How To Eat Healthy At Fast Food Joints

Whether you want to or not, you’re going to end up eating at a fast food joint. Perhaps you’re traveling in a new area, strapped for time (or cash,) or hanging out with your friends that don’t care what they eat as long as it tastes good.

The “how” and “why” of ending up at McDonald’s doesn’t matter, it just matters that you’re there and you’d like to make it out alive.

The good news is that it is possible, you just have to do some planning and research beforehand. Follow my guide and you will (most likely) make it out alive!

Step 1 - Review The Basics

Before you start thinking about what to pick off the menu, you should review some healthy eating basics so you know what to look out for. If you know of types of food that are always bad, it will be make it much easier to narrow down your choices.

Here are some fast food facts to get you started:

• Anything deep-fried (i.e. French fries) will be full of saturated and trans fats (which are just about the worst things you can put in your body.)
• Water is a much better choice than soda, even if it’s diet.
• Salad dressing is loaded with calories.
• Most items will have more calories, saturated fat, and sodium than you expect, so reading the nutrition facts is much better than guessing.
• The beef is going to be the lowest-quality they are allowed to serve (in most cases.)

And here are some menu items that are usually the healthiest options:

• Grilled chicken (usually a sandwich)
• Fruit side dishes (like apple sauce or apple chunks)
• Salad (with dressing on the side)
• Baked potato (that’s not loaded with butter, cheese, or sour cream)

And some options that are really bad:

• Fried and/or breaded chicken (including chicken nuggets)
• Onion rings
• French fries

What else?

Don’t super size. It might be a mere 9 cents extra, but it could add inches to your waist line!

You have to ask yourself, “Will the large not fill me up?” Usually you’ll be full but then stuff down what’s left, anyway. If you stick with a smaller size and eat slowly, you’ll be plenty full by the time you leave.

Step 2 - Read The Menus

Again, even before you go out, you want to read the menus. Luckily, you can find them online, complete with nutrition facts. Some sites even offer “meal calculators” that will give you nutrition facts for any meal combinations you choose.

Links to popular fast food menus are below. (Sometimes you have to start at the home page, while some provide printable PDF menus.)

McDonalds: Homepage | Nutrition (overview) | Nutrition facts

Burger King: Homepage | Nutrition brochure (PDF)

Wendy’s: Homepage | Menu

Arby’s: Homepage | Menu | Menu (PDF)

Subway: Homepage | Menu (PDF)

Pizza Hut: Homepage | Nutrition | Nutrition Guide (PDF) | Ingredients (PDF)

Taco Bell: Homepage | Menu | Nutrition facts (PDF)

Do this at home where you aren’t rushed (unlike when standing in line to order) so you can think clearly. Pick out some things you might like that are fairly healthy, then review the nutrition facts on them (which is something you won’t even find on the menu.)

You could also read Eat This, Not That, which is like the Cliff’s Notes version of fast food nutrition facts!

Step 3 - Make a List

If you want, make a list of healthy options for each restaurant and keep it in your purse or wallet. It will come in handy for those “which did I want, the grilled chicken sandwich or the chicken nuggets?” moments.

Here’s a sample checklist:

McDonalds
Egg McMuffin (300 calories, 12g fat, 18g protein)
Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich (420 calories, 10g fat, 32g protein)
Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken (320 calories, 9g fat, 30g protein)
Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette (40 calories, 3g fat)
Apple dippers w/ caramel dip (105 calories total)

Burger King
TENDERGRILL Chicken Sandwich (400 calories, 7g fat, 36g protein)
TENDERGRILL Garden Salad (240 calories, 9g fat, 33g protein)

Wendy’s
Ultimate Chicken Grill sandwich (320 calories, 7g fat, 28g protein)

Step 4 - Eat

Well it’s time to order your food and eat it. If you ordered as healthy as possible, it’s time to sit back and relax (but don’t cover your salad in dressing!)

*Tip* Chew your food completely! It helps you lose weight in a number of ways! (For example, you eat slower, so you feel fuller sooner. And it aids in digestion.)

[That’s a Burger King burger right there. It looks nothing like the version in the commercials!…]

Step 5 - Reflect

Now that you have eaten, think about what you ate. It it was fairly healthy and you feel good, keep it in mind for next time. If it made you sick, remember that, so you don’t get tempted to go to a fast food place tomorrow and order the same thing!

Most of all, ask yourself if the taste was really worth the extra fat, cholesterol, and calories.

Or consider my personal strategy:

My strategy is to binge on fast food or junk food a couple times a year, and afterwards I always ask myself “why?” The disruption to my diet makes me feel like crap for at least a few days, and that’s what I remember about each fast food experience. That’s good, though, because it severely limits the number of times I eat the stuff.

To summarize: When eating junk food, eat enough to get sick, and then you won’t want to go back for a long time!

Bonus Fast Food Avoidance Strategy!

Don’t make fast food a habit. Watch Super Size Me and lose all desire for fast food!

Photo credits: AdamL212 | trungson | VirtualErn | The Consumerist

This article has been entered in the DailyBlogTips.com writing contest.