How To Enjoy Fast Food While Sticking To Your Weight Loss Diet

We all know that fast food isn't very good for us. And when we're on a weight loss diet, we know that it's a bad idea to indulge in this kind of food if we also want to lose some extra weight.

But we all still love fast food and for good reason: It tastes good!

But did you know that a lot of that good taste is created purely from fat and salt?

Listen: You can still have fast food and lose weight. You can even stick to your diet, and have the occasional fast food...

But it’s a good idea to be aware of what you're adding to your diet.

So in this article, we will examine some of the most popular fast food meals served up by the most popular fast food restaurants.

Let’s start with McDonalds.

McDonald's was the original super size meal producer. And their food also has a super size serving of fat.

The Big Mac has 540 calories and 34 grams of fat. This sure is a lot of calories for just a burger.

A better alternative would be to have a hamburger and a side salad instead. You'll be just as satisfied (and you can make it taste just as good, or even better). You'll also have saved about 200 calories, too.

If you're hungry for dessert, pass on the McFlurry and have a plain vanilla ice cream cone for an additional 300 calorie savings. By saving this many calories, you can even afford to add some luxuries to your ice cream for some added flavor and indulgence – and still save on those calories.

Next, we have Burger King.

Burger King's Double Whopper with cheese has an astonishing 990 calories and 64 grams of fat. Do you realize that's almost an entire day's worth of calories packed into just one small meal?

Just about anything on the menu would be a better choice.

If you want a hamburger have the Whopper Jr. sandwich with no mayo for only 290 calories and 12 grams of fat. It’s about two thirds less calories and fat, as well as being healthier and just as tasty – if not more. This means you can still enjoy the occasional fast food meal.

Next, there’s KFC.

KFC has fried as its middle name – which already doesn’t bode well for weight loss diets.

As you probably already know, fried foods are notoriously high in fat and calories. Just three crispy strips are 400 calories and 24 grams of fat.

A better idea is to have the tender roast chicken instead for 250 calories but only 11grams of fat. Side dishes can pack on the pounds as well. Surprisingly the mashed potatoes and gravy at 130 calories and 4.5 grams of fat is a better choice than the coleslaw with 190 cal and 11 grams of fat. You weren’t expecting that one, were you?

But pizza is much healthier than fast food, right?

Sorry, but Pizza Hut isn't a much better.

Pizza is often contains a lot of cheese. And cheese has a very high level of fat. The Veggie Lovers pizza has 500 calories per serving and 23 grams of fat while the Meat Lovers pizza has 760 calories and 41 grams of fat. So stick with your veggie pizzas if you can. They are really just as delicious, and usually have even more variety of flavors.

Calories, salt, and fats are the stable of most fast food. Many fast food restaurants are starting to include the nutritional value of the menu items, which is great to help you decide on something healthier to eat, whilst still sticking to your weight loss diet. You may have to ask for this though.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular items are the most damaging when you're trying to lose weight. But there should always be a few tasty and healthy alternatives.

If you regularly visit particular fast food restaurants, it’s certainly worth the time and effort to find out which dishes are healthy and which should be avoided while you’re dieting.

Nowadays, using your computer and the internet, you can go online and find the website of just about every major fast food franchise. If they don't have the nutritional value of the menu on their site, and most do, you can simply email them to enquire.

Knowing ahead of time which menu items fit in with your diet plan will help you stick to your weight loss goals, while still enjoying the occasional splurge on some fast food.