The all too familiar story: no time to cook, kids are late for soccer practice and McDonald’s is on the way. Since it won’t take more than a few minutes to shoot through the drive through we’ll do the fast food stop. Or all too familiar story number 2: lunch hour at work and I need to pick up my dry cleaning, fill a prescription, and take the car to get gas and find time to eat. Sure enough Taco Bell is on the way and they have a drive through as well. These real life situations play out for all of us, millions of us, everyday. Since time has become one of our most precious commodities the sacrifice we make is often in our diet.
And yet it does not need to be this way. By following a few healthful practices you can still go to your favorite fast food chain and 30 years from now, live to tell about it. The key is knowing what to select from the menu and balancing that meal with the rest of the day’s food intake.
Choose Your Menu Items With Care
Choose a main dish item that is low in fat. As an example, when faced with the choice of a bacon cheeseburger or a regular hamburger, the regular hamburger wins every time. In the battle of the regular hamburger or the grilled chicken breast sandwich the chicken wins hands down. Why? Here’s an example:
Wendy’s Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich has 360 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 0 trans fat. Compare that to the Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic which has 580 calories, 29 grams of fat and 1.5
grams of trans fat. Put either choice with a medium fry and you have added another 440 calories and another 21 grams of fat. Choose, instead, the Baked Potato with Sour Cream and Chive and you add 320 calories and 4 grams of fat – a better choice indeed.
Choose side salads and salad bar vegetables as these provide extra vitamins and add dietary fiber. In addition they fill you up without adding lots of extra calories. Be sure to use low fat or non-fat dressing or, better still, a simple vinaigrette dressing. More dietary fiber can be found in the choice of whole wheat or whole grain buns and rolls.
If your sweet tooth kicks in have fresh fruit or frozen yogurt. Or go for the reduced fat ice cream versus the shake. Again an example, this time from McDonald’s: 16 oz. Triple Thick Vanilla Shake has 550 calories and 13 grams of fat. The Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Cone has 150 calories and only 3.5 grams of fat. Granted the lower calories alternative is not as decadent but it also will not clog your arteries by increasing your cholesterol intake and it will satisfy the sugar craving.
Watch Your Portion Size
Portion control is also a key element to successful fast food dining. Although many restaurants have discontinued the super size trend, most portions are simply more than we need to consume. These large portions look like real value when viewed in the monetary sense but when measured by way of their contribution to weight gain and its complications they are simply not worth it.
Choose the smallest size possible especially if you are having hamburgers or fried foods.
Share large or high fat items with someone else.
Eat half your order and take the rest home. Yes, I know we are supposed to clean our plates because there are children starving in China. At least that’s what many mothers over the years have been heard to say. The fact is being a member of the Clean Plate Club will also get you entry into the Fat Club, the High Cholesterol Club, and if your really fortunate the Heart Disease
Club.
Remember These 3 Key Points:
- Reduce total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
- Increase intake of whole grains
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
Fast food is one of the great innovations of the 20th century. Here in the 21st century we need to manage how we take advantage of its limitless access. To do so will maintain a balance between food as satisfying fuel that keeps our human engine running and toxic waste that will eventually lead to shortened life spans.
Here is another option. Just don’t eat there. You don’t have to be a snob about it, as in “I don’t eat that crap” although you certainly can if you want to. The hardest part is having family and friends who frequently visit Burger and Fries land. It is like trying to quit smoking and working in a bar. I’m not saying to fire your friends and family but you could try to limit the time you spend with them to non-eating hours. It may help to try to hook up with some like minded friends which will make your life incredibly easier since Americans who don’t eat fast food are often considered unpatriotic.
Author: R. Adam Shore
About the author: R. Adam Shore writes about Physical Fitness along with Health and Fitness. For additional information and over 5000 articles about Healthy Lifestyles and other topics be sure to visit Physical Fitness Articles at www.physicalfitnessarticles.net
Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/unaciertamirada/1302876317/
I have found myself in this same position many times and the outcome is always the same. I get behind running errands and by the end of the day I’m worn out so I look for a quick solution and end up getting fast food and feeling sick the rest of the night. Thanks for the tips!
