Fast Food; are there any heathy choices?

mycrazy8splus1

We only have one fast food joint in our town (Subway) but sometimes we go into a larger town/city and I was wondering if there are any healthy choices out there. We absolutely will not go to McNastys. We are not huge fans of BK or Wendy's but will go there if we have no other options. Would love to hear why you like/dislike a place when you answer this post. Thanks.

Edited: Calories aren't a huge issue. I am very active and normally come in way under calories. I would love to find a place that has real meat and not a bunch of fillers, the freshier the food the better, whole wheat options, Kosher options, ect. We aren't food Nazi's. We like to indulge in the occasional treat and all but if there are places out there that offer a better product I'd love to know. We eat Kosher at home but that is very hard to do on the road. I just heard about a place called Pita Pit that sounds good. Going to see if they have one in Denver.

lms1220

I dont know of anything specifically but for all fast food places they have the nutrition info of everything on their menu on their website

pastryari

We only have one fast food joint in our town (Subway) but sometimes we go into a larger town/city and I was wondering if there are any healthy choices out there. We absolutely will not go to McNastys. We are not huge fans of BK or Wendy's but will go there if we have no other options. Would love to hear why you like/dislike a place when you answer this post. Thanks.

Could you please explain what you mean by the term "healthy" ?

I eat from all of those places occasionally. If it fits (into my cals/macros), I EATS.

mom2sons02

I am a fan of Chick-Fil-A's wraps. I eat them without the full of fat dressings. I forget the calorie count that way, but it is not many. Wendy's has some decent salads too, again without or with very little of their dressing.

SueInAz

I always try to opt for the salad, even at places like Subway. If I decide to get a sandwich I get a side salad instead of fries.

Wendy's has a terrific Berry Almond Salad right now.

Carl's Jr. offers turkey burgers and I always get them "low carb style" --which means they leave off the bun and wrap them in lettuce leaves-- and minus the mayo and get a side salad with balsamic dressing instead of fries. It comes in at about 220 calories, total.

ETA: I just saw Chick-Fil-A and forgot to mention their grilled chicken salad which is awesome. We had one in the cafeteria at work until a little while ago. Salad plus low-cal Italian was about 180 calories and the salad is romaine with broccoli, tomatoes, carrots and shredded cheddar and comes with sunflower seeds.

lambchristie

We only have one fast food joint in our town (Subway) but sometimes we go into a larger town/city and I was wondering if there are any healthy choices out there. We absolutely will not go to McNastys. We are not huge fans of BK or Wendy's but will go there if we have no other options. Would love to hear why you like/dislike a place when you answer this post. Thanks.

You could modify anything and everything you eat; even @ a Fast Food place.
For example sometimes (not always) I will have a lettuce wrap burger.
I leave off chees and mayo and mustard.
Choose a salad and have the dressing on the side.
Share that side of fries and shake.
BUT there should be no off limit foods ... moderation and portion control.

ninerbuff

I always like when people say "healthy" choices. I by no means eat clean diet, eat McDonald's and Taco Bell at least once a week, and yet somehow meeting my macros, my diet is considered "healthy".
Over consumption of any macro will inherently lead to fat gain, and may cause health issues. Fast food places have HIGH CALORIE meals. Get a meal and split it with someone for half the calories.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bcattoes

If you find a Pita Pit, you can get a huge sandwich wrap for only about 300 calories by choosing hummus or baba ganoush and lots of veggies.

micheleb15

Why are there only fast food restaurants in the larger town? I am not a big fan of fast food since I have to walk everywhere in the city and there are no drive-thrus so the convenience factor is out the window. Oh, but if it's Taco Bell, then I eat every damn thing that I can.

mycrazy8splus1

We only have one fast food joint in our town (Subway) but sometimes we go into a larger town/city and I was wondering if there are any healthy choices out there. We absolutely will not go to McNastys. We are not huge fans of BK or Wendy's but will go there if we have no other options. Would love to hear why you like/dislike a place when you answer this post. Thanks.

Could you please explain what you mean by the term "healthy" ?

I eat from all of those places occasionally. If it fits (into my cals/macros), I EATS.

I would love to find a place that has real meat and not a bunch of fillers, the freshier the food the better, whole wheat options, Kosher options, ect. We aren't food Nazi's. We like to indulge in the occasional treat and all but if there are places out there that offer a better product I'd love to know. We eat Kosher at home but that is very hard to do on the road. I just heard about a place called Pita Pit that sounds good. Going to see if they have one in Denver.

