Is there fast food that won't make me fat?

I often find myself far from home and hitting up the fast food drive-thru.  I know that it is not optimal, but there are actually some fast foods that you can eat that will at least allow you maintain a healthy weight.   There are plenty of bad things typical to fast food:  high fat, simple carbohydrates, and lack of nutrients.   I must say, even these choices here are minor offendors!

 

Moderation is the key.  Did you know that food portion sizes in the U.S. have grown about 50% in recent decades?   We are eating up to an extra 200 calories per meal than we did previously.   It used to be normal to actually eat a small hamburger the size of your palm, and wash it down with a soda that is child-sized by today’s standards!    Now, it seems everyone is scarfing down giant monster burgers with extra-large fries and drinks the size of their head.

2 simple strategies for eating fast food while trying to maintain your weight:

1.  Only 3 Grams of Fat per 100 Calories. Looking at your entire meal, attempt to keep it between 350-450 calories with about 30% fat (about 12 grams).    A super quick way to see if something has under 30% fat is to do some quick math (3 fat grams for every 100 calories).   For example,  if a sandwich has 300 calories (at 3 grams per 100 calories)  there better not be much more than 9 grams of fat in that sandwich.  You can give and take a couple and it won’t kill you.   Realize that this could mean that even if a taco only has 6 grams of fat, it may be a bad choice if it only has 100 calories (55% fat).    It is the proportion of fat to calories that you should look at.

2. Don’t “combo-meal”  it. No soda & no fries!   Avoid those worthless calories.   If you must down the fizzy brown stuff, then by all means drink a “diet” soda.   I prefer water or unsweetened ice tea, and generaly only order a sandwich, burger, or taco.   There are simply no health benefits to french fries that I am aware of.   I’m not a huge fan of fast-food salads, because the dressing usually ruins the health-factor.   At times I will order a side order, if I can fit it into my rule #1.   Again, the bottom line here is “portion size”.    Keep an eye on the kid’s meals, because they often have contain adult size calories!