Fast food: always a no?

2»

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    like others have said, as long as your meeting your goals and the sodium doesnt bother you, go for it.

    i eat out all the time, but rarely 'fast food'. i do have mcdonalds for breakfast alll the time (i wont eat anything else from there lol)- and always either one of their yogurt parfaits or half a sausage egg and cheese mcmuffin (my dogs get the other half LOL)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I did fast food twice this weekend. One was the mozza burger I think from A & W; I liked the look of the lettuce and the tomato. The other was a grilled chicken and blue cheese salad (half size) from Wendy's. Both fit in to my calorie goal for the day.

    I did not order fries.
  • star1407
    star1407 Posts: 588 Member
    Last night hubby fancied a kfc so we had a look on their website and saw the rice boxes they have started doing. I had a box full of rice, pulled chicken in a spicy barbecue sauce and some salad. All for 370 cals
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
    McDonalds is more than happy to tell you about their lower calorie offerings:

    http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/meal_bundles/favoritesunder400.html
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    This is one I'll never really understand. I find most fast food to be unpalatable and frankly not very filling. We'll hit up Wendy's occasionally on a road trip as their salads are somewhat decent and their chili isn't the worst thing in the world but still, I'd prefer to find a local deli or something when we stop for meals.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    If it doesn't fit in your calories, then it is too much.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    McDonald's artisan grilled chicken sandwich is very tasty for 360 calories and 32 grams of protein.

    Just check the nutritional info for wherever you're going and choose something that fits your goals.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    elite_nal wrote: »
    As long as you're meeting your total daily needs in terms of macronutrient intake (protein, carbohydrates and fats) and micronutrient intake (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients etc.), then it really doesn't matter which specific foods you consume in order to meet your daily totals.

    The plain fact is that your body does not view your nutritional intake in terms of individual food items. It only sees the entire picture as a whole. Therefore, as long as your macro and micronutrient needs are being met, there's no good reason to suspect that consuming one set of foods over another will produce different results.

    So-called “junk foods” still contain perfectly usable protein, carbohydrates, fats and even vitamins/minerals. It’s not that eating “junk foods” is bad; it’s that eating too many of them is usually bad.

    For example, you cannot possibly say that “cheeseburgers make you fat”. You can only say that “too many cheeseburgers makes you fat”. It’s not the cheeseburger itself that is bad; it’s the excessive quantity.

    Within the context of your entire diet, you could argue that the term “junk food” doesn’t even have any practical application when we’re dealing with a small number like 10-20%.

    The truth is that bodybuilding nutrition is really just a numbers game.

    As part of a diet designed to support muscle growth and overall health, you have specific daily macronutrient and micronutrient needs in order to achieve optimal results. Your goal is to meet those numbers at the end of the day, period.

    As long as the total “mixture” of food that you consume throughout that day meets those numbers, it really makes no difference at all what those exact food items are.

    I’m sure some of you reading this are shaking your head by now because you think I’m saying that it’s possible to eat nothing but pizza, burgers and ice cream and still maximize your results.

    That is definitely not what I’m saying.

    You will still get the majority of your food intake from traditional “clean” bodybuilding foods such as chicken breast, rice and vegetables.

    Why?

    Because the diet still has to meet your macros AND your micros and it is NOT possible to meet those totals by eating large amounts of “junk” food.

    It’s not possible to eat pizza and burgers all day without over-shooting your fat totals.

    It’s not possible to pig out on ice cream and 7-up and still meet your fiber/vitamin/mineral requirements.

    It’s not possible to eat low quality protein all day and still obtain the proper amino acids needed for maximizing protein synthesis.

    Well look at you just full of good sense.
  • Nataliegetfit
    Nataliegetfit Posts: 395 Member
    At wendy's I usually get a baked potato, a chili, or a apple pecan chicken salad(love it) I might have one or two of my son's fries. (usually taste real greasy and don't miss them much).
    Taco bell, I get their spicy tostadas, too spicy for me so I leave off the creamy spicy sauce. I usually get two and they fit in my calories. they do have several things that are lower calories.
    Sometimes my husband wants to go to a little store that has a grill. We live out in the country 1/2 hour from civilization, they don't have very great low cal things that taste good, so I end up with a breakfast sandwich and call it good.
    You just have to try to plan ahead a little bit, see what things are lower calorie on the menu. Sometimes I splurge and have something that isn't very healthy, but it's just slowing down my progress a little bit.
    You can certainly make great and healthy good at home. If you go out and can't control yourself when you do, don't go out as often.
  • marija09
    marija09 Posts: 24 Member
    depends if you're aiming at healthy or skinny, that determines how much fast food u allow yourself. but regardless, treating yourself on the weekend should be fine
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    marija09 wrote: »
    depends if you're aiming at healthy or skinny, that determines how much fast food u allow yourself. but regardless, treating yourself on the weekend should be fine

    Wait, so which is allowed more fast food? Healthy or skinny?

  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    marija09 wrote: »
    depends if you're aiming at healthy or skinny, that determines how much fast food u allow yourself. but regardless, treating yourself on the weekend should be fine

    Wait, so which is allowed more fast food? Healthy or skinny?

    Purple
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    marija09 wrote: »
    depends if you're aiming at healthy or skinny, that determines how much fast food u allow yourself. but regardless, treating yourself on the weekend should be fine

    Wait, so which is allowed more fast food? Healthy or skinny?

    Purple

    Then my goal is purple, because we're getting a Popeyes in my town soon.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
    Depends on your situation. For me at lunch time if I've brought something like veggie beef soup or left over stuffed pork chops, if I didn't bring anything it depends on what's around maybe I can find a sit down. If it's 10 on a week night and I've just gotten out of my martial arts class then give me all the tacos. I'm starving after 1hr 45 min of mma and bjj and it's either that or waffle house, unless dad came then I can convince him to pay for seafood.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Eat it sometimes. A couple of tacos won't destroy your life or your diet, especially if you fit them into your calorie goal. Actually, their regular tacos are my go-to for eating out cheap since they're 170 calories each and have a decent amount of protein. They're very easy to fit into my diet.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories