Weight-Loss Best choices for takeaway/ fast food?

Weight-Loss
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amy1985

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I'm posting this so I can hopefully get some information for my boyfriend. I have little/ no intention of eating out regularly, and if I do I know I can make it up with my calorie counting. My boyfriend doesn't calorie count and isn't interested. For the last 6 months or so he's been slowly losing weight, because he's changed a lot of his eating habits (he had an abysmal diet when we first started seeing each other, he now eats reasonably well- if as I did before I started calorie counting- most of the time). He's now back to gaining weight and isn't sure what to do (he has quite a bit of weight to lose). I've persuaded him to track a week's worth of food so we can estimate calories and make some changes to his habits (and I've been exposing him to the kinds of foods I can eat calorie counting and he seems impressed).

The big problem is his boys' nights out, which he has pretty much every week, and once in awhile 2-3 times a week. Up until now my attitude to such things has been "go, have fun, but I don't want to know what you've been eating, I don't want to be dragged down with you". But I'm starting to really worry about his health and would like to make some suggestions to help him. Admittedly, he's already improved. The way he tells it, his old habit before we were together was to go to work, eat whatever was in the canteen (with little/ no regard for nutritional content) along with drinking several cans of (regular) Pepsi, go to the station to get to his friends' place, have a Burger King meal deal on the train, and then go and eat he-refuses-to-tell-me-what and drink more Pepsi with his friends. His new habit (partly according to him, partly I know about) is go to work, pack a lunch or choose a better option at the canteen, drink tea with skim milk at work, get on the train without a meal, get to his friends' place, and then eat he-refuses-to-tell-me-what (I don't know if Pepsi is included in that) with his friends. It's a big improvement, but I think this sort of thing is what's stopping him losing more weight.

I've suggested, given he's so complimentary about my cooking (and one of his friends is apparently flat broke and so struggles to pay for whatever they eat- I know it's not home cooked), that I give him something relatively healthy (not necessarily low calorie, but damage control) to take with him. He says that's completely out of the question and he'd be howled out of the house (it was worth a shot!).

This boys' night is very important to him, and I in no way want to stop him from doing it. I also don't want to embarrass him. My question then is, in the absence of knowing what he has on offer (and in an area where nutritional information doesn't have to be and so generally isn't posted for takeaway), what are some of the least bad choices he (or anyone) could make for takeaway food?
 
Basically, almost any fast food restaurant has decent choices as LONG as you can count your calories. Taco Bell, and Wendy's are probably a couple of the best with the healthiest options. Of course there's lots of others, just have a look online!
There was a guy who gained 25 pounds by eating at McDs. for one month to prove a point, and a lady who countered that by losing weight by eating there a whole month also. One key thing to remember: if you're getting a burger, SKIP THE MAYO, and the fries too.
 
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I found going to any places and just watching quantity worked. I regularly went to McDonalds, but skipped the fries and had a diet drink. The Big Mac was only just over 500 calories , and not overly bad. if you can get them to drop the mayo/cheese its even better.
Most takeaways offer healthy alternatives now days also which helps. But the key things are staying away from battered foods, or over processed foods because they always have more calories :)
 
I think portion is a good aspect of it. Do you really NEED that triple cheeseburger? I know pizaa is one of my danger zones - one slice, especially with lots of veggies on it isn't that big of a deal. Eating half of a cheese lovers pizza...

I think some of it depends on the options though. Like rotisserie chicken over fried chicken is great, but where can he get food from? Salads are generally good, but the dressings can be a killer. Plus salads might get him laughed at ;) Eating a regular cheeseburger is probably pretty similar.

My personal favorite for takeout is to get a 6inch Sub, generally the ham or roast beef. (I used to love their seafood & crab, but it's waaaay more calories). Even a 12 inch isn't a killer, and you can load up on the veggies to make it way more filling. I think even with a bit of oil & vinegar, the 6 inch ham works out to under 300 calories. (It's been a while since I looked though, so hopefully my memory's not to faulty).

I don't think that Subway is particularly healthier than anywhere else, but it does have more options to fill up on low cal veggies while still having a big full meal. Provided that's what you actually do ;)
 
Amy..

Amy,

The best choices for fast food are actually simpler and cheaper than people make them out, go to the supermarket and pick up some hard boiled eggs or veggies (i know the veggies arent always prewashed, but compared to some of the people at the fast food places i'll take my chance with pesticides), most supermarkets have a deli section with grilled chicken, get away from the conventional way of thinking you need a whole meal and get into snacking on healthy things all day. I'd get a piece of grilled chicken, a veggie, bottle of water and sometimes a small cheese stick. Also a gas station these days typically has healtheir options than mcdonalds, salad, hardboiled eggs, or meal replacement drinks. If you absolutely have to eat at a fast food place subway is good, and the others all seem to have "healthy options" taco bells fresco menu etc, but dont be fooled, your best bet is to stick with the first options.

