Ultimate Fast Food Survival Guide

Restaurant food doesn't have to be bad for us. Oh sure, much of the time it is: The monstrous portion sizes you're served are often spiked with added sugars and dangerous fats, and with misleading names that suggest that you might even be getting something healthy and nutritious. Fat chance. And the scariest part is that today the average diner in this country underestimates his or her caloric intake by up to 93 percent when eating out—meaning you're probably eating twice as much as you think! The good news is that you can adopt an Eat This, Not That! mantra—helping yourself to a lot of delicious food while still losing 10, 20, 30 pounds or more within a few months—and do so without dieting. You just need to watch out for the food traps, and make smarter choices like those shown here:

Make a Burger Healthy

Burger King Whopper
680 calories
40 g fat (11 g saturated fat, 1.5 g trans fasts)
1020 mg sodium

A hamburger smothered in the wrong sauce can instantly sabotage your meal—and your weight-loss goals. At 160 calories a schmear, BK's mayo is the worst in the fast food world. Replace it with barbecue sauce to instantly save 17 grams of fat. Ketchup and mustard are also better picks than mayo and secret sauces—no matter how "special" they may be. Make these swaps and save 160 calories and 17 grams of fat. A simple swap like this, made every day, will help you lose nearly 20 pounds in one year.

Not This!
Mayo and Secret Sauce

Eat This, Instead!
Ketchup, Barbecue Sauce, or Mustard

Make Pizza Healthy

Pizza Hut Two Slices Supreme Pan Pizza (12')
620 calories
32 g fat (12 g saturated fat)
1,440 mg sodium

The caloric-blow of pizza depends on two things: crust and toppings. Want to be thin? Always opt for thin crust. As for what to put on your pie, nix the pepperoni. Heavy on sodium and fat, just four little discs can add 108 calories to your Pizza Hut slice. Pick toppings like spinach, ham, and pineapple not only to cut calories and fat content in half, but also for hefty doses of vitamins and minerals that help ward off cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Make these switches and save 260 calories and 20 grams of fat. With these swaps, you can lose more than 25 pounds in a year.

Not This!
Deep dish pizza
Pepperoni

Eat This, Instead!
Thin crust
Spinach, ham, pineapple

Make a Salad Healthy

Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
800 calories
60 g fat (12 g saturated)
1,745 mg sodium

With 60 grams of fat, this is officially the worst salad from any fast-food chain. The dressing alone is loaded with a whopping 42.5 grams of junk that's potentially on the way to your trunk, and it's a good example how the wrong dressing can turn a pile of fresh produce into a green monster. Ask for "light" or "fat-free" dressing to save this salad. And remember, heavy toppings such as crumbled cheese, greasy bacon, and pan-browned beef make the one-time rabbit food look more like pig slop. Vegetables and lean protein are the easiest way to guarantee your salad lives up to its reputation as a health food. Make the smart choice and save 425 calories and 42.5 grams of fat. Such a change every day will help you lose nearly a pound a week--again, without dieting.

Not That!
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Cheese, bacon, pan-browned beef toppings

Eat This, Instead!
Light or fat-free dressing
Vegetable and lean protein toppings

Make a Sandwich Healthy

Panera Sierra Turkey
840 calories
40 g fat

Turkey's supposed to be good for you, but not when it's slathered with a thick layer of chipotle mayo. To top it off, Panera slides the cold cuts between two oily slices of Asiago Cheese Foccacia bread (6 grams of fat per slice). When it comes to sandwiches, meats are rarely the problem: turkey, roast beef, and ham are all lean cuts. But bad breads and sauces can ruin otherwise healthy meals. Nix the mayo and choose whole-grain bread, instead. Make these swaps and save 300 calories and 30 grams of fat. One a day and you lose almost 20 pounds in one year! For more healthy lunch secrets, check out this indispensable list of delicious fast food meals under 500 calories.

Not That!
Chipotle Mayo
Foccacia bread

Eat This, Instead!
Whole-grain bread

Make a Burrito Healthy

Chipotle Steak Burrito
1,033 calories
40 g fat

Chipotle uses fresh ingredients, but unless the chain downsizes its football-size burritos, it will still give you a linebacker's gut. If you refuse to give up your favorite lunchtime meal, have a backup plan: Split it with a friend or save half for dinner. Or lose the rice and tortilla and order a Chicken Burrito Bowl (complete with lettuce, black beans, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream). Make these swaps and save a whopping 570 calories and 94 grams of carbohydrates. If you cut this many calories from your daily intake, you can lose a pound a week without even trying!

