by Dave Zinczenko
Countless studies have shown that eating a daily breakfast is your best strategy for losing weight fast, so thankfully Americans are doing so with increasing frequency. Over the past five years, breakfast has comprised more than 60 percent of restaurant traffic growth, and in response, chains like McDonald’s and Burger King have expanded their morning menus. What’s more, Taco Bell and Wendy’s—two chains that have traditionally skipped breakfast—are right now testing egg-based sandwiches and burritos in select markets.
But while it’s easy to praise the increasing variety, it’s equally important to recognize that not every fast food breakfast is equally good for your waistline. Sure breakfast can help you shed pounds, but the wrong meal—one with too many calories—can just as easily pack pounds on. Here’s what to watch out for when you’re hungry and in a hurry, courtesy of Eat This, Not That! 2012.
#5: WORST BREAKFAST
Jamba Juice Chunky Strawberry Topper Parfait (16 oz)
570 calories
17 g fat (3 g saturated)
59 g sugars
SUGAR EQUIVALENT: 18 Keebler Fudge Shoppe Fudge Stripes cookies
You’ll be the chunky one soon enough if you down too many of these parfaits. Jamba adds granola and peanut butter to its “nutritious and delicious” parfaits, resulting in excess fat and calories. The chain’s oatmeal provides protein and fiber, and oat consumption has been proven to lower LDL cholesterol in research studies.
Eat This Instead!
Jamba Juice Blueberry and Blackberry Steel-Cut Oatmeal
290 calories
3.5 g fat (1 g saturated)
25 g sugars
SNACK SMART: Consult The Ultimate Snack Scorecard to find the most slimming between-meal boosters.
#4: WORST BREAKFAST
Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Cake Muffin
650 calories
27 g fat (9 g saturated)
56 g sugars
CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 5 bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
With the exception of the Reduced-Fat Blueberry variety, every one of the monstrous muffins at Dunkin’s sits at about 500 calories or more. In fact, this one is filled with more calories than any doughnut you’ll find on the menu! Plus, more than half of those come from cheap, refined carbohydrates—the top two ingredients are refined flour and sugar. The Cheese Danish doesn’t provide the protein or fiber of an ideal breakfast, but it’s a superior splurge and the moderate sugar load will spare you a mid-morning crash.
Eat This Instead!
Dunkin’ Donuts Cheese Danish
330 calories
17 g fat (8 g saturated)
17 g sugars
FAT-BLASTING FADS: Discover The Best and Worst Food Trends of 2012 to make this your slimmest year yet.
#3: WORST BREAKFAST
Wendy’s Mornin’ Melt Panini with Sausage
650 calories
46 g fat (22 g saturated, 1 g trans)
910 mg sodium
SATURATED FAT EQUIVALENT: 37 Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets
Wendy’s new breakfast menu is slowly rolling out across the country—but it’s the nutrition facts that are really all over the map! Take the Mornin’ Melt Panini: Stuffed between these slices are more than a day’s worth of saturated fat and a full gram of dangerous trans fat. Fortunately the menu offers a few decent options, too. Of the 11 new entrees, five of them fall under 500 calories.
Eat This Instead!
Wendy’s Sausage & Egg Burrito
350 calories
22 g fat (8 g saturated)
850 mg sodium
FREEZER BURN! Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by frosty “health” foods—strike the 6 Worst Frozen Diet Foods from your grocery list.
#2: WORST BREAKFAST
Burger King Ultimate Breakfast Platter
1,310 calories
72 g fat (26 g saturated, 1 g trans)
2,490 mg sodium
41 g sugars
CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 17.5 Banquet Brown ‘n Serve Original Sausage Links
This super-sized breakfast is a triple threat of cheap carbs. It features a biscuit, pancakes, AND hash browns, a combination that will set your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride throughout the day. The platter also knocks out a day’s worth of sodium and two-thirds of your day’s total caloric allotment. Compromise with the Double Bacon Double Croissan’wich—doubling up on the bacon grants you an extra 6 grams of protein, adding up to a substantial 20 grams total.
Eat This Instead!
Burger King Double Croissan’wich with Double Bacon
440 calories
25 g fat (11 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,190 mg sodium
6 g sugars
BRUTAL BOWLS: Warm up with winter’s ultimate comfort food—just be sure to skip the6 Worst Soups in America.
THE #1 WORST BREAKFAST IN AMERICA
McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes (Large Biscuit) with Hotcake Syrup and Whipped Margarine
1,370 calories
64.5 grams of fat (21.5 g saturated)
2,335 mg sodium
49 g sugars
CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 16 Eggo Blueberry Pancakes
This platter contains about 400 more calories and nearly double the saturated fat and sodium load of a Big Mac Extra Value Meal. Plus, it’s made with partially hydrogenated oils, which are the source of those tricky trans fats. Fortunately, McDonald’s also boasts some of the best fast food breakfast options around—this Egg McMuffin-Hash Brown combo is relatively lean, and it’s bolstered with 19 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber.
Eat This Instead!
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin and Hash Brown
450 calories
22 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,120 mg sodium
3 g sugars
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