If you’re trying to lose weight, one of the challenges you’ll face is what to do for those moments when you’re at a fast food restaurant.
The offerings at these establishments are usually incredibly high in calories. A Big Mac meal at McDonald’s can set you back 1,300 calories. Dime! If your calorie goal for the day is 2,400 calories, that’s more than half of your daily calories in a single meal.
The standard advice for people trying to lose weight is to simply avoid fast food restaurants altogether. And with a little preparation, forward thinking and good decision making, you can achieve this most of the time.
But not 100% of the time. Sometimes, life throws a wrench in your plans.
Maybe you’re on a road trip and your friends decide to stop at Carl’s Jr. for lunch.
Maybe your kid’s soccer team decided to go to Chick-fil-A for dinner after the game.
Maybe you’re really pressed for time and need to grab something quick on the way from work to another engagement.
What should we do?
So, what if I told you that you don’t have to choose between comfort and your fitness goals? You can have your fast food burger and eat it while watching your weight loss.
When you want to lose weight, you want to choose foods that are lower in calories and higher in satisfying, muscle-building proteins.
Fortunately, most fast food restaurants now offer options that meet these criteria. With a little creativity, you can easily choose meals at almost all major fast food restaurants that will give you 30+ grams of protein (which is a good minimum goal for a meal) and only about 600 calories.
Below, we provide some suggestions for meals that meet these metrics that can be found at five popular fast food restaurants. One thing to keep in mind is that while you can cut calories in fast food orders, it’s hard to cut sodium. These will be sodium bombs. So they’re not great for everyday eating, but they’ll do in no time.
Whether you’re looking to shed a few pounds or maintain your hard-earned gains, this guide will show you how to navigate the pitfalls of fast food menus and stay on track with your goals.
General Guidelines to Keep Your Fast-Food Meals Lower in Calories
Before we get into specific meals, here are some general guidelines that will allow you to keep your meals lower in calories, regardless of which fast food outlet you visit:
- Food tracking apps like MyFitnessPal are your friend. I use the app all the time when I’m at fast food restaurants. Quickly look up the calorie and macro counts of foods and put together your meal with that information.
- Choose baked over fried.
- Choose lean proteins. While you can still enjoy a beef patty, protein sources like turkey or chicken breast are generally lower in calories.
- Ask for extra protein. Adding extra protein, such as extra meat, can help increase satiety while keeping calories low.
- Skip the potatoes. If you’re looking for a side, get fruit or a salad. Also, hot take: fries aren’t that good anyway!
- Skip the high-fat sauces, gravies and condiments. Ask for lower calorie options instead.
- Load up on veggies. Saturation is partially based on volume. Calorie dense foods will not fill you up and leave you hungry. To increase your volume and nutrition, add low-calorie vegetables to your meals, such as extra lettuce, tomatoes and onions.
- Choose water or sugar-free drinks such as diet sodas.
Finally, don’t be afraid to indulge in a high-calorie fast food meal every now and then. I like to get a double cheeseburger occasionally. You can simply adjust your macros and calories accordingly and eat less the rest of the day. Or just chalk it up to an abnormal treat and go back to your diet the next day. You don’t have to eat perfectly 100% of the time to lose weight and stay healthy.
Fast food meals that are 600 calories or less with more than 30 grams of protein
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is a tough place to get a high-protein, low-calorie meal. They used to offer grilled chicken and salad options here in the States, but they got rid of them in 2020.
You can still get a meal that’s just over 500 calories and 30 grams of protein by pairing a McDouble burger with an order of McNuggets.
McDouble + 4-Count McNuggets
- On the burger, ask for no cheese and extra pickles, lettuce and onion for added bulk.
Total calories: 530 (If you don’t eat the burger bun, you can deduct an additional 100 calories.)
Protein: 30 grams
Fat: 27 grams
Carbohydrates: 43 grams
Taco Bell
Want to live Más but without all the extra calories? Try the Cantina Chicken Bowl at Taco Bell. Choose broiled chicken instead of grilled chicken to keep the calories low but the protein high.
Cantina Grilled Chicken Bowl
- Ask for three servings of grilled chicken.
- Ask for it without rice and without avocado ranch dressing
- Stick to low-fat black beans, cheese and sour cream.
- Ask for extra lettuce, pico de gallo and kale for added bulk.
- Use hot sauce packets to add flavor.
Total calories: 460
Protein: 56 grams
Fat: 18 grams
Carbohydrates: 20 grams
Chick-fil-A
Boy, do I love Chick-fil-A. My usual choice is the spicy chicken sandwich with extra pickles. I usually have two of these as a meal.
If I know I’ll be eating Chick-fil-A for dinner, I’ll cut back on my other meals during the day to make room in my macro budget for those two spicy chicken sandwiches.
But sometimes we have nights where we get Chick-fil-A out of the blue and the regular order of two-punch sandwiches would put me over my calorie count for the day.
Luckily, Chick-fil-A offers some delicious, high-protein, lower-calorie roast options.
Here’s an order with just 420 calories and 50 grams of protein.
Grilled Chicken Cool wrap + 4-Count Grilled Chicken Bites
- Use buffalo sauce to add some low-calorie flavor.
Total calories: 420
Protein: 50 grams
Fat: 15 grams
Carbohydrates: 30 grams
Panda Express
Many Chinese foods are full of fat. But you can get a solid meal at Panda Express that has a total of 600 calories and 72(!) grams of protein.
Plate Meal: 2 servings of Teriyaki Grilled Chicken + 1 serving of Super Greens
Total calories: 600
Protein: 72 grams
Fat: 30.5
Carbohydrates: 25 grams
Underpass
Sandwiches are a great fast food option if you’re looking for something high in protein, but lower in calories. At almost any sandwich chain, you can create a custom sandwich that’s filled with hearty, lean meats like chicken or turkey and lots of hearty, hearty veggies.
Subway isn’t the tastiest of sandwich chains, in my opinion (we’re bigger fans of Jersey Mike’s around here), but its outposts are everywhere. Here’s an example of a nutritionally dense sammy to get you there:
Grilled chicken sandwich
- 6 inch artisan bread
- 3 servings of grilled chicken
- 2 servings of provolone
- Lettuce, tomato, onion (ask for extra)
- Sweet teriyaki sauce
Total calories: 540
Protein: 70 grams
Fat: 16 grams
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Allowing fast food on your weight loss journey isn’t just about damage control — it’s about creating a sustainable strategy for long-term success.
By being flexible with your diet, you’ll have a better chance of sticking to it in the long run. Research shows that a flexible approach to eating, allowing yourself to enjoy a variety of foods—yes, even fast food—can lead to better compliance and, ultimately, better results.
