McDonalds VS Subway

FitJoani

Although both are rather processed...its a matter of the lesser of evils..basically like the whole eat this not that philosophy

godblessourhome

Although both are rather processed...its a matter of the lesser of evils..basically like the whole eat this not that philosophy

if that's the case, then choose chick-fil-a (not mcdonald's OR subway).

eveunderground

I'd choose Subway over McDonald's regardless of the calories. I know Subway is closer to whole food than McD (comparing sandwich to sandwich). Whenever I eat McDonalds I have difficulty digesting it...my stomach starts making a lot of noise. However, when I first started my weight loss journey I ate the cheeseburger happy meal probably once a week...so, you CAN lose weight and eat fast food. But eventually you'll probably want to make the switch to healthier foods, the days I would eat a happy meal it always put a huge dent in my calorie count and I had to be pretty strict with my cals for the rest of the day to avoid too much damage, it ended up not being worth it.

chrisdavey

I haven't eaten a McDonalds "burger" in a long time as I just get a seared chicken wrap. Wrap (not wholemeal, I know not the best :P), lettuce, mayonnaise (I assume not fat free) and about 60grams chicken. Pretty much can't go wrong with that I reckon. I was stuck for choice last night and had 2 for dinner which was 416cals, 42g carbs, 15g fat and 25g protein, 610mg sodium. Not a bad choice for dinner for $5 I reckon :P

Fresh is better but if you are stuck for choice then just have a "go to" option that isn't too bad

txmomma0889

http://healthydiningfinder.com/

that is a site you can put your city in and find restuarants in your area and find healthy choices and see the breakdown of fat and everything else.... should help some and you can pick what you want from it so you know ahead of time... hope this helps

bethly

How is either of them even considered an option?

Call me old fashioned, along with an ex-Pat American, but the fact that you are considering these as your only viable options, is well, disturbing.

I agree that, yes, Subway is probably the lesser evil, but the I seem to remember seeing the veggies being dumped out of a plastic bag like dog food. How old are the veggies that you are eating from there? My bet is that they are at least a few months old, if not longer.

That is as far away as "whole food" as McDonald's.
What's wrong with cooking?

lee112780

I dont understand how a subway sandwich...even an italian combo, has more calories than a value meal...

JDMPWR

What I have came to realize in the last litte while is calorie counting can be confusing. I would normally assume that Subway would be better choice for calorie counting VS McDonalds.

and when i sat down and looked that the options, I was incorrect...

Subway meals may claim to have more nutritional value but also more calories. if you have a mcdonalds meal generally, they are lower in calories!!!!

I just wanted to bring it to your attention that these places that claim they are healthy,or low fat, do not claim they are low in calories.

Its tricky marketing to get people to eat fast food guilt free,and think they are eating healthy.

I realized the "jared" diet was bullsh"t. I ate more mcdonalds and lost weigh than i did subway. It was almost impossible to lose weight eating subway (well anything good at least). Jared worked out and ate like veggie subs with no cheese, and jared isnt 120 lbs, he is thinner than he was, but i wouldnt say he is in great shape (i would say im in better shape, and im still on here)

This is about the most mis-informed post(er). I eat a full footlong flat bread everyday and I have dropped 22lbs in just over a month. My bf % has dropped 7% and each 6" I eat is 370 calories. My diet requires 220grams of protein, 140 grams of carbs and 50 grams of fat and I can eat 6 meals a day and a small treat at night and I am doing fine.

McDonalds is all fried and or processed foods which are about the worst thing for you. Bleached whites. Injected fats and soys. Salt. Sugar even.....????!!!!! I can go on and on. I am sorry but I just have to prove you wrong on this.

Here is my comparison....A McDonalds Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich

alone here are some ingredients: Honey Wheat Roll
Enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, whole wheat flour, dry honey blend (honey, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, corn syrup, wheat starch), sugar, yeast, contains 2% or less of the following: soybean oil and/or canola oil, salt, wheat gluten, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, calcium peroxide), calcium propionate (preservative), soy lecithin.

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND SOY LECITHIN

Grilled Chicken Breast Filet
Chicken breast filets with rib meat, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, spices, dextrose, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed [corn gluten, soy, wheat gluten] proteins, garlic powder, paprika, chicken fat, chicken broth, natural flavors (plant and animal source), caramel color, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, onion powder, extractives of paprika), modified potato starch, and sodium phosphates.
CONTAINS: SOY AND WHEAT.
Prepared with Liquid Margarine:
Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

CONTAINS: SOY LECITHIN

Mayonnaise Dressing
Water, soybean oil, distilled vinegar, maltodextrin, food starch-modified, enzyme modified egg yolk, salt, sugar, xanthan gum, mustard flour, potassium sorbate (preservative), lemon juice concentrate, polysorbate 80, natural flavor (animal source), calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor, beta carotene (color).

