There are some phenomenal resources online. I recently stumbled across Chrissy’s (aka AberGirl) Food Guides on BodyBuilding.com. She has pulled together GREAT research on what options are the best of the bad when selecting fast food items. In a perfect world, we would all be able to fix healthy meals all day – unfortunately, that’s not always the reality. We all have hectic lives, and sometimes preparation is not an option.

So next time your tummy is rumbling and you have to eat, what do you choose when faced with the Golden Arches, the Eat More Chikin’ Cows or the red-haired, Old Fashioned girl? Here are Chrissy’s comprehensive tips & suggestions to help you make a more informed decision!

Tips to Avoid Dining Out

• When you cook, prepare enough food for meals later in the week and keep them frozen.  Carry them to work with you so that you always have meals available.
• Keep your home stocked with easy to prepare foods.  This reduces the chance of you being caught off guard and going out for “something easy”
• Use Meal Replacement bars and drinks, such as EAS Myoplex and LaBrada Lean Body

Tips To Remember When Dining Out

• Avoid dressings like oil and mayonnaise.
• Request that your food have no butter.
• Avoid cheeses.
• Avoid extra bread.  Most of it is very fast absorbing and has a high chance of being stored as fat.
• Keep an eye on portion size.
• Be careful when choosing sides such as French fries or other fried foods.
• Avoid fried foods
• When in doubt, choose grilled chicken breast
• Drink water instead of soda.  Soda has a ton of empty calories, and has a negative effect on blood sugar and insulin.
• Don’t think a salad is automatically lean.  Most salad dressings are VERY fattening, as is cheese (and bacon bits).  Choose the fat free versions of salad dressings.
• Make sure your chicken breast is boneless and skinless

To make this list, the foods have to be moderate in carbohydrates and protein, and relatively low in fat.

KFC Selections

1. Chicken Breast (no skin or breading)
   140 calories
   29g protein
   0g carbs
   3g fat
2. Green Beans
   50 calories
   2g protein
   7g carbs
   1.5g fat
3. Mashed Potatoes/Gravy
   130 calories
   2g protein
   18g carbs
   4.5g fat
   - much better without gravy!

Burger King Selections

1. Fire Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad (w/fat free honey mustard dressing)
   250 calories
   20g protein
   27g carbs
   10g fat
2. Chicken Whopper (no mayo)
   410 calories
   38g protein
   48g carbs
   7g fat

Taco Bell Selections

1. Chicken Ranchero Taco (Fresno Style)
   170 calories
   12g protein
   20g carbs
   4g fat
2. Pintos and Cheese
   180 calories
   10g protein
   20g carbs
   7g fat

Subway/Quizno’s/Schlotzki’s/Blimpie Selections
All 4 of these restaurants are very similar and often similar choices.  Here are a few tips for eating at these restaurants.

• Avoid the cheese
• Don’t eat the large sandwiches (12”, 14”, etc.) in one sitting.  Eat half and save the rest for later
• Avoid oils and mayo
• Avoid salad dressings
• Eat lean meats like turkey, ham, and roast beef.  Avoid the steaks, bacon, salami, bologna, etc.
• Don’t be fooled by “Atkins Friendly” foods.  These are usually very high in fat.
• Try double turkey breast and double ham!
• Again, avoid sodas and fruit drinks.  Water has zero calories!

McDonalds Selections

1. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (Newman’s Own Low Fat Vinegarette)
   240 calories
   29g protein
   13g carbs
   9g fat
2. Chicken McGrill
   345 calories
   27g protein
   47g carbs
   4.5g fat
3. Best Breakfast Choices
   Egg McMuffin: 300 calories, 12g fat, 30g carbs, 18g protein
   Sausage Burrito: 300 calories, 16g fat, 26g carbs, 12g protein
4. Best Snack Choices
   Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait: 160 calories, 2g fat, 31g carbs, 4g protein
   *Note: Taking out the granola would save 30 calories, and 6g carbs

Taco Cabana Selections

1. ¼ Grilled Chicken White (No Skin)
   167 calories
   35g protein
   0g carbs
   1.7g fat
2. Chicken Fajita Meat (white) – Avoid the sour cream and cheese!
   190 calories
   30.4g protein
   3.2g carbs
   6.2g fat
3. Tortilla (1ea)
   129 calories
   3.2g protein
   21.7g carbs
   3.3g fat
4. Borracho Beans
   108 calories
   4g protein
   17g carbs
   2.5g fat
5. Refried Beans
   171 calories
   7g protein
   21g carbs
   6g fat

Whataburger Selections

1. Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Special Request – small bun, no bun oil, w/MLT)
   334 calories
   28g protein
   37g carbs
   8g fat

Chick-Fil-A Selections

1. Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich on wheat
   410 Calories
   28g Protein
   38g Carbs
   13g Fat
2. Char grilled Chicken Sandwich (no sauce, no bacon)
   270 calories
   28g protein
   33g carbs
   3.5g fat
3. Southwest grilled chicken Salad
   Calories 360
   Fat 8 g
   Saturated Fat 3.5 g
   Sodium 1,170 mg
   Protein:15G
   Fiber 5G

