Top 16 Awesome Fast Food Restaurants

There are times when the food in my refrigerator and pantry does not seem very appetizing. Many nights I find myself opening that cold, stainless steel door only to see an oval-shaped dish stuck way in the back covered with tin foil staring at me in wonder…and what about that concoction that I threw together the other night after one too many black and tans!?

The good news is that after God created humans, human creativity created the means to be able to create fast food. And we saw that it was good and we blessed it so.

So here we have the most popular fast food establishments. This list is based upon my own experiences and preferences from worst to best.

16. Taco Bell

Taco Bell got its start by a man named Glen Bell in San Bernardino, California. He began by opening his own hotdog/hamburger stand which he worked himself until he sold it in 1952. Glen had been an avid Mexican food lover and loved the tacos at the take-out places that he frequented in the Mexican neighborhoods. However, he was concerned about the amount of preparation time that it took for these tacos to be made.

Eventually he opened up a taco place oddly named Der Weinerschnitzel (German for breaded veil) with his wife and a friend. Eventually he focused on his taco making skills and when one thing led to another he had 100 restaurants. Officially, Taco Bell went public in 1962 and the rest is history.

The reason for my inclusion of Taco Bell is simply this: most people that I know LOVE Taco Bell, but I personally refuse to eat it. Why?

Taco Bell stays opened well after the 4 a.m. bars and pubs close in my area.
Taco Bell is so affordable that you could eat a days worth of food with only $3.00 USD. That seems a little odd to me.
3) Go to the grocery. Look in the cold cut meat section. Ask for souse or head-cheese. Take it home and grind it up really good and put it in a hard shell taco. That is basically Taco Bell meat.
They literally use a damn caulk gun to spurt excessive amounts of sour cream into the middle of their tacos!

What I typically order from this establishment:

Apple Empanada

15. Kentucky Fried Chicken

Founded in Corbin, Kentucky by Colonel Harlan Sanders in the front room of a gas station that he owned and operated, Colonel Sanders officially sold his first franchise of Kentucky Fried Chicken to a man in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1952. Before that he had created his infamous Original Recipe of 11 herbs and spices in 1940 and sold it in the dining area of his gas station which he affectionately called Sander’s Court & Café.

After a series of bad debts which left him virtually penniless in 1955 he set out on the road once again to try and sell his chicken recipe to restaurants. It apparently worked very well as in 1969 KFC had over 600 franchises in the U.S. and Canada as well as one overseas in England. This was also the year that KFC was officially listed as a tradeable commodity on the New York Stock Exchange.

What I typically order from this establishment:

10 piece bucket of Original Recipe Chicken

14. McDonald’s

Ah, the famous Golden Arches. The world famous McDonald’s fast food restaurant got its start around the same time as Taco Bell in the same location: San Bernardino, California. The restaurant was owned by a couple of brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald. It wasn’t a household name until a man named Raymond Croc heard about them operating 8 of the same type of milk shake machine that he was himself trying to make a living selling, The Multimixer. He saddled up and went out west to talk business. The year was 1954.

After Ray convinced the McDonald brothers to open up several more restaurants in order to sell some of his milk shake machines to each establishment he decided to run one of his own. Ray undertook the sole task of running his own McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955. In 1963 the famous face of Ronald McDonald made his first appearance on a television commercial. After the success of the original McDonald’s franchise in Illinois (which is now a museum of McDonald’s memorabilia) there was no doubt that the restaurant would become famous very quickly.

What I typically order from this establishment:

2 sausage, egg and cheese McGriddles and a large orange juice for breakfast
The Double Quarter Pounder with cheese value meal with a Coke for lunch/dinner

13. Checker’s

Known as Rally’s in some areas of the United States, Checker’s is fairly new to the fast food scene. Founded in Mobile, Alabama in 1986 Checker’s later merged with Rally’s in Louisville, Kentucky to become a bigger corporation. Checker’s is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and has been public since 1991 when it had a total of 85 restaurants in its chain. Most people can recognize these restaurants for their vibrant retro look as well as their unique double drive thru windows and their 2 walk-up windows.

What I typically order from this establishment:

2 Big Buford sandwiches, 1 large Rally fry and a large chocolate or banana milkshake

12. Hardee’s

Founded by a Greenville, North Carolina man by the name of Wilbur Hardee in 1960, Hardee’s has been a staple of the American Midwest and Southeast ever since. The originality of Hardee’s lies in its famous cinnamon raisin biscuits baked fresh under the roof of their equally famous hexagonal buildings. This hexagonal style of building was also reflected in their hexagonal hamburger patties in the pioneering days of the franchise.