MorissaW

I am not sure if you consider Panera "fast food" but they have a few salads that are decent in calories. I love the Thai Chopped Chicken salad, I think it is 460 calories for the whole salad (they also sell a half version).
I personally like their food over most "fast food" because their chicken is hormone free

sharonfoustmills

I love the grilled chicken salads at wendy's- just make sure you look at the calories in those dressings they give you before you pour them on your salad because if they are out of the correct dressing they might give you a regular high calorie dressing in its place. ( the apple chicken pecan grilled chicken salad and the almond berry chicken salad are delicious, the dressing they are supposed to come with is okay and the salads total 570 or 460 respectively in calories including that one packet of dressing)

dwithbenefithfc

Although I agree with what ninerbuff is saying. I don't believe that's the right advice for the general public. As fitness professionals we are able to handle the idea of macros far better then the average person attempting fitness.

Niner- most people lack that self control which is why they are in the position they are in. As a trainer, I'm sure you understand that.

I always like when people say "healthy" choices. I by no means eat clean diet, eat McDonald's and Taco Bell at least once a week, and yet somehow meeting my macros, my diet is considered "healthy".
Over consumption of any macro will inherently lead to fat gain, and may cause health issues. Fast food places have HIGH CALORIE meals. Get a meal and split it with someone for half the calories.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

mycrazy8splus1

If you find a Pita Pit, you can get a huge sandwich wrap for only about 300 calories by choosing hummus or baba ganoush and lots of veggies.

Someone else mentioned that place some where else and I'm going to look into them. Thanks.

dwithbenefithfc

To answer the original question - chipotle is always a decent go to. Salads or bol's,

mycrazy8splus1

I am not sure if you consider Panera "fast food" but they have a few salads that are decent in calories. I love the Thai Chopped Chicken salad, I think it is 460 calories for the whole salad (they also sell a half version).
I personally like their food over most "fast food" because their chicken is hormone free

hormone free sounds great to me! Thanks!

ninerbuff

We only have one fast food joint in our town (Subway) but sometimes we go into a larger town/city and I was wondering if there are any healthy choices out there. We absolutely will not go to McNastys. We are not huge fans of BK or Wendy's but will go there if we have no other options. Would love to hear why you like/dislike a place when you answer this post. Thanks.

Could you please explain what you mean by the term "healthy" ?

I eat from all of those places occasionally. If it fits (into my cals/macros), I EATS.

I would love to find a place that has real meat and not a bunch of fillers, the freshier the food the better, whole wheat options, Kosher options, ect. We aren't food Nazi's. We like to indulge in the occasional treat and all but if there are places out there that offer a better product I'd love to know. We eat Kosher at home but that is very hard to do on the road. I just heard about a place called Pita Pit that sounds good. Going to see if they have one in Denver.

There are places that do that..............................they just aren't called FAST FOOD restaurants.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

mycrazy8splus1

I always like when people say "healthy" choices. I by no means eat clean diet, eat McDonald's and Taco Bell at least once a week, and yet somehow meeting my macros, my diet is considered "healthy".
Over consumption of any macro will inherently lead to fat gain, and may cause health issues. Fast food places have HIGH CALORIE meals. Get a meal and split it with someone for half the calories.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

what macros are most important to track? I stopped tracking sugar because I eat a lot of fruit and was always over on that one. Those red numbers drive me crazy!! lol

exWHYzee1337

most places lettuce wrap items now, so do that. get grilled chicken, no cheese take of the mayo off and or get something that isn't fried.

that's about the best you can do... well the best I can do lol lots of places have fruit items for kids apple slices etc.

exWHYzee1337

I always like when people say "healthy" choices. I by no means eat clean diet, eat McDonald's and Taco Bell at least once a week, and yet somehow meeting my macros, my diet is considered "healthy".
Over consumption of any macro will inherently lead to fat gain, and may cause health issues. Fast food places have HIGH CALORIE meals. Get a meal and split it with someone for half the calories.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

depends on what your goals are but generally protein fat and carbs.. some people do sodium cholesterol etc

what macros are most important to track? I stopped tracking sugar because I eat a lot of fruit and was always over on that one. Those red numbers drive me crazy!! lol

msarro

Taco Bell's fresco menu is just fine. For burger king, they have a veggie burger which actually is really good.

Won't touch chic-fil-a for personal convictions, same with McD.