I didn't eat too much McD food the last few days cause of family celebrations for Christmas.  But today I was back and ate all  meals there. 

Breakfast: Sausage burrito (300 calories)
Lunch: Big Mac, side salad and a drizzle of balsamic dressing (570 calories)
Dinner: Vegetable soup (I made, just veges), McChicken (360 cal) and small fry (230 cal)
Snacks: Banana, apple, pumpkin mixed with sugar free pudding and fat free coolwhip, fat free pringles

Below are a few pics of my good eatings today.  Hope this gives you some ideas of great ways to keep the calories down but enjoy the McDonald's menu, plus get in lots of vitamins via fresh fruits and vegetables.

Liked the Steak and Egg Burrito, and CBO's are gone

I known it's Christmas Eve, but yep, I ate both my breakfast and lunch at McDonald's.   And, I tried the new Steak and Egg Burrito for breakfast - 300 calories.  It was very good.  It did have a steak flavor, to my surprise.  I also like it that it has a sauce in it, so you can eat it in your car if you need to cause it doesn't need hot sauce, which the Sausage Burrito does. 

Ate my usual McChicken (360 calories) and Small Fries (230 Cal) for lunch.

And it's true, the CBO sandwiches are gone.  Boo hoo.  I loved those!  Oh well.

Eating Beef tenderloin for dinner though at my Dad's.  Yeah, that will be a treat! 

Buy McD Gift Cards and get a free Sandwich

There's a great new promotion going on now.  Put $15 on a McDonald's Gift Card and you get a free sandwich.  Nice!  So, I'm reloading my gift card $15 at a time, and each time my sandwich is free.  I'm guessing this is just til Christmas, but we'll see.  Good time to buy though.

Delicious $2,00 low cal McD Breakfast

Some have asked me about the expense of eating McDonald's food for all 3 meals a day.  Well, my grocery bill has significantly decreased, so I think it's a wash money-wise. 

But I did eat breakfast today for $2.00 plus tax and boy, was it good.  A Sausage Burrito (300 calories) and a diet coke.  Both are dollar menu items.  So, you can eat cheap and good.   Love it.

My diet is helping my granddaughter go to college.  How?  Well, McDonald's participates in the Upromise program (www.upromise.com) and so every time I reload my Arch Gift Card, 1% goes to a fund I can use for her college.  This is because I registered that card on the Upromise web site.  So, my crazy Mostly McDonald's Diet is helping with my granddaughter's future.  Love it!

How to Lose Weight and still eat a Big Mac Once in Awhile

Check out my lunch today.   Yep, I had a Big Mac for lunch on my Mostly McDonald's Diet.  But I skipped fries and instead had a side salad (20 calories), and drizzled on it a little of the Balsamic Dressing (the whole packet is 35 calories - I probably used 10).  A Big Mac is 550, so my whole meal was 580 calories.  And I was full all afternoon until about 4 PM when I had some grapes as a snack.  Then a Grilled Chicken CBO and fries for dinner (480 + 230 cals), and I had an Open Faced Egg McMuffin for breakfast with coffee with cream (215 + 30), bringing my total calories for the day to 1573.  Wow.  I could have a dessert or more snacks, but I gained 2 pounds back the last two days baking sweets and eating non-McD's Mexican food so I need cut back extra today. 

Yes, you can eat a Big Mac and not overeat.  Love it.

I made some fantastic Lemon Risotto today for a friend, so I had to have some for dinner tonight.  So here's my dinner - a McChicken (360 calories - and I LOVE these) and Lemon Risotto (about 150 calories).  I also made a green salad. 

Went to Weight Watchers today and they recorded a 1.4 pound loss for the week.  I like that. I'm doing really good basically.  Plan to start walking in the morning again.  I need to firm up while I lose.   

Angus Wrap tonight

Tonight's dinner: Angus Mushroom and Swiss Snack Wrap (430 calories, and I think the wrap is better than the big sandwich), and a small fry (230 calories).  Plus, I first ate a huge salad I made at home.  I can tell my weight loss in my clothes, too.  Pants are loser for sure - yeah!  Got a long, long way to go though.  My goal is to get into this really cute cream suit I have.  I need to lose 65 more pounds to get into the suit.  Hope I make it.  We'll see.

