Fast food?

I looked at the Pizza Hut calories, and surprisingly, a lot of their stuff is kind of low-cal. A slice is 300-400ish calories, and some are even under 300. Of course this would only probably apply to parties or occasions with a lot of people to order an entire pizza without the urge to grab a second or third piece.

But half of their personal pizzas (two slices) is 400 calories. And my favorite Pizza Hut food is buffalo wings-- 4 pieces is around 200 calories! 6 pieces of buffalo wings and some celery/carrot sticks would make a yummy lunch.

A Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich (my favorite) is 440 calories. Chicken nuggets are 280 calories.

Chicken McNuggets at McDonald's are 290 every 6 pieces. A filet-o-fish is 470 calories.

3 piece chicken nuggets at Carl's Jr is 370 calories.

All of these would probably make a yummy lunch and I can easily fit that into a 1200-1500 calories diet. I obviously wouldn't think of fast food joints as places to go to when someone's on a diet, but they actually seem pretty reasonable (for me, anyways).

Any thoughts?

I sometimes fit stuff into my diet from fast food places if I must..a whopper junior..no cheese..no mayo..and apple fries. but a lot of people just frown on fast food because of the sodium..but it is nice to have a treat once in awhile if you can fit it in your calories!

Oooh shoot, you're right, the sodium ><... I didn't think about that, haha.

Sodium is the least of the problems with fast food. I would be more concerned with low quality ingredients and high saturated fat contents.

UD

True, sodium and high saturated fat are huge issues. But if you're out with not much time and feel like having some fries and they are within your calories, I say go ahead. The thing is not to make a daily thing out of it, and not to supersize everything into the largest combo that can fit in a plastic tray.

i have a big concern with sodium and sugar in all restaurant foods.  i always ask my dressing on the side, not because i'm trying to watch my calories but because it's downright tastes disgusting to me to eat so much salt and sugar on my vegetables.  i wonder how many people have de-sensitized their taste buds and are retaining water/ dehydrated from eating out a lot and don't even know it.  i think thats why some people lose weight so quickly on a diet because they stop eating all the salt and sugar and flush out that water weight.  whats the point of eating low calorie if you are still feeling and looking bloated? 

i might just be particularly sensitive.  i don't really know what it is with fast food but anytime i tried it gave me bad diarrhea almost immediately afterwards, so i never eat it regardless of calories.   

my boyfriend is addicted to fast food, and has still managed to lose 13 pounds over 2 months by eating the healthier fast food choices (as well as plenty of non-fast food).  the sodium is a big problem though.  my body doesn't handle it as well as his does.  earlier this week i had 2 fast food meals because i was out all day.  that night i felt really salty.  like i could physically feel the extra sodium in my body.  my lips tasted really salty too.  i drank a ton of water and ate a lot of fruit to get rid of that feeling.

it's nice to know that you can still eat out and be healthy these days.  more and more places are adding healthier, low cal choices.  steak n shake has grilled chicken sandwiches, low cal soups, and fruit cups.  long john silvers has a nice grilled seafood selection.  the shrimp scampi is sooo good.  and kfc just came out with kentucky grilled chicken.  it tastes almost exactly like the fried, and it's really tender and juicy.  it also has half the sodium of the fried chicken.

the only thing that annoys me is that EVERYTHING is chicken.  i think i'm gonna start clucking!  boston market used to have sirloin, but they replaced it with brisket.  or at least they did at mine.  i can't even find nutrition info on their site for the brisket.  taco bell has steak tacos, but i have to be in the mood for it.  i'm not a big fan of arby's.  i just want some dang beef!!!

Oh my god, I used to love fast food.  And love the fact that If I felt like two double cheesburgers at mcdonalds I would eat two double cheeseburgers at mcdonalds.  And I would be full, looked healthy and wouldn't care.  Now I cant even enjoy a meal at any fast food resutaurant because I am constantly thinking calories, calories, calories.... 

