Society can shape us both literally and figuratively, and the fast food calories that surround us are doing most of the damage. With so many of us on the go, the convenience of fast food has crept into almost all of our demanding lives. But this “fast food” can quickly put our health and fitness in jeopardy if we’re not careful. If you have started counting calories or are trying to watch what you eat, the tables below can help you make some better choices at some of the more popular fast food restaurants. With just a couple of good decisions, you can avoid the fast food calorie build-up in your diet and be happier and healthier as a result.
The tables below include menu items from McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Dominos. And while these are just a few of the many fast food restaurants out there, they seem to cover the majority of food-types that you’ll find when you eat out. No matter where you end up eating, here are a few general tips that you can follow to cut fast food calories while you’re out:
Beverage Choice: The drink that you choose can add a lot of calories to your meal if you’re not careful. The amount of sugar in soda and juices for a large (32 oz.) drink is over 300 calories. That’s substantial! Consider water, coffee, tea, or a diet drink to avoid all of those empty calories. See the table below for calories in your favorite drinks:
Beverages
1% Low Fat Milk Jug
1 carton
100
2.5
1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk Jug
1 carton
170
3
Minute Maid Apple Juice Box
6.8 fl oz
90
0
Orange Juice (Small)
12 fl oz
140
0
Orange Juice (Medium)
16 fl oz
180
0
Orange Juice (Large)
21 fl oz
250
0
Coca-Cola Classic (Child)
12 fl oz
110
0
Coca-Cola Classic (Small)
16 fl oz
150
0
Coca-Cola Classic (Medium)
21 fl oz
210
0
Coca-Cola Classic (Large)
32 fl oz
310
0
Diet Coke (Child)
12 fl oz
0
0
Diet Coke (Small)
16 fl oz
0
0
Diet Coke (Medium)
21 fl oz
0
0
Diet Coke (Large)
32 fl oz
0
0
Sprite (Child)
12 fl oz
110
0
Sprite (Small)
16 fl oz
150
0
Sprite (Medium)
21 fl oz
210
0
Sprite (Large)
32 fl oz
310
0
Hi-C Orange Lavaburst (Child)
12 fl oz
120
0
Hi-C Orange Lavaburst (Small)
16 fl oz
160
0
Hi-C Orange Lavaburst (Medium)
21 fl oz
240
0
Hi-C Orange Lavaburst (Large)
32 fl oz
350
0
POWERade Mountain Blast (Child)
12 fl oz
70
0
POWERade Mountain Blast (Small)
16 fl oz
100
0
POWERade Mountain Blast (Medium)
21 fl oz
150
0
POWERade Mountain Blast (Large)
32 fl oz
220
0
Iced Tea (Child)
12 fl oz
0
0
Iced Tea (Small)
16 fl oz
0
0
Iced Tea (Medium)
21 fl oz
0
0
Iced Tea (Large)
32 fl oz
0
0
Coffee (Small)
12 fl oz
0
0
Coffee (Large)
16 fl oz
0
0
Side Orders: Most of us stop at a fast food place when we’re really hungry…almost ravenous. That hunger usually has us order all sorts of foods while we wait the 2-3 minutes in line. Fries…onion rings…rolls…cookies…chips…all of this junk adds up and can easily add another 300 calories or more to our meal for each of these items. I’ll admit that most of these things are tasty, but when I’m trying to lose a few pounds, it’s the first thing I cut.
Salads: Now you’re probably wondering what I could possibly say negative about “salad”. As far as fast food calories are concerned, salad is a great choice. You can get a salad entrée with grilled chicken for less than 300 calories. But if you’re going to add the creamy dressing and croutons, you would have been better off with the quarter pounder! Those tasty salad toppings add up and what can appear like a healthy choice can end up being a high-calorie meal.
Size Matters!: It may not cost you much money to “Super Size”…but it adds on quite a few calories. The fast food calories from super-sizing alone could take you a few miles of running to burn off! Try to resist the urge for the extra French fries and Coke, and you’ll save yourself much more than just the $0.69!
