7 Days---7 Fast Food Restaurants---7 Day Fast Food Diet

So, I am on the “going out to eat” subject again. However, I thought it might be good to give some specifics in this blog. I will be in and out of town for the next couple of months, and I won’t have a lot of time to make my meals, or even go to a sit-down restaurant. So I will probably have to depend mostly on fast-food. In order to maintain or even continue to lose weight, it will be necessary that I stay under 1500 calories.

Most diets you review will be 1200-1500 calorie diets. So if you are always on the go and want to lose weight, this diet may help you shed a few pounds. Now, when I say “diet,” most think of something you “go on to lose weight.” However, I am using it in the general sense of “what you eat.” So as you review recommendations, understand that this is not a weight loss diet, but simply a healthier way to eat when eating fast-food that may also help you shed some pounds. But if all else fails in the weight-loss area, this is just a plan to help you maintain your efforts and eat “healthier” at fast-food restaurants. For this plan, I chose 7 common restaurants that most major areas have: McDonalds, Sonic, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby’s, and Taco Bueno. When reviewing this plan, or rather MENU, take in mind that some items may seem to be unhealthy (i.e. burgers and fries), but we have to look at meals in terms of the whole day, and calories for the whole day.  Take that in mind when planning your own meals…

1200-1500 Calorie Fast-Food Diet Menu

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Total Calories
1	Arby’s Chicken Biscuit- 360 Orange Juice-140	Burger King Whopper Jr.-340 Value onion rings-150 3 packages of ketchup-30 Diet Drink-0	Wendy’s Apple slices-40	Taco Bell          2 Fresco Crunchy Tacos-300 Mexican Rice-120 Bottled Water	1480
2	Sonic Steak and Egg Breakfast Burrito-280 Bottled Water	Taco Bueno Bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup-237 Party Taco-143 Bottled Water	Sonic Apple slices with caramel dipping sauce-150	McDonald’s Premium Southwest Salad with grilled chicken-290 1 carton of milk-100	1200
3	McDonald’s Egg McMuffin-300 Apple slices-35 Bottled Water	McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger-440 Bottled Water	Arby’s Lowfat Chocolate Milk-150	Burger King Garden Fresh Grilled Chicken BLT salad  with dressing-510 Bottled Water	1435
4	Burger King 3 pancakes and 1 oz of syrup-500 Bottled Water	Taco Bell 2 Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Tacos-300 Diet Drink-0	McDonald’s Snack Size Fruit and Walnuts-70	Sonic Grilled Chicken Wrap-390 Mini Chocolate shake-230 Bottled Water	1490
5	McDonald’s Southern Style Chicken Biscuit-410 Bottled Water	Arby’s Roast Turkey and Swiss Wrap-500 Bottled Water	Burger King soft serve ice cream cup-140	Taco Bueno 2 Flame Grilled Chicken Fajita Tacos-420 Bottled Water	1470
6	McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal-290 Bottled Water	Taco Bell Express Taco Salad with chips-580 Bottled Water	Sonic 1% Milk-110	Wendy’s Homestyle Chicken Go Wrap-350 Bottled Water	1330
7	Burger King Breakfast Muffin Sandwich-Bacon, Egg, and Cheese-250 Bottled Water	Sonic Sonic Burger with Mustard only-330 Small tator tots-130 3 ketchup packages-30 Bottled Water	Taco Bueno 12oz strawberry smoothie-195	Arby’s Roast Beef Classic-350 Chopped side salad-80 Balsamic Viniagrette Dressing-130 Bottled Water	1495

Now I will say, this will be expensive. But if you are already “on the go” several days a week and have to live like this, hopefully this menu will provide a little bit of direction. Oh yes, the other thing I can’t promise you is that this is healthy in terms of fat or sodium, as most fast-food items are processed and will most always contain a lot of fat and sodium. But what I can say is that the calories are accurate to my best knowledge; so if calories matter to you, and you take these suggestions into consideration, you are probably on the right track.

Until next time…
-Jenelle N. Robinson

Nutritional Information obtained from the following sites:

www.mcdonalds.com

www.burgerking.com

www.sonicdrivein.com
www.tacobueno.com
www.tacobell.com
www.arbys.com
www.wendys.com

Overeating Out...

