[Muffie's Mom]

Fast Food = Fat Food?

Life in the fast lane can easily turn into life in the fat lane, if consumers don't pay attention to what they are eating. Fast, on-the-go type meals can contain hidden fat, sugar, and salt. Typical excuses for grabbing on-the-fly fast food include not liking to cook or clean up after cooking, not having time, and feeling like cooking isn't worth the effort. Aren't you worth the time and effort that it takes to nourish your body with healthy meals and avoid diet gremlins?

You can still eat well and not spend your life in the kitchen.
All it takes is a little knowledge about how to choose and eat fast foods.

Fast food doesn't have to be fat food. A fast food diet fits into healthy eating if moderation is exercised. Remember the following suggested guidelines in making healthy lifestyle choices that contain fewer fast food calories and more nutrients:

Reduce fats, saturated fats and cholesterol

Select small-size plain burgers and sandwiches, and use moderate amounts of condiments that you add yourself.

Nix the cheese and bacon enhancements and add more lettuce, tomato, and onion.

Avoid fried foods--fish, french fries, onion rings, etc.

Drink low fat and low sugar beverages; opt for water (add lemon, lime, or a little fruit juice for flavor), tea, or low fat milk (less than 2%).

Skip coffee whiteners - the regular ones have lots of fat, and the low-fat ones replace the fat with sugar.

Order tacos or taco salads on a plain (soft) tortilla.

Skip croissant and biscuit sandwiches - croissants and biscuits are very high in fat.

Eat raw veggies and green salads with low fat dressing.

Choose small portions; NEVER SUPERSIZE.

Skip dessert and opt for a fresh fruit treat later.

Limit sugar

Sugar is hidden in ketchup, pickle relish, jelly, honey, BBQ and other sauces, so load up on other taste enhancers like lettuce, tomatoes, onion, peppers, etc.

Avoid sweet salads and pudding at salad bars; opt for fresh fruit instead.

Avoid sweetened soft drinks and shakes -- order water, low fat milk, or other unsweetened beverages.

Remember, yogurt desserts with toppings may contain fruit and look like a healthy choice, but they contain lots of sugar.

Skip sugary desserts, and make a healthy choice as a snack later.

Limit sodium

Hold the pickles and limit use of other condiments such as ketchup.

Read salad dressing labels, and try using vinegar and oil or a squeeze of lemon instead.

Some diet sodas contain sodium -- opt for water or low fat milk.

Avoid restructured poultry and meat (i.e., chicken nuggets, some roast beef, deli meats).

Breakfast meats are high in sodium unless labeled otherwise -- limit sausage, ham, and bacon.

French fries, onion rings, and hash browns are high in fat and salt and are often salted more before being served -- do you really need them?

Apply salt sparingly to all food and use salt substitutes or herbs and spices to enhance flavor.

Processed cheese and cheese products are sodium laden -- opt for a small piece of hard cheese later as a snack.

Increase fiber

Choose fresh vegetables and fruits at the salad bar.

Select sandwiches with tomatoes, lettuce, and onion.

Ask for whole grain or multi-grain buns and bread.

Enjoy baked potatoes and the skins, but go easy on toppings such as bacon and cheese.

Choose foods which include dry beans, such as small burritos, chili, and salad bar toppings.

Quiet Revolution

Even if you feel like you're the only one embracing healthy eating, don't be afraid to be in the vanguard. "Quiet revolutions" frequently succeed one person at a time. Empower yourself to make healthy choices! Here are some more ways to combat the gremlins:

Identify personal stress triggers and note if any (or all!) of them cause you to eat when you're not hungry. Work on dealing with them in another way.

When you get a craving, get up and move (walk, stair-climb, stretch) for just a few minutes. Most cravings and most hunger pains only last 10 minutes. Keep a record of how many times a day you successfully get past them.

Avoid drive-through windows and eating in the car or in front of the TV.

Listen to the words in food commercials, with your back to the picture, and write down everything you can pick out as being deceptive.

Keep a food diary for a week (write down everything that goes in your mouth, even diet drinks and sugarless gum). At the end of the week, pick out 500 calories from each day that you could have done without and eliminate them from your intake the next week. Visualize yourself kicking an ugly little gremlin into outer space. See if you can keep him there for the rest of the month. Do this for the first week of every month and track how many calories get permanently eliminated from your daily intake.

Make it a habit to take at least 20 minutes to consume every meal and snack. That's the length of time it takes your stomach to send the "I'm full" message to your brain.

Sometimes gremlins show up in our motives for aspiring to healthy eating/healthy living. As with other aspects of behavior change, the commitment to healthy eating has to be made for yourself, not a family member, friend, co-worker, or anyone else. Doing it for someone else provides too much opportunity for resentment ("If she/he really cared about me, she/he would love me the way I am") and scapegoating ("You should have stopped me from getting that second dish of ice cream"). You and only you are the person who can affect your behavior! Once you've made the commitment, though, recruiting supporters is a very good idea. Maybe a co-worker would agree to put the candy dish on his desk out of sight or to bring in healthy snacks instead. Perhaps a spouse or roommate would take a healthy cooking class with you, or a neighbor might enjoy a daily walk. Positive support for a change is far different from pressure to make a change.