Help! I need tips!
 

So as I was going thru threads last night I read that Sarah doesn't eat out very often, and I wondered... do most people eat out, or make their own food? I eat out 1-2 times a day normally, and some days 3 times a day. I make the most healthy decisions that I can (but I'm limited due to where I work), so how do YOU do it? I generally am gone 12 hours a day, and really do want to fit in eating healthy and working out.. I need tips!! I'm scared to think how busy my life is now with just a full time job, and how I'd ever fit kids in is beyond me.. yet lots of people do it.. :dizzy:

I am off to tackle my day (Sunday's are the worst day to work EVER!), Have a great day, and happy thanksgiving to all my Canadian counterparts :)

When I need a meal on the run my favourite place to visit is The Extreme Pita. Tasty and healthy to boot I find its a great alternative to Subway (which is far too carb-laden for my tastes). As soon as you enter the store there's a huge chart that lists the nutritional values of every single item on the menu (a substantive breakdown that includes sodium and fibre in addition to the usual calories, fat, carbs, etc.). Take a look: http://www.extremepita.com/web/

Swiss Chalet is a decent choice too, especially if you modify the standard "1/4 chicken dinner" order. I always request white meat with the skin removed and garden salad with raspberry vinegrette (instead of the famous baked potato or fries). I don't use the butter that comes with the little bun and dip it in the "Chalet sauce" instead. Being a Weight Watcher's follower, I feel good knowing I can eat a filling 7 point guilt-free meal (chicken breast (3), salad & dressing (1), bun (2), sauce (1).

I attend a lot of interoffice meetings where food is provided, but it usually consists of mayonnaise-based sandwiches, pasta salads dripping with oil, donuts, or worse yet, ordering in chinese food! I make it a habit of keeping little tubs of food on hand for such occasions. For example, tinned tuna or salmon moistened with a little lemon juice and mixed with diced celery and green onions(to spread on fibre bread), grapes and cubed melon, raw veggies and suitable dip, nuts and dried fruit, a couple of hard boiled eggs, along with other things that are easy to buy, store and bring to work such as single-serving containers of yogurt and fresh whole fruit.

Too bad you have to work today, but I hope you have tomorrow off to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving! :)

For the first 2 months of my healthier eating plan, I didn't eat out at all. Then I had visitors so I ate out a couple times when they were here, but we cooked as well. Then after that, I didn't eat out again for about another month. I've eaten out a couple times, but it is usually for some event/occassion, not just to eat out.

At work I have access to a fridge, so I make all my meals for the day and take them to work with me. There are times (when I go to school or when I was at another office) that I didn't have access to a fridge so I packed my meals in either a ice chest with refreezable ice things or an insulated lunch bag.

Aimee,

Alright so if you've got no choice but to continue eating out ( I understand, we do a lot too), here are some of the "healthier" options out there that I tend to go for...

- Extreme Pita or Pita Pit (you can have almost anything off the menu, and its delish)
- McDonalds (Whole Wheat Chicken McGrill w/ a Fruit & Yogourt Parfait)
- Wendy's (Salads w/ Low Fat dressing, Plain Baked Pototoe w/ Chili on Top, Grilled Chicken Sandwich)
- Subway or Mr. Sub
- Panago (when I'm craving Pizza, thin crust veggie pizza w/ half the cheese)

Hope these eating out things help... those are my staples when I have to do food on the run!

Other than that, for lunches at work.. I tend to bring a Lean Cuisine w/ Some Veggies to much on or leftovers from dinner the night before! :D

I try to not eat out. If I do, I usually go for a salad from Burger King, McDonalds or a pizza place. I ALWAYS have my Hidden Valley FF Ranch Dressing along.

Applebees has an awesome weight watchers menu. Ruby Tuesday has some excellent selections which are both carb and calorie friendly.

Almost every resturaunt has some decent choices. I pack my lunch for work usually. This way I know I have calories counted up and know where I am for the day.

I found a little sushi place by my work, so I try and go there.. or sometimes I just stick with the grocery store that has a deli, they have soup and chilli. But I'm really trying to arrange it so I only eat salad's at work (it's one of the few things that sits well).. keep your fingers crossed for me though! I did SO good today, I had a little snack before work, ate a little something when I go to work (about a 3 hour gap), and then had a salad and an apple for lunch.. and I'm hoping to eat dinner soon.. if I can off my butt (I don't function well on 4 hours of sleep and a 12 hour day). Thank you for all the eating out tips.. pizza is a huge weakness of mine.. and we always get panago because they do debit at the door :) We only have one Applebee's here, and it's not near my house, but there is TONS of japanese places, which I have recently discovered to be low in points!

Jillegal - I work all day tomorrow too, and I was supposed to have Tuesday off, but there is a huge signage change, and since we are short staffed I have to participate. But I DO get next Saturday off :)

Nelie - I do have access to a fridge at work, but it's SO tiny it barely fits a container with my salad in it. It's also a shared fridge, and my food tends to "disappear". I'm thinking of things that don't need to be in the fridge.. like fruit.. fruit leather's, crackers.. there are tons of things really. I am just being lazy, because when I get home from work.. all I wanna do is sleep! heh

Thanks for all the tips.. I even wrote a few down .. :)

I have found that for me, it's best when I just don't eat out. I pack my lunch for work every day. We have a small fridge too, but what I bring doesn't take up too much space. Tunafish, maybe some turkey or cheese.