-Joe
 
^ What Monster said. Thanks to those of you who responded (more responses definitely welcome, the more ideas the better) and actually read what I wrote. (The idea of my boyfriend going to his friends' place armed with eggs, veggies, and supermarket meat, even from the deli, when he'd be howled out of the house for my moderate calorie damage control fast food substitute ideas is hilarious)
 
Agree, Subway is probably one of the better ones, simply because you have a good amount of control over what actually goes on that sandwich.

Even though I can't stomach Burger King, I would still suggest choosing BK over McDonalds. BK burgers are grilled, while a lot of the McD ones are fried. But both joints offer salads and other 'less damaging' options though.

Apart from that I'm not sure what takeaways are in your area. Greggs make some veggie pasties that are not too bad, and even the steak bakes are alright. Not terribly low in calories, but if he's got just one or two, it won't do too much damage. They also have sandwiches there, some of them 'healthier options' - not sure if the sandwich isn't too 'un-manly' though...;)

Actual takeaways, from restaurants, are difficult. I would stay away from Indian, simply because pretty much all of their stuff has loads of cream in it. Chinese has the lower calorie ingredients, but usually piles of salt and other stuff in it. I think with all restaurant/takeaway food it's mostly a matter of choosing the least evil option - something with seafood/fish, chicken or beef instead of lamb, vegetables instead of fries (if possible), pick dishes that have no cream in them...stuff like that.
 
My biggest problem with knowing what to suggest to him (these are great suggestions and I'll definitely pass them on) is that these friends (at least for the weekly thing) aren't in my area. They're not even in my city. He goes from the city in north-west England where we live to another north-west city, and there has whatever it is he has. (This week he had chicken- don't know what type, he didn't tell me- and chips, apparently. He's telling me so I can help him calorie count to work out what's going wrong) The chains are probably the easiest to control, as you say. I might get him to talk me through the kinds of choices he has (I don't know if he can choose from any place, or whether they agree to a place and someone goes and picks things up- in which case it'd be hard to say "choose from Subway or Chinese") and see if I can figure out a least bad option from those (using what's been written here and a bit of Googling).

I'd put more pressure on him to buck the peer pressure and eat properly, but he's already getting quite a bit of crap from his friends about being under the thumb (I text him a lot. Because I like to talk to him. I'm not telling him what to do. Really) and I don't want to force the issue with him. I actually think this is the issue- that and he's a roleplayer, and apparently roleplayers are supposed to have bad diets. So he and all his friends tell me. He's made a lot of lifestyle changes in the time we've been together and I think his friends think I'm controlling him, and he gets crap from that angle. (I was genuinely horrified when he told me how he ate when we first got together, and refused to go out to eat with him, so he learned to get used to home cooking because he would've rather eaten with me! Then he started losing weight, and then he started noticing that he had quite a bit more money to play with because he wasn't eating out 3/4 meals a day... it just sort of made sense)
 
Wow. That is quite a dilemma you are going through with your RPG boyfriend. I can understand why his friends would think that you are controlling [which you aren't in reality]. How to explain my point? Not easy because it is just a given to me. I have friends that are role-players and if a friend of theirs gets a text from a girlfriend/boyfriend all you hear is, "Damn, you're whipped!". Don't take it to heart, cause you know to yourself that you just care about him. As for the on-topic discussion I agree with the people that have said Subway is the best choice and that is because you have exactly that a CHOICE. But if your boyfriend happens to be stuck at like say McD's or etc... the best choice is grilled sandwiches and salads but then again after adding all those dressings you might as well eat a Big Mac XD.

I wish your boyfriend the best of luck!
 
Bah, he should just tell them he's trying to get into character and his character is dieting ;)

(It is true though - I'm a regular gamer and when I first started serious dieting years ago it definitely through some hiccups into the system. One of my friends STILL complains that take-out pizza is the 'true' food of gamers...)

I have actually eaten just the toppings from a pizza before. I've dumped the potato to the wayside when eating a shepherd's pie, peeled the skin off of fried chicken... there are ways to try and pick and choose. Chinese is a little harder because you're never entirely sure what's in there. I always found almond chicken with brown rice, or just eat less rice, to be pretty safe. ... I <3 Indian food though, that would be a rough one for me to eat less of! I do think in cases where it's harder to pick out the healthy option you have to fall back on filling up before you get there and portion control. ... However, if that doesn't work because you just go and get another slice of pizza because it's there... maybe not eating anything at all before gaming is better :p (Or nothing but some greek yogurt and a little fruit or something!)

PS - another thing to note about gamers. Coming back with "Yeah, but when I get home I can have sex... and not with my hand" is considered a valid retort to suggestions of being whipped. ;)
 
:smilielol5: That's a hilarious response (both the "my character is dieting" and "sex... not with my hand"). I wish he'd have the nerve to try it. (I think they like me for the most part... but I think they're a bit bothered by the fact that I'm not a roleplayer. Never been exposed to it before, honestly don't get it at all, but it's his thing, he really enjoys it, and I have no desire to take that away from him) I have seen some of the food that his friends eat when they play (I've been taken to a few sessions. Apparently complicated games- Call of Cthulu?- which have been going on for a long time, so they're not surprised I don't get it, although this doesn't help me understand what it is my boyfriend does) can be pretty horrendous (some of the ones who seem to be in better shape were doing things like knit rather than eat).

