I was in a rush yesterday, with lots of work to get done and the need to finish my shopping trip. Not much time for lunch, and not much around that was healthy. I was at a shopping center, with only fast food choices.

So I stopped at McDonald’s. An unusual, even rare event for me, but sometimes I just want a delicious fast food meal. I know I can do it and still stay on my diet.

There I was at the counter attempting to just have one sandwich. The guy taking my order just couldn’t believe I didn’t want the “meal,” an upsized French fry heavy, and sugary drink “special.” “No thanks, I just what the sandwich, and please leave off the bread,” I asked. That was a total shock to him. I had to repeat myself several times.

Being on a low-carbohydrate diet plan, the bread just wasn’t worth it. I get almost the same taste without the bread. They served it on some leaves of lettuce. They were also very nice about it: the manager stepped in and made sure I was given what I needed. Gave me a knife and fork, too. I was appreciative of that.

While sitting eating my sandwich, I noticed the words “nutrition information on reverse” so I flipped the placemat over. The sandwich I was eating was 540 calories (29 grams of fat)! If I had gotten the “meal” that would have added another 380 for fries (19 grams of fat)! and 150 calories for a soda. That “meal” would have been 1,070 calories and 48 grams of fat.

If I was on a 1,200/day calorie allowance, that “meal” would have been almost the whole day’s allowance. Certainly way too much fat in a day too.

So I was really glad that I had just ordered the sandwich, and not the extra stuff. I had plain seltzer water instead of the soda. Sure, I thought I wanted more, but I followed the 20-minute rule and waited for my stomach to send signals to my brain that I was full. And I did feel full in 20 minutes.

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