It sounds too good to be true. Can you really lose weight while eating fast food? Jared did it with his Subway diet, and has kept it off for ten years. The latest commercials for Taco Bell are featuring a woman named Christine, who lost 54 pounds by eating off their Fresco menu. For some, catching a quick bit at the drive through is a way of life. Over the years, this lifestyle choice can really add up. In excess pounds that is. So what’s the trick to eating the foods you love and still losing weight? By making a few changes to your order, you too can lose weight on a fast food diet.
Selecting choices like a baked potato or mandarin oranges, not only have less calories than the traditional fries, but they will leave you feeling full and content. Even the side salad is a better choice with just 130 calories vs. a medium French fry with 420 calories.
Be aware of the salad trap. While the idea of ordering a salad makes you feel like you are making the health conscious choice, more often, they are loaded with extra calories and not the healthiest choice on the menu. Take for example the Chick-fil-A, Southwest Chargrilled Salad with Honey Roasted Sunflower Kernels and Tortilla Strips. This salad racks up 410 calories, and 20 grams of fat, where as the 8 piece nuggets have 270 calories and only 12 grams of fat. However, if you have to choose the salad, order the dressing on the side. If you dip your fork in the dressing instead of covering the entire salad you will save up to 130 calories [1].
Watch your add-ons and condiments. Just about everyone has heard the inspirational story of Jared, “The Subway Guy, the man who lost an amazing 245 eating a healthy Subway diet. One of the biggest factors to Jared’s success was cutting out the extras. He loaded his subs with fresh veggies and lean meats, keeping the fat content less than 6 grams. Leaving off the cheese and the mayo saved Jared major fat and calories. Subway rallied around Jared and his monumental success, improving their menu to offer 9 different sub options with under 6 grams of fat each.
Utilize online nutrition information. Almost every fast food establishment has added a nutrition information section to their website. If you know you are going out to eat, check out the website in advance. By making yourself aware of the calories and fat content for your planned meal, you will be more likely to stick with your healthy choice.
This also keeps you from purchasing add on items at the drive-thru. These tools give you the option to create a meal so you can add up everything you plan to eat. Taco Bell’s nutrition calculator allows you to select all of the items you order and even customize those some items to add or remove toppings.
The one thing that both Jared and Christine have in common is that they changed something. Both dieters changed up their regular fast food diet with a better option. Both didn’t want to quit fast food completely so they found a better way to eat, choosing a healthier option from the menu. You too can lose weight through eating fast food. This isn’t to say you should eat fast food only. You need to keep in mind proper nutrition comes from eating a variety of foods. Remember to check out nutrition information and leave off the extras.
If you love fast food, make it work for you.
