Balance Carbohydrate, Fat, Protein When Eating Fast Foods

Have you ever returned to work Monday morning feeling completely drained from the weekend?

Weekends lack the structure that the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work week usually provides, so regular eating can be difficult.

Weekend or weekday, our bodies require regular feedings to sustain blood sugar levels. Food becomes fuel (blood sugar) in our bodies. When blood sugar levels drop too low without refueling, we become depleted, tired, hungry and irritable. Avoiding these sudden drops is important for enjoying the weekend.

Especially when summer’s outdoor activities often make balanced eating a low priority, knowing a few shortcuts can help maintain high energy levels.

Babies signal for food by crying and becoming fussy. As adults, we no longer need to eat every two hours, but waiting longer than four hours without eating can result in deficient energy levels.

Many people ignore their bodies’ hunger signals and eat only one or two large meals each day. For optimal energy levels, bodies need a proper fuel balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat to stabilize blood sugar and provide vital nutrients.

When the body wants food and you choose to skip a meal or snack, the body’s chemistry prepares for an upcoming famine. First, stored blood sugar (glycogen) is released from the liver to normalize blood sugar levels. Next, muscle tissue is used as a fuel source to adapt to the less-than-adequate food intake.

We don’t experience extensive famine like in Rwanda, but we put our bodies through mini-famine states, to be followed by a large meal, or feast, when we finally eat. Too many feast-famine cycles cause low energy levels, lowered metabolism and an increase in body fat. Many people eat this way on the weekend.

To break this cycle and maintain energy levels on the weekend, you need regularly scheduled meals and snacks. You might be thinking, “How can I stop for food when it’s all I can do to get the kids ready for soccer, get my golf clubs in the car, pack the van for the lake and swing by the relatives to say hello?”

There may not be enough time to prepare meals and snacks on busy weekends. So why not take advantage of some fast-food options that supply a balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat? I’m not a proponent of fast food, but in a pinch it can mean the difference between maintaining blood sugar or starting the feast-famine cycle - a metabolic meltdown.

To qualify as a pinch-hitter, each fast-food item must provide 250-350 calories, 15-25 grams protein, 20-40 grams carbohydrate and less than 8 grams fat. The carbohydrates supply quick-range, protein mid-range, and fats long-range fuel. The restaurants must also have a drive-through, for quick access.

Use the following fast-food options to keep blood sugar levels from dropping too low. Fast food tends to be low in fiber, high in sodium and high in saturated fat (the bad kind), so I recommend it only when you cannot prepare a more healthful meal at home or visit a restaurant with more bountiful options.

When ordering, it helps to hold the higher-fat ingredients; for example, removing the mayonnaise from Burger King’s BK Broiler reduces the fat grams from 29 to only 6.

Arby’s: Light Roast Turkey or Chicken Deluxe.

Burger King: BK Broiler (no cheese or mayonnaise).

Jack in the Box: Chicken Fajita Pita.

McDonald’s: McGrilled Chicken Classic.

Senor Froggy: Chicken Soft Taco (no cheese or sour cream).

Taco Bell: Light Burrito Supreme.

Taco Time: Chicken Soft Taco (no cheese or sour cream).

Wendy’s: Grilled Chicken Sandwich.

Zip’s: Garden Burger (no cheese or Thousand Island dressing).

When removing cheese, dressings and sauces, ask for tomato, lettuce, mustard and/or ketchup instead. And instead of ordering fries with your meal, ask for low-fat or nonfat milk, which lowers your fat intake and provides more nutrients.

On busy weekends, take five minutes for a fast-food pinch-hitter when your body’s hungry or it’s been more than four hours since you last ate. You’ll avoid the feast-famine cycle that causes muscle tissue loss and body fat retention, have more energy to enjoy the summer’s weekends, and return to work with ample energy for Monday.

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