Slow Down: Eating fast food slow may seem like an oxymoron, but it gives your stomach time to register with the brain that its full. I usually eat quick and it’s times like that when I go back to the fast food counter and get more of their fatty foods. Eating slow can help you eat less and at a fast food place…that can be a good thing!
The table below shows the fast food calories and fat grams for some of the more popular menu items at McDonalds. As you can see items like salad and snack wraps are the healthier meal choices. Watch out for the fries and beverage, though, and try to avoid the milk shakes and desserts if you want to watch your calories.
McDONALD'S
Size
Calories
Fat (g)
Hamburger
3.5 oz
250
9
Cheeseburger
4 oz
300
12
Double Cheeseburger
5.8 oz
440
23
Quarter Pounder
6 oz
410
19
Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
7 oz
510
26
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese
9.8 oz
740
42
Big Mac
7.5 oz
540
29
Big N' Tasty
7.2 oz
460
24
Big N' Tasty with Cheese
7.7 oz
510
28
Filet-O-Fish
5.1 oz
380
18
McChicken
5.2 oz
360
16
Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich
7.9 oz
420
10
Premium Crispy Chicken Classic Sandwich
8.1 oz
500
17
Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich
9.1 oz
570
21
Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich
9.3 oz
660
28
Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich
8.6 oz
520
16
Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich
8.8 oz
600
23
Snack Wrap with Ranch
4.1 oz
330
16
Grilled Snack Wrap with Ranch
4.3 oz
270
10
Snack Wrap with Honey Mustard
4.1 oz
320
15
Grilled Snack Wrap with Honey Mustard
4.4 oz
260
9
Small French Fries
2.6 oz
250
13
Medium French Fries
4 oz
380
20
Large French Fries
6 oz
570
30
Chicken McNuggets (4 piece)
2.3 oz
170
10
Chicken McNuggets (6 piece)
3.4 oz
250
15
Chicken McNuggets (10 piece)
5.6 oz
420
24
Chicken McNuggets (20 piece)
11.3 oz
840
49
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (3 pc)
4.7 oz
380
20
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (5 pc)
7.8 oz
630
33
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (10 pc)
15.6 oz
1270
66
Barbeque Sauce
1 pkg
50
0
Honey
1 pkg
50
0
Hot Mustard Sauce
1 pkg
60
2.5
Sweet 'N Sour Sauce
1 pkg
50
0
Spicy Buffalo Sauce
1.5 oz
70
7
Creamy Ranch Sauce
1.5 oz
200
22
Tangy Honey Mustard Sauce
1.5 oz
70
2.5
Southwestern Chipotle Barbeque Sauce
1.5 oz
70
0
Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken
12.7 oz
300
10
Asian Salad with Crispy Chicken
12.9 oz
380
17
Asian Salad (without chicken)
8.6 oz
150
7
Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken
11.2 oz
260
9
Bacon Ranch Salad with Crispy Chicken
11.4 oz
350
16
Bacon Ranch Salad (without chicken)
7.8 oz
140
7
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken
10.9 oz
220
6
Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken
11 oz
300
13
Caesar Salad (without chicken)
7.5 oz
90
4
Side Salad
3.1 oz
20
0
Butter Garlic Croutons
0.5 oz
60
1.5
Snack Size Fruit & Walnut Salad
1 pkg
210
8
Newman's Own Creamy Caesar Dressing
2 fl oz
190
18
Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette
1.5 fl oz
40
3
Newman's Own Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing
The table below shows the fast food calories and fat grams for some of the more popular menu items at Subway. Subway has many menu items that are pretty good meal choices. Skip the chips and cookie if you’re watching your calorie intake, and try choosing water or a diet soda. Compare the calories of these sandwiches to some other fast food restaurants and you’ll see that you really get your “calories worth”!