In the year 1997, Hardee’s was purchased by a corporation named CKE restaurants that also owned and operated a chain of fast food restaurants called Carl’s Jr. This merger made discerning Hardee’s from Carl’s Jr. restaurants difficult since the famous Carl’s Jr. smiling star logo was incorporated into the Hardee’s logo. Most Hardee’s now serve food more reminiscent of the typical Carl’s Jr. menu.

What I typically order from this establishment:

½ lb. Six Dollar Burger, large order of Crispy Curls and a large chocolate malt

11. White Castle

A young and budding entrepreneur took a huge shot at creating America’s first and oldest fast food restaurant way back in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. His name was Walter Anderson and together with a fellow investor named Billy Ingram made White Castle a famous American name by serving Americans the infamous “Slyder” mini burger for a mere 5 cents a piece.

The challenge of opening up the restaurants was due to the American public’s fear of the unsafe and unsanitary practices by the meat packing industry. This fear was brought about due to Upton Sinclair’s famous novel The Jungle. Anderson and Ingram combated this fear by creating very small establishments painted a white color on the outside to bring to the mind a sense of cleanliness. They also had their workers wear nice white butcher gowns and work in an all stainless steel kitchen to give the place a sanitary feel. This plan worked tremendously as White Castle is still going strong almost 90 years later.

White Castle is famous for the aforementioned Slyders that are uniquely grilled with sliced onions and the bun on the top of the small square burger patty. This gives the burger a steam effect through 5 strategically placed holes in the thin patty which in turn not only steams the burger bun, but also makes flipping the patty over to cook on the other side a thing of the past.

What I typically order from this establishment:

10 sack of Slyders with cheese (if you have eaten White Castle before you should know why they call them Slyders)

10. Arby’s

In 1964 in the small town of Boardman, Ohio two brothers, Leroy and Forrest Raffel, decided to open a restaurant that served roast beef sandwiches with bags of potato chips and giant sized iced teas to drink rather than the typical hamburger and soda pop everyone else was serving up. Upon trying to think of a name for their restaurant they decided on Arby’s which stands for R.B. or Raffel Brothers and also roast beef. Clever huh?

It only took one year for them to sell their first franchise. Since then Arby’s franchises took off like wild fire. At one point Arby’s was owned by The Royal Crown Cola Company (RC Cola), which received a lot of sales through Arby’s restaurants by having their cola served over the ever popular Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The Arby’s franchises are not only famous for their various roast beef sandwiches, but also their secret Arby’s sauce and their spicy Horsey Sauce as well as their delicious Curly Fries. Recent contract negotiations over the past few years have made Pepsi the main carbonated beverage currently being served in all Arby’s locations.

What I typically order from this establishment:

Mix and match 5 for $5.95. I get 3 Arby melts, 1 order of mozzarella sticks and 1 order of potato wedges with a large Pepsi on the side.

9. A&W Restaurant

In 1919 a man named Roy Allen decided to take a shot at making a nice cool beverage during a hot summer day in Lodi, California using a recipe that he purchased from a pharmacist in Arizona. What he created would later be another recognizable American name. Thus was born the infamous A&W Root Beer. But Roy didn’t stop there.

After success in selling mug after mug of his fine elixir from a root beer stand in Lodi and Sacramento he teamed up with one of his original employees, Frank Wright, to officially market their A&W Root Beer (A for Allen and W for Wright). Along with their exclusive, closely guarded, secret recipe root beer being sold in franchise stands spreading east from California they also began selling hotdogs and hamburgers.

By 1970 there were well over 2,000 A&W drive-thru restaurants spread across the nation. The next year A&W decided to create a beverage and bottling division whose sole purpose would be to manufacture and distribute the famous drink. Currently A&W franchises have expanded the world over.

What I typically order from this establishment:

The A&W Papa Burger, 1 large order of onion rings and, of course, a huge frosted mug of A&W Root Beer and an A&W Root Beer Float for dessert

8. Long John Silver’s

Another Yum! Brands acquisition, Long John Silver’s was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous book Treasure Island. The company wanted great seafood at a great price given in a timely manner. So in 1969 the first Long John Silver’s restaurant was founded in Lexington, KY.

The buildings were themed towards a pirate ship. There were ropes winding throughout the restaurants. The waiting areas were modeled to look like the wooden interior of the ships and there was even a bell hung by the exit door for customers to ring if they were satisfied with their visit to the restaurant. I admit that I have ringed the bell several times myself.

Some of us might remember the restaurant Jerry’s. That company also owned and operated the chains of Long John Silver’s restaurants throughout the nation until the corporation’s bankruptcy in 1998. This is when the corporation who would later become Yum! Brands bought them out.

