As a professional sports nutritionist, I’m not a huge fan of fast food and I think the Supersize Me documentary was pretty darn genius (if you haven’t seen it, rent the DVD and be sure to watch ‘the smoking fry’ segment in the extras). But for a lot of busy people, ditching drive-throughs just isn’t an option - and not all fast food is evil. We all know Jared from Subway and you may have heard about a Virginia man who shed about 80 pounds eating nothing but McDonald's. He says he chose the chain because it was convenient, and over the course of about six months, he whittled his waist size from a size 50 to 36 by ordering mostly salads, wraps and apple dippers without the caramel sauce.
Technically “fast food” has been around for ages—in Roman times, vendors sold ready-to-eat food from street stalls. Today, food eaten away from home accounts for over 40% of Americans' calorie intakes, and generally, studies show that eating out equals weight gain. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill recently followed over 3,000 adults for 10 years and found that body mass index (BMI) increased with each additional fast food meal per week (those who ate 4 fast food meals per week weighed more than those who ate 3, etc.). But, it’s definitely possible to make healthful choices from most fast food menus.
That’s why I included several fast food choices in my book, the Flat Belly Diet, including meals from McDonald’s.
To earn my thumbs up, fast food items should:
* Be completely trans fat free
* Provide 3 g or less saturated fat per meal
* Be made with wholesome ingredients and be as minimally processed as possible (i.e. pinto beans or real poultry over mystery meat)
I definitely don’t endorse eating nothing but fast food, but it is quick, easy and fairy cheap. So if it’s a staple of your lifestyle, these are the athlete-friendly options I’d recommend:
Taco Bell - Fresco Style Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco
170 calories each
1.5 grams saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
25 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
3 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Pizza Hut – 12” Fit 'n Delicious® Pizza (Chicken, Red Onion & Green Pepper)
180 calories (per slice)
2 grams saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
20 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
2 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Subway - 6” Turkey Breast on Wheat
230 calories
1 grams saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
0 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
5 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Subway - 6” Veggie Delight on Wheat
280 calories
1.5 grams saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
20 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
5 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Wendy’s - Broccoli and Cheese Hot Stuffed Baked Potato
320 calories
1.5 grams saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
5 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
10 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Burger King - BK Veggie (hold the mayo)
340 calories
1 gram saturated fat (goal is no more than 20 g per day)
0 grams trans fat (goal is as low as possible)
0 mg cholesterol (goal is under 300 mg per day)
7 grams fiber (goal is at least 25 grams per day)
Bon appetit!