SUBWAY
Size
Calories
Fat (g)
12" Italian Sub on White
5.0 oz
380
2
12" Italian Sub on Wheat
5.3 oz
420
5
6" Italian Sub on White
2.5 oz
190
1
6" Italian Sub on Wheat
2.6 oz
210
3
6" Ham Sandwich on Deli Style Roll
5.7 oz
224
3
6" Ham, cold
8.5 oz
293
5
6" Honey Mustard Ham
8.2 oz
311
5
6" Meatball, hot
9.5 oz
413
15
6" Red Wine Vinaigrette Club
9.5 oz
350
6
6" Roast Beef Sandwich on Deli Style Roll
6.0 oz
236
4
6" Roast Beef, cold
8.5 oz
296
5
6" Roasted Chicken Breast, hot
9.0 oz
342
6
6" SUBWAY Club, cold
9.0 oz
304
5
6" SUBWAY Melt, hot
9.1 oz
370
11
6" Seafood & Crab, cold
9.0 oz
338
9
6" Southwest Turkey Bacon
8.5 oz
407
17
6" Steak & Cheese, hot
9.3 oz
363
10
6" Super Classic Italian BMT
11.5 oz
668
39
6" Super Cold Cut Trio
11.4 oz
517
24
6" Super Ham
10.4 oz
354
7
6" Super Meatball
12.5 oz
594
27
6" Super Roast Beef
10.4 oz
360
7
6" Super Roasted Chicken Breast
11.5 oz
453
9
6" Super SUBWAY Club
11.5 oz
377
7
6" Super SUBWAY Melt
11.8 oz
509
19
6" Super Seafood & Crab made with light mayonnaise
11.5 oz
444
15
6" Super Steak & Cheese
12.2 oz
495
17
6" Super Tuna made with light mayonnaise
11.5 oz
525
26
6" Super Turkey & Ham
10.4 oz
343
6
6" Super Turkey & Ham
10.4 oz
343
6
6" Super Turkey Breast
10.4 oz
333
4
6" Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki
9.5 oz
374
5
6" Veggie Delite, cold
6.5 oz
232
3
The table below shows the fast food calories and fat grams for a variety of pizza sizes and topping combinations from Dominos. Overall, pizza is not too bad when it comes to fat and calories assuming that you have a few slices and not the whole pie! But if you start adding fatty, high-calorie toppings like sausage and bacon, you can really raise the calories of your meal. As a rule-of-thumb, the vegetable toppings are much better for you, they’re high in fiber, and the can be pretty tasty. Consider peppers, onions, garlic, or mushrooms instead of the meats and extra cheeses.
DOMINOS PIZZA
Food Description
Serving
Calories
Fat (g)
Breadsticks
1 pc
116
4.1
Cheesy Bread
1 pc
142
6.2
Barbeque Buffalo Wings
1 pc
50
2.4
Hot Buffalo Wings
1 pc
45
2.4
Anchovies Topping Only, 12 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
408
12.6
Anchovies Topping Only, 12 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
307
13.3
Anchovies Topping Only, 12 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
516
23.2
Anchovies Topping Only, 14 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
561
17.4
Anchovies Topping Only, 14 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
427
18.5
Anchovies Topping Only, 14 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
722
31.6
Bacon Topping Only, 12 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
477
19.8
Bacon Topping Only, 12 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
375
20.5
Bacon Topping Only, 12 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
584
30.4
Bacon Topping Only, 14 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
669
28.5
Bacon Topping Only, 14 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
535
29.6
Bacon Topping Only, 14 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
830
42.8
Bacon Topping Only, 6 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1 each
680
34.6
Banana Peppers Only, 12 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
380
11.1
Banana Peppers Only, 12 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
278
11.9
Banana Peppers Only, 14 inches, Hand Tossed
1/4 pizza
523
15.5
Banana Peppers Only, 14 inches, Thin Crust
1/4 pizza
389
16.7
Banana Peppers Topping Only, 12 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
487
21.8
Banana Peppers Topping Only, 14 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
1/4 pizza
684
29.8
Banana Peppers Topping Only, 6 inches, Ultimate Deep Dish
