It’s my monthly training weekend which means I was on the road for a fast food a good bit again. Sometimes I grab something to eat while driving, sometimes I grab something at a store, and on occasion like this Saturday I eat in at the restaurant. (I needed the wifi)
I know it’s hard to believe but you can get a halfway healthy breakfast at McDonald’s and many other places if you really put your mind to it…and the grill master cooperates.
At McDonald’s I usually try to order a piece of grilled chicken… and this where the grill master cooperation is needed. McDonald’s does not offer any grilled chicken options and since they don’t begin serving lunch until 10:30, you’re #SOL at 6:00am. Saturday morning’s location was a no go on the chicken so I modified.
That little ass piece of meat is the steak (baby hamburger patty ?) from the steak and egg biscuit without the biscuit. Two scrambled eggs and side salad. Voila. #HalfwayHealthy breakfast at McDonalds.
Of course I would prefer to be cooking myself a great big ole omelet or frittata at home or even a big ole bowl of proats (both recipes in my FREE guide btw…which you can get here –> http://suannarae.com/healthy-fast-food-recipes/ ) but when you are on the road you gotta make do. I actually enjoy looking and finding #healthyish options at places that a lot of the food snobs in the fitness industry snub their noses at or swear we gotta stay away from unless we wanna gain 5 lbs or kill ourselves just from walking in the door. HA!
The thing is, I am from a small town in the South and still currently live in an area that predominantly has fast food places or restaurants where the tea is more like sugar water, almost everything on the menu is hand battered and deep fried, so full of sugar that you can get a sugar high, or swimming in so much grease you can literally pour it off the food. Where I am from the nearest health food store or restaurants that actually serve specifically healthy items are almost an hour away so that is not an option and unless we do tons of research, its damn hard and confusing sometimes when we are first trying to lose weight or just get heathy to find a healthy or even a healthyish option without help. Many times when we get frustrated it’s easier to just say “oh eff it” I will just eat whatever and start back tomorrow.
When we are surrounded by places like I spoke about above it’s tricky and super difficult for newbies and sometimes even peeps like me who have created the habit of choosing half-ass healthy over perfect or eff it. Many times when we choose the eff it option, the foods we choose end up triggering the cravings for more salty, sweet, fatty foods and while we have the intention of getting back on track, those cravings can get pretty intense. If we do not have the mindset practices in place to understand and surf those cravings until they recede or to consistently order healthier options that will satisfy the craving without derailing our nutrition, then we are caught back in the vicious cycle of binge eating or yo-yo dieting…..yet again.
Many of us women have been conditioned from birth to be perfect and to never do something half-ass. I lived that way in every area of my life for 40 something years and finally said no more. Now don’t get me wrong here, I ALWAYS strive to do my best, and sometimes my best actually is to half-ass it…. at least when it comes to nutrition. But lemme explain a little bit before you go What? You crazy woman!
I’m here to tell you halfway healthy nutrition is perfectly fine if that’s what we can do. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to starve ourselves or to say forget it and just get that stuff that we know without a doubt is going to create problems with cravings or any other issues later on. There is also no reason to get something we think we should get just because it is healthy but not be satisfied and then turn around and get something worse. Unless we are prepared to do the carrying Tupperware containers full of food everywhere, then most likely there will be times that we will have to try and scrounge a halfway healthy meal from fast food places, concession stands, little mom and pop restaurants and even chains like the ones described above. That’s just part of life.
There is no perfect nutrition plan that fits into our everyday life except for the one we create for ourselves. One where we don’t deprive ourselves and still lose weight or we are able to maintain a healthy weight or size. One where we don’t overly stress over going out to eat other than agreeing on which place we are going. If this involves halfway healthy food stuffs when we eat out then that’s great!
Of course I am always going to stress that we need to be eating as many whole unprocessed foods as possible, focusing on plenty of protein and veggies first, no matter what the halfway healthy meal consists of otherwise.
Do you have places you frequently dine at that have halfway healthy healthy options? If so, have you tried them?
Need some ideas of what are halfway healthy options at some of the most popular fast food joints? Leave a comment or shoot me an email.
Also, don’t forget to go grab your FREE copy of my healthy+ fast food recipes I told you about earlier. These recipes are great for when you have limited time to spend in the kitchen but want a healthy meal. There are 49 recipes that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less. It is only going to be available until Wednesday, so get yours now.
http://suannarae.com/healthy-fast-food-recipes/
As always great, practical advice!