No Weight Loss
Advantage to Vegetarian Diets
Following a vegetarian diet does not yield
a larger amount of weight loss than following a non-vegetarian diet according to
a study published in the International Journal of Obesity.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh followed a group of 176 overweight
and sedentary adults for a period of 18 months. Half the group was allowed to
choose their own diet, whereas the other half was assigned a diet. Of the group
that was assigned a diet, half of the participants were assigned a vegetarian
diet.
Not surprising, participants who were assigned a diet lost more weight than
those who chose a diet. Among those who were assigned a diet, participants who
followed a “standard” diet lost 8% and those who followed a vegetarian diet lost
7.9%.
NetSweat.com comments: There is a common misperception that following a
vegetarian diet will make you skinny. The reality is that there are many
overweight vegetarians and vegans. (French fries made with vegetable oil are
both vegan and bad for you.)
This said, the majority of overweight people do not eat enough vegetables. A
quarter pound of carrots, for instance, is much healthier than a quarter pound
of pot roast. Plus, since vegetables are less calorie dense than just about all
processed and baked foods, they will allow you to feel more full at lower levels
of caloric intake.
Eating Low Calorie At
Fast Food Restaurants
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Despite our best intentions for eating a healthy diet, workday demands and
cravings send us in search of fast food. Fortunately, over the past few years,
fast food chains have been adding healthier alternatives to their menus.
These days, it is possible to grab a quick meal and stick to a healthy, low
calorie diet. The key is to chose to the right foods and condiments. We'll tell
you how.
Fast Food Chains:
Baja Fresh
Burger King
Chipotle
McDonald's
Panera Bread
Quiznos
Starbucks
Subway
Taco Bell
Wendy's
(more coming soon)
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Quick Tips
Always refuse cheese. Cheese contains a high level of fat and adds unnecessary
calories to sandwiches and salads.
Go for grilled over fried. Fried foods have more calories, more fat, and often
more sodium. A salad containing fried chicken and regular dressing can equal the
number of calories in a hamburger and side of fries.
Choose water over soda. Sugary soda contains too many calories per serving. Diet
soda contains aspartame, which we recommend avoiding.
Wheat bread is best. On average, wheat bread will be the lowest calorie bread at
most restaurants.
Mustard instead of mayonnaise. Mustard is simply healthier. If you don't like
the taste of mustard, ask for low fat mayonnaise or ask the restaurant to go
easy on the mayonnaise.
Low fat dressing on the side. Regular dressing contains a surprising high amount
of calories. Balsamic is generally low, though many chains offer other low
calorie options if you ask. If you pour on the dressing gradually, you'll use
less and the lettuce will stay crispier longer - a double bonus.
Finally, if you cave and order fries, ask for the them to be unsalted. They'll
be cooked fresh and will have considerably less sodium.
To further help you make better choices when ordering fast food, here are some
menu suggestions for the popular chains. (We are gradually adding to this list,
so check back periodically. For general diet and weight loss advice, we strongly
recommend Weight Watchers®.
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Baja Fresh
Orginal Baja Taco - The tacos at Baja Fresh are a decent option. The chicken and
shrimp tacos have just 200 and 210 calories respectively. The steak tacos have a
higher percentage of fat, but at 230 calories (70 from fat), you could do far
worse. Just say no to the complimentary chips (210 calories).
Baja Ensalada - The charbroiled chicken and the shrimp salads are both low
calories, though high in sodium (1210mg and 1110mg respectively). The pork
carnitas won't bust your gut either at 370 calories, though the sodium count is
even higher. Just opt for the fat free salsa verde dressing; the ranch dressing
and olive oil vinaigrette are high in calories and fat.
It is possible to get a salad for under 350 calories. Order chicken, fajita
vegetables, tomato salsa, and lettuce. Two ounces of the vinaigrette will add
282 calories to the meal. (In comparison, the chicken only has 219 calories.)
Avoid the tortilla, avoid the sour cream, guacamole and cheese.
Baja Fresh nutritional information
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Burger King
Hamburgers - The Whopper Jr. is the only burger you want. Take advantage of
having it your way by saying no to the mayonnaise and opting for ketchup or
mustard. The sandwich will have 290 calories, 150 of which come from the buns.
Insider tio: the Whopper Jr. has less calories than any of the chicken
sandwiches.
Salads - The Tendergrill Chicken Filet salad is the way to go. Including Ken's
Light Italian, the salad has just 300 calories if you knock off the cheese and
avoid the croutons. With the "works", the salad still has only 420 calories.
Just beware that the dressing is high in sodium.
Burger King Nutritional Information
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Chipotle
Burrito - The regular size tortilla has 330 calories by itself (and no, this not
a typo). Add rice (240 calories), black beans (130), fajita vegetables (100),
tomato salsa (5) and you have an 800 calorie meal. Chicken or Steak, cheese,
sour cream and guacamole only add to the caloric count.
Salads - It is possible to get a salad for under 350 calories. Order chicken,
fajita vegetables, tomato salsa, and lettuce. Two ounces of the vinaigrette will
add 282 calories to the meal. (In comparison, the chicken only has 219
calories.) Avoid the tortilla, avoid the sour cream, guacamole and cheese.
