Fast food do not always mean poison! Yes, fast foods have become a problem for the developed country with a lot of fast food chains such as America.
Research showed that North American youngsters eat way too much and roughly 30 percent of them are obese. This number is up 50% than the last two decades !
While fast foods are common enemies for dieters, I would like to describe the details behind fast foods danger and how we can choose the healthiest fast foods amongst all.
Fast Food Diet 101
The fast foods paranoia are caused by the calories that fast foods contain which make it a horror story for dieter. However there are also several health issues such as:
Carcinogen in beef and trans fat. Although the carcinogen issue is easily avoided by skipping the chicken and beef, the trans fat becomes a more serious threat.
Trans fats are man-made fats which made by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fat, making it into a more saturated fat at cheap cost. However the more saturated the fat, the longer it will stay in our body. This applies also for the oil used in frying.
Although nearly all fast food joints have stated that they will be using 100% cholesterol-free vegetable oil." This is only the half side of the truth, they use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. In layman term, hydrogenated means trans fats. Which is also bad, if not worse, for your blood cholesterol.
And do they throw away the oil after used for frying ? No, they use it time over time. So the fat is becoming more and more saturated.
Enough about the danger now let's talk about how you can choose the perfect fast foods meals for you without putting your health nor your waist on the line.
The rules in Fast Food diet 101 are:
Choose mineral water to drink instead of freezing cola or your "healthy" smoothies. I don't think you and the fast foods restaurants have the same perception for "healthy". If they can use the trans oil then I better don't drink their smoothie. It's better to make your own favorite smoothie drink at home.
Your best choices of restaurants are: Pizza, sandwiches and burgers and grilled stuffs. Strictly no chickens and fries.
Choose thin crusted pizza and the best topping that you can ask are vegetables! It's filling and tasty enough without those fancy meaties and carbies.
Instead of chips or fries, buy rice!
Ask them not to include or include very little butter or margarine in your sandwiches and burgers.
Grilled stuffs literally are proven as safer option. Try to stick with grilled meat for your burger fillings.
Order your salad dressing to be served separately. This way you can control the amount of dressing you want in your salad. But it's easier, healthier and tastier to eat your own salad with your low fat dressing rather than eating "dressing free" salad.
Pita bread and kebab are your best friends! They substitute the rice and fries very well and most of them use grilled meats as fillings.
Okay so after I wrote the fast food diet 101, I thought I was going to left with few choices but the choices of fast foods joints that meet above criteria are tremendous.
You have a lot of pizza chains which offered thin crust and vegetables topping to choose. A lot of grilled burgers and sandwiches parlors to choose also. While pita and kebab may be fewer but they are usually sold at non-fast foods restaurants.
I need to remind myself again to order water though, most of the time I will jump into the biggest drinks picture in most fast foods restaurant (which is coke).
Happy Fast Food Diet 101
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