Hmmm. When I joined the military I was a fussy eater. Uncle Sam fixed that.

Now there are very few things on my "don't like" list. I thing eggs are gross, but that's about it.

To me, the key to imporving dietary habits also included overhauling lifestyle habits. This is what I mean:

Do a "survey" of the food resources available to you conveniently. Convenience and expediacy are very important in getting real control over your eating habits.

Is there a Subway near you? A fruit market? These are good resources for whole, natural (at least better than Starbucks and McDonald's) foods.

Find the convenient resources for good foods and stick to them. Try to introduce new food sources that are good for you into your diet. It takes work initially, but pays long term dividends.

If you develop good eating "behavior", i.e. going to the right sources for food and eating at the appropriate times it will go a long, long way toward improving your diet.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

schedule your meals into your day, and don't skip them. Aim for at least 5 small meals a day, pref. 6. Each meal contains a portion of good carb and protein. Eat whatever you want, but make it carb/protein. As much veg and fruit as you want.

Actually, a great place to start is Gordo's nutrition page. http://www.byrn.org/gtips/n101.htm

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not specific but...

eat a good breakfast BEFORE you leave the house (eggs, toast, smoothie, whole wheat toast and almond butter, etc)

fruit for 10am snack (almonds if you're still hungry)

lunch: subway or pack your own turkey on wheat

mid afternoon snack: fruit (almonds if you're still hungry)

dinner: homemade pizza, chicken breast and steamed veggies plus brown rice, lean steak and steamed veggies plus brown rice

basically, eat often, make/bring your own food - eat as close to natural as possible (steak, chicken, eggs, nuts, fruit, veggies) - really quite simple. forget the processsed foods (white bread, pasta, bagels, etc)

good luck!

the best advice I have for you right now is for you to cook an entire week's worth of food ahead of time and put it into containers by portion size. this way you eliminate all of the fast food, and you have really good food ready to go in a split second.

if you can't cook for yourself, then hire a person to do it for you on Sunday. Hell, if you hire someone they might be able to cook enough for a month...then you can freez it and microwave it or through it in the oven.

personally, I don't think you'd be that hard to cook for. for vegetables raw, that's easy. just cut them all up and put porition sizes in ziploc bags. bingo, you can have them in one second. slice up cheese, and make sandwiches ahead too...it's the same concept.

for breakfast, I prefer to drink a protein shake with bananas and peanut butter in it, or something like that in it. you could have enough containers for one week and make all of your shakes on Sunday to put in the fridge for the week. little tupperwares of cottage cheese work great too, and grab a banana to go with it. You can literally drink your shake on the way to work during your commute. take a second shake for after the meeting...or a big piece of fruit and some cottage cheese, bagels or whatever excites you. Oatmeal with raisins the same thing...have it in tupperwares, put a little water on top and zap it after your meetings.

For your dinners, on Sunday through in the oven a whole chicken (inerds removed), a couple of sweet potatos, regular baked potatos. Get big pots of brown rice going, whole wheat pasta, and a couple jars of tomato sauce. You could even do a pot of stew (so easy to make--trust me!). All of this cooks on its own and would be enough to keep your interest through the week and it would all be gone by the next Sunday. If you need recipes PM me. Package these babies up and grab them that morning for your lunch and dinner at work.

see, your issues are what most of us face. it just takes effort to correct it. With just a couple of hours of work on Sunday, you could have you a whole week of food ready to go. And, yes, the solution really is that easy. If you don't have time to grocery shop, hire somone or find a resource that will home deliver.

if you want to stick with restaurants, well, then you'll have to upgrade from fast food and make better choice. subway, a butcher that sells fesh made sandwiches, restaurants that make good lunches or dinners--all of these are better choices.

The reality is: it's easy to eat like crap. to eat well takes time, a little more money, motivation and some effort...in return though you get a healthier happier life.

kc