Challenge: Design a Diet

Okay, can you get to other grocery stores? I've begun calling stores in smaller towns and saying "hey, can I park back at your docks so I can shop". They're almost always happy to oblige.

 

Some truck stops sell (over priced) fruits such as bananas, apples, and oranges. Where do you live? If you happen to frequent California alot like I do, there are many farmers out here who have fruit stands set up where you could purchase fresh fruit, nuts, etc. at decent prices.

Are you a salad person? Some of the restaurants like Petro's Iron Skillet chain has a decent soup and salad bar. That way, you can avoid fried foods, processed foods, salt-laden foods, and foods that are heavily sweetened.

 

Nuts and seeds are great for snacking in moderation. Keep it to a handful, not the whole can. I find them very satisfying because they are so fatty. And I like salty foods. You could also mix them with some dried fruit as a make-your-own trail mix.

I also like the Fiber One granola bars. Sweet and chewy like a candy bar, but much lower in calories.

Cold meals are a little trickier. I like wraps. Spread a little hummus on a tortilla, add some precooked chicken (bring it from home or buy it when you do get through a store- canned chicken will work as well) and some bagged salad greens. I usually keep a couple of the Lunchable style cracker-meat-cheese thingamajigs in the fridge, too, as an alternative when I'm in a hurry. Add some fresh fruit or a salad to round it out.

As for shopping, I can post a list of stores I've noticed near truck stops if you would like.

And I also recommend a lunch box oven- it will expand your options dramatically, and they cost less than $40.

 

How long are you away from home? I cook and freeze most of my food and it keeps well in my cooler for at least a week. I use Medifast products that don't need to be refridgerated. Breakfast: oatmeal, cereal with skim milk. Lunch: Soups (watch the sodium). Salads: Carry your on lite dressing. Small carton of egg whites: pour 1/4 cup in a bowl where the bowl bottom is the size of you bread ( I use sandwich rounds that are wheat and 100 calories). Microwave for 1.5 minutes. You can by pre-cooked turkey sausage or bacon. I cook turkey bacon at home and use 2 slice on my sandwich with a slice of tomato. Makes a great sandwich for under 200 cals. I use the microwave at the truck stops and customers all the time.

 

Almost for got, QT (Quiktrip) has a good selection of health options. Don't for get it's peach season.

 

Premade salad with different toppings stored in a separate container. Things like hard boiled eggs, shredded cheese, real bacon bits (pig, not turkey), shredded beef or chicken, and grape tomatoes. I keep either Italian or blue cheese dressing. NEVER light dressings and especially not fat-free! Yuck! Tuna, mayo, and sugar-free relish to make tuna salad. I like to snack on raw cauliflower, cucumber slices, and olives, dipped in blue cheese or ranch. I also like to have boiled eggs, cheese, and pepperoni for snacks. I keep fruit to a minimum because of the sugar. But fruit like berries are good, and low in sugar. I try to have eggs every morning, along with some kind of vegetable. I usually wind up eating at a truck stop for breakfast, and will get an omelet, or steak and eggs, and get either a salad, or a cooked non-starchy vegetable instead of the potatoes and toast that they almost insist on serving.

My idea of "healthy" differs from most. Most people are convinced that healthy means low fat. Nothing could be further from the truth! This low fat hype has been going on for 50 years. What has happened during those 50 years? An obesity epidemic! People can and often do get fat on a low fat diet. They go hungry too. I believe we should eat what our bodies were designed to handle. Whole and natural foods. It is the processed stuff that is killing us. We are putting sugar in everything. High fructose corn syrup is everywhere. And refined grain products, these are not natural, and they are the problem. Everyone used to know this, but these days, if anyone says anything like this, it is treated as voodoo.

 

Being Type II Diabetic this is my most important issue on the road,,,you got the right idea(try this website,,www.americandiabetes.org) clik on meal planner and its a great guide to weight loss

If your short on veggies,try BK's side salads(they give you the most for your $$$)

Limit your daily carbs,lots of H20,

Ive lost 75 lbs since last Oct,,GOOD LUCK!

 

atkins mostly meat is the way to go to keep weight down. buy your burgers and throw the bun to the birds and get a green side salad. Low glycemic low carb and you get hungry less less often

 

Here's something I just thought of- raw food diets are the new thing. Wouldn't it be cool if you could just learn to scrounge for your own food from what's growing around you?

I've eaten rose petals sprinkled with sugar (that used to be a dessert served in western European countries), Dandelions, wild corn- (that's hard to find and it looks scary), chives, wild onion, pine seeds, mesquite beans, and a bunch of stuff that no one ever considers to be food.

When the economy crashes hard- soon- we'll probably see some of this on the internet.