"good" fast food choices

[lbfool]

When I'm out and about and running errands all day it's realy easy to pull into a fast food drive thru and eat not-so-good-for-me food. What's some good choices to make when out and about?

[Jabrat]

Well, you could go to Subway - some of their subs are not too bad - or go and eat grilled chicken somewhere! 

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@lbfool wrote:

When I'm out and about and running errands all day it's realy easy to pull into a fast food drive thru and eat not-so-good-for-me food. What's some good choices to make when out and about?

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[WendyB]

Really depends on the place. Look at the restaurant sites  over the weekend. Almost all list the NI now so its easy to make good choices.

Wendy's Chili and a baked potato. They also have some new summer salads that are Low Calorie wise.

Taco bell has a Fresca Menu that is low. Again look at the site.

[ac7ss]

I Second the Taco Bell Fresco menu. Get a chicken soft taco fresco and you have a tasty low(er) calorie food!
Watch out for grilled chicken over fried, A KFC Grilled chicken breast is still 220 Calories.
Find what works for you, I really like Wendy's Junior cheeseburger deluxe without mayo. 300 calories and so very tasty.
Don't fall for the combo meal, you really don't want 200 calories extra for a small fries.
I find that the value menu is usually a great place to start, but learn what to watch for and where to cut corners, drop the mayo, cheese and opt for a grilled chicken choice can easily cut out 50-100 calories for each option. Oh, adding on pickles, lettuce and tomatoes is only 10 calories and make the sandwich more filling.

[lilmisfit1987]

Great first question! The good news is most places have some low calorie options...the bad news is you will have to look it up before hand or ask for the nutrition info before ordering. You can't always count on the salads or grilled chicken options to be low calories. Sometimes they're sneaky and add heavy,cream sauces or cheeses which can really add on the calories. A good way to cut out the calories is to cut out the sauces and cheese, but if you're like me and absolutely can not eat a dry, cheeseless sandwhich you can always ask for half the amount. For instance, if you ask for light cheese on a burger that comes with 2 slices usually, you're cutting 80-100c out just for opting out of one slice of cheese. It really adds up! 

[get2fitK8]

Look for salads (use dressing sparingly and add about half off the little pre-packaged extras), anything grilled, and ask for thier nutritional information. If they don't have it handy there should be a website for larger chains. Check the calories (Under 550 is best - for the meal not the just the sandwich unless that's all you are having), fat content (less is better) , and fiber content (higher is better). good luck!

[ericakelly]

Hey there! If i'm ever on the road and didn't prep ahead, I always find the nearest grocery store and head to their produce / deli section! Most grocery stores have already-made salads and I grab a banana or apple to go with it. Super healthy and clean!

Hope this helps 😉

[Heybales]

Wendy's Chili, large by itself, or small with baked potato. Sour cream if enough calories, without if not.

Chicken wraps from many of the places is decent depending on mayo or the like put on it.

Taco Bell Chicken soft tacos.

[ac7ss]

At the grocery store I will usually hit the produce and get an apple or something like that and the "deli" aisle for a "Carl Budding" 90 cal meat packet and a cheese stick. This makes for a quick, cheap, 300 calorie meal without carbing up.

[Heybales]

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@ac7ss wrote:

At the grocery store I will usually hit the produce and get an apple or something like that and the "deli" aisle for a "Carl Budding" 90 cal meat packet and a cheese stick. This makes for a quick, cheap, 300 calorie meal without carbing up.

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Thanks so much for that reminder.

Years and years ago (in a galaxy ..... nevermind) when I did the Zone diet, I had some combo using those, and forgot all about them as a good quick protein add to a snack, adjusting the amount of carbs desired. See if I can remember what I did, or just start something new - cheap too I recall.

[LewWagner]

Chick-Fil-A 8 count grilled chicken nuggets w. bottle of watter (NO FRIES!!!)

McD's No. 13 Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich (only lettuce and NO FRIES) w. either bottle of water or get the smaller water cup from them and put water in that.  I don't eat the bread, just the chicken and lettuce.

Schlotzsky's Smoked Turkey Sandwich (only, no chips or soft drinks) w. lettuce only on sourdhough bread and then eat just one half of the bread (dump the other half's turkey and lettuce onto that half).  Once again, bottle of water or a water cup. 

