Want to survive in the world of fast food restaurants at every corner AND keep your diet on point, without refusing every delicious treat? Here’s how to do it right.
Why Do We Even Hate Fast Food
Fast foods are very much a part of the way we eat today and with good reason; it’s faster, more convenient and in some cases, cheaper than preparing food at home.
Still, there is certainly a trade off for all that convenience and it comes in the form of high fat, sugar, salt and calorie content.
While numerous fast food chains have responded to the growing concerns regarding high fat content and weight problems, eating out at a fast food restaurant can still be similar to navigating a minefield for dieters. In order to escape unscathed, you’ll need to plan and prepare ahead of time as well as pay very close attention to the menu.
Dangers of Cheap and Easy Meals
One of the most dangerous aspects of eating at a fast food restaurant is that there are typically no options regarding the food preparation methods. It’s not like at a sit down restaurant where you can request the chicken be broiled instead of a friend. That simply isn’t an option at a fast food restaurant.
You can’t usually ask them to leave off the butter and oil either.
So, while that doesn’t leave a lot of room to eat out at a fast food restaurant and still stick to your diet resolution, believe it or not there are some options available.
One of your best tools can be the fact that most fast food restaurants publish their nutritional content. Sometimes this information won’t be readily available to the naked eye and you may even have to ask for it, but it’s usually there.
Once you get past the sticker shock of exactly what is contained in the food in terms of sodium, fat and calories, this will allow you to choose the best options for your diet.
How to Choose Fast Food in a Diet
Consider your options at specific types of fast food restaurants carefully. If you’re at a burger joint avoid the temptation to order the king-size meal with the double meat and double cheese. Opt instead of a single meat patty, no cheese and cut the extra sauces and condiments.
If the restaurant offers salads, order one of those with a low-fat dressing instead of a side order of fries. Be aware that chicken and fish options might not always be a great choice unless you have the choice of grilled instead of breaded and fried.
Another option is to choose a smaller serving, even a kid-size meal if they’ll let you (tell them it’s for someone else!) and then have some of your own diet-friendly food at home later to make sure you’re really full. This option gives you the benefit of still being able to enjoy fast food without all the guilt.
The SugarBusters Diet
If you’re thinking of starting the SugarBusters diet, be sure you know everything about it first, in order to decide if it is the right diet for you.
The diet was developed by a Fortune 500 CEO along with a cardiologist, gastroenterologist and endocrinologist, based on the belief that sugar leads to weight gain, not fat. Under this belief, eating too much sugar will cause insulin to rise, which will in turn lead to high blood sugar and weight gain.
It is important to understand that SugarBusters is not really a low-carb diet.
This means that it does not count how many carbohydrates you can eat during the day. Likewise, dieters do not need to worry about counting calories or fat grams. As you work the diet; however, you do learn how to leave out certain carbohydrates from your diet.
As with any diet, you will need to give up certain foods and with this diet that means that you will need to eliminate sugar from your diet. This means not just the regular sugar, such as snacks and desserts but also all other sources of sugar. This includes any foods that rank high on the glycemic index and may include potatoes, pasta, beer and even honey.
Instead of eating these foods, dieters will fill their food plan with lean portions of meat and other lean protein foods. Vegetables and moderate low-fat dairy products are also on the plan. Not all, but some fruits, are also included as well as whole grains.
White breads and some vegetables are not on the plan. Such vegetables include carrots, corn and potatoes. Pizza crust, sugary cereal and all pre-packaged snack foods are also eliminated from the diet as are all desserts with traditional sugar.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a sweet treat; however. Dieters on the SugarBusters diet instead enjoy sugar free treats or sweetened foods that are acceptable on the plane with artificial sweetener.
Along with eliminating sugar and certain foods from your regular diet, there are a few rules to follow on this diet. One of these rules stipulates that you must always eat fruit alone. The diet also calls for drinking fruit juice prior to a meal instead of drinking it with the meal. You are also not allowed to skip meals because this could affect your blood sugar. The diet encourages three balanced meals per day. Healthy, moderate snacks are also acceptable.