Not That!
½ the burrito
Or
Rice and tortilla

Eat This, Instead!
Just ½ the burrito
Or
Chicken Burrito Bowl with lettuce, black beans, green tomatillo salsa and sour cream

Make a Breakfast Sandwich Healthy

Starbucks Classic Sausage, Egg, and Aged Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich
460 calories
25 g fat

When it comes to meat, bacon tops sausage, and ham trumps them both. Replace the sausage with ham and you could save up to 500 calories a week. Starbucks has a ham version of this sandwich that weighs in at just 380 calories. Slash even more calories from your A.M. meal by opting for an English muffin, which, nutritionally speaking, will always beat out bagels, croissants, and biscuits. Also be sure to avoid anything on this list of the 8 worst breakfasts in America. Make these swaps and save 270 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Not That!
Sausage
Bagels, croissants, or biscuits

Eat This, Instead!
Ham
English muffin

Make Tuna Salad Healthy

Quiznos Regular Tuna Melt
1,270 calories
101 g fat (18 g saturated fat)
1,445 mg sodium

Tuna melt with mayo and cheese is a classic deli disaster. But Quiznos has really outdone itself with this one, making it the worst sandwich in America. As a rule of thumb, when you're on the go, avoid all "melts." They almost always involve a Swiss-mozzarella-mayo combo that cranks up the fat content. Make these swaps and save 805 calories and 84.5 grams of fat!

Not That!
Any kind of "melt" sub or sammie

Eat This, Instead!
Any non-"melt" sammie

Make a Chicken Dinner Healthy

KFC Original Recipe chicken meal
460 calories
32 g fat

There's no secret recipe at KFC, just a fryer full of bubbling oil and a breaded, grease-infused two-piece combo that adds 160 calories and 15 grams of fat. Improve any chicken meal by simply ordering it skinless. It can save up to 200 calories and 17 grams of fat. Make these kinds of swaps every day and save about 20 pounds over the course of a year.

Not That!
Regular chicken meal with skin

Eat This, Instead!
Skinless chicken meals

Make a Sweet Drink Healthy

Dunkin' Donuts Large Tropical Fruit Smoothie
720 calories
142 g sugars

Dunkin' makes it clear that even real fruit—especially if it's been mixed with high-fructose corn syrup—can be unhealthy. This sickeningly sweet concoction has an ingredient list straight out of a chemistry lab and more sugar than seven Haagen-Dazs vanilla-and-almond ice-cream bars. Any medium (24 oz) fruit smoothie will pack at least 100 grams of sugar. Opt for flavored iced tea instead, and get your smoothie fix elsewhere—check out the Eat This, Not That! Ultimate Smoothie Selector for suggestions. This one swap saves 585 calories and 113.5 grams of sugar. Healthy cutbacks like this each day can help you lose over a pound a week!

Not That!
Dunkin' Donuts Smoothie

Drink This, Instead!
Flavored iced tea

And while you're minding your liquid intake, also be sure to avoid any drinks on our list of the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America. (Making the right drink choices is another way to lose loads of weight in record time.)

Make a Coffee Drink Healthy

Starbucks 2% Caffe Latte (Grande)
with whipped cream
260 calories
14 g fat (4.5 saturated)

In the hierarchy of espresso drinks, lattes sit squarely at the bottom. That's because they're more milk than java and possibly huge pumps of sugary syrup thanks to eager-to-please baristas. A macchiato gives the same caffeine kick for a tiny fraction of the caloric cost by swapping out the excess steamed milk for a thick crown of frothed milk. It's a simple but meaningful switch for caffeine junkies looking for a healthier fix. Other quick ways to improve any morning brew: Ask for sugar-free syrups, nonfat milk, and always refuse the whipped cream. Make these swaps and save 70 calories and 14 grams of fat each and every time.

Not That!
Lattes
Whole milk
Sugar
Whipped cream

Eat This, Instead!
Macchiatos
Sugar-free syrups
Nonfat milk