Can I still eat Mcdonalds and stuff like that if I count calories?

Can fast food like Mcdonalds, Wendys, and Arby's be apart of a low-calorie healthy weight loss plan if I count the calories? Because once or twice I week I like to eat fast food. It's usually under 300-400 calories though. Is that ok?

Or does that food make you fat regardless of calorie intake? I mean obviously I could make better choices, but im not training for the olympics or anything, just trying to lose fat.

If you are trying to lose fat why would you eat at those places? Anyway, I don't have a scientific answer.. someone else might, BUT when I eat that kind of food but still stay under my limit my weight doesn't budge. When I eat healthier foods such as fruits, veggies, etc, my weight goes down.

uh no it doesnt make you fat unless you overeat.

i shed wt less easily the more of that crap i eat.
but i still lose.

mcdonalds has the cals right on the pkg which is nice.
and all those salads...

the health problem with that stuff is the type of fat it contains and the high sodium count. also not the most nutrient dense things on the planet.

but calorie is a calorie is a calorie
;)

this month i have had mcdonalds 1-2 times a week.
ive still lost pounds.

(yeh i know the movie..ist gross blah blah blah..i hadnt had it in 5 years though and we moved close to one..so i HAVE to have it..lol)

It's all in the choices you make at those restaurants, but even if you occasionally make a bad/unhealthy choice (which unfortunately oftens tastes great?!?!), and you keep the rest of your diet healthy, you should be fine.  This is a long-haul affair.  You might try, over the course of time, to decrease the number of stops you make at them, instead of 1-2 times a week, shoot for 1-2 times a month.

Some of those foods can act as triggers on some people -- that's why we stay away (can't eat just one french fry...), others simply don't want the food, and others have grown to dislike the food available in FF places.

If you need something to discourage you from eating FF, I highly recommend this thread:

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/2966 4.html

Oh hell, eat whatever you want, just keep track of your calories... just don't go eating a big mac every day, or a whopper every other day, keep it simple. Maybe one fast food meal a week or something. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about gaining weight... I'd worry about what all those preservatives and icky sh*t is doing to your body on the INSIDE... but it's still hard to say no. MSG is delicious. lol

I had a double cheeseburger AND a mcChicken sandwich on Friday... I just ate less on Saturday and Sunday to make up for it (which hopefully made up for it, I have yet to weigh in).

Just count the cals and don't over do it. Don't deprive yourself completely. Hell, even celebrities cheat once in awhile! We can't all be perfect. =)

Love and Alohas
Ihilani

"Can Mcdonalds, Wendy's and Arby's be part of a low-calorie healthy weight loss plan"? 

I don't think so because first off these places are anything but healthy.  Also, a calorie is just a calorie but where are the calories coming from?  Suppose you ate 1500 calories a day and 700 cals(175g) were from carbs 500 cals(125g) from protein and 300 cals(33g) from fat(not so bad).  But what if you ate the same numbers of cals and 500(125g) were from carbs 300(33g) were from protein and 700(78g) were from fat.  Thats a lot mor fat calories and I think that would make a difference even though you still only ate 1500 calories. 

I think the type of food is just as important as the number of calories.

Although I have to agree that nothing about those fast food is healthy (they don't belong in healthy weight loss plan!!), eating once every week isn't going to kill you. Or make you significantly fat. It's still not a wise choice when it comes to nutritional values.

Some people need a little cheat meals, some like to quit cold turkey. But it's ultimately your call, so make your plan around the fast food. Make sure you eat extra healthy the day you eat fast food,  exercise a bit more, eating in moderation and so forth.

-Lemon Jello

Hey if you wanna spend your precious calories on empty fries, knock yourself out!

But YIKES!!! Almost 500 calories for a medium fry from Wendy's is WAY too calorie-expensive for me!

I have to say.  There are days I stay within my calorie budget and eat pure crap.  I have to at least once a week.  It keeps me sane.

mmmm McChickeny goodness.

McDonalds doesn't make you fat unless you eat alot of it, every day. I buy the ocasional hamburger or McFish ( without that disgusting white sauce) + a small pack of fries and I keep losing weight. One or two meals a week are not going to make you obese if you count the cals.

