Fast food restaurants are typically not waist-line friendly, but if you are aware of things to avoid and which choices may be healthier options, you can find something to eat on the menu that won't destroy your diet. Many times, simply by asking for salad dressing on the side, grilled chicken instead of fried, and choosing smaller portions, you can save on calories and fat.
McDonald's
Those golden arches may look good when you are hungry, but depending on what you order, the nutritional content may not look as good. A regular hamburger has 250 calories and 9 g of fat, but a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese packs a whopping 740 calories and 42 g of fat. A grilled Honey Mustard Snack Wrap contains 260 calories and 9 g of fat, and a Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich has 420 calories and 10 g of fat. A large order of french fries has 500 calories and 25 g of fat, and a 10-piece chicken McNugget order contains 460 calories and 29 g of fat. Salads may be a healthier choice, depending on the type you get and the dressing; a Premium Southwest Salad without chicken has 140 calories and 4.5 grams of fat, but a Premium Southwest Salad with crispy chicken contains 430 calories and 20 fat grams.
Chick-Fil-A
A 12-count nugget pack from Chick-Fil-A contains 400 calories and 18 g of fat, but the Chargrilled Chicken sandwich only has 290 calories and 4 g of fat. A large order of waffle fries packs an additional 400 calories and 21 g of fat; a healthier choice would be a side salad, containing 70 calories and 4.5 g of fat. The Chargrilled Chicken Salad has only 180 calories and 6 g of fat, but adding croutons adds two more grams of fat, and adding sunflower seeds adds 7 g of fat.
Wendy's
A triple hamburger with cheese at Wendy's contains a diet-busting 1,030 calories and 63 g of fat; a healthier choice if you are craving a cheeseburger would be a Junior Cheeseburger that has only 270 calories and 11 g of fat. A five piece order of spicy chicken nuggets has 230 calories and 15 g of fat and a large order of fries contains 520 calories and 25 g of fat. Unfortunately, the salads are not good choices for dieters, with the healthiest salad being the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, with 580 calories and 27 g of fat; to the Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad, containing 750 calories and 49 g of fat.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Although the restaurant's name has the word "fried" in it, there are healthier, grilled alternatives on this menu. If you want fried chicken, the Double Down chicken sandwich with original recipe chicken contains 620 calories and 37 g of fat, but if you get the same sandwich with grilled chicken, it is 480 calories and 25 g of fat. An order of three Crispy Strips is 340 calories and 11 fat grams, but a grilled chicken fillet is only 140 calories and 3 g of fat. The Caesar side salad without croutons or dressing has 40 calories and 2 g of fat, and the Grilled Chicken BLT salad without dressing has 230 calories and 8 g of fat.
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