Fast Food February
by Journey to Health Program Director, Becky Anderson
I cannot believe it’s already February. As I was working on topics for my weekly messages, it seems I have found myself in a fast-food drive thru more times than I care to admit. That led me to think that there would be many others in the same situation, so I wanted to offer some guidance rather than have a mentality of “avoidance.”
To be clear, having a game plan is always better than flying blind. It’s ideal to have some healthy snacks or a healthy meal packed and on hand when hunger sets in. BUT, we all know that that is not always possible. So, when fast food is inevitable, I would like for each of you to have an order ready to roll out rather than cruise the menu. If you can select 8-10 of the most popular fast-food restaurants in your area, make sure to have something you can order that will keep you on a good track. Probably not perfect, but as good as possible. Do NOT look at the menu when your turn comes.
You can get online (or use the restaurant app) to see the menu. A lot of times those will have the nutritional breakdown also. Just make sure to pick something that won’t send your healthy lifestyle choices into a negative spin. Here are some examples:
*Burger King–A single cheeseburger. Per serving: 301 calories, 13 g fat (6 g sat fat), 30 g carbs, 7 g sugar, 782 g sodium, 1 g fiber, 16 g protein.
*Jimmy John’s–Turkey Tom #4. Per serving: 240 calories, 10 g fat (1.5 g sat fat), 24 g carbs, 1 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 580 mg sodium, 12 g protein.
*Starbucks–Egg white roasted red pepper bites. Per serving: 170 calories, 8 g fat (5 g sat fat), 11 g carbs, 3 g sugar, 470 mg sodium, 12 g protein.
*Taco Bell–soft taco. Per serving: 180 calories, 8 g fat (4 g sat fat), 18 g carbs, 1 g sugar, 3 g fiber, 490 mg sodium, 9 g protein.
*McDonalds–Classic Cheeseburger. Per serving: 300 calories, 13 g fat (6 g sat fat), 32 g carbs, 7 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 720 mg sodium, 15 g protein.
*Wendy’s–Apple pecan chicken salad. Per serving: 450 calories, 24 g fat (10 g sat fat), 28 g carbs, 19 g sugar, 6 g fiber, 1170 mg sodium, 31 g protein.
The list goes on and on. It was VERY simple for me to find these examples for you, so I know you can do it too. My take-away is this—if it’s important enough for you to stay on track, you can take the time to find the healthiest option possible at a fast-food drive thru. We all live in a fast-paced lifestyle, so we have to make adjustments to it to stay as healthy as possible. AND, at the end of the day, if you chose something that wasn’t the healthiest, put it behind you and move on.
You got this! Happy February!!
