Even though I am not a big fan of McDonald's, sometimes I do end up there with my kids. I still look for a low-carb and lower-calorie solution when eating at McDonald's.
Just because a meal is low-carb or keto, that doesn’t mean it is healthy for you, so when eating at places like McDonald's, you need to be careful of your choices.
Limit Fast Food For Health
Even if you are eating low-carb options at McDonald's or other fast food selections, that doesn’t mean those choices are healthy.
This is because many items at McDonald's and other fast food options are cooked in oils.
At McDonald's, they mainly use soybean oil.
This oil contains omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation and other issues for your body.
However, if done once in a while, eating fast food won’t harm you.
Potential Health Risks with Fast Food
Even when looking for healthy options, fast food can cause health issues if eaten too often.
- Raised Blood Pressure
- Bloating
- Higher Cholesterol
- Digestive Issues
- Weight Gain
- Energy Drain
- Poor Effects to Mood
These risks can come from too much sodium, fat, grease, oil, preservatives, and other things in your food.
What Is A Keto Diet?
A keto diet is a low carb and high fat diet that can offer health benefits.
This diet can not only help you lose weight but can also improve your health.
It is also possible that a keto diet has health benefits against diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, and even Alzheimers.
Keto Basics:
There are a few keto diets you can follow:
Standard Keto Diet
- 70% Fat
- 20% Protein
- 10% Carbs
Cyclical Keto Diet
- Follows 5 ketogenic days and 2 high carb days
- Targeted Keto Diet
- Add carbs when you are working out
High Protein Keto Diet
- 60% Fat
- 35% Protein
- 5% Carbs
This diet can be hard to follow if you do not make all your meals home.
It can be even harder if you travel a lot or have to stop at fast food for convenience purposes.
McDonald’s Breakfast Options
If you are starting your day with breakfast at McDonald’s, there are some options you can consider that are low in carbs and keto.
1. Steak Egg and Cheese Biscuit
If eaten without the biscuit, you can just have the steak and eggs for low calories and carbs.
- 294 Calories
- 4 Carbs
2. Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit
Like the option above, eating bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits without the biscuits can be a great low-carb, keto option.
- 190 Calories
- 3 Carbs
3. Sausage Egg and Cheese Biscuit
Is steak or bacon not your thing? There is also a sausage egg and cheese biscuit you can eat, again, without the biscuit.
- 224 Calories
- 1 Carbs
4. Other Breakfast Options
Sausage McMuffin with Egg – No English Muffin
- 340 Calories
- 3 Net Carbs
Egg McMuffin – No English Muffin
- 160 Calories
- 3 Net Carbs
McDonald’s Breakfast Options To Avoid
When eating a keto diet, there are some breakfast options to avoid.
These include:
- Fruit & Maple Oatmeal
- Fruit & Yogurt Parfait
- Hotcakes & Sausage
These choices are all high in carbs and will not help you stick to your diet or stay in ketosis.
McDonald’s Lunch And Dinner Options
There are some lunch and dinner options that you can eat if you are looking at low-carb or keto options.
Sandwich Options
If you are looking for a low-carb lunch or dinner option, you can always choose a grilled chicken sandwich or burger without the bun.
However, the breaded chicken sandwiches are not a good option for this and should be avoided.
Options Include:
Hamburger – No Bun
- 90 Calories
- 6g Fat
- 0g Carbs
- 7g Protein
Cheeseburger – No Bun
- 140 Calories
- 10g Fat
- 2g Carbs
- 10g Protein
McDouble – No Bun
- 220 Calories
- 16g Fat
- 3g Carbs
- 17g Protein
Double Cheeseburger – No Bun
- 270 Calories
- 20g Fat
- 4g Carbs
- 17g Protein
- 1g Fiber
Big Mac – No Bun
- 230 Calories
- 16g Fat
- 3g Carbs
- 17g Protein
- 1g Fiber
Bacon McDouble – No Bun
- 290 Calories
- 21g Fat
- 3g Carbs
- 23g Protein
Grilled Chicken Sandwich – No Bun
- 160 Calories
- 4g Fat
- 2g Carbs
- 29g Protein
Salad Options
Salads are also an option offered by McDonald’s and are great for a low-carb or keto diet.
