Here are five top recommendations for ordering fast-food eats, the healthier way, from the folks at Consumer Reports.
Head for the border. Yo Quiero Taco Bell. At Taco Bell, order the Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme (330 calories) - with tomato and onion salsa instead of high-fat cheese. And instead of nachos, try one of these sides: Mexican rice or the Pintos 'n cheese (half the calories and a third of the fat of the nachos). What to drink? Choose water.
Next time you beat a path to Subway, change course and go to McDonald's. Why? The October 2007 Journal of Consumer Research said those supping at Subway ate about 350 more calories per meal than folks feasting at McDonald's.
How does that happen? Seems we feel so good about making the "healthier" Subway choice, we tend to reward ourselves with chips, soda and high-in-calories-and-fat toppings like mayo and cheese.
If you want to go Subway, get a plain, six-inch Veggie Delite (230 calories) or the Oven-Roasted Chicken Salad (140 calories).
At the golden arches, order the Asian Salad with grilled chicken and low-fat balsamic vinaigrette (340 calories) or the Filet-O-Fish sandwich (380 calories).
Turn that Whopper-lovin' frown upside down. At Burger King, you can savor a Whopper, Jr. for a mere 290 calories - just make sure you order it without mayo. Another good choice is the Tendergill Chicken Garden Salad with light Italian dressing (360 calories).
Pizza. Pizza. Yes, you can. Order a 12-inch, crusty, thin-crust pizza with two or three veggie toppings from Domino's and share. Two slices = 290 calories.
Satisfy that sweet tooth. If you just have to, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Or donut. An original glazed doughnut at Krispy Kreme is 200 calories.
Need something cold? A chocolate Dilly Bar at Dairy Queen is 210 calories.
Here are some handy take-along resources you can get at the Humphreys Diabetes Center, 1226 River St. in Boise. They come in a perfect size for your glove box or purse.
"The Fast Food Guide" $1.06 (including tax). Lists most of the local fast-food restaurant menu items and calorie counts.
"The Calorie King Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter" by Allan Borushek. $8. This is the know-all, be-all guide to have. You also can get updates at www.calorieking.com.
FAST FIVE
Here are five top recommendations for ordering fast-food eats, the healthier way, from the folks at Consumer Reports.
Head for the border. Yo Quiero Taco Bell. At Taco Bell, order the Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme (330 calories) - with tomato and onion salsa instead of high-fat cheese. And instead of nachos, try one of these sides: Mexican rice or the Pintos 'n cheese (half the calories and a third of the fat of the nachos). What to drink? Choose water.
Next time you beat a path to Subway, change course and go to McDonald's. Why? The October 2007 Journal of Consumer Research said those supping at Subway ate about 350 more calories per meal than folks feasting at McDonald's.
How does that happen? Seems we feel so good about making the "healthier" Subway choice, we tend to reward ourselves with chips, soda and high-in-calories-and-fat toppings like mayo and cheese.
If you want to go Subway, get a plain, six-inch Veggie Delite (230 calories) or the Oven-Roasted Chicken Salad (140 calories).
At the golden arches, order the Asian Salad with grilled chicken and low-fat balsamic vinaigrette (340 calories) or the Filet-O-Fish sandwich (380 calories).
Turn that Whopper-lovin' frown upside down. At Burger King, you can savor a Whopper, Jr. for a mere 290 calories - just make sure you order it without mayo. Another good choice is the Tendergill Chicken Garden Salad with light Italian dressing (360 calories).
Pizza. Pizza. Yes, you can. Order a 12-inch, crusty, thin-crust pizza with two or three veggie toppings from Domino's and share. Two slices = 290 calories.
Satisfy that sweet tooth. If you just have to, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Or donut. An original glazed doughnut at Krispy Kreme is 200 calories.
Need something cold? A chocolate Dilly Bar at Dairy Queen is 210 calories.
Here are some handy take-along resources you can get at the Humphreys Diabetes Center, 1226 River St. in Boise. They come in a perfect size for your glove box or purse.
"The Fast Food Guide" $1.06 (including tax). Lists most of the local fast-food restaurant menu items and calorie counts.
"The Calorie King Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter" by Allan Borushek. $8. This is the know-all, be-all guide to have. You also can get updates at www.calorieking.com.
C'mon. Admit it. We've all been there. You're starving, you've got zero time for lunch - next thing you know, you hear a familiar, tinny voice soothing you with: "Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?"
Or maybe you've been out late with friends, hey, where did the time go, and you haven't eaten dinner yet. "Welcome to Taco Bell."
Now that you've fessed up, don't feel guilty. The next time you take the drive-through, don't order the Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger at Jack in the Box (1,050 calories) - make some better choices.
HOLD THE MAYO
Vicki Graf, dietician at Humphreys Diabetes Center, said there are some general rules of thumb to keep in mind that will help steer you in the right direction. For instance, if you just leave out the cheese on a sandwich or hamburger, "that's 100 calories right there."
And leave off the mayo, or if you really have to have it, order your burger plain, get a packet and put it on yourself, conservatively.
"Have you seen how they'll slather it on? Just use a small portion of the packet," Graf said.
Get singles, not double patties and order the small fries and share. "One serving is only about 20 french fries," Graf said.
Also, beware the combo meal. "We Americans, we want our money's worth," Graf said. She remembers making a recent drive-through trip to Wendy's. "I only wanted a single and a large diet drink," she said, but the clerk convinced her to get the combo meal and just throw away the fries. "It was just a few cents' difference," Graf said, "but once you have them, they're hard to throw away. I did it, but not before I ate six fries."
DO THE MATH
Keep this equation in mind: one serving of fat is 5 grams and about 1 teaspoon. That equals 45 calories, so "anytime you can leave out 1 teaspoon of fat, you lower your calorie intake by 45 calories. That can add up," Graf said.
So how many calories should you stick to per day? In general, it's 10 calories per pound for weight maintenance for women; 12 calories per pound for men. If you weigh 140 pounds, that's 1,400 calories.
But if you want to lose weight, here's some more math to keep in mind if you're dieting: One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories, so to lose one pound a week, you have to eat 500 calories less per day.
More tips:
• Check the nutritional info on a fast-food chain's Web site before you head out, or once you're there, look to see if they have it posted on wall charts.
• Speak up. You don't HAVE to get special sauce. Most places will accommodate a special order.
• Choose grilled or roasted meats, not fried.
DON'T JUST SIT THERE
"The other side of this is everybody just needs to get more exercise," Graf said.
The average person burns 840 calories less today than in the 1940s partly because of all the conveniences we have.
Just think, Graf said, you don't have to walk across the room to change the channel, we don't hang our clothes on a line to dry them and we always drive to the store - "even if it's only a block away."
Start walking, Graf said. "Just to maintain your weight, you need to walk 10,000 steps a day. To lose weight, you need to walk 15,000 steps."
Jeanne Huff: 377-6483
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