What I typically order from this establishment:

2 fish and 2 chicken planks combo basket with the occasional side order of clam strips and always a large iced tea with a lemon wedge

7. Dairy Queen

Often referred to as DQ, this chain of fast food restaurants has been famous for their ice cream since a father and son team created a soft serve ice cream blend in Illinois and had a friend sell it in his ice cream shop. The soft serve took off and became an overnight sensation. The owner of the ice cream shop, Sherwood “Sherb” Noble, opened the first official Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois in 1940.

From there it was every franchiser’s dream. Dairy Queens began sprouting up all over the Midwestern United States and by 1950 there were over 1400 establishments. Eventually the shops starting serving not only frozen treats, but also hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken sandwiches. However, the main focus of Dairy Queen has been their ever famous Blizzard frozen treat since 1985. The Blizzards are made from the same recipe of soft serve ice cream that a young boy and his father invented over 60 years ago.

What I typically order from this establishment:

¼ lb. FlameThrower Grillburger combo meal with Coke to drink and either a butterscotch sundae or a small cotton candy Blizzard (trust me…they’re excellent).

6. Sonic Drive-In

Very famous for keeping the car hop era of the 1950’s alive to this day, Sonic truly is, as they say, America’s Drive-In. It all started when Troy Smith opened up a root beer stand in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1953. The idea behind this stand was for customers to remain humbly in their vehicles and order using a speaker situated on a pole in designated parking spots. Once ready the food would be taken to the car by one of the car hop employees.

Eventually, a very impressed customer named Charles Pappe negotiated with Troy Smith and opened up the very first Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Woodard, Oklahoma. They decided on the name Sonic in part because the original name Top Hat was already taken and also the word sonic reflected the speed at which a customer’s order was taken and delivered.

Not only does Sonic Drive-In Restaurants stand out because they still utilize the speaker and car hop method of order taking and delivery, but their menu has countless combinations of treats. As a customer you can take any flavor of syrup or juice that they have on their menu and combine it with one of their Slushes, carbonated beverages, or Fresh Fruit Limeaids. This leads to a truly unique drink of your very own.

What I typically order from this establishment:

Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster Sandwich combo with an order of onion rings instead of fries and my very own concoction of the regular strawberry Limeaid with strawberry juice added

5. Burger King

One of my favorite fast food places to eat, Burger King was officially established in 1954 in Miami, Florida by two Hotel Administration graduates from a local college. Sensing that McDonald’s would be a success David Edgerton and James McLamore established a fast food hamburger restaurant called Insta Burger King.

A few years later James McLamore would introduce Burger King’s signature sandwich, The Whopper now dubbed as America’s favorite sandwich. The menu also began to expand from simple burgers and fries to include fish and chicken sandwiches. With much success they forged ahead, but were frequently met with pitfalls, trials and tribulations in the coming years.

Burger King has been owned and sold by more companies than I care to list. The franchise has also caused controversy between rivals like Wendy’s and McDonald’s by claiming that their burgers taste better. The Burger King of Australia, called Hungry Jack, had trouble with Burger King over name problems since there was a name of a Pillsbury product in America called Hungry Jack and Pillsbury just happened to own Burger King at the time of the controversy.

Through all of the messes that the corporation has run into over the past 50+ years, Burger King still remains a solid foundation and a house hold name with its famous Whopper sandwich.

What I typically order from this establishment:

#3 Value Meal: Triple Whopper with cheese, upgraded to large size with a Coke and onion rings instead of french fries

4. Big Boy

The Big Boy double decker sandwich was the first double decker to be introduced in America. It was all thanks to a man named Bob Wian from Glendale, California and his hamburger diner in 1936. The idea came when he was challenged by a group of customers to create something other than a plain old hamburger. The challenge was accepted and thus began the birth of the famous burger with the famous secret sauce.

The name Big Boy came about when Wian met a little pudgy kid who came into the restaurant to grab one of those famous double decker burgers that everyone was talking about. He allegedly called the little kid “Big Boy” and the name has stuck ever since. Next, a customer would one day end up drawing on a napkin the iconic image of the fat little boy in red and white checkered overalls running with a Big Boy burger in his hand. Now Wian had a corporate icon to make his restaurants more recognizable.

Not only is Big Boy recognizable because of the statue of Big Boy in front of each restaurant, but they also retain their retro diner feel. The interior is like being whisked back to the 50’s when diners were at their prime. The fact that they also have a uniquely famous burger also helps too.

