Fast Food Dietary Information

Subway | Sonic | Long John Silvers | Mc Donalds | Pizza Hut

Fast Food & Your Weight Loss Plan

Let's talk about the fast food menus. First, here is what you can expect from this special series for "No Whining & Dining” as you follow the above links to your favorite restaurant.

Menu Suggestions to Be Used as a Pattern

Our daily menus can be used as a pattern for fast food dining while dieting. We created these menus based on calorie content of fast food choices. We also tried to choose menu selections that were lowest in caloric content.

We are including breakfast, lunch and dinner menu suggestions for the most common fast food restaurants.

Allow Room in Your Eating Plan for Healthy Snacks

Also, amid your day when you're planning what you want to eat, be sure to allow room for snack time.

Any of the following make excellent choices:  small plum, apricot, ½ banana, 1 cup of fresh strawberries, 1 small peach, ½ grapefruit, ½ cup grapes, single serving size of low fat yogurt (no more than 80 calories), 4 saltine crackers and ½ slice of cheese, carrot sticks or any other raw vegetable up to ½ cup served with low calorie salad dressing (do not exceed 50 calories per serving on the dressing).  

We highly recommend reduced fat milk for at least one of your snack choices.

Beverage Suggestions

Enjoy a cup of java with no calorie sweetener and creamer containing 10 calories per serving. Or, enjoy unsweetened tea or water. Kool-Aid sweetened with Splenda is very good – we really love the Strawberry flavor packet. To spruce up diet sodas, add a drop or two of your favorite extract, such as rum or vanilla for zero extra calories.

Fast Food Menu Selections, Nutritional Values

Keep in mind that all of our selections are based on caloric content - not fat, and in some instances the selections may be considered unhealthy choices due to the fat content.  

However unhealthy as fat may be, weight control is triggered by calories which is recognized by the body as energy. The body spends the energy as it receives it to put itself in balance - to process what we eat, to keep the heart beating, the blood flowing, our mind thinking, our arms and legs moving and so forth.

When it comes to fast food, generally your best choices are those that are low in fat AND calories – but this feat is rather hard to accomplish at most fast food eateries.

You'll also wish to keep a watchful eye on the sodium content; fast food restaurants are bad boys with it comes to this dieting element.

If you love donuts, tacos, pizza and fried chicken, then ‘Fast Food – No Whining & Dining’ will help keep your diet on track. While you shouldn't aim to make high fat foods part of your daily diet, they should be able to fit moderately into almost-any healthy weight loss plan.

Be sure to incorporate a couple pieces of fruit, such as two small plums, for a mid-afternoon and a late evening snack. Also keep in mind that this planner is not intended to mirror a healthy meal suggestion rather to provide a pattern for dieters who do fast food now and then.

Fast Food Recovery Tips

After fast food dining, if you find that your menu selections were a bit more fatty that they should have been - even if they were within your acceptable daily total caloric limits, try the following recipe for your next scheduled meal:

Low Calorie Stir Fry to Combat Weight Gain

Enjoy a vegetable-rich stir fry. Start by adding a teaspoon of sesame seed oil to a deep pan or wok; if the cookery is non-stick, even better.

When the oil warms, add 1/2 cup of cubed chicken - the lean meat only. Be sure to toss out any visible fat as well as tendons and bone.

Stir to evenly coat the chicken with the sesame oil and when the juices run clear toss in 1/4 cup of chopped onion of any variety. Also add 1/4 cup of chopped bell pepper and 1/2 cup of sliced button mushrooms. Also add 1/2 cup of broccoli florets. If you have water chestnuts on hand, toss some in if you wish.

You can also toss on a few sesame seeds if you wish.

Add your favorite seasonings - or better yet, your favorite Asian sauce. Make sure to keep the caloric content of the sauce minimal. Serve over a bed of whole grain rice and enjoy a low caloric beverage with your meal.

Be Sure to Add Servings From the Fruit, Dairy & Vegetable Group to Your Eating Plan

Most of the following fast food menus are in dire need of more fruit, more dairy and more vegetables. Good luck on your diet plan. You can start reviewing our 'best menu selections' on this page.