You can definately maintain a healthy wait by staying within you calorie allowance and only eating at places like micky d's.  however as it was mentioned before the sat. fat content and sodium content is through the roof.  So you might not gain weight, probably even maintain or lose weight.  But meanwhile your bloodpressure could slowly rise, especailly if you become inactive, and you arteries will start to clog setting you up for a cardiovascular disease later in life ;)

Man I am going to eat a double cheeseburger and enjoy it again one of these days...

If you serious about losing weight avoid all fast food...make your own so you know what is going into it.   Most fast food can be made at home and you can use healthy foods alternatives.  Fast food like KFC have tons of salt and most have excessive sugar and fat.

..that is why it tastes so good!

I have a bread maker and make my own bread but substitute molasses and honey for sugar.  Pizza doe from my bread maker then I add canned tomato sauce, onions, peppers, celery, sliced chicken wieners, low fat cheese...it tastes great.   The other thing with fast food...is never finish the whole thing!!

I now eat a "normal serving" for the weight I want to be and I put the rest in the fridge for another time or when guests come over. 

With my CC daily calorie limit I am guided to make sure I do not over eat.   I am  saving a lot of money too by making my own fast food.  When you know what is in fast food...you will not be so inclined to eat it!

Good luck.

Original Post by themassageguy:

If you serious about losing weight avoid all fast food...make your own so you know what is going into it.   Most fast food can be made at home and you can use healthy foods alternatives. 

I'm not necessarily a proponent of the fast food genre, but...

The only problem with this is that it is then no longer FAST food, which is a major reason a lot of people eat fast food- they're in a hurry, or cooking a meal is not an option.

Fast food like KFC have tons of salt and most have excessive sugar and fat.

..that is why it tastes so good!

And this is the other reason people eat fast food- you just can't recreate the taste of some things in the home kitchen.  And once in a while it's just about TASTE.

Pizza doe from my bread maker...

That poor DEER! 

Seconding the skip all fast food.  I can think of soooo many other things to spend 300-400 calories on than a single slice of pizza (what about toppings) or THREE chicken nuggets for lunch.  Seriously? just three nuggets?  if fast food must be an option, I go to subway and get a foot long, no cheese, no mayo, and eat half.  Eat the other half later, and the entire foot long sub is still only 600 calories.

Besides, most chicken 'nuggets' are made of mystery chicken meat.  No thanks.

A spicy chicken sandwich is my favorite indulgence too, I jsut get it with no mayo, and I only let myself have one on days I go to the gym, but not more than once or twice a month, at most.

last night i was up late watching super size me. i can tell you right now that i will not be eating any fast food for a very very long time. its not so much the calories, its the fact that most of this stuff is made with garbage, meaning you just aren't putting good things into your body. healthy eating is about more than just losing weight, when the guy on the video ate his mcdonalds everyday, it almost completely destroyed his liver b/c of all the fat. i actually recommend watching it, it is very interesting, kind of gross, and brings up somet good points about the obesity epidemic in our coutnry (US).

Original Post by themassageguy:

If you serious about losing weight avoid all fast food...make your own so you know what is going into it.   Most fast food can be made at home and you can use healthy foods alternatives.  Fast food like KFC have tons of salt and most have excessive sugar and fat.

..that is why it tastes so good!

I have a bread maker and make my own bread but substitute molasses and honey for sugar.  Pizza doe from my bread maker then I add canned tomato sauce, onions, peppers, celery, sliced chicken wieners, low fat cheese...it tastes great.   The other thing with fast food...is never finish the whole thing!!

I now eat a "normal serving" for the weight I want to be and I put the rest in the fridge for another time or when guests come over. 

With my CC daily calorie limit I am guided to make sure I do not over eat.   I am  saving a lot of money too by making my own fast food.  When you know what is in fast food...you will not be so inclined to eat it!

Good luck.

 

 So, just what is in fast food that I will not be so inclined to eat?  Blanket statements just don't cut it with me.