Quite frankly...if you're on this site then you clearly recognize the problem and know or are at least learning how to begin fixing it (counting cals and exercise) so why if you are taking the time to do all that and clearly starting to care more about your health would you put overprocessed, greasy, fattening food in your system?

Will once or twice a week kill you? no. But how did any of us get into the situations were in? We didn't just eat it 1 or 2 times, it started that way and built up. Personally, I think that if you're really going to be committed to a healthy LIFESTYLE, not just loosing weight, then just cut it all out. It'll be easier to maintain the diet and your cholestrol levels.

Eat! MCdonalds rocks, just don't over do it and COUNT the calories

I know that folks say a calorie is a calorie, but I've noticed that I lose more weight when I eat healthy.  Perhaps the body burns more or works better because it's getting the nutrition it needs.  Besides, do you want to just be skinny, or do you want to look and feel fantastic?  McDonalds certainly never made anyone look and feel fantastic.

Yeah.  I agree with d_supernova.  Have McDonald's if you like.

To me, ever since I was a kid, McDonald's had been a really fun and rare treat (like a few times a year).  Approach McDonald's that way, count in those cals, and it wont affect your weight in the least -- and it will be more enjoyable.

Oh man if there is one thing you should completely forget about, then it is mcdonalds and burgerking!

Eat a pizza, it's also high in cals but definitely healthier.

With two large burgers you can easily get to your daily maximum on cals!

But the worst thing is: you won't feel full after them, because they are so highly processed(fat and white bread, a deadly  combination) that your body can transport them in a really short tome directly to your fat cells to fuel your body!

To answer your question: yes you could eat at MC but I really don't think you could be able to keep it up, watching your cals and eating there! - Whatch SuperSizeMe!

PS: yeah a calorie is a calorie
, the source doesn't really matter. But if you get, let's say 60% of your cals through fat(a typical burgerking or MCD meal)... I'd imagine that it might be too much and highly unhealthy, and maybe even a weight gaining problem if you kept under your cal limit.

I would have a veer from McDonald's.  Sure, the big and tasty might have cals in it that you can fit in...but you have to look at the grams of fat too, I don't think you can just count cals all day and expect to be perfectly fine.  I used to work in fast food, and believe me, there is nothing but grease and oil in there-on the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling, in your hair, on your face, just floating everywhere.  Why would anyone who wants to actually change their LIFESTYLE want to get food and consume something that is made in that kind of environment and put it into the wonderful body they were given?? Not me!  The fast food industry was what started the whole obesity epidemic.  Why would I want to give them a penny of my hard-earned money?? 

I would only allow fast food once in a while ...REALLY. I stopped it completely for a long time and then me and my fiance had it a couple of times and it made me feel disgusting...and bloated. I hated the feeling. Plus Im a great cook so its really tasteless to me.

The reason why I don't eat McDonalds too often is that a Trio will use up alot of my calories allotted for the day and won't leave me much room to have a full breakfast or lunch, and I like to eat more than once a day.

You can go to fast food places, but you still have to make healthy choices when you are there.

A BigMac trio will net you about 1200 calories.

Some of the salads are insanely high as well, mostly due to the dressing.  So ask for low fat - non fat dressing, or bring your own!

The fajitas at McDs are not that bad.

Skip the fries.  There is no nutritional value in the fries.

At Wendy's (my fave) ask for a Grilled Chicken sandwhich without the bread and a side salad.  Cut the breast up and put it in the salad.  WAY more chicken then their chicken salad.

Counting calories will get you to lose weight, yes.  But watching the rest of the stuff is what will make you healthy.

If you don't aim to be healthy, once you drop the weight, you will start slipping and going back to the old routine, and gain the weight back.  Aim to be healthy and happy, and if that includes a very occasional trip to fast food, fine.  Just make it healthy there to.

This really depends on the portions and choices.

If your talking the really calorie excessive items like fries or shakes, you can probably eat if you portions are extremely restricted and balanced out calorie and nutrition wise.

If your talking not so high cal items like a small hamburger or chicken salad, watching calories from their nutritional guides (available onsite and online) can also an occasional food choice.

Personally, too unhealthy for my weight loss but for folks who have issues of feeling deprieved without such things, I think it can be handled but one must be careful about the calorie consumption and balancing with higher nutritious foods.