While many fast food meals owe their lofty calorie counts to fatty meats and sauces, side orders can send calorie totals into orbit. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, a 16 oz. chocolate milk shake has 423 calories, a large French fries, 539, and 32-oz. cola, 411. Some serving sizes take an even larger bite out of the daily 2,000 calorie average recommended by the FDA. If you regularly exceed this limit from eating drive through meals, follow the American Heart Association's advice and start out toward a healthy diet by stopping the super-sized orders and add-ons.
Submarine Sandwiches
One of the highest-calorie fast food meals begins with fish, which has its place in a healthy diet -- before added fat enters the picture. Six-inch tuna salad submarine sandwiches contain 584 calories, according to the USDA. The mayonnaise carries as many calories per tablespoon, at 99, as a 3-oz. portion of tuna. The roll and any add-ons are extra, and you can double your calorie count if you eat a foot-long sandwich. Choosing a single type of meat, with oil-and-vinegar rather than mayo, will reduce totals.
Burgers
The USDA suggests meat 3-oz. meat portions in a healthy diet, which even single quarter-pound burgers may exceed after cooking. A regular, or "junior," double-patty hamburger delivers as much as 576 calories. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that adding 1 oz. of cheese alone costs dieters 100 calories. Adding another high-calorie beef patty or bacon drives the totals even higher.
Tacos
Fast food tacos grab calories from many food groups, starting with fried corn tortillas. Any combination of ground beef, sauce, refried beans, cheese, guacamole and sour cream may contribute to the high calorie total of 571 per one large taco, as reported by the USDA. Similar detriments to a healthy diet come from other fried choices on Mexican menus, such as chimichangas and chalupas. The fried chips in taco salads make these meals caloric, with at least 279 calories in 1 1/2 cups, the USDA notes. Fried fish and chicken sandwiches on American menus hold even greater threats, due to the additional calories in breading.
Breakfast Sandwiches
Fast food breakfast sandwiches can derail your diet if you choose the biscuit, egg and sausage variety. Its 562 calories come from the high fat content in every ingredient -- and that's without adding cheese or a side of fried potatoes. The ADA suggests swapping the high-calorie biscuit for an English muffin. Having no meat or using the lower-fat Canadian bacon will reduce those unhealthy calorie totals.
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