15 Lowest-Calorie Fast Food Menu Items If You Can’t Tahan Waiting For Cheat Day (2023)

FAQs

What are the lowest calorie fast-food items? ›

Although it might be best to steer clear of certain fast-food restaurants, there are others that can really help you on whichever health journey you're taking. According to Amy Shapiro MS, RD, and member of our Medical Expert Board, the healthiest fast-food restaurant you can visit is Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The only truly zero calorie food is water, but low calorie foods are also grouped in. Still, we view eating only zero or negative calorie foods as fad dieting nonsense similar to drinking ice cold water instead of room temperature water (which burns around 5 extra calories per glass, by the way).

The day after a cheat day is also important. Kaiser recommends working out first thing in the morning, skipping breakfast and only drinking a cup of coffee fifteen minutes before. “It's going to rev up your metabolism and burn off some of those additional calories that you ate the night before.

The Benefits of Cheating

Research shows that after a cheat meal, the body increases its metabolism, causing you to burn calories faster. This is caused by increased levels of leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells and responsible for maintaining energy balance in the body.

Cheat days are popular among fitness enthusiasts. You stick to a strict diet for the whole week except for one day when you let yourself eat whatever your heart desires. Burgers, pizza, ice cream, chocolate, soft drinks, alcohol…you're allowed to eat anything on this one day.

What are the top 10 healthiest fast food restaurants? ›

Chick-fil-A won a blue ribbon for being the cleanest fast-food restaurant in America.

Coming in on top as the healthiest fast food restaurant was Little Caesars. Coming in at number 20 as the least healthy fast food option was Pizza Hut. This may seem odd because one pizza chain was ranked as the healthiest option and one as the most unhealthy, but that's what the numbers showed.

The most cited examples of zero calorie foods are celery, apples, strawberries and lemons.

Low-sodium: 140 mg (milligrams) or less per serving. Very low sodium: 35 mg or less per serving. Low-cholesterol: 20 mg or less per serving. Low-calorie: 40 calories or less per serving.

When you drink cold water, your body uses extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature. Bottom Line: Drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water may increase the amount of calories burned for at least an hour. Some studies show that this can lead to modest weight loss.

What is the fastest way to lose weight on a cheat day? ›

Get More Exercise

But since you've had a cheat day, you've taken in more calories than usual. As we've said above, to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit; to maintain it, you need to eat the same amount needed for your BMR. When you have a cheat day, you have an excess of calories, so you need to burn them off.

Why does a cheat day cause you to gain weight? A cheat day causes some large weight increases, but weight because of water, not fat. Depending on what kind of diet you were on, loading up on carbs on a cheat day can increase your weight noticeably.

Yes. In fact, having a regularly scheduled cheat day each week can actually be good for weight loss by preventing binges, reducing cravings, providing a mental break from dieting, and boosting metabolism—if it's done in a healthy way.

In order to gain a pound of fat, you would need to add about 500 calories a day on top of your normal diet, every day, for about 7 days. This makes gaining any significant amount of fat from even the craziest all-out cheat days extremely unlikely.

The bottom line is that a 1000-1500 surplus of calories for a day means you'll only gain about 0.70-112 grams of fat. The scales might say you've gained more, but that's because of the water weight excess sodium and carbohydrates bring along with it.

One of the most effective tools for this is to utilize Intermittent Fasting and fast for 12-16 hours after your "cheat" meal. Intermittent Fasting helps to shift your body into fat burning mode and reduce the reliance on blood glucose, allowing it to naturally stabilize.

The obvious con to having cheat days is that it can lead to further temptation for eating unhealthy foods in the long term, and derail someone completely from a regimen. It can also lead to stomachaches or other illnesses, and also lower levels of activity, according to Men's Health.

This depends on the individual and what a regimen is, but it can vary. Some people can have cheat days once a week, others can do so once a month, while others should limit them even further. Lowe suggests once a year is good, because each day, people don't realize how many calories they are consuming.

For many people following low calorie diets, “cheat meals” are a must. A cheat meal is essentially one planned meal (or meal deviation) a week where you can eat anything you want that you wouldn't normally eat as part of your diet — pizza, burger and fries, tacos, whatever you have a hankering for.

What should I eat to lose 5 pounds in 10 days? ›

These veggies: certain vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale and cabbage contain special phytonutrients (fight-o-nutrients), such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which help to fight against environmental estrogens that can add belly fat.

Is there such thing as healthy fast food? ›

Not to worry: There is such a thing as healthy fast food (or at least healthier). You can order a meal at most fast food chains with less than 500 calories, moderate amounts of fat and saturated fat, and ample protein and fiber. Here are 10 of the healthiest fast food meals from some of the top fast food chains.

The bottom line. Subway offers a better variety of healthy meal options than many other fast food restaurants. In general, Subway's meals are low in sugar and a decent source of fiber and protein, however, many are also loaded with fat and sodium. Part of Subway's appeal is that you can customize your meal.

Although it might be best to steer clear of certain fast-food restaurants, there are others that can really help you on whichever health journey you're taking. According to Amy Shapiro MS, RD, and member of our Medical Expert Board, the healthiest fast-food restaurant you can visit is Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Most traditional Chinese dishes are actually quite healthy for you, but Americanized Chinese restaurants tend to serve up fried and unhealthier options. While it may be okay to have this food every once in a while, your body can suffer some serious consequences later in life if you eat it too often.

That being said, Chinese food, when ordered consciously and intentionally, can actually be filled with muscle-building protein and filling, fiber-rich vegetables.” What's more, she says, it can actually be a healthier alternative to a lot of other fast food (like burgers and fries).

Low-calorie foods include water, tea, salad greens, soup broth, mushrooms, strawberries, vegetable soup, whole grain toast, cod, eggs, and low-fat cottage cheese.

Keep your fast-food meals around 500 calories or fewer. Choose foods that are low in fat and higher in fiber and protein, and replace refined grains with whole-grain buns or bread. Avoid French fries, onion rings, noodles, macaroni and cheese, and so forth.

What is something you can eat a lot of and not gain weight? ›

Cabbage, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower are your allies in the fight against excess weight. They are rich in nutrients and very healthy.

1. Apple. 1 large apple will give you 100 calories. But unlike with other more unhealthy snacks, you won't be eating high levels of salt, sugar or saturated fat.

Fourteen Almonds

You can eat 14 almonds without hitting the 100-calorie mark. Plus, they're rich in fiber and protein, which help keep hunger at bay.