What I typically order from this establishment:

2 Swiss Miss sandwiches, an order of onion rings, a Coke with vanilla syrup and chocolate malt

3. Subway

Jared may be an idiotic looking guy, but he promotes one of the best fast food chains in American history so far as I am concerned. Subway was founded by relatives Fred De Luca and Peter Buck in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The 20 year old Fred borrowed some money from Uncle Buck and opened Pete’s Submarines. The name was changed later to Pete’s Subway since radio announcements about the sandwich shop sounded like Pizza Marines. Subsequently, it was shortened to simply Subway.

The success was instantaneous. Not only was Subway able to create custom submarine sandwiches for each customer, but they also used healthy, fresh ingredients. This would be the signature for Subway as the franchises expanded to current franchises basically across the entire planet, even inside the U.S. Pentagon. Franchisees also have the option of what to include in their menu selection making each Subway unique to the area.

What I typically order from this establishment:

Footlong meatball sub on wheat bread with pepper jack cheese, jalapeno peppers and banana peppers (they took the damn white onion off the menu recently those morons!)

2. Qdoba Mexican Grill

This extremely delicious and addicting establishment was founded in 1995 by the glorious minds of Anthony Miller and Robert Hauser of Denver, Colorado and is surprisingly owned by Jack in the Box. The chain focuses on fresh ingredients made to the specifications of the customer. Hence your regular chicken or steak burrito can have any choice of several salsas, black or pinto beans, rice, shredded cheese, queso and fresh guacamole made fresh each day.

Want to know just how addicting this place is? Go to one. You don’t even have to eat there. Just walk in and look at how long the line is. See it? It is like that ALL the time! ALL the time! But man oh man is it worth it!

What I typically order from this establishment:

Chicken Queso Burrito with black beans and rice with shredded cheese, Roasted Chile Corn Salsa and the medium Salsa Verde. I top that off with a large cup full of the best tea on Earth, Nestea Raspberry.

1. Chick-Fil-A

This queen mother of all fast food gluttony was originally founded under the name Dwarf House in a small suburb of Atlanta, Georgia by S. Truett Cathy. Most often found in shopping malls Chick-Fil-A franchises have recently been growing out of the malls and into their own restaurants.

Chick-Fil-A focuses on chicken based dishes rather than hamburgers so often found in fast food establishments. They are set aside from other chicken places like KFC because they use peanut oil to cook in and their meat is all 100% whole white breast meat chicken, none of that mechanically separated compressed stuff found in most other fast food chicken dishes. Everything from their chicken nuggets to their classic chicken sandwich is all white meat.

Another signature dish is their unique waffle fries. This also sets them apart from other places that serve the traditional frenched potato strands. Top that off with the savory Polynesian sauce and you have the best place to grab a bite to eat in the entire world. S. Truett Cathy should be immortalized and given her own star constellation and have a huge statue built in their likeness that would dwarf (no pun intended) The Colossus of Rhodes. I may start that campaign right now in fact!

What I typically order from this establishment:

2 Classic Chicken sandwiches with 2 Polynesian sauce cups, a large order of Waffle Fries and a large Coke.

Contributor: BrotherMan

Fast food chicken contains cancer-causing chemicals; warning labels sought

According to a press release issued Thursday by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the nonprofit health organization is suing national fast food giants McDonald's, Burger King, Outback, Chick-fil-A, Applebee's, Chili's and TGI Friday's after laboratory tests revealed every restaurant sells grilled chicken products laced with a carcinogenic compound.

Samples of grilled chicken from each restaurant were tested and found to contain PhIPm, a compound from a group of carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are often found in grilled meat, according to the press release. It adds that the federal government officially recognized HCA as a carcinogen in 2005, and PhIPm specifically has been named on the California governor's list of chemicals known to cause cancer for more than ten years.

The continued use of this harmful ingredient has prompted the PCRM to file suit under California's Proposition 65 in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles. The suit says that the restaurants should have to warn their customers of the dangerous ingredient.

"Grilled chicken can cause cancer, and consumers deserve to know that this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for them as high-fat fried chicken," said PCRM President Neal Barnard, M.D. "Even a grilled chicken salad increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other forms of this lethal disease."

Mike Adams, natural health advocate and author of "Grocery Warning," said that the failure of these major restaurant chains to disclose their harmful ingredient was unconscionable, but not surprising.

"Fast food giants are just like every other arm of big business: They want to maximize profits regardless of consumer safety," he said. "Researching alternatives to preparing chicken with this cancer-causing ingredient might affect their bottom line by a few cents, so of course they don't want to do it.

"One can only hope this lawsuit will prompt the businesses to find a way to remove this harmful ingredient from their chicken in order to protect their profits, if not their customers," he said.

