Ode to Fast Food

Fast food does not make you fat.

Take that statement in for a moment. Process it in your well oiled mind.

Fast food does not make you fat. You will not gain weight simply by eating fast food.

Think about that for a moment.

I know what you're thinking. What do you mean it doesn't make people fat. It's covered in grease, cheese, and oils!

Yes it is. And it tastes good. But think about calories in and calories out for a moment. Whether you're following a 1200 or a 2000 calorie diet you can eat fast food. Is it healthy? Well it depends on how you create your meal. But as long as you have calories for it you can eat it.

As a general rule of thumb, I like to stick to around 400 calories for a typical meal that I eat out. This includes breakfasts out or lunch a Burger King. You can put your limit more around 500 or 600 depending on how many calories you are allotted.

Let me repeat this one more time and add something a little extra.

Fast food does not make you fat your choices are what make you fat.

That's right. Remember when those girls tried to sue McDonald's because they claimed it made them fat? Did McDonald's forced feed them burgers and fries? Did they make the girls come into the restaurant and buy their food? Was McDonald's the only source for food for them? Let's stop right there. What if it was? There are two well known documentaries that focus on eating McDonald's for a month, Supersize Me and Fathead. Each documentary approaches the subject of nutrition at McDonald's a different way. In Supersize me Morgan Spurlock ordered everything on the menu at least once during the month. If he was asked if he would like to supersize it he did. There are a number of scenes where he throw up because of they quantity of the foods is too much for his stomach. At the end of his experiment he not surprisingly gained weight and had some other side effects.

Let's look at the case of Fathead now. Just like Morgan Spurlock, (he) ate McDonald's for a month, but with a few modifications. He ate within his calories and reduced his carb intake to just 100 grams. He exercised as well. At the end he "magically" lost weight, During the documentary he interviews people on the street seeing if that know that a certain burger was high in calories. All most all of them did.

With out doing any further, Fathead highlights that eating fast food is a choice and with that choice comes with the choice of what you choose to eat there. In this day and age healthy choices and restaurants are everywhere. So if you eat within a reasonable amount of calories for your fast food meal you won't gain weight. Yes this does not mean you can go out and order two Whoppers with fries, but you can treat yourself to something indulgent and not worry about it.
Take the case of my Rodeo burger on Monday. I know that Whoppers in general are bad news. If I had previously known that I was going to ride my bike I would have allowed myself to eat something more caloric because it would fit into my calorie budget. Fast food meals appear in my weekly food about twice a week. And even if I didn't know I would be eating fast food my 400 calorie rule is a really good rule of thumb for me.
Four hundred calories can get me various combinations from Burger King. Entrees for example:
Rodeo burger
Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe
Whopper Jr (with & without cheese)
Cheeseburger (and the double)
Hamburger (and the double)
Tendergrill Sandwhich w/o mayo
Chicken Nuggets 6 pc
Chicken Tenders 3 pc
Big Fish Sandwich w/o mayo
Veggie Burger w/o mayo
The salads are great too. Just watch the dressing and try to use only half the packet. For sides I suggest a side salad or if you're splurging a value or small fry. So my lunch for Monday was a Rodeo burger with a side salad and about 1 tbs of the apple cider vinaigrette dressing. The total calories came to a little over 400 according to the nutritional calculator on their website. The side said supposedly was 70 calories because of the cheese, but their was only about a tablespoon on there.
Fast food can be apart of a healthy diet. Just know what your options are to fit into your caloric intake and you wont gain weight. When it comes down to it the choice is yours to make if you rather eat wisely.