Firehouse subs build your own sandwich, small (I believe they call it medium) wheat smoked turkey w. lettuce only (and make sure they don't put cheese on it) with a cup for water.  NO CHIPS...

[rowan]

You could go to a grocery store, Get something like a fat free yoghurt and a piece of fruit, I used to buy a pack of granola and keep it in my bag so I could top my yoghurts with it too 🙂 or some healthy crisps and an oat bar etc. Sour dough bread is relativley low on calories and doesn't bloat you if you're a sandwich person. and drink a bottle of water with it! 

[ac7ss]

Speaking of grocery store items. I noticed today that the Yoplait Lite is migrating to "Aspartame Free" formulae. Look for a yellow stripe between the blue and white on the label. Same calorie count and no Aspartame. (Only key lime was available at my store, and I had to check the labels, some were, some weren't.)

[Lightsinger]

Almost every fast food place has something on their menu that is quick, inexpensive, and still reasonbly low calorie.  It helps to do the research first, so that you know what those items are before you pull into the drive-thru window.  Knowing what you want ahead of time can take away the temptation to grab something you shouldn't. 

My favorites tend to be 300 calories or less.  If I'm going to a new place, one of the first things I do is check out the nutritional information.  If it's not availablle on their own web site, there are a large number of sites that have compiled information I can use. 

[B3rd]

Hi All--  I've been a fitbit user for three weeks now.  I'm wondering why there seems to be very few choices of "whole" foods.  Such as, today I had sauteed vegetables with grilled salmon--when I logged in, I was given almost ALL fast food choices for both of these.  I'd prefer to have a choice like, Salmon, Grilled and the calories; Vegetables, Sauteed and then the calories.  Not the name of various prepackaged and/or restaurant portions/calories as nearly my only choice.  I end up picking whichever one seems like it's closest to what I'm actually trying to log.  I want to be successful at this, as I've been advised by my Doc that if I "do not lose weight," I will be required to take an additional pill (to add to the ONE I take already).  So I'm on a mission--just want choices that are as close to "fresh" food as possible.

[josephz2va]

Whole Foods are lacking in ... well ... any regular grocery store. Because of the cost of making it a whole food. Junk food is cheaper than healthy food for a grocery store or restaurants.

If you want Whole Foods for real, Whole Foods Market - wholefoodsmarket.com‎. Even though that's far out and far outrageously expensive. Not many can afford $20 a pound for Wild Salmon.

Another choice is PersonalTrainerFood.com for controlled food choices. I'm more leanient on Jenny Craig to receive foods there despite heavily processed, but I can burn through my percentage with my method of training daily. I tried grocery store food for a week, but I lack self control. Like eating too many veggie burgers a day and gained weight and in the end threw away $500 when it comes to dieting.

[Bjorn]

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@lbfool wrote:

When I'm out and about and running errands all day it's realy easy to pull into a fast food drive thru and eat not-so-good-for-me food. What's some good choices to make when out and about?

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I don't know if this is an option for you - but when my calorie budget was low, I would make it a point to go to chinese restaurants and order steamed broccoli with shrimp and a side of brown rice. That was my go to meal quite often when I didn't have time to cook. I'd also get a vegetable tofu soup. You can even request to have the brown sauce put on the side so you can measure how much to put onto your broccoli and shrimp plate.

[HelenaFitbit]

Adobo without the nachos, cheese and cream. Subway without the chips and soda. Panera sandwich on integral bread, salad low or no dressing.

[Malmo-Bo]

- Small shwarma! It can easily come in under 400 calories, as long as you don't pile on the sauce, and is full of nutritious items! Can also get the sandwich contents put on greens/salad to cut out the pita.

- Mcdonald's junior chicken burger with only lettuce (NO MAYO) and a small fry comes in under 600. (I know McD's is not healthy in any portion but I CRAVE those fries!)

- A&W Spicy Chipotle Chubby chicken Wrap - 270 cal - good to tide you over until you can get a more nutritious meal :), if you cut the chipotle mayo would likely bring down even more.

- Thai Express Green Curry Chicken, just about 600 cal with the white rice, but if you stick to meat and vegetables, and only eat 1/5 of the rice, could easily bring the cal count down to under 500.

These are some of my go tos... I am quite active and need 1300-2000 cal per day, even with a 500 cal deficit, so I couldn't imagine eating a meal with less than 300 cal!

Oh and water with your meal EVERY TIME! 🙂 🙂