With a busy on-the-go schedule, having time to meal prep every meal for the week isn't very realistic. We may find ourselves going through the Chic-Fil-A drive-through on those days where we're really cramming our schedule. You might be feeling guilty or stressed because even the thought of the fast-food is going to demolish your progress at the gym. Luckily for you, most fast-food restaurants have healthy "macro-friendly" order swaps to keep you on track!

Keep reading to find out ways to create a healthy order at your favorite fast food chain to keep you crushing your fitness goals!

For us gym rats, a perfect world would consist of our favorite fast-food restaurant having every option on the menu to be "macro-friendly." Unfortunately, that yummy spicy chicken sandwich with a milkshake on the side may not be the best for our overall goals. Of course, we promote having a healthy balance and everything to be enjoyed in moderation, but what if we told you that most fast food restaurants have macro-friendly food selections to allow you to crush your goals while on the go!

The beauty of flexible dieting is that we can accustom our macros around certain events, such as eating out! This blog post will give you many ideas on how to order a macro-friendly meal in crunch and a few examples of healthy orders at your favorite fast food chain!

How to order a healthy, macro-friendly meal:

Although this may seem easy to do, ordering a macro-friendly meal may be challenging. Fast food restaurants are notorious for having higher sodium and saturated fat content in their foods, so some options on the menu that are deemed to be "healthy" may not actually be the healthiest choice. Below is a list of tips to consider the next time you're going through the drive-through last minute.

Tips for ordering macro-friendly fast food:

• Aim for high protein & high fiber

• Choose healthy side orders

• As for grilled instead of crispy

• Go green & opt for hearty salads

• Research the nutrition facts

• Swap the soda for diet-soda

• Lighten up the condiments

  
  

McDonalds

Let's face it... The convenience McDonald's brings being on every corner might just be our only option when we're hungry and in a pinch. Although McDonald's may be one of the harder fast food chains to work with, there are a few items on the menu we can work with to fit in to our macros.

1. Egg White Delight McMuffin – 260kcal: 8F/29C/16P

2. Fruit & Maple Oatmeal - 310kcal: 4F/62C/6P

3. Fruit 'N Yogurt Parfait - 150kcal: 2F/30C/4P

4. Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich - 380kcal: 6F/45C/36P

5. Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad - 350kcal: 11F/27C/37P

Wendy's

Although Wendy's is known for their chocolate frosty's and the Baconator burger, their grilled chicken and variety of salads are what is going to keep you on track!

1. Apple Pecan Chicken Salad (w/o dressing) - 350kcal: 11F/27C/35P

2. Grilled Chicken Sandwich - 350kcal: 8F/35C/32P

3. Grilled Chicken Wrap - 260kcal: 10F/34C/19P

4. Side plain baked potato - 270kcal: 0F/61C/7P

5. Side small cup of chili - 170 kcal: 5F/16C/15P

6. Junior Vanilla Frosty - 200kcal: 5F/32C/5P

Taco Bell

Just as McDonalds, Taco Bell is another fast food restaurant that is located on almost every exit. However Taco Bell actually has created a menu with balanced options to fit in anyone's healthy lifestyle. They state that nearly 3/4 of their menu items are less than 500 calories and almost any item can be customized "Fresco style," meaning that items higher in calories and fat can be swapped with lower calorie options.

1. Grilled Steak Soft Taco - 200kcal: 10F/17C/12P

2. Burrito Supreme sub chicken for beef - 340 kcal - 320kcal: 7F/48C/17P

3. Chicken Power Bowl (w/o dressing, rice, guacamole) - 260kcal: 10F/17C/24P

4. "Fresco" Crunchy Taco - 140kcal: 8F/13C/6P

5. "Fresco" Soft Chicken Taco - 150kcal: 6F/16C/9P

Chipotle

Chipotle might just be the best macro-friendly restaurants for staying on track with your health and fitness goals. With almost all of their menu items separately listed with nutrition facts, Chipotle makes tracking easy! When ordering, you can use Chipotle's Nutrition Calculator to help you save hundreds of calories on your order.

1. Salad Bowl w/ steak, black beans, vegetables, and salsa - 330kcal: 9F/32C/40P

2. Chicken Bowl w vegetables, white rice, roasted corn salsa, pico & guac on the side - 450 22F/40P/50C

3. 3 Chicken Corn Tacos - 400kcal: 16F/39C/36P

Chipotle's menu is very customizable so when ordering keep in mind you can "go light" on all menu options and get almost everything on the side!

Wrapping up:

So eating out isn't ideal for your fitness and health goals, but sometimes we just have to make do and let it happen. For many of us, meal prepping every single meal for the week isn't realistic and when we're crunched for time, the nearest fast-food restaurant is going to be the easiest way to get a lunch in!

The beauty of flexible dieting is that we can make adjustments where is needed and still stay on track. Most fast food restaurants make it a bit easier with lightened up menu options as well as nutrition information listed! With knowledge on what's best going to serve us and our health and fitness goals, we can alter these menu items to fit our daily macros and nutrition.

It is important to understand that one meal isn't going to drastically damage our progress. If you end up going over your macros one day, remind yourself that it's okay and you will be back on track tomorrow!

RESOURCES

https://www.tacobell.com/blog/how-to-eat-fewer-calories

https://www.chipotle.com/nutrition-calculator/burrito-bowl

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