Here's the wrap and fry:

Tonight's dinner: Grilled Chicken CBO (480 calories), and a huge salad I got at Whole Foods.  Mmmm.   Tell me this isn't healthy.

Drop at the scale, and tonight's dinner

Got on the scale this morning to a wonderful 4 pound drop!  Wow!  That made my day.  So far I've lost 15 pounds (since Nov 1st).  Can't believe it.  I've been stuck for over 7 years, so hey, this is amazing for me.

Tonight's dinner - McChicken (360 calories), Small Fry (230 calories), and a huge salad I made at home.  Mmmm.  Check out the food photos.  Doesn't this look yummy?

What to eat for breakfast at McD's?  I have 7 favorites that I typically rotate between:

1. Fruit and Maple Oatmeal - 290 calories
2. Apple Cinnamon Walnut Oatmeal - 270 calories
3. Open Faced Egg McMuffin - 225 calories
4. Sausage Burrito (1) - 300 calories
5. Egg White Delight (new - only at select locations) - 250 calories
6. Scrambled Eggs and 1 Hot Cake, no butter, just about 1/3 of the syrup packet - 300 calories
7. One Sausage patty, one Hot Cake, no butter, and 1/3 syrup packet - 300 calories

OK, it happens - I didn't get exactly what I ordered in the drive thru at lunch today.  I ordered a CBO with grilled chicken and I got one with the Angus burger.  Yikes.  That is a LOT more calories (790!).  So what did I do?  No, I didn't eat the whole thing.  I went on the McDonald's app and using the customize feature of the nutrition features, I discovered that the cheese is 50 calories a slice and the bun is a big 270 calories.  So, I took off the bottom of the bun, saving about 135 calories, and I took off one piece of cheese (and my cat loved it) saving 50 calories. Then I ate 3/4 of the remaining sandwich, bringing it down to about 400 calories!  And so I also ate the small fry, making my meal 630 calories.  Not bad.

By the way, I like the Grilled Chicken CBO better.  But that's just me.

When there is a will, there really is a way.

On November 1st of this year (2012) I decided to give a brand new diet a try.  I call it my "Mostly Mcdonald's Diet".  Yep, I eat mostly food I purchase from McDonald's.  Sounds crazy?  Unhealthy?  Stupid?  I understand.  When we think of McDonald's we think fried, fat and bad for you.  But I have worked at the corporate headquarters for 5 1/2 years now, and so I might be a little more aware than the average Joe about my company's menu and how it has changed.  Like, did you know we sell two different kinds of Oatmeal for breakfast?  Most don't even know about one, let alone tried them.  Folks, it's fantastic.  One of my favorite breakfasts on my Mostly McD's Diet. 

I've been on this plan since that date and have lost 11 pounds so far.  This is also quite amazing.  I haven't lost any weight in over 7 years, even though I have been attending Weight Watchers meetings weekly the whole time.  As a matter of fact, while going to these meetings and trying to follow the Weight Watcher plan, I actually GAINED 100 pounds.  Why?  Well, 1) in 2004 I had a surgery that modified my ability to burn, 2) also in 2004 my husband got cancer and passed away this year, and I just didn't have the ability (mentally) to count my points and do the WW plan, and 3) my thyroid finally was measured to be insufficient and is now being treated.  Weight Watchers is a fabulous plan, but I just need a new thing to get me energized. 

I went to the doctor at the beginning of this "diet" and I am very healthy, although my cholesterol is a little high.  It will be interesting to see what happens to that.

I don't just eat McD's food.  I supplement with fresh fruit and vegetables and when eating with others I don't eat McD's but I count my calories.

I am tracking all of my eating in MyFitnessPal.com.  Feel free to be a buddy of mine and watch what I am eating on there.  My email is georgas@comcast.net. 

I am also saving all my receipts so if anyone questions that I am really doing this, I have the proof.

I have also linked up with the Director of Nutrition at McD's who gave me some great ideas about this as well. 

I still go to  Weight Watcher meetings every Saturday morning - and will tomorrow.  So, I get the pep talk, and am accountable there.  Also, it's a third party to measure the weight loss.

So, this is my new journey.