I do really good with watching what I eat during the day. I have my breakast, snack, lunch, snack and then It's dnner time. I have 4 kids and 2 of them have practice twice a week for football. Other nights we go to a local baseball game for the kids to get out of the house for a few hours. But it is killing my day, we always seem to run short of time and we eat out. I usually have around 900 calories left for eating dinner but it seems to always end up being Mcdonalds for something quick and fast. I get 2 snack wraps grilled with a parfait...that is around 700 calories. It just doesn't seem worth it. I am not gaining weight but i am not losing any either...I stay between 175-177 started out at 201 so I am happy with the results. I only have like 10 lbs to lose.

So here is my problem, I do not like eating early we leave the house at 5 nearly everyday...I stay up pretty late so I do not want to get hungry later on and have un-needed calories. I also do not want to eat at 9 when I am usually getting home.

I am just a little lost right now...sorry for the rambling.

I usually pack my supper to take to my kids practices at night. i realize they would rather eat out but......nope.I make sandwiches, cut up fresh fruit and veggies and take bottled h2o.Thats what works for me, a picnic in the car or practice field.

Can you have one of the Chicken salads at McD's? I have a friend who has been eating the Southwestern one a lot and has been having some great weight loss results even thoughout this dining out phase she is in I am not sure what kind of dressings they have but you can look up most of the nutritional info online for calorie fat counts etc.

Can you talk the family into Subway instead? Can you make other choices at McD's so it's not always the same thing? The salads might be OK if you get the dressing on the side. Can you skip the parfait but take another snack along with you, like a South Beach Living high protein bar, for later?

It's not good for the kids to be eating McDonald's every night, either. Maybe some habits have to change all the way around.

Jay

Remember that calories are not the whole story...McD's food tends to have a lot of sodium, for one thing. And it's [I]processed[I] food. I like the suggestions about packing your own foods. I pack my lunches every single day. It's a real pain, and I have to allow a little extra time in the morning to get it done, but I know just exactly what's in my lunch box, as opposed to the chemical cocktail that is most takeout foods.

Try Subway, and hang tough, lady.
My daughter loves to go to Subway, just like those commercials point out, because she can have what she wants. Also, if you have one with a drive through, I've noticed they're pretty quick-quicker than you think.....

Please don't take this the wrong way.. but why do you have to go somewhere every night? Do you have any evenings where do don't have to be somewhere? I agree that McDonalds is not the best choice. Maybe you could pack a dinner to take with you. I also had this problem with baseball season but I always tried to have a healthy snack and water in my bag.

Good Luck!

Karen

How about turning the McDonald's into an occasional treat, and bring a picnic dinner for everyone instead? You could make sandwiches for the kids, a salad for you. Bring a bag of baby carrots and some cheese sticks for the kids, and have apples or grapes or some other fruit that they like for dessert. My kids are very happy with a meal like that, and the baby carrots and cheese sticks make it easy since they are already prepared. I don't normally like prepared foods like that, but in a pinch, they work great. Another great thing to throw in there, if your kids will eat it, is a bag of prewashed snow peas or sugar snap peas (they sell them at Wal-Mart) and a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese for each kid. They can scoop the cheese up with the carrots and / or snow peas.

Good luck! With a little planning (and expectation resetting with your kids), this is very doable.

I thank you for the advice and wish it was that easy.... I have very picky kids, the 2 oldest ones don't eat veggies. 3 of the 4 will eat sandwiches.. We do not eat Mcdonalds every night but it's a lot more then it should be. Adding the dressing to the salads is almost the same as the snack wraps. We do not have a subway close...so that is out. I do like the idea of packing sandwiches. Maybe those individual bags of apples and grapes. I never thought of making sandwiches....that will be fun to pack and eat while on the go...that way we do not have to eat either way too early or way too late.

thanks again for the ideas.....

You can always dress up those sandwiches. I put all kinds of stuff on mine and my husbands...avacado, sprouts, tomato, they have yummy cheeses and meats (buffalo chicken by sara lee is soooo goood), lemon pepper turkey-visit that deli, put the sammies in a pita or on a bollio and tell the kids EAT OR ELSE!!!

I'm all about surviving picky kid eaters without shooting myself in the foot:

The Southwest Salad at McDonald's with grilled chicken is 320 calories, the dressing adds another 100 calories if you use the entire pack. A little under half the pack works fine for me. So, 420 if you use the entire pack, 30 grams of protein. Or, a 4 pack of chicken nuggets is 190 calories, a fruit and walnut salad is 210. Together= 400 calories. The grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo is 370 calories, 32g of protein.

