In most diet plans, the advice includes avoiding fast food restaurants as much as possible. The food plans will suggest meals that you can eat, but very few of them really take into account how much we as a nation have to eat out because of our busy lifestyles and our limited time.

Fast food dieting has been offered as a solution not only to the hectic and the harried, but also as a way for these places to continue drawing in the maximum number of customers. After all, if everyone suddenly goes health conscious, the fast food places will have to close their doors. Despite what some of the salad zealots will tell you, fast food dieting can actually work, but it can be tricky and takes a lot of self discipline to do.

As with other type of diet plan, fast food dieting requires that you think before you order and eat. One of the major problems people have with their diet plans is a lack of preparation and planning. Just as you cannot wander into the kitchen blindly groping for food when you feel hungry, you cannot walk into the fast food restaurant with all of its enticing smells and expect to order wisely. If you plan to try fast food dieting, then know what you will order, including the sizes, before you get there.

Most diets suggest that you eat all of your meals seated at a table with dishes and cutlery so that you are more mindful of what you are eating. Fast-food dieting should also include those tips whenever possible- however, it is not always realistic to wait until you get home or to your destination. The main goal to keep should be to eat outside of the car because you can mindlessly pack away more than twice the number of calories you were aiming for without realizing it.

When in doubt, choose the smallest size, even if that means ordering from the child’s menu. If you cannot do without a soda for that day, for instance, get a children’s drink and save yourself a few hundred calories, as well as a few bucks. One woman who was very successful with fast food dieting opted for kid’s meals for her lunch whenever a fast food craving hit her, saving herself the calories plus getting some toys to use for surprise gifts and Christmas stocking-stuffers as well.

Think carefully about any sauces you might use, including regular condiments which are often loaded in fat, salt and sugars and can be a source of “secret” calories. And, while your side salad might be low calorie and healthy, the dressing that you are piling on it can be just as high in calories and fat grams as the fries that you secretly wanted in the first place.

Learn more about healthier fast food choices . At Strip That Fat you will be taught about healthy eating and exercise you can do for the long-term.