Help, I'm at a Fast Food Chain!

WebMD's motto: Be prepared.

When we are desperate to grab something fast and we only have a 5-spot in our pockets, many of us gravitate toward the nation's top 5 fast-food places. As a nutritionist, I have to say that we couldn't do a worse thing for our weight or our health. But I'm also an American, and unfortunately it's the American thing to do. I do it, you do it, we all do it. Here's Elaine's "Golden Arch" Rule in case it helps you: Don't let yourself eat fast food more than once a week.

But when we do find ourselves under the golden arches or walking into Wendy's, don't despair. With our help, you can go "fast fooding" knowing how to choose wisely.

• Check out Elaine's Best and Worst dinner deals
• Need a recipe makeover?
• Elaine's "Snack Attack Plan"

Actually, uncovering the most and least healthful fast food selections is easy because many of the chains, like the ones below, provide nutritional analysis on their menu items.

You'll notice the better choices listed below have 10-15 grams of fat or less and the worst choices have 25-30 grams of fat or more. We want to have some fat in each meal to keep it appealing, satisfying, and slowly digested so we don't feel hungry right away, and 10-15 grams gives us some fat without giving us too much.

Here are some of Fast Food's best and worst offerings:

Choices

McDonald's Best
Lowfat Apple Bran Muffin	3 grams fat and 300 calories
Grilled Chicken Deluxe without mayo	5 grams fat and 300 calories
Hotcakes, plain	7 grams fat and 310 calories
Their smallest hamburger	9 grams fat and 260 calories
Grilled Chicken Salad Deluxe with 1 pkg Red French Reduced Calorie dressing	9.5 grams fat and 280 calories
Egg McMuffin	12 grams fat and 290 calories
Their smallest cheeseburger	13 grams fat and 320 calories

McDonald's Worst
Sausage Biscuit with Egg	37 grams fat and 550 calories
Big Mac	31 grams fat and 560 calories
Sausage Biscuit	31 grams fat and 470 calories
Quarter Pounder with Cheese	30 grams fat and 530 calories
Fish Filet Deluxe	28 grams fat and 560 calories
Sausage McMuffin with egg	28 grams fat and 440 calories
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit	28 grams fat and 470 calories
Large size french fries	26 grams fat and 540 calories
Chicken McNuggets, 9 pieces	26 grams fat and 430 calories
Crispy Chicken Deluxe	25 grams fat and 500 calories
Sausage McMuffin	23 grams fat and 360 calories

Burger King's Best
BK Broiler Chicken Sandwich without mayo	9 grams fat and 370 calories
Chicken Tenders, 4 pieces	11 grams fat and 180 calories
Whopper Jr. Sandwich without Mayonnaise	15 grams of fat and 320 calories
Chick N Crisp without mayonnaise	16 grams fat and 360 calories

Burger King's Worst
Double Whopper with Cheese Sandwich	67 grams of fat and 1010 calories
Double Whopper Sandwich	59 grams of fat and 920 calories
Whopper with Cheese Sandwich	48 grams of fat and 760 calories
BK Big Fish Sandwich	43 grams fat and 720 calories
Chicken Sandwich	43 grams fat and 710 calories
Biscuit with sausage, egg & cheese	43 grams fat and 620 calories
BK King Sandwich	42 grams fat and 640 calories
Croissan'Wich with sausage, egg, & cheese	41 grams fat and 530 calories
Whopper Sandwich	40 grams fat and 660 calories
Bacon Double Cheeseburger	38 grams fat and 620 calories
Double Cheeseburger	36 grams fat and 580 calories
Croissan'Wich with sausage & cheese	35 grams fat and 450 calories
Biscuit with sausage	33 grams fat and 490 calories
King Size French Fries	30 grams fat and 590 calories
King Size Onion Rings	30 grams fat and 600 calories

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