I self admittedly go to a fast food restaurant about two times a week.
Sometimes you just need, well, fast food.
Luckily for me, most fast food chains had "healthy" options available. Or so I thought...
Today I took a deeper look.
Brace yourself...
I usually go to Chick-Fil-A to get either a chargrilled chicken sandwich, or a Cesar wrap:
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich:
Calories: 290. Not shabby at all. That's why I got it. But there's more...
Total fat: 4g
Sodium: 1030. That's the kicker.
Cesar Wrap:
Calories: 460
Total fat: 15
Saturated fat: 6
Sodium: 1510. YIKES!
Healthy choice --> I'd say skip those two, and go for one of Chick-Fil-A salads:
Chargrilled fruit salad:
Calories: 290
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 4
Sodium: 640
Chargrilled chicken garden salad:
Calories: 180
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 4
Sodium: 650
One of the saddest things I found out about Chick-Fil-A?
The stats on their yummy fruit parfait:
Fruit Parfait with granola:
Calories: 290
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 2
Sugar: 39!! I'm like, whoa.
Next up, I checked out some of McDonald's info:
I've been hearing a lot about their new oatmeal... I've also heard it has a ton of sugar in it. So I investigated:
Fruit and maple oatmeal:
Calories: 290
Carbohydrates: 57
Total fat: 4.5
Sugar: 32! Remember that a snickers bar has 28 grams of sugar. Insane.
In complete shock, I looked up my next favorite fast-food joint, Wendy's:
My favorite salad, the apple pecan salad:
Calories: 580
Total fat: 27
Saturated fat: 9
Sugar: (brace yourself) 39! For a salad. I triple checked.
Baja Salad:
Calories: 740
Total fat: 47. Straight up crazy.
Saturated fat: 17.
And here I thought I was doing a good thing by getting a salad.
A big-mac's stats are better then that salad!:
Big-Mac:
Calories: 540
Total fat: 29
Salad? Or Big-Mac? I think I'll go with the big-mac.
Healthy choice --> Next time you're at Wendy's, skip the salads, and opt for one of the following:
Baked potato with sour cream and chives:
Calories: 320
Total fat: 4
saturated fat: 2
Chili:
Calories: 220
Total fat: 7
saturated fat: 3
Protein: 18 :)
I thought I was doing good by getting things that seemed healthier then what I really wanted to get (#1 with extra cheese), but now I see how far off I really was. It's all a gimmick if you ask me.
With all that sodium, fat, and sugar, no wonder why the scale wasn't moving!
When I was finally able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I came to this conclusion:
It's honestly best to stay away from fast food all together. Even the "low calorie" items are packed with things that can hinder your weight loss efforts. Pack healthy snacks in your purse instead, to help you stay away from that tempting drive-thru.
Sometimes you just need, well, fast food.
Luckily for me, most fast food chains had "healthy" options available. Or so I thought...
Today I took a deeper look.
Brace yourself...
I usually go to Chick-Fil-A to get either a chargrilled chicken sandwich, or a Cesar wrap:
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich:
Calories: 290. Not shabby at all. That's why I got it. But there's more...
Total fat: 4g
Sodium: 1030. That's the kicker.
Cesar Wrap:
Calories: 460
Total fat: 15
Saturated fat: 6
Sodium: 1510. YIKES!
Healthy choice --> I'd say skip those two, and go for one of Chick-Fil-A salads:
Chargrilled fruit salad:
Calories: 290
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 4
Sodium: 640
Chargrilled chicken garden salad:
Calories: 180
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 4
Sodium: 650
One of the saddest things I found out about Chick-Fil-A?
The stats on their yummy fruit parfait:
Fruit Parfait with granola:
Calories: 290
Total fat: 6
Saturated fat: 2
Sugar: 39!! I'm like, whoa.