Original Post by rikaj:

last night i was up late watching super size me.

 very good flick,, I still kind of want my double cheeseburger though

I rarely go to get fast food anymore.  The only place I ever go is McDonald's for a bacon ranch salad & yogurt parfait   or  Subway.

I second Subway, a turkey breast wrap or for a lower sodium count, a veggie delight wrap, just mustard, no cheese. Take all the veggies, very filling, and one of the better options if you're stuck. Quiznos has some more reasonable options now too. Both Subway and Quiznos post their nutritional analysis at the counter so you have a better idea of what you're in for.

Some of the salads at the fast food places are okay but the salad dressings are ridiculous. If I must get a salad there, I just put vinegar on or lemon/lime if they have it, no dressing.

I always go online and check items out before I go out to see what I can have. I also keep a copy of Fat Counter in my car in case I need a reference.

i had a carl's jr chargrilled chicken salad (250 calories) for dinner tonight. i got it with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, which is 35 calories for the whole package (i only used about half of it though). pretty tasty, and 590 milligrams of sodium.

i think that if you like it and you want it EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE then the healthy thing to do both mentally is to eat it and it's worth the minor physical damage...it's not going to KILL YOU to eat a cheeseburger from mcdonald's once a week. it really won't. so if you don't want to eat it or would rather eat something else for the calories then do just that, but i definitely think that even people who are trying to lose weight can manage 300-400 calories to splurge on a "forbidden food"...pair your 300 cal pizza with a huge salad and you won't be hungry but satisfied that you got the taste of it. i am all for it and hope that someday i will be able to enjoy all foods again, and trust myself to eat them!!

Most of the fast food you listed is pretty unhealthy, ESPECIALLY if you are thinking about eating lunch there on a daily basis, which is what I got out of your post.  The saturated fats, trans fats, and lack of nutrients is not good for your body.  Yeah, you might lose weight at first by staying under calories, but you could do the same thing by eating 1200 calories of lard every day, right?  Where are your whole grains, your fruits and vegetables, and your healthy mono/poly fats?  Your body needs vitamins and minerals, fiber and substance.  There is A lot of saturated fat and trans fat in fast food, especially anything that is deep-fried (chicken nuggets and chicken sandwiches among the worst!).  If you really think you can get in your reccommended daily allowances of all of the healthy things your body needs and still have enough calories to blow on that food, then by all means go for it.  (To Mommakitty- I don't think anyone was making a blanket statement, I am pretty sure that the health risks involved in eating fast food go without saying). 

That said, I crave fatty fast food every once in a while.  Like once a month maybe, and even then it's Panera Bakery or Paradise Bakery (yummy sandwiches on whole wheat bread!) or Subway.  My recruiter has told me to eat no more than 45 grams of fat per day, and I am working out every day for at least an hour also, so keep that in mind.

Here are a few links to articles (from trusted, informative websites) that will explain further the results of eating fast food and how to calculate your saturated fat max reccommended per day-

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9318
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/abs/ 0803616a.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8989-fa st-food-awash-with-worst-kind-of-fat.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12867692/
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga20 00/document/choose.htm
http://www.umm.edu/features/transfats.htm

Good luck on your weight loss.  :)

Original Post by osainto:

Original Post by rikaj:

last night i was up late watching super size me.

 very good flick,, I still kind of want my double cheeseburger though

good movie! made me hungry though! lol

I eat fast food every once in a while. if you don't eat it regurlarly (more than 1-2 times a week) i think you should be fine. i find that if i try to cut it out, i end u craving it and then getting the most unhealthy item there.

sat fat and sodium are all things to be considered, but at the end of the day, it's calories in vs calories out.

enjoy your fast food! :)

I didn't get my double cheeseburger today, couldn't bring myself to do it.  I went to subway instead and got a bowl of chili and tried out the new veggie pattie sub (sounded pretty healthy).  However I was horrified when I got home and realized that those two items alone contained nearly a days worth of sodium, the veggie pattie sub had something like 1100mg of sodium.... **** ridiculous