CONTAINS: EGG.

Leaf Lettuce

Tomato Slice

NOW PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WTF half of these ingredients are please.

Secondly here are the Macro nutrient specs for this MCD sandwich with:Honey Wheat Roll, Chicken Breast, Mayo, Lettuce & Tomato
Calories:420
Calories from fat:90
Total fat grams:10
sat fat:2
chol:70
sodium:1190(half your daily dose)
Carbs:51
Dietary Fiber:3
Sugar:11
Protein:32

Now the same parameters for a 6" Oven roasted chicken breast that weights 6oz and the MCD sandwich weighs 8oz.
calories:320
Calories from fat:40
4.5
1.5
25
750
carbs:49
5
7
Protein:23

Now this sandwich is $5 bucks at Subway......oh and look the MCD sandwich is THE SAME PRICE!!!!!

JDMPWR

i love eating out! i love subway, i love jimmy john's, i love mcdonald's, i love burger king, i love kfc, i love taco bell. it is all about personal choice when you get there. i can eat healthy or i can eat crappy. all restaurants have both. i am not going to give up going out to eat at mcdonald's in the name of 'being healthy'. i can be just as healthy at mcdonald's as subway, sometimes moreso.

the 'fresh' veggies at subway come from the same place as the veggies for mcdonald's. the lettuce is bought packaged and vac-sealed at both places. the tomatoes are slice fresh daily or every other day and refrigerated. same with the cucumbers and the broccoli. the pickles are generic. you may have a few more options (shredded carrots, pickled banana peppers, pickled jalapenos, black olives) at subway, but they are in no way 'better' choices.

of course, i also like making my own food and eating at too. but it's silly to have an all-or-nothing mentality and assume you can't do both on a healthy lifestyle.
dawn

Exactly! I work at McD's (I know, I know, cue the groaning) and we can (and will) do pretty much ANYTHING you want as far as food goes. Don't want the beef patty? We'll leave it off (or serve it on the side). And for that matter, we can leave the bun off, too, and you can have your food 'protein style'. You have nearly exactly the same sort of flexibility as at Subway, it's just not as highly advertised. Heck, you can swap out the bun for something more nutritionally dense (like the wheat roll or salad) or have extra veggies added to your sandwich. It's still fast food, but there are ways to make it work to your advantage.... All of this "omg mcdonaldz so evul!!!" is just silly, divisive, and harmful to your mental wellbeing and body image.

So next time I go to McD I can ask them to hold the injected soy biproduct and fat out of my burger patty?

nicjane113

I like both Mcdonalds and Subway and other fast food/takeaways. Lets face it, some of the tastiest food is bad for us but it's all about moderation.
I count my calories monday to friday and try and have the weekend to myself. That's not to say I stuff myself with junk food on a weekend but if I want to have a few glasses of wine and a takeaway I will and I won't feel guilty about it. Life is for living not getting obsessed about calorie counting. I also find the more I tell myself I can't have something, the more I want it, so what's the harm in a little treat every now and again.
I also cook meals for me and my partner. I must admit my partner is the fussiest guy you'll meet and trying to get him to eat veg and healthier options is a mission in itself! At 22 we've never really been brought up learning to cook so I am trying to buy cook books and learn healthier meals from scratch instead of frozen things.

godblessourhome

So next time I go to McD I can ask them to hold the injected soy biproduct and fat out of my burger patty?

i love how you skipped the ingredients from your subway 'chicken' and bread to make a point about mcdonald's. that made me laugh out loud. i would bet you their chicken 'breasts' come from the same company. maybe i'm wrong on that, but i know for a fact that the chicken patties are from the same company that supplies burger king's grilled chicken. also the mayonnaise is the same (and if you don't want it at mcdonald's, you can sub out for mustard very easily).

if you think that the products you buy in the store don't have hidden injected biproducts, well... i just let you think that. water weight and dyes and preservatives, oh my.

to the poster who claimed that working at mcdonald's for six years caused her to gain 120 pounds, that stinks. i'm sorry. i hope you can discipline yourself and lose the weight you gained. i bet it will be hard, but you can do it!!

the thing is, i worked fulltime at burger king for five years and stayed a nice even 105. THE WHOLE TIME. five years. no gain in weight, body fat or a detriment to my health. i ate the food every shift because it was half price. it is possible to eat fast food every day and still maintain your weight/body fat/health. i also worked at subway for two years, almost three. truthfully, the similarities between burger king and subway were more than the differences. the subway bread may be cooked fresh everyday, but it comes from frozen pre-made, pre-shaped dough.