When I must eat out, I do like the others and just aim for healthier choices.

I just watched Super Size me this weekend. I will be steering clear of fast food for a while!!! :D

Ok, so no fridge to speak of...hmmm....ok here are my suggestions:
* Pack small stuff in one of those little insulated bags with one of those slim icepacks that you freeze and refreeze -- they work well, and I used to do this every day. Small stuff could include: a healthy sandwich, yogurt, veggies, cottage cheese, 2 oz. portions of chicken or turkey, etc.
* I don't think you mentioned whether you have a microwave at work or not, but if you do, you could make a big batch of some on plan something that you like, and then freeze individual servings -- then take a serving to work FROZEN, and let it sit out thawing before you nuke it. I freeze veggie soup w/mixed beans, turkey chili, ratatouille, sauteed fish, my beloved you-either-love-it-or-hate-it brown rice/tuna/kidney bean combo, and more. You get the idea.
* Unassembled tuna or chicken sandwich: tuna or chicken in aluminum packets, low- or non-fat mayo packets, whole wheat or multigrain bread in a baggie.
* Various good stuff that doesn't have to be refrigerated: tuna or chicken in aluminum packets, protein powder (add water and stir,) fruit, whole wheat pita or tortillas or bread, dry Kashi Go Lean and/or All Bran Extra Fiber for a crunchy OP snack to combine with protein (may sound weird but I LOVE it!), All-Bran Sugar Cinnamon Breakfast Bar (not ideal, but at 5 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of fat, it's much better than a lot of the other bars out there -- although I don't eat them as a rule.)

I'm sure there are plenty of other options, but it's late and I'm running out now! I just know that it's absolutely possible for you to make it work -- where there's a will there's a way. And maybe it doesn't have to be an all or nothing change; you could start out with 3 days a week, for example, and already you'd be making a huge improvement in both your health and weight loss -- AND your pocketbook!

Aimee,

I live in NYC, and the lifestyles here are such that it's nearly impossible not to eat out at least some, although we have cut down substantially. I've found ways to make it work, however. (One thing that helps me is that most New York restaurants have reasonable, not insane, portion sizes, unlike most chain restaurants.)

You beat me to the punch on the sushi :). I think certain types of ethnic foods are generally healthier than your traditional American/Canadian fare: Japanese is one; Chinese can be if you order the right things, like steamed vegetable dumplings; Middle Eastern is also really good. Another thing that I do that really helps if a place has big portions is to have the server box part of the meal before I even start eating; that way I'm not tempted to eat it all.

You can make this work! It's definitely possible to eat healthily and eat out; it just takes some a little planning and a little self-knowledge to know what you need to steer clear of altogether!

It's definitely that planning ahead thing where I lack.. and that whole thing of "just get up 15 minutes early" just doesn't work.. lol, I wake up, reset my alarm and get those last 15 minutes in of sleep! (doesn't 5:30am just seem WAY too early to get up?) This week I have no choice though, I accidentally spent too much and have no cash until Thursday, heh.. how's that for forcing myself to eat healthy? And speaking of sleeping in.. I overslept and am almost late for work! Have a great day :)

Amy Jo - it's the french way of spelling "amy", je suis francais! Of course I can barely speak french.. hehe

Jennifer - can I come live with you? I've decided I love NYC :)

Aimee,

Depending on the outcome of the election (I'm being as vague as possible here to be P.C.!), I might be moving to Canada, anyway, so we can swap residences :lol: .

Jen

Jen - you don't wanna live in my house... my country? Yes.. but trust me on that house thing. I was recently in Seattle visiting my brother and we were talking about health, and I was mentioning something about how I get pretty good prices on the pill. Anywho, he enlightened me to the health situation in the USA.. and it's SCARY! I honestly can't imagine having to pay to see a doctor, and while the waiting lists are pretty long in Canada.. at least you eventually get in. I'm so ignorant when it comes to places other than my immediate surrounding..

So on the food front.. I did GOOD with my planning.. but was met with a slight snag in my plans.. I was sick, not just sick.. but full out "I'm gonna barf/passout/die" sick. Not only that, I had to work 8 hours, yup... 8 hours, there was NO ONE to come in. On the other hand.. I could treat it as weight control? I'll just get a fever/migraine/nausea everyday!! hmm.. I'm kidding..

Since you mentioned pretty good prices on the pill, I remember my exbf being amazed at how cheap the pill was compared to oh say condoms. I get 6 months of pills for 10 bucks. I personally don't mind paying to see a doctor but then again I only see a doctor maybe once or twice a year and it costs 20 bucks a visit.

I was sick a few years ago and I saw about 6 doctors in a few months, and I saw each doctor 2-3 times each.. I was a college student, and if I had to pay I'd still be paying it off.

Nelie - how do you get the pill so cheap? I thought prescriptions were expensive in the USA?