Wendy’s Selections

1. Caesar Chicken Salad:
   190 calories
   5g fat
   9g carbs
   27g protein
   *Note: Don’t add the croutons and don’t use the provided salad dressing
2. Mandarin Chicken Salad:
   170 calories
   2g fat
   18g carbs
   23g protein
   *Note: Don’t add crispy noodles, you can add roasted almonds if you want (130 more calories), and don’t use the provided salad dressing.
   Salad Dressings: I suggest Fat Free Ranch, Reduced Fat Creamy Ranch, Low Fat Honey Mustard, or Italian Vinaigrette
3. Ultimate Grill Chicken Sandwich:
   370 calories
   8g fat
   44g carbs
   33g protein
4. Best Snack Choices
   Low Fat Strawberry Flavored Yogurt: 140 calories, 10g fat, 27g carbs, 6g protein
   *Note: adding the granola topping will add 110 calories, 4.5g fat, 15g carbs, 2g protein
5. Large Chili
   300 Calories
   25g protein
   31g carbs
   7g fat

Pizza Hut Selections
*Note: Pizza is healthiest without fatty meats and with tons of healthy vegetable toppings.
*Warning: Watch out for Pizza Hut’s breadsticks (150 calories, 6g fat, 20g carbs, 4g protein), hot wings, and mozzarella sticks. These sides can pack on the calories very quickly.

1. Fit’N Delicious Carb Tracker Pizza Pepperoni & Mushrooms: 4
   90 calories
   25g fat
   39g carbs
   26g protein
   *Note: This is for the entire pizza
2. Fit’N Delicious Lower Fat Pizzas Tomatoes Mushrooms & Jalapeno peppers:
   140 calories
   4g fat
   21g carbs
   6g protein
   *Note: This is for one large slice out of a 14” pizza
3. Best Snack Choices – If you have a sweet tooth and are looking for something in Pizza Hut, why not try some cinnamon sticks?
   Cinnamon Sticks (2): 97 calories, 2.9g fat, 15.4g carbs, 2.3g protein
   *Warning: Avoid the white icing dipping cup

Arby’s Selections

1. Chicken Filet Sandwich (no mayo):
   309 calories
   6g fat
   36g carbs
   31g protein
2. Super Roast Beef (w/o Red Ranch Dressing):
   322 calories
   5g fat
   35g carbs
   20g protein
   *Note: the reason why this is a better version of the roast beef if you take out the dressing is that it has tomato and lettuce
3. Martha’s Vineyard Salad:
   276 calories
   8g fat
   24g carbs
   26g protein
4. Santa Fe Salad w/ Grilled Chicken:
   283 calories
   9g fat
   20g carbs
   29g protein
   *Note: Ahh! The salad dressings at Arby’s are scary. Best Choice? Request the Light Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (112 calories, 6 g fat, 13g carbs, 1g protein)
5. Ham and Cheese Croissant (w/cheese):
   274 calories
   12g fat
   22g carbs
   13g protein
   *Note: taking out the Swiss cheese will save you 41 calories

It’s three weeks into the New Year, and by now, many of your are no doubt having second thoughts on your ability to exceed the challenges ahead of you. If fitness, health or weight loss are on your agenda, here are some helpful tips to keep you moving forward.

1. Eliminate junk food. Most fast food restaurants, along with most pastries and processed foods, contain high amounts of fat, sodium and sugar (usually simple sugars). The consumption of these foods will do little for your energy, except promote a high then a low in your blood sugar levels. In addition they offer high levels of fat, usually of the saturated type. And they quite often contain large amounts of water-retaining sodium. None of these qualities are beneficial to any type of athlete or individual.
2. Drink eight to ten glasses of water each day, or more (I personally drink a LOT more – over 3 gallons per day). This will ensure you are replacing fluids lost during exercise. You need not wait until you are thirsty. By then, you are in a depleted state. Drink these glasses of water throughout a day’s time, not all at once.
3. Determine your daily protein requirements. Proteins that include the essential amino acids (those that your body does not manufacture) are of utmost importance. Protein powder provides a great means to obtaining additional quality protein. And remember, proteins are best assimilated when accompanied by some carbohydrates. Where do you start? Try 1 gram per pound of body weight.
4. Consume high fiber foods. Not only does high fiber in your diet help in the reduction of cholesterol, it also makes fats less likely to be absorbed into your body.
5. Exercise to increase your lean body weight. The more lean weight you have, the more efficient your body moves and the higher your metabolism, even at rest. By increasing your lean body weight, your bones become more dense and your muscles, tendons and ligaments become stronger. The great side effect of all this is that it’s easier to avoid getting fat. Remember, bigger muscles burn more calories than little ones. You DO NOT want to lose lean body mass!

If you aren’t already, whether your goal is to lose fat or gain muscle, you should be eating smaller meals every 2-3 hours! Eating at regular increments:

• Increases metabolism
• Gives your body a constant supply of nutrients
• Keeps your blood sugar stable and alleviates the post-meal “crashes” (ever feel lethargic after lunch?) since you’re not spiking your insulin
• Keeps you relatively saturated and stops you from eating a huge amount at one time, which is an easy way to cause your body to store fat
• Gives encouragement! When you get hungry, you know that you’re going to be eating again in a very short time! No more waiting 6-7 hours between meals!

You should always eat at least five meals a day. Two or three meals simply isn’t often enough. If your muscles don’t get the calories they need, how are they going to keep going? By CANNIBALIZING (eating) muscle tissue! That’s the same muscle tissue you spent hours training to get.

On the other hand, overeating even one meal a day keeps the fat-building enzymes in your body more numerous to turn the excess food into body fat. Always ask yourself, “What will I be doing over the next 3 hours?” and eat based around your activities. If you’re going to be busting your tail in the gym, you’d eat more than you would if you were going to sleep.

Remember, when you overeat at a meal, the excess calories get stored as fat. So, if you skip a meal, do not eat to make up for it, eat for what you are going to be doing.

Good luck and hang in there! If you “fall off the wagon,” you have 11 more months ahead of you to reach your fitness goals. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.