Eating Out On A (Calorie) Budget

Can you lose weight while eating fast food? Yep. Done that.

No, really, 500 calories for a whole meal? Yep. Yummy, too.

The past few months, in the middle of attempting to diet, I've been taking evening classes (in web design--fun stuff). I don't like to eat at 9 at night, I only have about 30-45 minutes including drive time (at rush hour), and I am already packing a sandwich or bagel for lunch. I like sandwiches, but 2 per day can be a bit much. So I've been hitting fast food joints. And staying on my diet. Seriously, the free candy bowl at class is a much bigger problem than a drive-through.

Some of my favorite meals:

Southwest Chicken Salad (Grilled Chicken) with dressing from McD's: 420 calories

Cheesburger Happy Meal with apple dippers and milk (yes, I'm a grownup who eats happy meals...): 500 calories

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad from St. Louis Bread Co: 410 calories

Steak Fajita Salad (steak, fajita veggies, lettuce, cheese, salsa, black beans) from Chipotle: 450 calories ** Another good option here is to order a whole burrito, and only eat half. And I don't like sour cream

Two hard-shell taco supremes from Taco Bell: 400 calories (Believe it or not, soft shells have more calories...)

Just about anything from Crazy Bowls and Wraps: Seriously, they have tons of filling options under 500 calories. And most of the numbers are on the menu board.

Skinny Vanilla Latte and slice of Pumpkin Loaf from Starbucks: 450 Calories. I never claimed these would all be super-nutritious options....

Eating out isn't that big of a deal. Nutrition info is all over the internet. Avoid the words "super-size", avoid french fries, and avoid those mongo flour tortillas (seriously, sometimes hard shells are actually better for you. Also, avoid sweet sodas and teas. Go diet or with water. Or you'll double your calorie count.