My 2 cents as a younger than most here when it comes to diet...
Make sure you have one really satisfying meal a day or you will not be able to resist a lot of other crap. As long as that meal is not processed fast food or other junk, you can eat whatever. My wife cooks a lot of midwest stuff for dinner, many times "green veggies" are not part of the deal, but we mix those in often enough because we like (certain ones) them too. Eat this meal at least 3 hours before bed though, or sooner.
Fatty meat is not the enemy. In fact, as a Wisconsinite, look at northern Europe. Germans drink beer, eat sausage all the time, and the country is not known as being obese. In the US, it is ALWAYS the processed carbs. Soda(duh) but so much stuff is corn syrup instead of sugar, and even our plain white bread is all processed "not normal" flour. Look for bakery bread and buy it more often. Think of it this way: you make a loaf of bread at home. It lasts what, like 3 days before blue spots show up on it? LOOK AT THE DATE ON THE BREAD AT THE STORE. Yeah no, bread is not supposed to have a 4 week expiration date. In northern europe, they sell bread one day, and give it away the second day. That should tell you something.
Here is my weekday diet, but keep in mind I am middle aged and work for a living. I am also a giant, so my calorie intake is not normal, but you can adapt all this stuff to portions that make sense.
Dinners in the evening:
"hot dish"(usually hamburger or some other meat with a bunch of potato, rice, or other carb, and random whatever to fill out the dish/recipe) with sides of applesauce and veggies. Generally NO BREAD is involved. No processed junk in these recipes.
More specific meals with a major part being a meat protein. That is a basic rule in WI, the meal at dinner is a big chunk of protein, with some scoops of "sides" being generally veggies but mashed potato or a salad is also fine.
Pizza night is fine. We have some local made frozen types that pass the "processed" test, we avoid national chain stuff. make it yourself is super easy, the crust may be less good for you if you don't make that but once in a while that is ok as the toppings will make up for it.
Hot Dogs: NO. Bratwurst? YES. One is processed junk, the other is ground meat and seasoning. There is a massive difference. Buy local made.
Fat cheeseburger? Sure. Real ground beef though, melt real cheese instead of a slice of velveeta or "american", use a bakery bun. I prefer blue cheese and lots of black pepper.
Big Mac is NOT a cheeseburger. None of that **** is.
Snacks for the day, and this is super important to resist eating JUNK:
-Snack sticks(sausage!)
-String cheese or some cubed cheese of your fancy(I like aged WI cheddar)
-Triscuit crackers. They make various flavors, they have a nice crunch, they taste good, they have a lot of fiber and are not pure processed "wheat flour" like the white bread. Eat some, not pig the whole box down!
-Snack mixes, we have a Fleet Farm here that sells bulk bags. I enjoy the most the mixes with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts or mixed nuts, dried cranberries and apples, dates, and a couple other similar things. Note none have candy in them, and I avoid the peanut heavy type as they are not as healthy usually. Walnut, dried cranberry, dried apple, dried cherry, dates, sunflower seeds is freegin tasty. This stuff stays with you too.
Note: no chips, no cookies, no real sweets. Sliced sausage is good in place of snack sticks.
I can't emphasize that enough though: SAUSAGE is a very healthy snack, don't let the doctors tell you all meat will kill you, that is crazy. Use butter to add flavor. NOT margerine.
A good rule of thumb: has this food been around for centuries? Yeah it is fine then.
One last note in this giant post: CORN is not a veggie. It is empty carbs,(not totally but you should treat it that way) but it can be used as a recipe ingredient for flavor. Cob of corn in the summer is fine once in a while also.
I eat tons of ground beef, sausage, chicken, (you get the idea) with sides of NOT processed crap, the snacks above, and 2 or maybe 3 20 oz Dr Pepper's a day and my weight is stable. (keep in mind I am a giant, 3 20 oz Dr's is not advised if your ideal weight is like 180 lbs, stick to one or occasionally 2) The pop is a treat, really, but I also am guilty of an occasional Mallo Cup, or pie, piece of cake. It is important to always recognize that though- that you are eating something like that. I know people that will get hungry and instead of grabbing a sausage stick, they eat 10 of those mini candies or 3 cookies or something. Those people put themselves in a sugar coma, and it is WITHOUT A DOUBT, an ADDICTION. Those guys get urges to eat that crap as snacks, and they DO NOT stay with you, so every hour and a half they are looking for more.