Last year, I traveled to California to do multiple health and nutrition seminars. It was the greatest experience for me as  I had an opportunity to do what I love and eat some of the greatest foods I have ever eaten. I also got an opportunity to gain a lot of weight. I would speculate that during that 6 month time period of travel, I gained at least 15 pounds. And if it were not for the fact that I DID workout when I went out of town, I probably would have gained even more.

My biggest problem then and now was going out to eat. It is a lot harder to control your eating when you go out to eat. Everything looks good to eat! And if they put bread on the table, it is a done deal. As always, we need to “govern” ourselves when we go out to eat. We have to develop standards for eating out if we are ever going to be successful at eating healthy and just not being plain gluttons. So here are 4 tips for not “overeating” when you eat out…

1. Have a strategy already in place when you go to a buffet. That strategy can include only eating on small plates, or only eating one plate of food and not several plates, or having only water to drink but eating whatever you want within reason. The point is: you know where you need to cut back. Buffets usually promote overeating. But just because it is a buffet doesn’t mean you should think that is license to eat more. If anything, I would eat less, simply because of the sanitary conditions of some buffets (I don’t like how little kids are allowed to walk around and put their nasty little hands on everything…no offense to parents who allow their kids to do this…just make sure their hands are clean). As a general rule for buffets, always make sure to start off with a salad and put at least 2 vegetables on your plate/s (French fries don’t count). I already know it would be failure to ask you to not eat dessert, but can I tell you to only eat one dessert? I am confident that you can at least do that…

2. When at a “sit-down” restaurant, or even a fast-food restaurant, look to see if they have healthier options available. A lot of restaurants now have special items that they highlight as healthier options because they are lower in calories, fat, or carbs.  

3. Don't be afraid to special order- “hold the mayo and the cheese!” Taking mayo, cheese, and bacon out of the equation equals less fat and less calories. For example, a Burger King whopper with cheese and mayo has 760 calories, and 46 grams fat. Without the cheese and mayo, this same whopper has 510 calories and 23 grams of fat (that is half the fat, so you see where most of the fat is coming from…the cheese and mayo). 

4. Never eat your whole meal (unless it is a huge salad that you didn’t add a lot of high fat and caloric salad dressing to).  Don’t be afraid to only eat half of your food and take the rest home to eat at a later meal.  Or another option is to share your meal with someone else.

I hope this helps you when eating out…until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson

The Greater Revelation within the Weight Loss Process…Fruit of the Spirit

I was walking around the neighborhood a couple of days ago thinking about how slow my weight loss has been. I have loss close to 20 pounds in the course of over 3 months. As I have shared in another blog, endurance has been key. Well, in addition to endurance, what I heard from God while walking was a GREATER REVELATION of my weight loss journey…

Many times we are so focused on our weight loss goals that we don’t recognize the virtues that are being tested and worked during the process. During the process of my weight loss journey, I have had to learn and practice 6 specific virtues that are biblically termed FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (Galatians 5:22-23):

1.       Love. I have learned to love myself at any weight I am at. During this process, I have come to the understanding that women can be beautiful and love themselves at any weight while getting to the place they want to be. Realizing God’s love for me no matter my size was a huge help to me. In actuality, His love helped me reach my goal. This same love I realized and was able to practice is needed in other areas of my life. I need love to deal with the stresses of life, difficult people, and even difficult situations. In fact, only through the eyes of love can I truly make a difference in the world…

2.       Joy and Peace. Joy and peace are two virtues down deep on the inside that help us to be content even when our situations don’t look pleasant. Several times during my journey, I have looked at the scale and been disappointed. But soon after, I allowed my heart to be at peace and then be joyful, knowing that the number on the scale did not determine my day, nor my destiny. Your weight should not have that much power over your life as to cause you to be doom and gloom for days because of what it says. This same peace and joy that I allowed to emerge in spite of what the numbers said is the same peace and joy I will need when facing future situations that have the potential to cause me to be angry or depressed.

