Friday, 14 August 2009 18:42

Low Carb at Wendy's

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Atkins is so 10 years ago, and as such, not every restaurant has a low-carb menu these days... in fact, I can't count them on more than one hand.  However, a low-carbohydrate diet is still effective and maintainable, and a great way to stay fit or lose weight.  Even though it's mostly off the menus, it's still convenient and available if you're slightly creative.

Today I had Wendy's for lunch.  My meal amounted to 10 net grams of carbohydrate and it cost under $5.  It was satisfying for an adult male with an above-average appetite.  Here's what I ordered:

 

  • Two Double Stacks
  • One Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger
  • One Cesar Side Salad

I did not open the bag of croutons to add to my salad.  I stacked the contents of the burgers to eat with knife and fork, discarding the buns.  The salad lid happened to provide a convenient "plate" for this as well.  How did I calculate my exact net carbs?  Wendy's has an extremely useful website with nutrition calculation based on your order and what you choose to keep or remove.  Other details on this meal:

  • 860 Calories
  • 64 grams of fat
  • 58 grams of protein
  • 2020 milligrams of sodium (exceeded daily suggested value)

That last figure is a downside, and I was able to detect the excess salt in the "meat stack" during my meal.  I've noticed this with other times I've eaten a fast food burger sans bun, and suspect that the sweet and starchy nature of the bun disguises / counters the salt level normally.  This is the main downside I can identify with this approach.

When I am not observing a strict limit on carbohydrates and eating "normally," I still avoid excess in my fast food meals...  If I had the same hearty meal above, but chose to consume the burger contents as one "monster" sort of sandwich, using one pair of buns, discarding two others, I would consume 33 net grams of carbohydrate, which is better than someone might do with ordering *any* traditional combo with medium fries (55g) and/or a regular Coke (56g).

Last modified on Friday, 10 January 2014 18:59
Published in Low Carb
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