Story Continued Sherry Delphey 49 years old has felt better now then she has in years.  “I joined weight watchers here in Frederick over a year ago and I have never felt better.  It took a lot of hard work and dedication to lose the weight, but I fought through it and I have lost over 20 pounds since I have joined.” “I agree that fast food has changed and there are many more options now before burgers and fries, but with weight watchers you take out all fast food and I didn’t realize how much fast food I really was eating.” Stated Delphey. Weight watchers is more than your average diet loss program, it changes your whole lifestyle to fit around eating healthy and being healthier, they guide you on how to eat and of how much to eat.  Delphey said that now that it has been over a year, she can cheat a little bit and enjoy some fast food every once in a while.  “Sometimes I am in a bind that I have to eat out, and as much as it makes me feel guilty I try to think about where I want to go and what I can eat there without feeling to guilty.  I really like at Wendy’s I can order a baked potato as a side, sometimes that’s all I will eat, is there loaded baked potato.”  Delphey stated.  “I do not think that fast food is something that people should rely on as a nutritional meal everyday but the way things have changed there is no doubt that you can get a healthier meal.”  Said Delphey According to Focus on Health, text book they state “fast food meals can be high in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium.  But it is still possible to eat fast food occasionally and follow a sensible diet.”  (Pg. 118)Fast Food restaurants are changing and yes, it is not healthy to eat at a fast food restaurant every day, but if you have to for some reason then take the time to look at the menus and get a feel for something more healthy then a big mac with a large fri.  There are better ways of eating at fast food restaurants. Diane O’Donnell a 49 year old, fitness trainer with a background in nutrition works at the YMCA in Westminster.  She mentioned that she tells her clients to try and stay away from fast food.  Although she agrees that fast food has changed.  “You can now have a grilled chicken sandwich with no sauce and a small side salad.” Stated O’Donnell. I work hard with my clients to get them into better shape and try to keep the weight off and help them stay healthy.  My job isn’t easy with the easy convenience of fast food.  Some of my clients will admit to me that they had stopped on their lunch break because they were in a hurry O’Donnell stated. “I don’t mind that they eat at fast food restaurants because I know what it is like to just pick up lunch or dinner quickly.  Just as long as my clients are not caving in and buying a bacon cheeseburger, with large fries and a soda, I want my clients to think about what they are eating.  One of my goals is to have my clients think about what they are going to eat, and how much, start to plan their meals.” Stated O’DonnellFast food is very fast and cheap and that is one of the major problems with it.  But with more options available for people to choose from, there are more reasonable meal choices people can have, O’Donnell stated. There are many weight watcher places around Frederick, and one of the things that is nice about weight watchers is that they help people start to think more healthy and eat healthy.  They do not make you starve yourself, or go on some crazy diet.  Weight watchers is about balancing out the foods that you eat throughout the day, stated a lady just leaving a meeting with her leader. One lady asked their leader about fast food, “am I allowed to eat fast food if it comes down to the last resort?” she asked.  The leader responded with a smile on her face and said of course you can.  We don’t want you to starve yourself or deprive you of foods that you really enjoy.  Just be smart about what you order from the fast food places. The leader went on to say, if you are craving a piece of pizza, then you should eat a slice of pizza, because what will end up happening is you will crave it so bad that you will end up over eating and that’s not good.  Eat a slice of pizza, or a small Jr. Cheeseburger from Wendy’s; just enough to make you feel satisfied. You do not want to do this every day, you have to have some control over it, but again fast food is changing enough that you can eat there and still get a somewhat healthy meal out of it. There are many different options now that you can choose from when choosing to eat fast food.  The goal is to know what you are going to eat and research from the different websites about the calories, and the sodium content. It’s not so much about the calories that you intake, sometimes it is about the sodium in the foods and drinks, stated O’Donnell.  Watching how many calories is important but sodium is salt and too much salt dehydrates your body.  “Have you ever eaten a salty meal then feel thirsty afterwards?” that is because your body needs the fluids to flush out the sodium. The most important part about eating healthy is also counteracting what you ate with at least a good 30 minutes workout.  Weather it is just walking, walking up and down steps a few times, jogging or going to the gym, O’Donnell stated. It is hard to plan meals every day, and know what would be healthy and what wouldn’t be healthy.  You would think a salad would be very healthy but guess again.  Salads from fast food restaurants are not that healthy.  With all the extra toppings you can get, to make the salad healthy there is little to no dressing.  Can fast food be healthy? Some fast food restaurants are changing and want to help make changes for your lifestyle. The advertising is different and the many different side options make it nice as well.