The convenience of fast food remains as attractive on a low-carbohydrate diet as it did before you started your plan, but some menu items can sink your meal plan with large carb counts. You can still enjoy the convenience of fast food while remaining on your low-carb plan. Use McDonald's nutritional information to assemble a low-carbohydrate meal from the restaurant's available options and avail yourself of their salad options to fulfill your vegetable needs.
Salads
Picking a suitable low-carb salad at McDonald's means planning your condiment and chicken choices carefully. If you eat McDonald's meal salads as the restaurant prepares them, you could consume as few as 10g of net carbohydrates or as many as 40g. Steer clear of crispy chicken as a topper; McDonald's crispy chicken contains 15g of carbohydrates per serving. Croutons come in a separate package, so leave them off and save another 10g of carbs. The restaurant serves a selection of dressings, but you'll find the fewest carbs in their Newman's Own Low-fat Balsamic Vinaigrette at 3g per packet. The Creamy Caesar dressing comes in only slightly higher at 4g per serving. The company's salads all contain about 6g of carbs in the lettuce and other non-starchy vegetables. A Premium Bacon Ranch salad with grilled chicken, no croutons and creamy Caesar dressing comes in at just under 14g of carbohydrates.
Burgers
Almost all of the carbohydrates in a McDonald's hamburger of any type come from the bun. The Big Mac's triple bun weighs in at 39g of carbohydrates, while a standard Quarter Pounder bun contains 31g of carbs. The lowest-carb option is to eat your burger without the bun. Ask for extra lettuce and use the leaves as a wrapper for the meat or request a fork. According to the company's posted nutrition information, an Angus Deluxe patty contains fewer than a gram of carbohydrates, while a Quarter Pounder patty contains 1g of carbs. Each standard cheese slice contains another 1g of carbohydrates, while the larger slices on Angus Deluxe burgers contain 3g of carbs. The special sauce on a Big Mac adds 2g of carbs to the meal; mayonnaise and mustard add negligible carbs.
Other Sandwiches
Grilled chicken typically contains few carbohydrates, and McDonald's' version follows suit with only 1g of carbs per chicken fillet. Like their burger counterparts, chicken and Filet-o-Fish sandwich buns contain between 30g and 40g of carbs depending on the size of the sandwich you order. Filet-o-Fish patties have breading, but their small size keeps them to 9g of carbohydrates per serving. All the Snack Wraps at McDonald's include a flour tortilla at 22g of carbs per wrap and go up from there, so it's best to skip these if you're eating low-carb foods. The McRib, by contrast, contains only 2g of carbs for the pressed pork patty and another 9g for the sauce. If you leave off the 33g of carbs in the bun, you'll get a substantial serving of protein and assuage a barbecue craving for 11g of carbs. Combine that with a salad and go light on the dressing to come in under 20g of carbohydrates in the meal.
High-carb Choices
To stay within a limited carbohydrate budget, skip the fries, shakes and desserts McDonald's offers. A single 32-ounce Triple-Thick chocolate shake contains 203g of carbohydrates. The McCafe line of coffee-based drinks range from 88g of carbohydrates on up; skip them if you're going low-carb. Breakfast items are similarly high in carbohydrates. If you find yourself at McDonald's for breakfast and must find a low-carb option, order a Steak, Egg and Cheese Bagel without the bagel to pare away 49g of the sandwich's total 56g of carbs. The Fruit and Maple Oatmeal may look diet-friendly, but its 290 calories include 57g of carbs, so the dish may not fit with your carbohydrate budget.
Nutrition Concerns
While keeping your carbohydrate intake low is one of the foundations of your low-carb plan, it's also important to choose a variety of foods that contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber for optimal health. Ask for extra lettuce and tomato with your sandwich order to ensure that you get additional vitamin C and fiber in your diet. Salads are a good choice as well. If you stick with a sandwich, consider how your fast-food meal fits into the rest of your plan and balance a lunch low in vegetables with a breakfast or dinner rich in nutritious vegetables.
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