Try this McDonald’s breakfast sandwich hack!

Let me begin by saying that you should avoid fast food altogether. Avoid it like the plague! But in a pinch, you may find yourself pulling into the McDonald’s drive thru around breakfast time, ready to order your favorite biscuit or McGriddles sandwich. If so, then consider this McDonald’s breakfast sandwich hack to get a filling, protein-packed sandwich without so much fat and a million calories.

Remove the cheese and request no butter for a healthier McDonald's breakfast

What I do is order the regular McMuffin sandwich, which has the lowest calories at the outset. But then I customize the sandwich to remove the cheese. I also request that no butter be used on the bread. This cuts more than 100 calories, and a ton of the calories derived from fat. See, the round egg that is served on the McMuffin is an actual egg, cracked that morning, and cooked via a fat-phobic poached method. This means there are not strange ingredients or fillers like the scrambled eggs have. And by the way, you can replace the scrambled egg on any breakfast option with a slight upcharge. But the English muffin is still a better option, with fewer calories and less sugar and fat than the biscuit or McGriddles options.

With this life hack, you might just save your diet while on the road

Removing the cheese from your McDonald’s breakfast sandwich is a good idea, too, for many reasons. First, it’s barely able to be called cheese; it is actually some strange food product probably made of plastic or some undigestible gunk (allegedly). So not only will you feel better about what you’re eating (and not eating), but you will also be less likely to suffer from an upset stomach within minutes of consumption. So that’s it! Not a complicated hack for sure, but a very simple one. No cheese. No extra butter. Oh, and if you can afford extra calories, just double up on the Canadian bacon or add some regular bacon or another egg for more calories from protein rather than fat.

Wendy's - Bring Back the Spicy Black Bean Burger!

Last year I got to taste Wendy's Spicy Black Bean Burger when they had a test run in just two states. I was in Kingsland, Georgia, and I just happened to be there at the right time. Check out my reaction and reviewed to the Wendy's Spicy Black Bean Burger, and let's get them to bring it back!

5 Meal Prep Tools You Cannot Live Without

Prepping your meals in advance and taking them with you on-the-go makes for easy weight loss compared to eating out. Here is a list of five meal-prep tools you cannot live without.

1. A food flask is a leak proof vacuum insulated portable food bowl that can be used for storage for meals on the go. Soups and foods heated up at home in the morning will stay warm until you are ready to eat them when you use a double-walled thermo canteen.

This food flask is perfect for prepping hot foods to go!

2. Small meal prep bowls are a great way to control your portions sizes. Often times reusable or disposable BPA free plastic meal prep containers are too big and one of two things happens, you either overfill it or you fill it with an appropriate portion size but the size looks too small in the container making you feel like you are missing out. Small containers at the ready help you stay on track.

These multi-compartment bento box containers help portion control.

3. Three compartment portion control bento box containers remind you not to load up on just one thing. With single compartment containers it is easy to take too much pasta or other main dish without taking the two servings of veggies you know you need to stay on track with weight loss. These bento box containers ensure you have a place to put all of the food varieties you need to maintain your weight loss plan. 

4. Sometimes all you need is a zip to lock plastic bag, but these can be a costly solution over time. These extra thick and leak proof BPA-free reusable freezer-safe lunch bags for food are a great solution. 

Reusable freezer safe BPA free lunch bags are great on the go.

5. This is a no-brainer, yet people do not drink enough water in general, let alone when on a weight loss program. Your body needs water to digest foods properly and the quickest way to derail weight loss is to dehydrate the body. That is why a reusable portable water bottle with filter is a necessity. Seriously, do not leave home without it! Ensure you always have fresh healthy water anywhere at any time.

Who says hydration can't be easy AND fun?

So as you can see, prepping your meals in advance and taking them with you on-to-go for easy weight loss does not have to be a difficult chore. You just need the right tools! So shop the links here and discover for yourself why these are five meal-prep tools you cannot live without.

I spent $402 on a box of Optavia

I spent $402 on a box of Optavia that will last for 30 days, and I’m beginning to have buyer’s remorse. I’m sure when I follow the plan for 30 days I will indeed lose weight - maybe even a pound a day. But the cost seems to be more expensive than I’d first perceived, especially considering this price buys just one third of my daily calories. The rest I have to add in myself.

Here’s the breakdown. For $402, I am receiving 22 boxes with seven "fuelings" in each box, for a total of 154 fuelings. Each fueling has about 110 calories and is to be consumed at a rate of five per day spaced out between two and three hours apart. I'll still have to grocery shop to prepare an additional 1,300 calories of "lean and green" meals and snacks.

Optavia works for tons of people, but cost is a huge factor.

This initial package apparently includes five free boxes, or 35 additional fuelings. To continue the program into a second 30 days, I would have to buy the total of 22 boxes monthly. Since each box costs about $21, my next order would cost approximately $60 more. And then, of course, there’s the cost of shipping, which brings the cost for a 30-day supply of fuelings to around $500.

Given the convenience factor, I get that the food might be a bit more expensive. But I can save hundreds of dollars and still be successful in my weight loss by sourcing on-the-go bars and shakes elsewhere and prepping all meals and snacks on my own.

Regardless of my methods, it’s all up to me to make the right choices in my life. Knowing this going in, I’m going to make the most of this Optavia trial to kick start and hone my portion control and meal prep skills. It’s an expensive kick in the pants. But it's just the kick in the pants I need right now.

Looking for healthy options in the chain restaurant minefield

Being on the road there is just no way to stick to routine. Eating out becomes the norm, and even with all the choices of where to eat, there are surprisingly few healthy options. Sure, you can make do at any old place. But wouldn't it be nice if there were more restaurants that had more healthy options than unhealthy ones for a change?

Why can't fast food look more like this?

I've tried all the chains, and the only one where I can consistently eat what I would like to eat if I were making it myself is Panera Bread Company. The caveat with Panera is that as a side you get a choice of bread, chips or an apple. I would normally choose the apple, but the ones they have are usually gross looking - and besides, when I choose apples I always go organic since it's on that dirty dozen list. So I opt either for whole wheat bread at lunchtime, or nothing. (Choosing nothing is counter-intuitive for me, so it's a tough option, but do-able when I realize I don't need the extra calories from the bread.)

Panera's sister company, Paradise, is another decent option menu-wise. But the default side at Paradise is a cookie - a very delicious cookie I find it hard to say no to. As a result, I avoid Paradise these days.

Here in the Palm Springs area where I live I have found a few local, organic and vegetarian places I like, but I'm looking for chains to step up so eating out isn't like treading through a minefield of unhealthy options every time I'm on the road. If you have had success with chain restaurants serving up healthy options, please let me know! Leave a comment below or contact me through my splash page.