3.       Longsuffering. Longsuffering may also be termed patience. Patience is not something you just pray for and automatically get. Patience is something that has to be practiced. Patience only comes through being in a situation that requires it. The patience it took for me to wait weekly for this weight to SLOWLY diminish is the same patience I needed when completing my dissertation. It will be the same patience that I need when completing even greater tasks or working with certain types of people.

4.       Faithfulness. As I have told you in a previous blog, I have been on the Weight Watchers Diet. In order for me to be successful, I have had to be faithful to the plan. I have been diligent in recording my food and activities. In addition, I have been faithful to working out at least 5-6 days of the week for at least an hour at each workout. This same faithfulness will be needed when I have to complete the writing of future books. Likewise, this same faithfulness will be needed when I get into a committed relationship.

5.       Self-control. During my process, I have had to control myself from indulging in certain foods at excess. That same self-control was needed when I dealt with rude students who I wanted to go off on. That same self-control was needed when I wanted to buy something I didn’t need. That same self-control will be needed in the future when I get upset about something and want to act out.

The other three fruit of the spirit include kindness, goodness, and gentleness. Though I didn’t get an opportunity (or revelation) to practice these in reference to my weight loss journey, my point in all these virtues is that they have to be practiced in order for them to become routine in our lives. During a weight loss journey, we are able to practice many of the “fruit” needed to succeed in everyday life. The “fruit of the Spirit” are characteristics that cause us to become more like God, and enter into His Divine Will for our lives. Instead of complaining or getting agitated because our weight does not line with what we will, enjoy the process of being conformed to be more in HIS WILL through practicing the “fruit of the Spirit.”

Until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson

Losing Weight without Losing Inches in the Breasts and Buttocks...

I have loss about 17 pounds in the last 3 months and my biggest problem right now is that all my bras seem to be too big. Sadly, whenever I lose weight, the first thing to go is inches off my breasts.

I have certain women friends who have been concerned with losing weight and inches because they did not want to lose it in certain areas (i.e., breasts, buttocks, hips). This may be compared to “spot reduction” where people SEEK TO lose weight in a certain spot on the body (i.e., “I need to get rid of these flabby arms,” or, “I want to work on losing weight on my thunder thighs”). In the case of NOT wanting to lose weight in certain spots, this may be referred to as “spot maintenance.”

In over a decade of education and training in the health, nutrition, and even fitness arena, what I have learned is that all of our bodies are different in their methods of operation in regards to weight loss, so it is very difficult to tell a person how “NOT TO” lose weight in a certain area of the body when they are trying to lose weight. However, many women (and men) admire certain areas of their bodies and want to keep them in tact, but know they need to lose weight all over for health reasons. What to do?

My biggest advice for the person who wants to maintain certain spots on the body while losing weight is to use exercise workouts to tone the area you don’t want to lose. This way, you may still lose weight in that area, but it will still look great as it may be smaller but properly formed, toned, and proportioned with your smaller body. The biggest way to do this would be to limit the cardio workouts (not eliminate), and focus on strength training to tone key areas. For the buttocks and thighs, toning exercises that work well include the infamous squats and lunges. For the breast area, push-ups and even chest flys work well to maintain breast tone and size.

Now toning alone will not help you maintain your shapely form if you are not eating healthy. Your diet should also be altered. As is in most posts, my advice is for you to limit the fat, salt, and sugar in the diet, and increase your water intake. If you are committed to losing weight, but want to keep and build muscle on certain areas of the body, along with the strength training, increase your protein intake by eating lean meats like chicken, fish, and turkey (decrease the red meat). Even eating 3-4 turkey slices as a snack a couple of times a day can help increase your protein intake in conjunction with the protein you consume during your normal meals.

I hope this was helpful. Until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson

Church Refreshments...