Unless you eat the salad dry, you will want to make sure you choose a low-carb dressing to maintain the low-carb diet.
Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad:
When eating the bacon ranch grilled chicken salad, you will want to order it with no croutons, carrots, or dressing.
Nutritional Information for the Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad, when eaten this way, is:
- 320 Calories
- 14g Fat
- 42g Protein
- 7g Carbs
McDonald’s Lunch & Dinner Options To Avoid
There are some lunch and dinner options that you will want to avoid on a low-carb diet.
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich – even after removing the bun, the breading on the chicken patties are not good for a low-carb diet.
- Chicken McNuggets – while low in calories, these are not low in carbs so you should not eat them if you are following a low-carb diet.
Drinks & Sides
There are not a lot of healthy things to drink at McDonald’s, but you can make it work.
Obviously, water is the best and healthiest thing you could order at McDonald’s, but if you are looking for something different, their unsweetened ice tea is a great alternative.
These are the only two keto-friendly drinks there to pick from.
Snacks
There are also snack options you can eat while at McDonald’s.
While not entirely keto-friendly, they do offer apple slices and oranges (Cuties).
If these are your choice, just make sure you know there is natural fruit sugar in both options.
Low-Calorie McDonald's Food
There are some great low-calorie options you can choose at McDonald’s if you are trying to maintain your weight or follow a calorie-limited diet.
Some options of Low-Calorie McDonald’s food include:
- Hamburger – 250 Calories
- Six Piece Chicken McNuggets – 250 Calories
- Side Salad (no carrots or dressing) – 18 Calories
Low Sodium Options
If you are looking for a low sodium option, it might not seem like it, but there are choices at McDonald’s you can eat that are lower in sodium.
These options are not necessarily low in sodium but lower than the other McDonald’s choices.
If you are trying to eat low to no sodium, you will want to avoid eating at fast food chains.
1. Filet-o-Fish:
Without tartar sauce, the Filet-o-Fish is lower in sodium at 470 mg, which is a fraction of the amount in the other menu options.
Without cheese, you can drop it even further to 370 mg.
2. McChicken:
Another option that is lower in sodium is the McChicken.
If you order it without mayo, it contains 500 mg of sodium.
With mayo, it has 560 mg of sodium.
3. Blueberry Muffin:
Counter-intuitively, the sweet baked goods at Mcdonald's are very high in sodium.
Some baked goods even have more than the 20% of your recommended daily value of sodium.
The blueberry muffin is one of the lower sodium options, with only 360 mg.
Just because it is low in sodium doesn’t mean it is healthy.
The blueberry muffin has high calories, carbs, and sugar.
Stay Keto at McDonalds Final Tips
You can follow some general tips when eating at McDonald’s to keep it low carb.
These include:
- Remove the bun, biscuit, or bread option
- Skip the ketchup
- Don’t use their salad dressing
- Remove croutons and tomatoes from salads
- Choose better side options like salad or fruit over other choices
- Avoid French Fries
- Avoid Shakes
- Choose grilled options, not crispy options
- Only drink water or unsweetened iced tea
Another way to help with being healthy at fast food restaurants is to limit your portion sizes.
One thing that is true about eating out in America is the portion sizes are large.
It is no secret that McDonald’s has large portion-size options that are the most popular.
If you want to be more healthy, you should order the smallest option for portion sizes.
If this is not an option, you can always set half aside or split it with someone.
Another great choice you can make when eating out at a fast food restaurant is to check the menu before you go.
Online menus will give you calorie and nutrition options in a way that the menu boards in the restaurant just won’t.
Knowing your options and what you will order ahead of time can save you from making a bad decision in the spur of the moment when people are lined up behind you or by ordering something because it looks or sounds good at the moment.
If you follow these tricks, you can turn your occasional McDonald’s trip into a low-carb experience that won’t wreck your diet or your health.