Just how healthy IS Subway?

So, I've been working out 5 days a week and doing my best to maintain a 1,000-1,200 calorie deficit (which, for me at 6'0" 245 lbs, means I'm supposed to eat right around 2,000 calories). When I'm finished working out probably 2-3, sometimes 4 days a week I go to Subway afterward and get a 12" subway club or Italian BMT on wheat with light mayo, mustard, lettuce, bell peppers, etc etc.

If I'm not mistaken, those 12" sandwiches have like 8-900 calories, right? My problem I suppose is that I don't religiously track my calories here because I simply don't have the time. Sometimes I'll do a quick calculation at the end of the day to see where I'm at, but on these workout days I really don't even care. I scarf those subs down.

So do you think maybe I should split up the sandwiches between lunch and dinner (6" for each, respectively) and maybe have a salad/fruit with them instead of making one meal out of it?

I'm just worried that footlong subs have way too many calories. Maybe I'm insane.

Thanks for the input, guys!

Sorry.  My mistake for reading the wrong column. 

 

I would try a 6" lower cal sandwich like the turkey and leave off the mayo (even the light stuff) and the cheese. The lack of these two condiments will really let the other ingredients shine. Then, bring an apple and some low fat cottage cheese from home and I think you will be satisfied. My husband has recently (in the last 6 months or so) cut back from a 12" club with the works to a 6" no cheese, no mayo and is perfectly satisfied. Idea is to make sure you don't feel deprived cause then you will just go in search of a snack back at the office and you probably won't find anything of value there.

Subway isn't bad but you do have to read the "healthy fine print". Not all sizes or sandwiches fit into the "health alternative" category and of course the condiments are a big factor.  I go with a 6" Club with the Lite Mayo and all the veggies and some of those Baked Lays. It fills you up as much as a 12" but with far less fat and calories.

personally i go with a 6" veggie delite with all the veggies on it (except the hot peppers, im a wimp lol ) and honey mustard dressing. very tasty, filling, and low in calories and fat.

I would definatly break up a 12" into 2 meals. Because you are also not suppose to eat anything bigger than your fist at one time if you want your stomach to shrink so that you don't feel like your starving all the time when you don't have those 12 inchers to feel you up. Also you may try ordering your sandwich the way you like it and instead of replacing bread or leaving off the cheese as some have suggested you could just remove the top half of the bread and eat it open faced or with a knife and fork because the top half of the bread is much thicker than the bottom and you would be cutting out half the cals and carbs from the bread and be able to enjoy the rest of the sandwich without guilt or worry.. :)

denne11 keep in mind this is a guy you are talking too, he probably doesnt want to eat a veggie sub.. even if he does he probably wouldnt order it because it would damage his manly "ego"... lol you know i am right.

but honestly, all it takes is a little knowledge and awareness and you can make healthy choices anywhere. A lot of subways sandwiches are not very good choices (think bacon, meatball, lots of cheese and mayo...) also you don't have to order a 12" sub. Just get a 6"... or split it. The bread alone for a 6" is about 200cal, so just make wise choices for toppings, do some research on calorie content, and you should be okay, maybe even get a sub under 300cal depending on what you put on it... anyways good luck

when i go to subway, i order a "six inch turkey on honey oat, double meat, no cheese," with a little fat free honey mustard dressing, and lots of veggies.   very delicious, and much better ratio of protein to carb/fat than the regular turkey with cheese.   i think it's about the only healthy option for fast food.  and i love the smell of their bread baking!

The problem with the veggie sub is it's almost completely devoid of protein.

When I go to Subway I have the sweet onion teryaki sauce instead of mayo because it is fat free and really tasty. I also skip the cheese because their cheese is so tasteless that you really don't miss it.

subway makes me mad... like why are none of there sauces light???

i love the extreme pita because they have light ranch, light ceaser.. etc...

you can make a healthy sandwhich... u want some sauce... theres another 150 cals easy...

 

I am a doctor of Endocrinology. Firstly, sauces that are "light" are Not calorie free. Secondly a footlong is much too large for someone who wants to lose weight. Thirdly, you have a long trek ahead!

Original Post by bugsy_98:

subway makes me mad... like why are none of there sauces light???

i love the extreme pita because they have light ranch, light ceaser.. etc...

you can make a healthy sandwhich... u want some sauce... theres another 150 cals easy...

 

There's an extreme pita near me but I never know what to get there.

Original Post by bugsy_98:

subway makes me mad... like why are none of there sauces light???

i love the extreme pita because they have light ranch, light ceaser.. etc...

you can make a healthy sandwhich... u want some sauce... theres another 150 cals easy...

 

Right... Extreme pita 1 oz of light ranch, or light mayo is around 90 cals. Trust me they put more then 1 oz of that stuff in to the sandwich. Personally I preffer subway. Tastes much better then extreme Pita. I tried it in San Jose, was highly disapointed.

UD

I got a salad there today... the woman looked up with bemusement as I started flailing and going "That's enough!!" as she added more and more dressing....

rings true.  I may just not get dressing on my pita though, apart from that it seems healthy, and I REALLY like them so far.