Next up, I checked out some of McDonald's info:
I've been hearing a lot about their new oatmeal... I've also heard it has a ton of sugar in it. So I investigated:Fruit and maple oatmeal:
Calories: 290
Carbohydrates: 57
Total fat: 4.5
Sugar: 32! Remember that a snickers bar has 28 grams of sugar. Insane.
In complete shock, I looked up my next favorite fast-food joint, Wendy's:
My favorite salad, the apple pecan salad:
Calories: 580
Total fat: 27
Saturated fat: 9
Sugar: (brace yourself) 39! For a salad. I triple checked.
Baja Salad:
Calories: 740
Total fat: 47. Straight up crazy.
Saturated fat: 17.
And here I thought I was doing a good thing by getting a salad.
A big-mac's stats are better then that salad!:
Big-Mac:
Calories: 540
Total fat: 29
Salad? Or Big-Mac? I think I'll go with the big-mac.
Healthy choice --> Next time you're at Wendy's, skip the salads, and opt for one of the following:
Baked potato with sour cream and chives:
Calories: 320
Total fat: 4
saturated fat: 2
Chili:
Calories: 220
Total fat: 7
saturated fat: 3
Protein: 18 :)
I thought I was doing good by getting things that seemed healthier then what I really wanted to get (#1 with extra cheese), but now I see how far off I really was. It's all a gimmick if you ask me.
With all that sodium, fat, and sugar, no wonder why the scale wasn't moving!
When I was finally able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I came to this conclusion:
It's honestly best to stay away from fast food all together. Even the "low calorie" items are packed with things that can hinder your weight loss efforts. Pack healthy snacks in your purse instead, to help you stay away from that tempting drive-thru.
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13 comments:
Fast food restaurants definitely need to amp up their healthy options! Great post. I haven't had fast food since august.
high 5 to that!
You're forgetting that fruit has natural sugar- it's the added sugar that isn't necessary. You can still get your grilled chicken but ask for it plain or just add mustard. I like mayo but it's high in fat unless you get the lighter version. Have you tried stevia? I made a cheesecake with it and no off taste at all. I used ricotta, eggs and 1 package of light cream cheese.
Wow!! That's just crazy! All good things to know! I try to check out the calories, fat, etc before going somewhere, but there are times I don't get to. Wow!
Stop by my blog for a blog award! :)
Nan- I had that same thought come to my mind. I looked up how much sugar some of the fruits had. Ex- the only fruit inside The apple walnut salad is half an apple (4 slices), so that's about 9g of sugar. That salad has 39g of sugar in it! Even if you take out the apple, it will still have 30g of sugar... I think that should be illegal :)
I haven't used Stevia yet, but I've been meaning to. Thanks for the tips!
Wow! I haven't been checking fast food but I have low fat and fat free, etc. grocery items and the sugar and sodium in those type products can be out the roof too. Thanks for posting.
I always carry a LARA Bar in my purse for that specific reason. The "healthy" fast food options kill me because half the time you absolutely agonize over what the right choice is and then you still end up choosing wrong.
SO good to know about the baked potato at Wendy's though!
I try to avoid fast food all together, I usually keep almonds with me if I get hungry and I am out. It's a bummer that fast food is so insanely bad for you - but I guess that seems to be the point of it.
xo
I couldn't agree with you more. Fast food joints are just not an option for me anymore. Maybe once in a great while (once every 6 months, or something) when I'm just really craving french fries. In all honesty, I'd rather go to a place that's a bit higher-end, like Counter and get a much better tasting burger/fries.
Great post.
I can't get over the amount of sugar in McDonald's oatmeal...I mean, really???!
Last year, I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and pernicious anemia. I suffered chest pains but when I took porcine thyroid , it was gone.
Thank you for sharing information
The awareness of the fast food these days is increasing at an alarming rate due to
its availability always and the taste. Therefore, you do not need to eat fast food
for eating sake but you have to eat a healthy fast food
Good for you, you have to look into what your eating. You are what you eat. Keep educating people.
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