Recently, I went to a church program event where refreshments were served. The refreshments included a wonderful array of foods. There were crackers, tuna salad, deli meats, rolls, a variety of cheeses, fruit kabobs, strawberries, carrots, cucumbers, and other veggies, and then a plethora of desserts including cakes, cookies, and chocolate candies. There was also some sort of pretty punch available. Since I had already eaten, I only ate a couple of fruit kabobs, strawberries, and some carrots, along with a bottled water (I take one bottled water with me wherever I go). As you may be able to surmise from my description of the refreshments, it was not all bad food. As a matter of fact, there were several healthy options available. My problem came when I saw how the people were filling their plates. I saw plates overflowing with food....food that could last them two or three meals. I could estimate close to 600-1000 calories on some of their plates. I couldn’t understand why one person would need to have 3 cookies, a piece of cake, and several chocolate candies on their plate. I didn’t understand why a person would need to have several pieces of deli meat (not the kind you buy in small packages, but the kind you get thickly sliced straight from the deli), along with a couple of rolls, in addition to a plate full of other foods. Now, I could take this from a spiritual point of view and take a look at the sin of gluttony that “church people” so often overlook, however, I won’t take that route upon today. A better way to look at this, especially since I am not one to stand in judgment of another (I try not to be), is, “why would a person feel like they have to put so much food on their plate?” Here are my top 5 reasons as to why many may put so much food on their plates when they are at an event (especially a church event):

1.       The food is free. Whenever we hear the word free, or know that something is free, we often take advantage of that. But one thing I have learned when it comes to food, though the food may be free, you also will get free extra calories on your body that you may not need. When it is free, only get what you need.

2.       The person is hungry. Now this is a viable reason to eat. When you are hungry, you seek to satisfy your hunger. But it is definitely not a viable reason to overeat. Eat enough to satisfy the hunger.

3.       It is socially acceptable. Everybody else is doing it, so why not me? If everybody else jumped off a cliff would you jump too? YOU BE THE LEADER INSTEAD OF LETTING OTHERS MAKE YOU A FOLLOWER.

4.       The food looks so good! I will admit, when I looked at the beautiful array of food that was presented, I was tempted to get a little bit of everything too. That is the temptation of food. Especially if it is free, we feel like we will miss out if we don’t try a little bit of everything. But a little bit of everything turns into a big amount of food.

5.       You had a small breakfast and lunch just so you decided you would “eat good” at this event. This is not a bad idea. Granted, one meal full of sugar (as might be the case in this meal) may spike your blood sugar up, however, cutting back on other meals so that you can eat more food at dinner is not a horrible idea. But you still need to make sure you don’t overeat.

Now there may be other reasons people put a lot of food on their plates when they are at an event.  There may truly be people who eat a lot because they know they are not going to eat another meal for a while. These are not the people I am talking to in this blog. This blog is mainly for those of us that have a problem with social eating. The main principles you should receive from this post is that when you are at a social event, be wise with your eating. Just because it is free and looks good and everyone else is eating a lot does not mean you have to. If anything, be the example. Show others that you can eat a balanced meal that satisfies your hunger, even when you are at an event that serves good food. Now this is not a “deprivation mentality.” I want you to enjoy food. I believe you should eat some things you like and enjoy them. I just believe everything (concerning food) should be done in moderation. I hope this post has been helpful. Until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson

Preventing Cancer...

Chances are, you know someone who has died of cancer or currently has cancer. I have had several in my family to die of cancer. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide accounting for 7.8 million deaths in 2008. In addition, the American Cancer Society (2012) suggests that half of all men, and a third of all women in the U.S. will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

By definition, cancer is a general term for a group of diseases in which abnormal cells in the body begin to multiply out of control.  Cancer cells often spread to other parts of the body, but no matter where they are spread, the cancer is named based on where it started (i.e., breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer).

This blog is not about how to treat or even find out if you have cancer, but more so about how we can decrease our risk of getting cancer. I have provided a lot of information in my blogs about healthy eating habits that all play a role in decreasing the risk of getting cancer. I have also made sure to make special emphasis on fruits and vegetables and how they protect our bodies from diseases including cancer. What I have not done is tell you how exactly the nutrients in food work to protect us from disease. So I will attempt to “simply” explain how certain nutrients may help decrease our cancer risk.

1.   Pro-Vitamin A compounds decrease the risk of the development of epithelial cancers (lung, bladder, mouth, cervix, and larynx). The best source is beta carotene which can be found in most kinds of greens, carrots, cabbage, and pumpkin.

