Driving Thru a Diet

When it comes to dieting, fast food is always the enemy. It may be tempting because of the convenience, flavor, or affordability. Whatever the reasons are, fast food is a hazardous temptation for dieters. However, there are ways to balance the fast food temptations and your commitment to your diet.

Your Burger Make-Over

First off, let’s tackle hamburgers. I like to call this “your burger make-over”.  In general, hamburgers are something you should avoid. But if you decide to have one anyways, here are a few tips to make it do less damage. First off, get rid of the cheese. It’s loaded with unnecessary fats and oils. For example, at McDonald’s the difference between a hamburger and a cheeseburger is 50 calories, 3g fat (2.5g of which are saturated), 15mg cholesterol, and 230mg sodium. All of that can disappear just by removing the cheese.

Another method of improving your cheeseburger allows you to cut your carbs in half; simply throw away the top bun. If that gets a little messy though, then I would suggest putting your bottom bun on top to prevent condiments and toppings from spilling over. The top bun is usually bigger than the bottom one, so that’s the one you want to get rid of.

This brings us to the next way to make that hamburger healthier: condiments and toppings. Honestly, not having any condiments is the best choice to make. Instead, load up your sandwich with fresh vegetables, like lettuce and tomatoes. These will help your sandwich to have some nutritional value and assist with digestion.

Up Next Are French Fries

Even though they are made from potatoes, which are technically a vegetable, these are the biggest offenders. They are deep fried to the point of removing all nutritional value. The best way to diet with these is to simply avoid them. Most fast food places offer healthy alternatives, like salads and fruit. These are the best choice. However, if the day comes where you really want some and nothing else sounds good, order the smallest size available; this allows you to satisfy your cravings without destroying your diet, and as an added bonus, this usually only costs a dollar.

Now Let’s Cover Chicken

If it’s breaded, then you aren’t much better off than you would have been with the cheeseburger. However, grilled chicken is actually really good for you. It’s loaded with protein and doesn’t have all the carbs that breaded chicken has. And again, throwing away one of the buns is always a great way to cut even more carbs.

Care For a Beverage?

Finally, something to wash down the meal: soda. As yummy as it is, soda is always a bad choice. The carbonation will lower your blood oxygen level, and the sugar provides a lot of unneeded calories. So what is the best way to deal with this? Just drink water instead! It’s something your body is begging for, and plus it’s a lot cheaper than soda; usually fast food restaurants only make you pay for the cup. But if your stomach feels a little queasy and you really want some carbonation, then go for diet soda. That way you can at least cut the calories.

Well, that’s about it! Just making these small choices will really help you to not completely destroy your diet when a drive-thru comes along. So remember: toss the top bun, cut the catsup, lay on the lettuce, go for grilled, and drink plenty of water! Making these small choices will help your body to be a little healthier than it would have been if you ordered “the usual”. But make sure that for the most part you are eating home-cooked meals, as these are the key to a healthy diet.

[custom_author=Alyssa Staheli]