If it has a drive thru, Drive by it!!

A while back my family doctor, who I adore, told me that in order to lose some of this weight I needed to follow this one simple tip: If it has a drive thru, drive by it!! He is so smart (aleck)!! I do agree with him but that is not so easy some days with the constant hustle and bustle of a busy life. The good thing is there is a way to lose weight, eat (somewhat) healthy and still go through the drive thru. Now, I don’t think this should be an everyday occurrence. But there are days that it is just a must, at least in my life, and so many others that I know, to run through McDonalds or Wendy’s or Rally’s (for a cheaper non healthy meal). For instance, my small country church that we attend on a regular basis goes to eat almost every Sunday after church service. We usually hit up Wendy’s or McDonalds. And I want to go with them. I want Quinn to go. So, I have to make smarter, healthier choices when I am there. Yes, I want the Double-Bacon cheese burger with fries and a Coke, but what I will start getting is the baked potato, salad (with low fat-fat free dressing) or chili. These are just as good, just as filling and much better that the before mentioned burger!! Here are a couple other things that I love and the small changes we can make to save big in the end. I get Quinn the nuggets, but he gets oranges and/or apples and a milk. It’s not better than eating at home, but it’s better than the alternatives.

Starbucks: I love all #Starbucks. White Chocolate Mocha is my go to comfort coffee, but I love the Pumpkin Spice and currently my favorite has been the Salted Caramel Mocha. Yummy!! I go through phases with getting these coffees, some weeks I will get 3-4 some weeks none. What I really wasn't aware of was the calories in these coffees. OMG!! Here is a breakdown:

Starbucks VENTI White Chocolate with 2% milk and whipped cream is a whopping 580 calories and 22grams of fat!! Yowza!! So replace that high calorie, high fat coffee with the great taste of a Venti Vanilla Latte with nonfat milk and you go to a delicious 250 calories and 0 fat. That’s right, 0 fat!! If you drink one of these a week, that is a yearly savings of 17160 calories and 1144 grams of fat!! WOW!! Still get to keep that great taste, but look at the difference in calories and fat.


One of my other favs is the sweet tea from McDonalds. It is sweet, its tea and its sweet (did I say that already). Many don’t like it, but I love it!! And its only $1, so that makes the deal even "sweater" haha, no pun intended, ok maybe it was intended. I got one Friday night. I told myself it was the last one-here's why. In a $1 large sweet tea there are 220 calories but the whopper is 54grams of sugar. So, I say you can still get your tea from McDonalds, but carry packets of sweetener with you (or ask for them). I recommend Truvia or Stevia. They are not as processed as the blue, yellow or pink packets. From my research, none of them are good for you, but if you must have something, use them. Add some lemon and enjoy your tea. The best alternative would be to drive on past McDonald’s, go home, and drink water. I struggle with water, but I am working on it.


These are just a few changes. There are so many options and as I travel this journey of getting healthier and making smarter choices I will share them with you. What small changes have you made that have made a huge difference in your journey of getting healthier?