What to eat when fast food/eating out is your only option?

fast food, I guess.



(it isn't the devil. just make smart decisions based on calories and macros, make it fit and enjoy.)

there is really no more excuses for fast food when travelling or just running low on time. almost every gas station has nuts, yogurt, beef jerky, cheese, etc. these arent always the best choices but they sure do beat McDonalds by a mile

2 mcdoubles, no bread, no ketchup.
add mayo, extra pickle, on a bed of shredded lettuce.

2 mcdoubles, no bread, no ketchup.
add mayo, extra pickle, on a bed of shredded lettuce.

junk meat and junk cheese and a bunch of napkins to wipe up the greasy goo.

you are better off going into a gas station and getting a bag of almonds and a stick of beef jerky

If one must resort to FF.....most if not all FF places have nutrition info available so you can always check that before you order anything.

Grilled chicken, no sauce, no bun (had one today on lettuce as the bread)
Salad (no croutons, lowest dressing you can find and don't dump it on the food, dip fork tines into it, then into the food)
Stay away from breaded, fried foods.
Baked potato plain (had one today with chives & one of the lite butter they offered)
Panda Express have a few dishes that they consider lighter in calories (Beef w/broccoli is one)
Subway also offers lighter sandwiches and anything can be made into a salad (careful on sauce/dressings/croutons)
Long John Silver offers baked fish (stay away from fried, hushpuppies and cole slaw)
Taco Bell offers a fresco menu.

Just be an informed eater and do your homework before you walk in (all places have nutrition info online) or you'll be in for a rude awakening when you log your meals.

Salads, sandwiches, Chipotle bowls.

A lot of places print nutrition facts now, so just choose what's best.

I bought a backpack cooler from Target and take it everywhere so I always have at least water and good snacks. When that runs out, I hit places that sell salads or Subway because they always have decent options.

I posted this somewhere else but you can kind of 'plan ahead' with this: http://www.nutritionix.com/restaurants

I also try to get simple burgers without bacon or cheese, and in restaurants, anything from the 'lean' or 'senior' menu. If no lean menu, go for chicken (they usually always serve breasts) or fish, just be careful on how is fish prepared first.

McDonalds S.W salad w/o the chicken.

subway or a local grocery salad bar.

never need to accept the excuse of "I had to go to a ff joint"

I made the mistake once of ordering a chicken wrap at Burger King thinking it would be okay. It was like 370 calories! What a waste of calories. I'd rather buy 6 bags of apple slices. I always bring snacks with me wherever I go, so if I am at a fast food place with the kids, I eat my snacks (like a Zone bar, peanuts, Fiber 1) - edited to add or find a Panera, there is so much to pick from and so much of it fits into my daily calorie plan.

Try to avoid "fast food" at all costs! BUT...that being said...these are some things I have eaten and didn't feel too guilty about:

Charley's - Grilled chicken salad - 198 cal

Subway - Vege Sub on Wheat (hold the cheese and dressing or chose mozzarella and olive oil/vinegar if you must)

McDonalds - grilled chicken salad with balsamic dressing (hold the croutons)

Taco Bell Fresco Chicken Burrito - 350 cal (watch this one because the sodium content is still high)

Wendy's - Plain Baked potato (not much food, and not great choices for protein, but it's something).

Hope this helps a little bit.

There are usually a few options at each fast food restaurant that I know I can have.

Wendy's grilled chicken go wrap is okay, but you can sub the honey mustard for pico de gallo and it's better. A small chili (nothing added but the chili sauce), a baked potato with chives and one tube of sour cream no butter, a side salad with lite ranch. I usually choose either the wrap or the chili and a potato or salad.

Chick-Fil-A's southwestern chargrilled salad is delicious and the spicy dressing isn't terribly bad for you, but there are lighter options if you'd prefer. I also like their wraps. I also always sub a fruit cup with my wrap combo.

McDonald's grilled southwest salad is also good. That's the only thing I'll eat there.

At Subway you can get a 6" turkey or oven roasted chicken on wheat or flatbread with cheese, all the veggies you could possibly want, and either mustard or sweet onion sauce for about 400 calories.

Chipotle's burrito bowl is pretty heavy on the calories, but if you do a salad there instead just taking away the rice and adding more lettuce really saves you a bunch of calories.

I haven't had Taco Bell since before I started MFP, but they do have that fresco menu with the better options.

I don't eat at any other fast food restaurants. Arbys, Burger King, KFC, etc don't have enough healthier stuff to make it worth it for me to go there. There are a few local places that have healthy foods and I just make sure I know what am having before I ever get there. If I'm faced with the menu and no nutritional value, I'll inevitably make a bad decision. Make a cheat sheet of the things you can have a different restaurants you may frequent and keep it with you. That way you won't be tempted to get something you shouldn't have.

I also try to always have snacks with me. If I already have healthy snacks, I'm less likely to stop at a gas station or a fast food restaurant and get something that will totally blow my progress.

mmread - have you ever done a very long road trip across the Midwest? We do every spring & there are many, many towns where we have to stop & gas up, eat, etc & there are NO restaurants or grocery stores, only option maybe 1 fast food place in very rural areas.
We tend to pack food in our coolers anyway on long trips. Otherwise, try to get some type of grilled chicken option and/or salad (dressing on the side). I worked in sales for many years, in a very large rural territory, with few restaurants at all. I did pack lunches & snacks in a cooler. Another thing that worked well (for a day trip) was making protein shakes the nite before & freezing them. Eat them when they thaw a bit & it's like an "icecream" snack. Helps keep stuff in your cooler cold, too.
Happy travels.

I just try and make smart choices when going out. Not everything on a fast food menu is horrible, which is a good thing. But thanks to this app, i can see which foods are the devil, and which are not.