Want to lose weight? Eliminate fast food

Weight... too much of it... affects nearly 70% of adults and 15% of children in the United States. At the same time, obesity rates continue to climb causing an epidemic which, according to a recent study actually threatens the world food supply. While there are many explanations for this phenomenon, a big one may be fast food consumption. Over the years the number of people eating fast food has increased as have the size of portions, and excessive weight gain and insulin resistance may be the result. In addition, research shows eating fast food may actually damage the part of the brain which helps control appetite.

Fast food contributes to weight gain

The consumption of fast food has increased as more and more people choose to eat out rather than at home. Given the high amounts of fat, sugar and salt found in many of these foods, it's not surprising that studies show people who eat more of them are heavier and less healthy than those who don't. Without major changes in the way we eat, these trends will most likely continue. For example, theBastyr Center for Natural Health reports that fast food makes up more than 10% of children's food intake, and related to that, the proportion of overweight kids has increased 50% over the last 10 years.

Is there a connection between weight gain and fast food consumption? A 2005 study, which appeared in the journal, The Lancet, looked at the connection between fast food consumption, weight gain and insulin resistance in the United States. Over a 15 year period, researchers conducted regular dietary assessments on a group of 3000+ black and white men and women between the ages of 18 and 30. After adjusting for lifestyle factors, results showed that increases in weight were directly related to the frequency of eating fast food. In fact, those who ate fast food more than twice a week compared to those who did so less than once a week gained on average an extra 10 pounds.

Fast food promotes insulin resistance

This same study also looked at insulin resistance as it relates to fast food consumption. The results showed that the frequent fast food eaters had an increase in insulin resistance which was twice that of those who visited fast food places less often. Since insulin resistance frequently leads to type 2 diabetes, which is in turn a risk factor for heart disease, this is a serious finding.

Fast food damages the brain's ability to regulate weight

Could a fast food diet actually damage your brain? A recent study conducted at the University of Washington seems to support this idea. Researchers fed rats with a diet that had a fat content similar to a typical American diet. Within three days these rats doubled their usual calorie intake and continued to gain weight throughout the study.

However, not only did the diet make them fat, but they also developed inflammation in the hypothalmus, the part of the brain which controls body weight. In addition, the rats' brains showed evidence of gliosis, an accumulation of cells in their brains which were in response to the inflammation. Gliosis reflects brain healing and is seen in cases of stroke and MS.

Damage was also seen in neurons critical to the regulation of weight. By the eighth month of the study, the scientists were able to confirm actual loss of these critical neurons; something they did not see on examining the brains of the control rats which ate standard food.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.bastyrcenter.org/content/view/455/
http://www.foodproductdesign.com
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec2004/nhlbi-30.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110608161533.htm

Fast Food

When people all over the world are looking for a quick, easy meal to grab on the go, fast food is the common solution. With the efficient service, low prices and casual atmosphere, fast food seems like the ideal "all-American" choice. In fact, over 25 percent of Americans consume fast food every day.

Fast food does not have to be unhealthy, but most of the time it is; consumers often order foods with more fat, calories, sugar and sodium, and less nutrition and vitamins than is necessary. Keep reading to find out some more about what makes fast food so common in America and how to pick healthier options.

• Just how common is fast food in America?
• Unhealthy Fast Food
• Nutritious Fast Food

Just how common is fast food in America?

According to this Google map, there are close to 50,000 fast food chains across the United States, with McDonalds being the largest restaurant chain. In the world, there are more than 500,000 fast food places. Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 eat fast food 157,000,000 times every month. Ninety-six percent of kids in school could recognize an image of Ronald McDonald, the face of McDonalds. The only recognizable figure that ranked higher was Santa Claus. To top it off, Americans spend nearly $100 billion on fast food every year.
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Unhealthy Fast Food

Most people don't consider fast food as their healthiest option. While there are some ways to eat a well-balanced, nutritious meal at a fast food restaurant, the unhealthy options are more common and more appealing. Often, someone can consume all of the calories they need for the entire day in one sitting at a fast food restaurant.

The most common vegetable served at fast food places is the potato in the form of French fries. There is no problem with eating fast food occasionally, but if you are eating it more than once a week, consider ordering some healthier options that are more nutritional. Check out these fast food comparisons. You might be surprised at what you find! For example, a McDonald's Triple Thick Shake has 1,000 calories more than a Wendy's Small Frosty.

Many foods are considered unhealthy if you eat too much of them—even healthy foods. Keep this in mind when ordering fast food. Don't opt for the super-size option, and keep reading to find out what healthy choices you can make.

