A&W and Arby's: What to Avoid and What to Eat

Eating out, especially eating at fast food restaurants, will definitely not help you to lose weight. However, if it is necessary for you to eat at a fast food restaurant, you should be smart about it and eat the most healthy choice available. Not all the fast food places provide you with the nutritional information of their meals. Fortunately, most of them do, and I will pick top 3 choices of what to eat and what to definitely avoid in those fast food places that provide the nutritional information of their foods.

In this article, I will cover A&W and Arby's. There will be more articles about other fast food restaurants.

Currently I have written:

• McDonald's and KFC

What Not to Eat at A&W:

1. Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger

If you are a big fan of bacon cheeseburgers, do not eat a double cheeseburger. Double cheeseburger has 760 calories and 45 grams of fat - half the calories you need a day and, probably, more fat than you need daily. Instead, even though I do not recommend that either, you can go with single original bacon cheeseburger. It has 530 calories and 30 grams of fats. However, only 26 grams of protein, compared to 40 grams in the double cheeseburger.

2. Papa Burger®

Papa Burger® has 690 calories and 39 grams of fat - not much better than the first place winner. However, it has less protein - 40 grams. Watch out for sodium, because it has 1.4 grams of sodium, and that's more that a half of amount of sodium you need daily. You can try the alternative - Papa Single Burger®. It has less calories (470 kcal) and fats (25 grams), but, unfortunately, less protein.

3. Hot Dog

Although there are more caloric and higher fat content having meals at A&W, I decided that the hot dog is worse than those. Why? The main reason is that, even though some burgers have more calories and fat, they also have more protein, what means that they are more nutritious. The hot dog has 310 calories and 19 grams of fats, what do not look that bad, compared to the first two meals from the A&W, but it only has 11 grams of protein. I recommend going with more caloric, but higher protein meal than such an empty food as a hot dog.

What to Eat at A&W:

1. Grilled Chicken Sandwich

The best meal at A&W is not good at all. Grilled chicken sandwich has 15 grams of fats and 400 calories, but the reason I picked to be the best meal is because of the protein content - it has 35 grams. At least you would get some quality macro nutrients after eating it. Sugar content is not bad either - 7 grams. If you love A&W, that's what you should go with.

2. Hamburger

I had a terrible time picking number two, because there was hardly anything to pick. I do not recommend eating hamburger - it has 380 calories and 19 grams of fat - but, if you decide to eat it, it has 21 gram of protein, which is better than nothing to keep your metabolism going. Also, sodium content is not that terrible compared to other meals at A&W - 860mg of sodium.

3. Cheeseburger

As everybody knows, cheeseburger is another hamburger with a piece of cheese on it, what makes it have more calories (420 kcal), more fat (21 grams), and, fortunately, more protein (23 grams). However, it has more sodium - 1 gram. Although it is in the third place, I do not recommend eating eat.

Ultimately, I do not recommend going to eat to A&W, as there are better fast food places to eat!

What Not to Eat at Arby's:

1. Beef ‘n Cheddar Max

Beef ‘n Cheddar Max packs 680 calories and 37 grams of fats, what is way better than the worst meals at other fast food places I have written about. It also puts 45 grams of protein in your system to keep the metabolism going. However, it is loaded 1.55 grams of sodium, making it undesirable meal. Also, this is a large side of Beef 'n Cheddar, which you should not be even thinking of eating, when on a diet. If you are a fan of Beef 'n Cheddar, go with Beef 'n Cheddar Classic, which has 450 calories, 21 grams of fats, and 1.2 grams of sodium.

2. Roast Turkey, Ranch & Bacon Sandwich

810 calories, 36 grams of fat, and 17 grams of sugar, sounds nasty, doesn't it? Yes, it does! Not only that, but the levels of sodium go through the roof - 2.3 grams of sodium, your daily dose. So do you think you should just eat one meal a day and make it the "delicious" Roast Turkey, Ranch & Bacon Sandwich? Well, I have a better offer - just stay away from the turkey, ranch and bacon sandwich.

3. Angus Cool Deli Wrap

Angus deli wrap packs 620 calories and 36 grams of fat. In addition to that, it provides you with 1.7 grams of sodium. However, it has 39 grams of protein and only 5 grams of sugar. So if you decide to eat this meal, at least you'll get some nutrients.

What to Eat at Arby's:

1. Chopped Farmhouse Chicken Salad – Roast

250 calories is a nice amount of calories for a salad. In addition, it gives you 23 grams of protein and only 6 grams of sugar. However, it has 13 grams of fats, and 0.7 gram of sodium, so do not overeat on this salad. Salads made at home are way better and can be made fat-free!

2. Cravin’ Chicken Sandwich – Roast

Roasted chicken sandwich contains 370 calories and 12 grams of fat. Sodium is pretty high, unfortunately, 1 gram of it, but 24 grams of protein makes it a decent meal for somebody to fill themselves, when on the run.

3. Roast Beef Classic

Although it is fairly high in fat, 14 grams, and sodium, 0.95 gram, it can be considered to be an OK meal. It contains 360 calories and 22 grams of protein. The amount of sugar is good as well - only 5 grams. If you are a fan of Roast Beef series, go with a classic meal.