Okay, I’m trying to make better eating decisions, even when my schedule forces me to rely on takeout.
We went to Wendy’s today, and to play it safe I got a salad. More specifically the Chicken BLT salad (as served, no special order*).
When I got home I looked up the nutritional information on the website.
790 calories. 53 grams of fat. :eek:
You know what I could have had instead?
A Jr. Double Cheeseburger Deluxe and Value-size fries (600 cal, 30g fat) or a Baconator Double with Cheese (750 cal, 42g fat). In fact, almost anything else this side of a triple cheeseburger with bacon would have been healthier than my salad.
*If you toss the croutons, substitue grilled chicken for the “Homestyle” (fried) chicken, and ask for fat-free French dressing if you location offers it, it brings you down to 420 cal, 18g fat. Now they tell me :smack:
I’ve heard good things about Eat This, Not That for this kind of decision-making. I’m planning to get the Supermarket Survival Guide and Cook This, Not That soon. I don’t eat at chain restaurants much, so the restaurant guide wouldn’t help me so much.
Forget the salads. They are usually laden with croutons, cheese, and high-cal meats (like fried chicken).
Forget about the “signature” sandwiches – the Big Mac, the Whopper, etc. Instead, get a hamburger/cheeseburger or a small chicken sandwich.
Get the smallest sized fries. It’s usually enough to satisfy the salty/greasy craving, and it saves a butt-load of calories.
For instance, if we are on the road and hit McDonald’s, I get a cheeseburger, small fry, and a large diet (no ice). It can cost as little as $3 (when they’re doing any drink for $1 deals) and runs 530 calories (10 fewer than the Bic Mac alone).
Go with your gut on what’s healthy - smaller is better than larger, plainer (as in, a ham sandwich from a grocery store deli) is better than just about anything from a fast food restaurant.
And for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t believe the nutrition info from fast food companies anyway. I think they lie in order to make their food look more healthy than it is - there’s very little regulation of nutrition information. I’ve figured this out over the past year, since I’ve become diabetic and need to count carbs to dose insulin correctly. I don’t eat a lot of fast food, but on occasion I’ve had to. Every single time I dose based on published carb counts, I’m massively off. The first few times this happened, I assumed that maybe they laid on the ketchup with a heavy hand, or I got a double order of something. But time and time again, I eat fast food, I dose according to their carb counts, and my blood sugar tells me a few hours later that I underestimated by 10-25%.
It very rarely happens like that with anything else - just fast food.
Definitely a good idea. You can find decent stuff at a fast food place if you look, but it’s not always what you expect it to be.
I always get the small chili & a baked potato at Wendy’s - pour the chili on the potato! It’s good stuff, and actually much lower in calories than you would expect.
Chicken BLT Salad? My gut is smarter than that. Fried chicken and bacon on top of lettuce is no more healthy than fried chicken and bacon without the lettuce.
My SO and I have, or had, a ritual routine of Chipotle on Saturday nights. He would get off of work, pick it up, and bring it home. The ingredients were all so fresh and tasty and didn’t seem very fatty either. So a couple weeks ago, I checked the calorie count of our order which included a bag of chips and a soda. The total: 1800 calories. Each. The next morning, we went out to Perkins and got steak and eggs which was about 1900 calories. We had no idea, which is kind of ignorant and sad to admit to, but that’s what it was.
It’s like the poor potato. On it’s own a potato. A medium potato has between 100 - 150 calories.
Not bad really. But who wants to eat a plain old potato? It’s all the butter, cheese, bacon and all those delicious things one adds to make the potato taste better that gives the potato a bad rep
Calorie counting has been eye-opening for me. One thing that is a fairly steady rule of thumb is if you make it from scratch, you can eat as much as you want (within reason) without going over your calories for the day. Homemade chicken, potatoes, and veggies aren’t going anywhere near what that meal will cost you calorie-wise at a restaurant.
A few years back, I started keeping an food diary on an online site, which helped me wrap my head around which foods I could eat lots of without racking up the calories, and which foods would take up a whole day’s allowance in a single meal. After a while, it pretty much became second nature. It works, as long as you try to avoid the slippery slope with treats.
Of course, I’ve been slacking for the past year or so, and my activity level is way down compared to what it was when I last kept a diary… and I’ve put on nearly 10 lbs as a consequence. So now I’m back to tracking everything that goes into my mouth until I can kick the bad habits I picked up.
If you have a smartphone, there are some really great apps on the market (including a couple of free ones) that are useful for checking meals on the fly. I’m using LoseIt on my iPhone right now, and I’m quite happy with it so far.
Oh, and BTW… fast food salads are always a sucker bet. The fat content in the dressings alone is criminal, and they’re always adding stuff like deep-fried chicken or croutons for extra badness. I’ve found the salads at Subway are pretty decent, tho.
Back when I used to eat fast food occasionally, I’d usually get a kids meal with water if I needed to eat out. It’s still plenty of food, cheaper, and much smaller portion sizes.
I’ll second **Mahna Mahna **and say that calorie counting apps are awesome. I use the app from livestrong.com and their Daily Plate feature. It’s extremely helpful.
I’ll also admit that I eat huge amounts of fast food since I’m on the road so much, but I’ve actually lost over 70lbs (and still losing) because the key for me is that each fast food item is portion controlled. Leave me alone with homemade goodies and I won’t fare so well. Actually, once I really get into the zone, I’m reluctant to eat anything if I don’t know how many calories are in it. This is a good thing because it leaves out many exotic desserts and other lovely temptations.
ETA: What Renee said, most of the time I get a Happy Meal. Decent sized portions at a decent price. And my assistant’s kids get the prizes.
I count calories on an online site and live by the “eat this, not that” books. They’re great. Fast food salads and resturant salads are a big no no. Usually you’re safer eating a burger and fries! Some quick ways to cut calories:
Always grilled, never fried.
Always ask to skip the cheese and mayo.
Order small size everything
On the very rare occasion I have a McDonalds craving I cannot shake, I’ll get a grilled chicken sandwich, no cheese, bbq sauce instead of mayo and a small fry. Round 500 odd calories and VERY filling.
Subway is great if you want fast food and you’re counting calories. They have a specific menu for items under I think, 400 calories. Makes ordering really easy. Get a low cal sandwich and a side salad and you’re good to go.
Another place you wouldn’t expect? Panda Express. If you get a side of veggies instead of chow mein and rice and two of their low calorie options (beef and broccoli and string bean chicken for example) you’ll get out of there for less than 500 calories.
Eating out is always risky when you’re counting calories. But if you just don’t eat anything out that you wouldn’t eat at home (for example, no cheesy, bacon laden meals) you shouldn’t do too much harm.
Some people have mentioned a good idea for eating out just eating regular food too - get a regular dinner and just eat half of it and take the other half home. This is especially useful at places that serve two pounds of food for one dinner.
