/2lb stuffed boritos, and nachos and down it all in less than twenty minutes.  From McD's, I'd do in 20 nuggets and some sort of value meal (usually double quarter pounder with cheese meal, with fries).  I used to meet my best friend Kevin in a diner every Saturday night at 1am and I'd get chicken fingers in gravy, with biscuits, then two cheese burgers and fries.  How I fit all of that in my belly, I'll never know.

WAAAY back in the day, like 25+ years ago, my standing McD's order was 2 big Cracks, bladder buster Pepsi (NOT diet), and the supersize frize. I "only" went there like 1-2x weekly. Most days, I starved all day, smoked cigarettes then would eat for supper:  2- 5 ounce homestyle welfare burger patties, my half a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese made with whole milk and margarine, maybe green beans, 2 - 12 ounces of whole milk.  AFTER a supper, like the aforementioned, the kids would go to bed, then I would smoke the weed, then dive into a bag of oreos, plopped on MORE Betty Crocker Frosting and have anuther 12 ounce glass of milk. another charming habit:  snarf a snickers on the way home from the grocery store.  The bad thing is, I went the store usually every day.  I did walk there, having no car. But still.  All the above til I decided I was straight up out of control and went to OA.  Around age 30, i began to really tighten it all up.  I began making small changes over the years...first off was 2% milk...then 1%...to nonfat. Then it was the transistion to diet pepsi. And so on. After that age, I would say I was simply a volume eater at relatively balanced meals. No more oreos, that kind of thing.

People on WW ask a variation of this question all the time.  Here is my typical response: I allow myself to have take-out one day a week for lunch, but I used to get crazy with it. Sometimes I would have the four-piece dinner from KFC (with two sides and a biscuit), or I would have three slices of pizza from the local shop. The absolute worst were my "Mexican Fridays." I would order a chicken burrito (which was huge and full of rice), then on top of that order a plate of chili nachos (which I now could never take on alone) -- which had every conceivable topping on it -- jalapenos, ground beef, black beans, cheese, whatever. I would go back to my office, eat the burrito, eat all of the nachos (everything but the peppers), then wa**** all down with a 24 oz. C&C soda (I liked fruit punch), and top it off with a Hostess lemon fruit pie (which I have learned since starting the program is 11-13 pts all by itself). To make this even worse, before WW DH and I had takeout almost every Friday night -- one weekend I remember spending $60 because we didn't cook at all!