I'm going to have a good chat with him about it. Not for a couple of days, at least (fortunately he's not going to his weekly thing this week), because we had a bit of an argument when he tried to go to the kebab shop near the gym after we've been. He knows it's bad but he can't keep himself away, he says. I got really upset because I've tried so hard to get him to stop doing that so often- he already eats crap at least once a week (which given he doesn't track his intake and needs to lose close to triple what I do- his BMI is something like 35- he probably can't afford to), which given how much he has to lose is too much, and that doesn't even count his kebab "addiction". It's just so frustrating sometimes. :banghead: But yeah, I want that to clear over a bit before I have another talk to him about his intake.
 
Hmm, for Call of Cthulhu he should just explain that the Elder Ones will eat the larger people first! ;)

Honestly they should probably just get over it if you don't enjoy roleplaying with them - and it's definitely harder to join a game with people who've been playing together for years! (Although you should try and watch "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising" with him if you can find it. Available on instant queue for Netflix ;) )

I do think it's pretty funny that some of the guys get away with knitting though! Maybe your boyfriend should take that up! Or paint little miniature figs to distract him from the food. I know that it's harder to resist the munchies when food is staring at you and other people are getting up and grabbing it. Having options for munchies that are less bad definitely helps. Eating too much of a graze mix is still probably better than too much pizza or Chinese food.

I can see giving it a bit of time though - it was years and years before my now husband was willing to listen to me on diet issues, and it took him blowing out his back to get serious about weight loss.

... At least it's probably easier for your boyfriend to lose than it is for you or me though. Damn male metabolism ;)
 
I think he's ready to lose weight. He's already made a lot of changes, he joined the gym (in part to get me to join, true, but in part for his own purposes), he lost quite a bit of weight and was pleased, was upset when he started to put it back on, and recently wasn't terribly happy with some pictures I took of him because they showed his gut (there's not a great deal of hiding it, unfortunately). He's almost completely given up on his formerly 3-6 a day Pepsi habit (he has them when out with his friends- but he promises me less than he used to- and on night shifts to help keep him awake). I'd say on average he has 3-4 a week now, which is a huge change. The big problem is him not losing face with his friends. He hasn't had very many women in his life, and this is definitely the most serious relationship he's ever been in, and I wonder to what extent they consider that I interfere with his roleplaying. Unfortunately, with his friends is where his diet falls completely to pieces.

Do you think- I think he's come around to the idea of tracking his calories- trying to get him at a slightly bigger deficit (100-200 more a day) on regular days would help, so that he has a cushion for all of this crap?

They didn't get me to roleplay myself, he and I were in a room watching other people. I got bored really quickly because I had absolutely no grasp of what people were doing- he was getting involved, I tried to pay attention but after about half an hour I just stared off into space. (Unfortunately in this instance it was the girls who were knitting. The guys were eating)
 
Yeeeah, watching a role playing game is pretty damn boring. If someone came to one of our games and didn't find it boring I'd wonder what was wrong with them :smilielol5:.

I know there's a push to prove you're not whipped or letting someone run your life... although it makes me wonder how big his friends are if they think that he'd have to be pushed into healthier eating by a woman rather than choosing it for himself!

It's tough too because people often don't like their friends to change and can resist it. One trick I used for myself was the arm flab trick :p People would say "Oh, why would you want to lose more weight!" and then I say "I just want the arm flab gone" and then pull back my sleeve to wave it at them. Maybe he could start drinking diet soda, and if they gave him flack over it, lift his shirt up and wiggle the gut around. ... Making his belly talk and pretending it wanted their souls might be a bit much though... maybe. They ARE gamers after all. ;)
 
Have you seen the "Eat this, Not that" books? They make it really easy to eat reasonably just about anyplace you go. If he knows where they're going ahead of time, he can just flip into his book and choose one of their suggestions.

Just about every place has reasonable choices today. Like people have said before, always skip the fries. Find something with grilled chicken, and ask the server to leave off any butters and oils that they can. Avoid any extra condiments- they often contain lots of extra sugar and calories. If he's having drinks, make sure he skips the fancy stuff. Liquors are typically much lower in calorie if he has them mixed with water, club soda, or a diet soda. Light beers can be ok too. A lot of places are listing their menu and nutritional information online now, so he can plan ahead and decide what he's going to get before he gets there.
 
I usually go to Chipotle. I'm not 100% satisfied because it has entirely too much sodium but compared to most other places it's good food. Subway is like adult lunchables. McDonalds and Burger King, God Knows where that meat comes from.

At Chipotle you actually see them cook the chicken. Not a chicken bits but a chicken cutlet. Also avoid the Chips if you know what's good for you. This is what I get:

Chicken Fajita Burrito:
Black Beans
Hold Rice
Chicken
Fajita Vegetables
Mild Salsa
Guacamole

My main goal when designing this burrito was staying low on the Glycemic Index. Unfortunately it's not a burrito without the shell...but I guess you could get it like that.
 
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