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Fast Food Weight Watcher Guide

Changing your lifestyle doesn't have to mean giving up all of your favorite fast food meals. Weight Watchers is designed so that you can eat anything you want, just not everything all at once. It breaks all foods down to points, based on their fat content. And now that many fast food restaurants have lower-fat and lower-calorie choices, keeping them on your menu is as easy as counting.

  1. Taco Bell

    • Taco Bell is offering its Fresco menu as an alternative to regular menu items, serving up foods where it omits the cheese and sour cream in favor of fresh salsa. The Fresco menu is comprised of nine items, from beef to chicken to steak, offered in hard and soft tacos and burritos, all of which are lower-calorie than their traditional counterpart. Check out tacobell.com for all of the nutritional information.

    McDonald's

    • McDonald's now carries premium salads, and with ingredients such as corn, black beans and grilled chicken strips they are a good choice for lunch or dinner. The regular hamburger or cheeseburger can actually fit into a food plan easily, and the ice cream cone is a low-point treat for many Weight Watchers members. All nutrition information can be found at mcdonalds.com.

    KFC

    • While KFC is known for its fried chicken, it does offer some healthier alternatives. Salads, with or without chicken, are available in most restaurants, and Kentucky Grilled Chicken is lower in fat and calories than the fried alternative. Green beans, seasoned rice, corn on the cob and sweet corn are good lower-point side items, but make sure that you check the nutrition numbers carefully here, as small things can add up to large point totals quickly. Log on to kfc.com for more info.

    Planning Your Strategy

    • Most fast food restaurants have added healthier alternatives to their menus, but the key to eating fast food while on Weight Watchers is planning. Find the restaurant's website and get the nutritional information before you go, then decide what you are going to eat, add the points, then go enjoy fast food the guilt-free way.

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