McDonald's, My Old Friend.

So off I go to lunch today heading to my typical stop to pick up some groceries. Long story short I found myself cutting through the McD's parking lot. While I have picked up a snack of apples or even consumed a bun-less burger before I have yet to realistically view it as a viable option for lunch.

My WOE limits me to around 1800 calories a day. That breaks down to about 300 for breakfast, 700 for lunch, 100 for afternoon snack and 700 for dinner. Keeping this in mind I find myself hypnotised by the big glossy photo of a juicy angus burger. I can almost hear it calling my name and in a moment of weakness I realize I am now hearing a voice that snaps me out of my trance.

"Can I take your order?"

Momentarily flustered from a lack of recent experience at this establishment, I peruse the menu and find the number associated with the burger that so beckoned me from the window.

"Yes, I will have the number 14 but could I get apples instead of fries?"

I feel a rush as I wait for the response as if she may decline my request and I am denied my prize. Then I see the little red screen begin adding my order with the special instructions "ask". My order has passed the test and victory will shortly be at hand.

Upon returning to work with my plunder in hand I immediatly begin to disect it. Bun...don't need that, ketchup...scrape, where is the lettuce? hmmm. Grab an Arnolds Select sandwich bun and rebuild it without all of the fluff. Break out a plate and arrange my little apples slivers in a pile along side my sandwich.

This is the part where all of the negative thoughts start questioning my choice. That it looks way to good to be eating. What is in this meat thing anyway, MSG? I wonder if that's actually bacon on top? WTF have I done?! AHHH!!!

Ignoring the voices that are screaming at me to stop what I am doing. I sit at the table with my co-workers and within seconds I get the question.

"What are you eating?"

As if still trying to justify it to myself I explain in a very matter of fact manner.

"It's an angus burger from McDonald's with one of my low-carb buns."

Success, at least I'm convinced...

So after devouring this meal and enjoying each moment I return to my desk and direct my attention to McDonald's web site. How bad is the damage, I am pondering while working to find the nutritional info. Some part of me hoping it's not available because maybe not knowing would be better.

So how bad was it?

Turns out McDonalds has a pretty good tool on their website for calculating calories. You can add or remove most anything from menu items so that you get a customized view of what you just ate. My meal?

Angus Bacon and Cheese:
Calories - 500
Fat
Total - 36g
Saturated - 17g
Trans - 2g
Protein - 36g
Carbs - 8g
Fiber - 1g
Net Carbs - 7g
Sodium - 1240

Arnolds Select Multi-Grain Sandwich Thin
Calories - 100
Fat
Total - 1g
Saturated - 0g
Trans - 0g
Protein - 4g
Carbs - 22g
Fiber - 5g
Net Carbs - 17g
Sodium - 230

McDonalds Apple Dippers
Calories - 35
Fat
Total - 0g
Saturated - 0g
Trans - 0g
Protein - 0g
Carbs - 8g
Fiber - 0g
Net Carbs - 8g
Sodium - 0

Total Meal
Calories - 635
Fat
Total - 37g
Saturated - 17g
Trans - 2g
Protein - 40g
Carbs - 38g
Fiber - 6g
Net Carbs - 32g
Sodium - 1470

Calorie Breakdown
Protein: 25%
Fat: 52%
Carbs: 24%

So what do I take away from this breakdown in judgement? Still not sure but I was happy that while it was not the best choice it was within my dietary budget. Carbs where higher than I would like as I like to keep them down below 10% of the total so next time I will likely ditch the sandwich thin from arnolds.

Either way, I was able to eat a decent, not great, meal that is not crazy high in calories from a fast food joint.