I'm fairly certain I got fat out of convenience. I am not lazy by any means, I am actually super busy. I have two kids who go to different schools, neither in our district so I have to drive them both and pick them both up. They both do activities after school and are on totally different schedules. I own a business that I run from my house that has me in the car most of the time and I spend a few hours of each day at my martial arts school. I'm fairly anal about keeping my house in order and I like to have dinner most nights for my family, even if we don't all get to sit down and eat together. I barely have a minute to myself but I know that my lifestyle is not at all unusual.

You'd think I'd be like my best friend, super skinny because there is no time to eat, but I was the queen of fast food. I loved Wawa because of the huge variety of chips and Snacks and convenience foods on the go and it was nothing for me to go through a drive through for myself 2-3 times a day. I didn't feed my family fast food because I know how unhealthy it is but that didn't seem to apply to me in my mind.

One of my biggest obstacles after WLS was the lack of convenience foods for quick grab and go. I need a lot LESS food at a sitting, but I need quality food now or I feel miserable. After 19 months, I have finally found some staples that I can keep in my fridge for convenience and now that it's cold out, my cooler keeps my snacks fresh all day. My capacity is VERY small, so I do eat 5-6 mini meals a day which is a bigger challenge and I really prefer real foods over Protein drinks and bars as does my NUT. When I want to eat, I want REAL food, not snacks.

Suggestions to make your busy life easier and healthier. I would love you to add yours, too. As you will see, I do high protein, low carb and I don't give a flying fart about fat. High fat is OK in my book. These are the foods I keep in my fridge, prepped and ready for a quick, I'm starving "meal/snack".

cheese. Full fat, yummy delicious REAL cheese. Cubed up off a block.

Shrimp. Steamed or in a shrimp salad (aka mayo and spices).

London Broil. I marinate and grill a London Broil every other week or so. I slice it thin, serve it for dinner and then snack on the leftovers for the rest of the week. Happy girl with my read meat.

Deviled eggs. Yum! Not just for Easter anymore.

Browned ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. I keep a bowl of it cooked and ready. I add mozzarella or cheddar to a quarter cup or so, pop in the microwave, heat and eat.

Refried Beans. Add cheese or the browned meat above and YUM!

Good quality hot dogs. I know, yuck, right? But roll one up in a paper towel, nuke it for 45 seconds and it's all meat, no carbs and delish. I do all beef and light. They don't go bad so a pack of six will stay in my fridge for three weeks or so safely.

Ham Slice. I grill and cub one of those Smithfield ham slices that's about 1/2 inch thick. The kids and husband will throw it on salad, in a tortilla or eat in an omelette and I just eat out of the container.

I'm not a fan of chicken, it sticks terribly, but my kids love rotisserie chicken so I cube up the leftovers into a curry chicken salad that's almost always ready. I can manage anything with mayo. REAL MAYO.

Bacon. I cook a pound and keep it in the fridge. It goes just like the ham.

Frozen mini quiche. At Target and Sam's they even have crustless quiche. YUM!

What are your convenience REAL foods?

I'm fancy, too. And sparkly.

And you're a smarty pants too . ( I like it !!)

If you want tender chicken or turkey stick an onion and an orange inside of it. For a whole chicken use half or a quarter of the onion. Try it I swear it is awesome.

Fantastic ideas everyone!

I'm very sensitive to salt. Too much will make me hang on to several pounds of fluids for days, so frustrating. So I haven't tried any kind of jerky. I may buy a dehydrator and try making my own. But a few times a week I boil several eggs and keep in the fridge, unpeeled. If I have to run out, I take two with me in a glass container. I also keep almonds in my car. Two boiled eggs, almonds and a bottle of water have saved the day many times over.

@LipstickLady....I just love you. Awesome tips.

My real foods:

cubed rotisserie chicken

cubed cheese- Co-Jack, sharp cheddar, or Montaray Jack

egg salad

ground beef with shredded cheese, on top of 2-3 baked nacho chips

broiled shrimp with Old Bay seasoning

among others...

I buy John Soules Angus Beef Strips in the freezer section at Walmart. They are precooked and ready to go.

Peel an onion and slice it and a pepper into a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. Let saute until just before done. Add slices of Angus Beef Strips and top with slice or two of 2% Provolone cheese until the cheese melts. This is my go to fast meal....and it satisfies that longing for a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. I just eat mine on a plate - no bread, doesn't need it.

My grocery store carries sealed packages of smoked salmon strips - a whole package is 4 ounces, so I divide in half as my special treat food--SO good!

Certainly individual yogurt is on my list, lately loving Dannon Greek Raspberry chocolate and Caramel mocha flavors, or plain over a bowl of pre-cut up fruit which I almost always have at the ready.

A couple slices of thin sliced deli smoked turkey and a couple small slices of Mozerella cheese. That is my main goto snack. I bought a food scale and that equals to about 2.5 oz a snack. I try to avoid the Protein bars due to all the carbs. I go for the natural protein, mostly meat and Beans. I am at a plateu right now and not much exercise due to knee surgery 2 weeks ago so I am defiantely trying to eat right, but dang it is hard! Especially this time of year.

Speaking of protein bars, I love quest bars. High in protein, low carbs. Clean food. At first I was terrified of them but I have to tell you I LOVE them. I have not had a chance to try them all but, banana nut, apple pie, coconut cashew, strawberry cheesecake are all very good. They give you a big protein bump although I can only munch on about 1/3 of a bar.

grilled chicken nuggets from chic fil a, ham with pepper jack cheese rolled up in it. Bowls with blacked Beans, and chopped seasoned chicken, onion and green peppers, one egg, chill cheese omelet (one of my faves!), turkey chili with cheese, and vegetable beef Soup.

Such great ideas on here!! I agree with the boiled eggs, cheese sticks and shrimp. I never seem to tire of them.

@@Djmohr the quest cookies and cream is delish.I also like the chocolate chip, equally tasty.

I am also one that eats real foods, full fat and feel that it's not only better for you but also more satisfying.

For a snack or sometimes for Breakfast I will have about 4 or 5 good quality pepperoni slices (from the fancy deli area in the grocery store -- the good stuff, Italian) with a mini babybel cheese. Very tasty and filling.

I also shop the fancy cheeses area each week looking for new options to try.

FANCY CHEESE!! Yes.