Chipotle nutritional information (pdf)
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McDonalds
Salads - The Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is the best choice of anything on the
menu with 220 calories and 6 grams of fat. (Without chicken, it is just 140
calories). Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing is a good choice
at 40 calories and 3 grams of fat. The Newman's Own Low Fat Family Recipe
Italian Dressing is a viable alternative at just 50 calories.
Just be aware that adding grilled chicken to a McDonald's salad raises the
sodium content by 710 mg or about 30% of the recommended daily intake. This does
not include the additional sodium that is present in dressing, bacon bits or
anything else you choose to add to your salad.
The low fat dressings offered by McDonald's aren't any better, each offering
around the same level of sodium.
Hamburgers - The basic hamburger contains 250 calories and 9 grams of fat,
including the bun. The bun accounts for 150 calories and 7 grams of fat by
itself.
McDonald's nutritional information
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Panera Bread
Muffins - The Banana Nut Muffin has 230 calories and 11 grams of fat. If you
need to eat breakfast on the go, this is not a bad option. The fruit cup is
better, however.
Fruit Cup - It's 70 calories and full of vitamins. A good choice anytime of day.
Bread - You can specify whatever bread you want with any meal or sandwich. So go
with the Lower-Carb Italian Herb loaf or our favorite, the Pumpkin Seed loaf.
They are 80 and 90 calories per slice.
Sandwiches - The Smoked Turkey Breast is just 380 calories if you opt to have it
on the Lower-Carb Italian herb bread. Say no to the mayonnaise and save even
more calories. The Mediterranean veggie can work if you don't have the feta
cheese on it and go with lower carb bread. Make sure to ask for fruit (or at
least the baked chips).
Salads - The Fandango salad is listed at 390 calories, but actually has much
less if you say no to the cheese. Ask for the Fat-Free Raspberry dressing (50
calories and just 110mg of sodium).
Panera Bread nutritional information (pdf)
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Quiznos
Sandwiches - Quiznos provides nutritional information on just two sandwiches:
the small Turkey Lite and the small Honey Bourbon Chicken. The Turkey Lite has
334 calories, but over 1900mg of sodium (about 75% of the recommended daily
intake). The Honey Bourbon has 359 calories, but 1500mg of cholesterol. If you
get either sandwich, do not order chips and/or watch your sodium intake
throughout the rest of the day.
(Quiznos has removed the limited amount of nutritional information they provided
on their web site. The above information was gathered before Quizno's changed
their web site.)
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Starbucks
Coffee - A grande Cafe Au Lait contains 140 calories and eight grams of fat. If
you simply request nonfat milk in your coffee, you can cut out all of the fat
and more than 40% of the calories. The daily dose of coffee will still cost you
90 calories, without sugar, but given the lack of fat, it won't increase your
waistline.
For those of you who opt for soy instead, a grande coffee contains 110 calories
and three grams of fat. Just don't order the breve with your coffee, it jacks up
the calories to a gut busting 300 calories.
Starbuck's nutritional information
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Taco Bell
Tacos - The Fresco Style Chicken Ranchero Taco and the Regular Style Chicken
Ranchero Taco have just 170 calories and four grams of fat, if you order
correctly. The key is to request only the followig ingredients: chicken, fiesta
salsa, lettuce and tortilla. Those of you on low sodium diets should note,
however, that the tacos contain 560mg of sodium each (24% of the recommended
daily allowance).
Salads - the regular style Express Taco Salad, which includes seasoned ground
beef could be a decent option if the chips are not eaten. The salad is about 500
calories with the chips and we are guess thing that the chips could account for
about 20% of the calories. Sodium is still a factor, however, at 740mg. However,
we can't tell how much of this is related to the chips
Taco Bell nutritional information
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Subway
Sandwiches - In general, stick to the 6 grams or less menu and you'll get a
sandwich with 330 calories or less. The exception is the Chicken Teriyaki at 380
calories, 100 more than the Veggie Delight. The bigger secret is choosing the
right condiments. Best options are: vegetables, vinegar (1 calorie), the mustard
(8 calories/no fat), honey mustard select sauce (28 calories). Say no to the
cheese and do not ask for oil.
Subway nutritional information
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Wendy's
Salads - The Mandarin Chicken Salad (our favorite) and the Spring Mix Salad have
170 and 180 calories, respectively. The seemingly innocent Chicken BLT salad has
330 calories! As far as dressings, the Fat Free French has the fewest calories
(80). The Reduced Fat Creamy Ranch has 100 calories, but 8 grams of fat. Low Fat
Honey Mustard is the only other viable option at 110 calories and 3 grams of
fat.
Hamburgers - A plain Junior patty (2 oz) without a bun has 100 calories and 7
grams of fat. With bun, ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions, the sandwich is
280 calories and 9 grams of fat. The Classic Single patty (4 oz) has 210
calories and 14 grams of fat. The plain bun has 160 calories, 2 grams of fat,
and 31 grams of carbohydrates.
Sandwiches - The Ultimate Grilled Chicken Sandwich can be a decent choice if
ordered correctly. As featured on the menu, the sandwich has 360 calories and 7
grams of fat. 40 calories and 2.5 grams of fat can be eliminated by simply
requesting a plain bun instead of the Kaiser roll that normally is used.
Wendy's nutritional information
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All of the calorie, carbohydrate, and fat measurements were gathered from each
restaurant's web site.
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