Adipex-P® PrescriptionPLUS Lifestyle Program

Dietary Facts for Fast Food

Facts

• Fast-food accounts for about 40% of all restaurant sales each year.
• While healthier choices have been added to fast-food menus, most of the items sold have high amounts of fat, sugar and calories.
• When you total up the calories added by food preparation, breading, cheese, and condiments; what seems like a “low-fat” choice... a fish sandwich, for example... often contains more fat and calories than a less obvious selection, such as a hamburger.
• To maintain an effective weight-loss program, you should strive to limit the amount of fast food you eat and choose items with the least amount of fat (especially saturated fat) and sodium.

Sodium

• Excess sodium can contribute to hypertension, heart and kidney disease, and stroke.
• Fast-food entrees can contain more than ten times as much sodium as salted french fries.
• A single fast-food entree often contains more than one-third of a day’s recommended consumption of sodium, which should be limited to less than 3,000 milligrams.
  Fast-food tends to contain very high levels of sodium.
  Excess sodium causes the body to retain fluids.

Fats

• Fats should constitute 30% or less of daily dietary intake.
• Anywhere from 40-60% of the calories in an average fast-food meal come from fat.
  Of the three types of fats... mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated and saturated... saturated fats are a major ingredient in fast foods.
• Saturated fats are not needed by the body. They increase serum cholesterol levels and the subsequent risk of heart disease.
• Sources of fast-food fat include friers using either animal fat or hydrogenated vegetable oil and items like shakes which contain highly saturated coconut or palm oil.
• Cut down on fast-food fat intake by choosing leaner protein sources, avoiding fried foods, skipping cheese or bacon and eating salads with low calorie salad dressing and drinking diet sodas, iced tea, coffee, juice or skim milk.

A COMPARISON OF SELECTED FAST FOODS
(Based on approximate calorie/fat content)
The list increases in calories/fat content as you go down the list

• Arby’s Garden Salad w/Low Calorie Dressing (138/8g)
• Chick-Fil-A Hearty Breast of Chicken Soup (152/2.7g)
• Long John Silver’s Chicken Plank (120/6g)
• McDonald’s Chunky Chicken Salad (150/4g)
• McDonald’s Scrambled Eggs (140/10g)
• Shakey’s Thin Cheese Pizza, 1 Slice (133/5g)
• Taco Bell Chicken Salad (125/8g)

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• Arby’s Baked Potato, Plain (240/2g)
• Hardee’s Chef Salad (240/15g)
• Jack-In-The-Box Taco (191/11g)
• Long John Silver’s Ocean Chef Salad (250/9g)
• Long John Silver’s Seafood Salad (220/5g)
• McDonald’s Chicken Salad Oriental (164/3g)
• Subway Small Turkey Salad (167/9g)
• Taco Bell Taco (183/10.8g)
• Taco Bell Tostada (243/11g)

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• Arby’s Light Roast Chicken Deluxe (253/5g)
• Burger King Chicken Tenders (236/13g)
• Burger King Side Salad w/House Dressing (280/26g)
• Dairy Queen Hot Dog (280/16g)
• Jack-In-The-Box Chicken Fajita Pita (292/8g)
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Nuggets (276/17g)
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Original Recipe Side Breast (267/16g)
• McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (280/11g)
• McDonald’s Hamburger (255/9g)
• Taco Bell Beef Tostada (243/11g)
• Wendy’s Plain Baked Potato (270/0g)
• Wendy’s Regular Chili (260/8g)

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• Burger King Whopper Jr. (322/17g)
• Dairy Queen Hot Dog w/Chili (320/19g)
• Domino’s Cheese Pizza, 2 Slices, 12” (340/6g)
• Hardee’s Cheeseburger (320/14g)
• Hardee’s Regular Roast Beef (310/12g)
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Extra Tasty Crispy Center Breast (342/20g)
• McDonald’s McLean Deluxe (320/10g)
• Taco Bell Taco Bellgrande (335/23g)
• Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich (320/9g)

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• Arby’s Beef & Cheddar (453/23.4g)
• Burger King Ham & Cheese Specialty Sandwich (471/23g)
• Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich (426/8.8g)
• Hardee’s Turkey Club Sandwich (390/16g)
• Long John Silver’s Fish Sandwich w/Tartar Sauce (450/19g)
• McDonald’s Fillet of Fish (370/18g)
• McDonald’s Quarter Pounder (410/20g)
• Pizza Hut Thin & Crispy Cheese Pizza, 2 Slices, Med. (398/17g)
• Taco Bell Bean Burrito (447/14g)
• Taco Bell Combination Burrito (407/19g)
• Wendy’s Chicken Sandwich, Fried (430/19g)

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• Burger King Whopper (621/36g)
• Dairy Queen Super Hot Dog (555/32.5g)
• Hardee’s Mushroom and Swiss Burger (490/27g)
• Jack-In-The-Box Jumbo Jack (584/26g)
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Original Recipe 2 Piece Dinner (838/45g)
• Long John Silver’s Fish & Fries, 2 Piece (660/30g)
• McDonald’s Big Mac (500/26g)
• Pizza Hut Super Supreme Pan Pizza, 2 Slices, Med. (563/26g)
• Taco Bell Burrito Supreme (503/22g)
• Wendy’s Big Classic Double (750/45g)
• Wendy’s Chili and Cheese Potato (500/18g)
• Wendy’s Taco Salad (660/37g)

[Sources: Karen J. Bellerson, The complete & Up-To-Date Fat Book, Avery, 1991; M. J. Franz, Fast Food Facts, International Diabetes Center, 1987; Michael F. Jacobson, PhD. & Sarah Fritschner, Fast-Food Guide, 2nd Edition, Workman, 1986, 1991.]