You can check out this article (.pdf) for nutrition information of many fast food items.
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Nutritious Fast Food

Not all fast food is bad. Today, more and more fast food restaurants are offering healthier options and new menu items. There are also ways you can customize your order to be healthy for you. If you are looking for ways to cut down on some of the calories and extra fat in many fast food options, try some of the tips listed below.

• Don't order the biggest sizes. While it may seem like a bargain to super-size your order, it is no bargain for your health. The largest sizes have the most fat, calories, sugar and sodium, and you will probably be just as satisfied with a smaller portion. 
• Sugar soda is full of sugar and calories, but it does not fill you up. It is important to stay hydrated, but make a smarter choice and select skim or low-fat milk, fruit juice, diet soda or water. 
• Sauces such as mayonnaise, tartar sauce, some spreads or salad dressing can add loads of extra fat and calories where you might not need them, as can cheese, sour cream, guacamole, gravy and "special" sauces. Order a sandwich without the condiments, or ask for them on the side so you can add your own. Most places give you more salad dressing than you need, so add it yourself and don't use the whole packet. Chose low-fat or reduced fat options when possible. Salads are a healthy option, especially with a healthier dressing. 
• Generally, fried foods are not the best choice. Choose items that are labeled as grilled or baked. 
• Go for the kids menu. The portions are smaller, and you can usually make substitutions. Another option is to bring half of what you order home to eat later instead of all in one sitting. 
• Choose from the items labeled as "healthy" or "light." Most places now offer special sections on their menu.

Fast food does not have to be bad for you. By making smart choices, eating fast food restaurants can be healthy. 

Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF

In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that diets don’t work for you. You’re probably right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term. However, there are plenty of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting pitfalls, achieve lasting weight loss success, and develop a healthier relationship with food

The key to successful, healthy weight loss

Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.

Since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? So why is weight loss so hard?

All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—as well as winning the battle of the bulge.

Not all body fat is the same

Where you carry your fat matters. The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.

Getting started with healthy weight loss

While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:

• Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help to jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
• Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement you need.
• Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
• Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
• Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound you lose and inch of your waist lost. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.

Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.

Reducing calorie intake promotes weight loss—type of diet isn’t important

A major study concluded that it doesn’t matter which diet program you choose, as long as it is one that reduces your calorie intake and is healthy for your heart (low in saturated fat and cholesterol). In other words, the best diet is the one you’ll stick to, not necessarily the one currently topping the bestseller list.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #1: Avoid common pitfalls

Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because:

• You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation. Eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates nutritional imbalances.
• You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you don’t have a plan for maintaining your weight and the pounds quickly come back.
• After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back—another reason why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.
• You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation doesn’t mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. Diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating—when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.
• You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs may be cost-prohibitive and less practical for long-term weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.
• You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations revolving around food. Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
• The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in 2 months—and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises. Most are simply not realistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #2: Put a stop to emotional eating

We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If we did, no one would be overweight. All too often, we turn to food for comfort and stress relief. When this happens, we frequently pack on pounds.

Don’t underestimate the importance of putting a stop to emotional eating. Learning to recognize the emotional triggers that lead you to overeat and respond with healthier choices can make all the difference in your weight loss efforts.

To start, consider how and when you eat. Do you only eat when you are hungry, or do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? When you’re lonely? To reward yourself?

Once you’ve identified your emotional eating tendencies, you can work towards gradually changing the habits and mental attitudes that have sabotaged your dieting efforts in the past.

Strategies to combat emotional eating

• If you turn to food at the end of a long day, find other soothing ways to reward yourself and de-stress. Relax with a book and a steaming cup of herbal tea, soak in a hot bath, or savor a beautiful view.
• If you eat when you’re feeling low on energy, find other mid-afternoon pick-me-ups. Try walking around the block, listening to energizing music, or doing some quick stretches or jumping jacks. Another alternative is taking a short nap—just keep it to 30 minutes or less.
• If you eat when you’re lonely or bored, reach out to others instead of reaching for the refrigerator. Call a friend who makes you laugh, take your dog for a walk, find a fun activity to do, or go out in public (to the library, the mall, or the grocery store—anywhere there’s people).
• If you eat when you’re stressed, find healthier ways to calm yourself. Try exercise, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Better manage stressful situations by either changing the situation or changing your reaction. See related articles below to learn more about stress management.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #3: Tune in when you eat

We live in a fast-paced world where eating has become mindless. We eat on the run, at our desk while we’re working, and in front of the TV screen. The result is that we consume much more than we need, often without realizing it or truly enjoying what we’re eating.