Posted by Hunter@Leesburg VA Real Estate | October 12, 2008, 3:01 pmThank you so much for the tips but to tell you I love to eat on fast food restaurant and never get sick. Thanks anyway for reminding me.
Posted by Sam@Walnut Real Estate | October 13, 2008, 2:49 pm@Sam@Walnut Real Estate:
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones that never get sick, who knows! Other people may become sick that manifests years later as some other disease. Maybe you are making relatively healthy fast food choices as well.
Thanks for writing!
Posted by Natural Health | October 13, 2008, 3:23 pmReally good article. I don’t really go near fast food myself, the quality is just so poor and I honestly don’t like the taste of it. So I don’t get sick from it because I don’t really eat it! I mean, I do have a cheeseburger every now and then, but if I do I’ll cook it myself or go to an independant retailer. I NEVER touch things like mcdonalds.
Alhough when I take a look at a mcdonalds it makes me feel sick. So I suppose it does still make me feel sick!
Posted by Linda@Slimming | September 28, 2009, 7:01 amI prefer home made food over fast foods. Fast foods are not good for health.
Posted by vijay | October 14, 2009, 3:03 amMcdonalds is absolutely disgusting. It’s no wonder there are so many health issues amongst westerners whae food like that is readily available and promoted as good.
Posted by Lisa@herbal slimming pills | October 18, 2009, 10:58 amGood article. I myself try to avoid McDonalds. I go there to get my quick fix on their french fries maybe once a month and thats it. The food is great going down but in and hour or so, my stomach does not feel so well. I love taco bell though. And it seems a littel healthier.
Thanks
Posted by Julie@Discount Featherbeds | November 6, 2009, 10:34 amI’m not a huge fan of McDonalds. If I have to eat there I have the standard portion (small) and almost always go for the chicken. At least that is slightly better than the ham and cheese burgers.
Posted by Jane@Indoor Tanning Lotion | November 12, 2009, 2:22 amI am guilty of going to the fast food outlets but only on rare occasions. My daughter became a vegetarian 3 years ago and so now it is easier for us all to eat like her rather than making seperate meals. The thing is sometimes I need that fix and nip off to Macdonals or KFC. I know it is wrong but only do it on once a month or so.
Posted by Dennis@Light Therapy Boxes | November 12, 2009, 2:50 amHere’s another reason to cut back on fast food – liver damage. Too much fast food and too little exercise can damage the liver, a small Swedish study says. One group of trim, healthy adults restricted their levels of physical activity to no more than 5,000 steps a day and ate at least two fast food meals every day for four weeks. They also put on weight and showed clear signs of liver damage. Another similar group ate a normal diet and did not develop signs of liver damage or gain weight. At the end of the four weeks, the fast food eaters had put on an average of 14 pounds. Five increased their weight by 15 percent, and one person put on an extra 26.4 pounds in just 2 weeks. The liver filters harmful substances, breaks down fats, stores vitamins and minerals and maintains the proper sugar level in the blood.
Posted by saad@live Soccer | November 15, 2009, 5:49 amMcdonalds always smells so nice when you walk past, so I think to myself that I will go in and get some food. After I have finished I always feel so sick, but it is the smell everytime that attracts me.
Posted by Jason @ Conservatories Surrey | November 23, 2009, 2:35 pmFast foods are bad for our health.
Posted by vij@Lung Cancer | November 25, 2009, 7:34 amI completely Agree with Saad..
Posted by Khaled @ Live Football streaming | June 10, 2010, 7:06 amFast food is horrible full of saturated fat, a sure way to die a LOT faster!!!!!
Posted by Locksmiths Milton Keynes | August 5, 2010, 10:25 amI guess The title should be renamed to “Fast Food – Fast Form of death” !!
Posted by Free football streaming | August 5, 2010, 11:33 amNo matter how hard one tries but working hard for the whole day in the end we always seek quick meal and good nap. Man sometimes I feel that our life is really miserable.
Posted by mike skinner@ easy meditation techniques | September 4, 2010, 10:23 am