Subway is a good option, but no way my DSS would eat anything from there either.

The Mandarin chicken salad with grilled chicken and their balsamic vinaigrette dressing at Wendy's is 480 calories with almonds & noodles, 405 if you carry your own packet of Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing in with you.

My younger son doesn't really dig sandwiches, either (he's 8). But I just keep putting them in front of them and he keeps reluctantly eating them. It has gotten much better over time.

In fact, I have started finding combos that he does like. For some reason, salami and provolone on rye is a big hit! But the other day he ate turkey and provolone with lettuce, and didn't make a peep about it; I was shocked.

Part of the trick is I only make 1/2 sandwich for him. For some reason, that feels less overwhelming to him. And, I *try* to cater to his tastes (or give in to his need for control) as much as possible, in the areas I'm willing to negotiate on. You don't want mayo on there? Fine. Even though you love lettuce, you don't like it on your sandwich?? Fine. You like grape jam, not strawberry jelly? Fine. The non-negotiables:

-- we eat sandwiches; they are part of life and are often the only choice.
-- whole grain bread;
-- we eat the crusts.

Do the kids like vegetables if they can dip them in ranch dressing? I realize ranch dressing isn't the healthiest thing in the world, but if it will get them to eat vegetables it may be worth it, especially if you can find a decent fat-free one. I have a vegetable platter dish thing (the kind with different compartments and a lid) and there are always vegetables in it and it gets put on the table every single meal (except breakfast). I often have to refill it because my son WILL eat his veggies that way.

Good luck to you. I have a picky eater too, but what he avoids is meat so I guess it could be worse.

The first think I noticed is you saying you have 900 calories left for dinner. That sounds too high.

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is about 1600 calories. That's the amount calories your body would burn if you did nothing but stay in bed all day. If you are moderatly active (as a mom of 4 would have to be) you are probably burning about 2200 calories per day. To lose just a pound a week, you have to shave 500 calories a day off that number. So you would have to eat no more than about 1700 calories a day, probably even somewhat less than that. If you are eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks, then your calories should be more spread out so that you shouldn't be left with 900 calories by dinner time. Maybe breakfast 300, snack 200, lunch 400, snack 200, dinner 600.

Now I do agree that you don't want to be eating fast food dinners more than twice a week at most. This is for your health and the health of your kids because as others have said, it's not just about calories but the amount of sodium and preservatives in that type of food. Having said that, I like fast food and I have tried very hard to incorporate it into my diet and find a happy medium with the amount I am eating. If McDonald's is your most common place to grab dinner (as it is mine), here are my suggestions:

Get one main item between 250-300 calories - grilled snack wrap, cheeseburger, 6pc. McNuggets, salad with grilled chicken.

Get one side item at 150-210 calories - small fries, fruit & yogurt parfait, fruit & walnut salad.

Your total calories will be between 400-510 for the meal.

You can also get a grilled chicken sandwich and ask for no mayo to save calories. Add a side salad with lowfat dressing and you are again around 450 calories.

For the salads at McDonalds, the Caesar with grilled chicken is the lowest calorie at only 220 (no dressing) and the Bacon Ranch is next at 250. They have 3 choices for lowfat dressing that add 40-90 calories to the salad. I usually get the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and get the Balsamic dressing that is only 40 calories for the whole pouch and that is a total of 260 calories and then I get a small fries or if I am feeling like a sweet treat I will get a strawberry sundae which is only 280 calories. Again, know the calorie amount you want to stick with and then know the calorie counts of the items you are choosing. I would try to eat more calories during the day and then try to stick to no more than 500-600 calories for dinner.

Now kids that won't eat veggies and are picky eaters, that's another whole thread I'm sure but as a mom, I would be doing whatever I can to foster healthy eating habits because you don't want your kids to end up in the same boat that you have found yourself in. That's always a big one for me. My daughter is extremely picky, seriously we don't know any other child (friend or family) as picky as she is. Everything has to be plain with no sauces or condiments, and she's even one who will make herself gag over things she "thinks" she doesn't like. She's now 10 and we are still battling but I can honestly say it's been worth the fight because she eats healthy foods, many veggies, and has come a long way in her eating habits.

I have the opposite picky eater. My daughter is a self imposed vegetarian! She eats no beef or chicken. I used to worry about her protein intake, but her doc recommended some good alternatives that she LOVES (peanut butter, lentils/beans, etc). Usually, if my hubby and I have stir fry with rice, she'll eat the rice and stir fried veggies and that is all. What a weird kid. I should have known back when she ate avacados at 11 months!