if it makes you feel better to choose subway over mcdonald's, then eat away. no harm, no foul. i'm not going to convince you that mcdonald's is the better choice. in fact, i'm not saying that mcdonald's is the 'better' choice, i'm just saying that you can make healthy choices there just as easily as at subway.

and for those that choose not to eat out at all, good for you. love your dedication!
dawn

tpritchard2

You can make 2 meals out of a footlong. What a deal for $5.00. You don't HAVE to eat the whole thing in one sitting. Discipline is what it is all about anyway.

JDMPWR

The ingredients were the same from the MCD sandwich as te Subway sandwich. If you want me to just add more validity to my
point then just ask . Also let's take into account the weight per quality macro in the MCD sandwich versus the Subway sandwich.

I also break up my foot long into 2 meals as well.

thebestweebles

So next time I go to McD I can ask them to hold the injected soy biproduct and fat out of my burger patty?

i love how you skipped the ingredients from your subway 'chicken' and bread to make a point about mcdonald's. that made me laugh out loud. i would bet you their chicken 'breasts' come from the same company. maybe i'm wrong on that, but i know for a fact that the chicken patties are from the same company that supplies burger king's grilled chicken. also the mayonnaise is the same (and if you don't want it at mcdonald's, you can sub out for mustard very easily).

if you think that the products you buy in the store don't have hidden injected biproducts, well... i just let you think that. water weight and dyes and preservatives, oh my.

.....

n fact, i'm not saying that mcdonald's is the 'better' choice, i'm just saying that you can make healthy choices there just as easily as at subway.

and for those that choose not to eat out at all, good for you. love your dedication!
dawn

You're awesome! This is exactly what I was trying to get at... the only way anyone is going to be 100% sure about what is in the stuff they're eating is to raise/grow/make it from complete scratch yourself... as in, grain-feed your own cattle, kill and process them yourself, and then make your own burgers (or whatever) out of them. Which is of course, not that practical anymore for the jmajority of people. If you buy anything that is edible, from anywhere (grocery store, co-op, restaurant), you can pretty much assume that something has been done or added to it. Even meats from the butcher counter have probably at least had water added to them.

And about the mayo ingredients? What exactly do you think is in the mayonnaise sitting in your refrigerator? Let me guess: the same stuff that's in the McD one. Mayo is mayo; if it bothers you, don't eat it. Criminy.

Nich0le

YUCK!!! Doesn't McDonald's make you feel like you have a lead weight in your belly, not to mention with no real veggies or fruit your body isn't digesting it as well as it should.

Yes, it's possible to lose weight on ANY diet but you have to think about the health effects of the fuel you are giving your body and the sodium content in ANY fast food is too much.

IF you really want to get healthy and eat right you should all read "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan it is an eye opener and his research found that the more healthy the claim a brand makes (including your stupid activia etc) the worse the food is for you.

Jack Lalanne, for those of you who might not know, is a fitness and diet guru and he just turned 96 and he has stated since the 60's that if man made it and put it in a package we shouldn't be eating it!

I am determined as a parent, seeing the epidemic of obesity that is HERE, to teach my kids how to cook and rely on their own two hands to eat. We rely too much on quick fixes and crappy food and I am not going to be responsible for my kids dying young because I never took the time to eat right or teach them to eat right! It is just as fast to throw a turkey breast in the oven today while you are making dinner and make sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. Or throw something in a crock pot so when you know you have a busy day you can still eat right.

I'm venting because this kind of discussion just gets me steaming, until you realize you can't feed your body crap and get long term good results you will always battle your weight and complain about being fat and unhealthy!

Nich0le

and in response to the chicken it all comes pre cooked from your local food vendor, having owned and worked in many restaurants I can tell you that this crap chicken comes cooked with the fake grill marks on it, it is then frozen and thawed and cut either to order or at the restaurant. Think of how many people touch your fast food before it gets to your mouth and the more it's cooked the less nutritional value it has!

Your deli counter meats are not filled with water most of the time they are filled with sodium (saline solution, yes similar to eye drops) and countless other things I don't think most people would eat otherwise.

Keep this in mind too, if you buy school lunches for your children you are feeding them food that is of poorer quality than mcdonalds.

It's time to take responsibility for our health.

bethly

NOW PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WTF half of these ingredients are please.

Here's an easy one - If you don't know what an ingredient is, or can't say it, its probably not worth eating.