I wound up totally  eliminating the mayo whether light mayo or not...too many fats ,,,,akso did eliminate the cheese completely....try reading a great book...one I've had since the late 80's... author Harvey Diamond and his (former wife) Marilyn Diamond. They make sense. Book is called " Fit For Life " ...all about their ideas on us using their research on  "proper food combinations".  By the way....the meats on the subs are just chalk full of sodium.....many reports vary on how much sodium we're to have...but in time your own body as well as your bathroom scale will prove this out on why we want to reduce sodium......just make sure you get enough 'cause we do need some.  On portion control on the Subways.....I also used to eat a foot long, with all those high sodium and overly processed deli meats and I also used  light mayo.... ....I switched to the following sub full of vegies and although I would have bet at least several  hundred dollars I'd never.....not ever be.... able to tolerate vinegar....I now love it on my Subways....I just had to get off the mayo's and cheeses and insitute portion control too. I hated vinegar with a purple passion but now love it!  I order a full sub but only eat half in one day due to...too much bread actually.  I used to olrder your sub...not it's switched to a ...toasted no cheese, just all the vegies and plenty of them....I ask for spinach insead of lettuce for more nutritional value from the spinach...and now I only vinegar. I cannot believe I now crave this way of eating. I've not had had butter, mayo, margerine, white salad dressings of any kind in me for over six months now! I now LOVE balsamic vinegar on my salads. This totally amazes me as much as I always DETESTED vinegar! I'm dropping weight so so so bery consistantly just  with my food changes. I never wanted rapid insane weight loss just to wind up looking like a wrinkled prune,,,so I eat a good 1,200 cal a day. Oh....and absolutely no pickles on my subs either....they are NOT ok. You can research all this I'm saying...it's all good info to share of what worked for me.  It certainly was not the easiest thing to switch from delicious mayo and cheese and so so so many nuttitional mistakes I was making, but it finally happened. I can eat SOOOOOO much more than my friends and so much more often and they're all exercising like crazy and I'm not yet they are not losing and I am! It's just all due to food changes. That is the secret! I now eat what I call "CLEANER" foods. It's amazing how I hardly have any trash because mostly it's all fresh  food....not packaged and processed and full of preservatives. No I am not a health nut but I just might become one in comparison to how I used to eat! . I rarely EVER need ANYTHING out of the middle aisles of the grocery store and about 99% shop exclusively from the outer perimeter of the store now! It certainly is a different way of life and I'm now up at 4-5am and up till 11-11:30 at night with the increased energy from when I was so so much younger! I love this new way of life.! Due to multiple blown knees and hand injuries years ago I got scared of exercise....as if I'd reinjure those many serious injuries but I'm over that now and started this week with brsk walks outdoors, treadmill indoors and some fitness and exercise programs on tv. Just starting out slow to build muscle. By the way...they say it only takes half the time to build muscle if we had it before. I'm excited! I cannot believe the difference that even my gradual and casual exercise is also making for me along with the food changes!  I am finally exercising! And ....I know these food changes sound so drastic, but I did them over a course of time . I learned a little at a time so it really didn't shock me too much!  Just try to keep these hints in mind and see what happens once you start trying them. Don't forget....a whole sub in one day is too much bread....I order the 12" too but save half for the next day. I just have them put the vingar on half so the next day I add my own at home so it doesn't get all gross overnight. Try to increase proteins and vegies in your program and try to eat 5 times a day verses two or three like most of us usually do. More frequent meals really works. Also....smaller plates for our meals works. Picture the size of our stomach inside (I've heard it is merely the size of our closed up fist!) and then look at the size of the dinner plate....that is a good tool to insitute portion control. Finally... my most recent success in weight loss is NOT going over a total of 20 grams of fat a day. This is a huge undertaking to start reading every single label and learn about the fat content of anything we eat. It's a lot to learn about the types of fats in our foods, but it is truly amazing when you get to the point of knowledge of fats when you just wind up looking at foods and just know the fat content after time. Use a journal for your food intake...it works to help us keep numbers down on calories and fats .

anniejpratt paragraphs and proper sentence structure, are an awesome things to use.

UD

 

Original Post by umneydurak:

anniejpratt paragraphs and proper sentence structure, are an awesome things to use.

UD

 

Holy crap! I agree... wall of words, comin atcha!

Original Post by blueotter:

When I go to Subway I have the sweet onion teryaki sauce instead of mayo because it is fat free and really tasty. I also skip the cheese because their cheese is so tasteless that you really don't miss it.

I agree with the cheese part. But just remember - fat free doesn't mean calorie free. The sweet onion teriyaki sauce certainly has calories, and most of those are from sugar. If I'm choosing between the two, I'd pick a sauce with fat content as preferable as fat keeps you fuller for longer and you'd avoid the sugar spike.

I like the teriyaki sauce too. I'm just saying, I don't think it's necessarily the healthier option.

Original Post by liosa:

basically all the calories are coming from the bread. I am on a food exchange program right now, trying to gain some weight back. I got a fast food bok with all the exchanges listed in it (like starch, meat, fat, etc.)"
I am a 17 year old female, 5 1.5" and i need 6 meat choices just to maintain right now.
Guess how much a 6 inch turkey sandwhich gives me? ONE MEAT EXCHANGE. that is ridiculouse! a subway club is 2 meat exchanges.. so when i go i order DOUBLE MEAT. haha im very petite and i am ordering double meat, its actually pertty funny.
So, even though you are trying to lose weight, you are huge compared to me.  I would suggest maybe getting a 6 inch and doubling the meat (from the 6grams of fat subs) .. thats just my opinion, unless u just wanna get full off of bread not protein,.

You know, you don't have to eat so much meat to maintain your weight. You could eat more fats or carbohydrates - both are good for you.

I work at subway (but am quitting as soon as i find another job) and let me tell you this.

Buy a loaf of bread and freeze it. buy some meat, cut up some vegetables and store it in your fridge - you have a weeks worth of sandwhiches for the price of one 12 inch sub. the things people buy amazes me!

yesterday: ham, lettuce and carrot on white bread - like $8. who does that???? seriously i know im putting subway to shame here but people can buy better quality breads, produce and meat and know they're eating better anyway. it takes 5 minutes to wait in line at subway and 5 minutes to make a sandwhich. i say just make your own sandwhich. and save your money for something else.