Counter this tendency by practicing “mindful” eating: pay attention to what you eat, savor each bite, and choose foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable. Mindful eating will help you lose weight and maintain your results.

Mindful eating weight loss tips

• Pay attention while you’re eating. Be aware of your environment. Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. If your mind wanders, gently return your attention to your food and how it tastes and feels in your mouth.
• Avoid distractions while eating. Try not to eat while working, watching TV, reading, using a computer, or driving. It’s too easy to mindlessly overeat.
• Chew your food thoroughly. Try chewing each bite 30 times before swallowing. You’ll prolong the experience and give yourself more time to enjoy each bite.
• Try mixing things up to force yourself to focus on the experience of eating. Try using chopsticks rather than a fork, or use your utensils with your non-dominant hand.
• Stop eating before you are full. It takes time for the signal to reach your brain that you’ve had enough. Avoid the temptation to clean your plate. Yes, there are children starving in Africa, but your weight gain won’t help them.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #4: Fill up with fruit, veggies, and fiber

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely. The key is to add the types of food that can keep you feeling satisfied and full, without packing on the pounds.

Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight

If you want to lose weight without feeling hungry and deprived all the time, start eating foods high in fiber. High-fiber foods are higher in volume, which makes them filling. They also take longer to chew, which makes them more satisfying to eat. High-fiber foods also take a long time to digest, which means you’ll feel full longer. There’s nothing magic about it, but the weight-loss results may seem like it.

High-fiber heavyweights include:

• Fruits and vegetables – Enjoy whole fruits across the rainbow (strawberries, apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums), leafy salads, and green veggies of all kinds.
• Beans – Select beans of any kind (black beans, lentils, split peas, pinto beans, chickpeas). Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy them as a hearty dish of their own.
• Whole grains – Try high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat or multigrain bread, bran muffins, or air-popped popcorn.

Focus on fruits and veggies

Counting calories and measuring portion sizes can quickly become tedious. But you don’t need an accounting degree to enjoy produce. When it comes to fruit and vegetables, it’s generally safe to eat as much as you want, whenever you want. No measuring cups or calorie tables required.

The high water and fiber content in most fruits and vegetables makes them hard to overeat. You’ll feel full long before you’ve overdone it on the calories.

• Pour a little less cereal into your morning bowl to make room for some blueberries, strawberries, or sliced bananas. You’ll still enjoy a full bowl, but with a lower calorie count.
• Replace one of the eggs and some of the cheese in your omelet or scramble with vegetables. Try tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers.
• Swap out some of the meat and cheese in your sandwich with healthier veggie choices such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado.
• Instead of a high-calorie snack, such as chips and dip, try baby carrots with hummus, a sliced apple, or the old-favorite: celery with peanut butter (just don’t overdo it on the peanut butter).
• Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish “go” further. Even dishes such as pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if they’re less heavy on the noodles and more focused on vegetables.
• Try starting your meal with a low-density salad or soup (just watch the dressings and sodium) to help fill you up, so you eat less of your entrée.

Don’t love vegetables? You’re probably not preparing them right. Veggies can be delicious and full of flavor when you dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil or cheese.

Fruits and vegetables to eat in moderation

Fruits and vegetables of all colors, shapes, and sizes are major players in a healthy diet, but you still need to watch out for the following potential diet busters.

• Veggies that have been breaded or fried or doused in heavy sauces are no longer low-calorie, so tread with caution. Opt for healthier cooking methods, such as steaming, and use low-fat dressings and spices for flavor.
• Salads are guilt-free—unless you drench them in high-fat dressing and toppings. By all means, add some nuts or cheese, but don’t overdo it. As for dressing, a little fat is healthy (try a vinaigrette made with olive oil), but again, moderation is key.
• Dried Fruit. Be careful when it comes to dried fruit, which is high in calories and, often, in added sugar. You can eat a whole lot more fresh fruit for the same number of calories. If you do choose to snack on dried fruit, keep your serving size small.
• Fruit Juice. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of juice every now and again. But remember that the calories quickly add up, without doing much to make you feel full. Also make sure that your drink of choice is made from 100% fruit juice and contains no added sugar.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #5: Indulge without overindulging

Try not to think of certain foods as "off limits."

When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. Instead of denying yourself the unhealthy foods you love, simply eat them less often.

If you’ve ever found yourself polishing off a pint of ice cream or stuffing yourself with cookies or chips after spending a whole day virtuously eating salads, you know how restrictive diet plans usually end. You probably blame yourself, but the problem isn’t your willpower—it’s your weight loss strategy. Deprivation diets set you up for failure: you starve yourself until you snap, and then you overdo it, cancelling out all your previous efforts.