2.   Vitamin C is a nitrite scavenger. This means that it looks to eliminate cancer causing agents within the body. The best sources for Vitamin C may include citrus, strawberries, kiwi, potatoes, cabbage, and green peppers.

3.   Vitamin E is a free radical scavenger. This means that it looks to get rid of free radicals in the body that could do damage to DNA (our genetic map) in the body leading to cancer. Good sources of Vitamin E include vegetable oil and nuts.

4.   Low intakes of folate have been associated with increased risk of cancer. Folate is involved in the making, functioning and repairing of DNA. Not having enough folate may result in damage to the DNA that may lead to cancer. Most grains are fortified with folate. However, other good natural sources of folate include spinach, broccoli, dark green lettuce, and orange juice.

5.   Resveratrol has been shown to reduce tumor incidence in animals by affecting cancer development.  Resveratrol can be found in red wine, grapes, and raspberries.

 I hope this information has been helpful in showing you the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and their protective risk concerning cancer. Until next time…

References:

American Cancer Society. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www.cancer.org.

Cancer Fact Sheet. Retrieved March  15, 2012 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/index.html.

Schlenker, E., Roth, S. (2011). Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 10^th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

 Stanfield, P., & Hui, Y.H. (2010).  Nutrition and Diet Therapy: Self Instructional Approaches, 5^th Edition. Sandbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Endure...

Over the past 4-5 days, three significant events have occurred in my life….

1.       Sunday, March 4^th, I ran in the Little Rock Half Marathon (13.1 miles).  This was my 6^th half marathon that I have run in. This race was not easy for me as I was having “female issues” (ladies, you know what I am talking about).  I actually started out pretty fast in the race for the first six miles, but slowed down around mile seven. It was up and down from mile seven to mile 13.1. But I ENDURED that 13.1 miles for 2 hours and 19 minutes and finished, receiving a pretty silver and purple metal.

2.       The second significant thing that happened for me is that I stepped on the scale on Tuesday, March 6^th, and saw that I have lost 13 pounds since January. This is huge for me as I had been struggling with trying to lose weight for at least a year. But I have to admit, Weight Watchers is a wonderful program. This is the program I have been doing since January (in addition to intense training to run in the half marathon).  The difference in this program is that weight loss is slow. I didn’t like that at first. Some weeks I only loss .2-.6 pounds. Other weeks , I loss 1-2 pounds. This is actually the healthiest way to lose weight, but it takes ENDURANCE; because it is difficult to keep going when you are not seeing immediate results. But I will keep going through this process. I have 7 more pounds I want to lose. I am so close, so I will continue to ENDURE. In all honesty, my biggest goal is not to just lose the weight. My biggest goal is to maintain the weight loss. That will be the biggest challenge, but I believe I am finally up for it because I know how to ENDURE...

3.       The last significant thing that occurred yesterday (March 7^th) was that after close to three years of coursework, oral and written examinations, teaching 8 weeks of a nutrition education intervention, writing a 214 page doctoral dissertation, and defending the dissertation in front of my committee yesterday, I PASSED IT! I ENDURED close to three years of this process. This was one of the biggest challenges of my life. It caused more anxiety than almost anything I have ever experienced. But I passed it…by the grace of God. I will be graduating May 11^th, with a PhD in nutrition. I ENDURED and finished well.

In all three of these situations, it took training, and most importantly, endurance, which we may also term patience (read Heady’s blog on patience (it is really good) http://www.helloheady.com/the-best-tool-to-have-is-patience/) ). I had to train my mind and body for each situation. I had to have patience to endure the process, whether it was the 6 months of training I did before the half marathon, the 2 hours and 19 minutes in the half marathon, the 3 years of doctorate work, and the two months of Weight Watchers. In each situation, the time was different, but the principle was the same. I had to wait and endure the process, knowing that the end result would come soon. If you keep these principles in mind, you will not be so quick to quit when you don’t immediately see results in different areas of your life. In areas of your life like even weight loss and moving towards a healthy lifestyle, change does not come overnight. There is a process, and the key is that you ENDURE….

Until next time….

-Jenelle N. Robinson