In order to successfully lose weight and keep it off, you need to learn how to enjoy the foods you love without going overboard. A diet that places all your favorite foods off limits won’t work in the long run. Eventually, you’ll feel deprived and will cave. And when you do, you probably won’t stop at a sensible-sized portion.

Tips for enjoying treats without overeating

• Combine your treat with other healthy foods. You can still enjoy your favorite high-calorie treat, whether it’s ice cream, chips, cake, or chocolate. The key is to eat a smaller serving of it along with a lower-calorie option. For example, add strawberries to your ice cream or munch on carrot and celery sticks along with your chips and dip. By piling on the low-cal option, you can eat a diet-friendly portion of your favorite treat without feeling deprived.
• Schedule your treats. We are creatures are habit, and you can use this to your advantage when trying to lose weight. Establish regular times when you get to indulge in your favorite food. For example, maybe you enjoy a small square of chocolate every day after lunch, or a slice of cheesecake every Friday evening. Once you’re conditioned to eat your treat at those times—and those times only—you’ll stop obsessing about them at other times.
• Make your indulgence less indulgent. Find ways to reduce fat, sugar, or calories in your favorite treats and snacks. If you do your own baking, swap out half the butter or oil in the recipe with applesauce, and cut back on the sugar, making up for it with extra cinnamon or vanilla extract. You can also eliminate or reduce high-calorie toppings and sides, like whipped cream, cheese, dip, and frosting.
• Engage all your senses—not just your taste sense. Instead of chowing down mindlessly, savor and prolong the experience. You can make snack time more special by setting an attractive table, lighting candles, playing soothing music, or enjoying your treat outdoors in a beautiful setting. Get the most pleasure—and the most relaxation—out of your treat by cutting it into small pieces, taking time to smell what you are eating, and by chewing slowly and thoroughly.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #6: Take charge of your food environment

Your weight loss efforts will succeed or fail based largely on your food environment. Set yourself up for success by taking charge of your food environment: when you eat, how much you eat, and what foods are available.

• Start the day with breakfast. People who eat breakfast tend to be thinner than those who don’t. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast will jumpstart your metabolism, plus, it will help keep you from binge eating later in the day.
• Serve yourself smaller portions. One easy way to control portion size is by using small plates, bowls, and cups. This will make your portions appear larger. Don’t eat out of large bowls or directly from the food container or package, which makes it difficult to assess how much you’ve eaten.
• Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You will be more inclined to eat in moderation if you have thought out healthy meals and snacks in advance. You can buy or create your own small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers. Eating on a schedule will also help you avoid eating when you aren’t truly hungry.
• Cook your own meals. Cooking meals at home allows you to control both portion size and what goes in to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more sodium, fat, and calories than food cooked at home—plus the portions sizes tend to be larger.
• Don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Be especially careful to avoid foods at the ends of the aisles and along the perimeter, where grocers tend to sell high-calorie snack and convenience foods.
• Out of sight, out of mind. Limit the amount of tempting foods you have at home. If you share a kitchen with non-dieters, store snack foods and other high-calorie indulgences in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.
• Fast for 14-16 hours a day. Try to eat your last meal earlier in the day and then fast until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help you to lose weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway

Soda: The Secret Diet Saboteur

Soft drinks are a huge source of calories in many people’s diets. One can of soda contains between 10-12 teaspoons of sugar and around 150 calories, so a few soft drinks can quickly add up to a good portion of your daily calorie intake.

Switching to diet soda isn’t the answer either, as studies suggest that it triggers sugar cravings and contributes to weight gain. Instead, try switching to water with lemon, unsweetened iced tea, or carbonated water with a splash of juice.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #7: Make healthy lifestyle changes

In addition to your food and eating-related choices, you can also support your weight loss and dieting efforts by making healthy lifestyle choices.

• Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep has been shown to have a direct link to hunger, overeating, and weight gain. Exhaustion also impairs your judgment, which can lead to poor food choices. Aim for around 8 hours of quality sleep a night.
• Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television than you do sleeping! If you simply can’t miss your favorite shows, get a little workout in while watching. Do easy exercises like squats, sit-ups, jogging in place, or using resistance bands or hand weights.
• Get plenty of exercise. Exercise is a dieter’s best friend. It not only burns calories, but can actually improve your resting metabolism. No time for a long workout? Research shows that three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day are just as good as one 30-minute workout. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or park in the back of the parking lot. Every bit helps.
• Drink more water. You can easily reduce your daily calorie intake by replacing soda, alcohol, or coffee with water. Thirst can also be confused with hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories, plus it will help you break down food more easily.