by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, LD

This feature is a continuation of the Eating on the Run article in the October 2001 issue of Inside Texas Running. To get the "rest of the story" on fitting fast food into your diet, please read the Eating on the Run article in that issue.

Fast foods are here to stay, and thankfully many of today's quick service restaurants offer some healthful, low fat options. You can actually choose a decent sports diet at most places--if you make wise choices. But also be sure to pack your gym bag with supplemental carbohydrates, such as apples, oranges, pretzels, fig cookies, bagels, pita, crackers, raisins, dried fruits, juice boxes, sports bars or granola bars. That way, if you do end up succombing to the fast-and-fatty options, you'll at least be able to add on the carbs your muscles need for energy.

Your best bets for fast-foods-that-fuel include the following options at quick service restaurants:

Best Fast Food Breakfast Bet: McDonald's offers a tasty sports breakfast: pancakes/syrup, orange juice and milk. Treat yourself to hot cocoa for a higher carb choice than coffee. Or choose their cold cereal, juice, and a muffin or English muffin with jelly.

Best Bagel Breakfast Bet: Find a deli or bagel shop with wholegrain bagels, fresh fruit, juice, and yogurt. A little lowfat cream cheese and/or jam can complete the meal.

Best Hotel Breakfast Bet: If you are staying at a hotel, save yourself time, money and temptations by bringing your own cereal, dried fruit, and spoon. Either pack powdered milk or buy a half-pint of milk at the corner store. Use a water glass or the milk carton for the cereal bowl.

Best Sandwich Bets: Seek out a deli that offers a sandwich with more bread than filling. For example, a large submarine roll provides far more carbohydrates than does a small pita. "Hold the mayo" and add moistness with lite salad dressings (if available), mustard or ketchup, tomatoes, and lettuce. Best fillings: turkey, ham, roast beef.

Best Soup Bets: Hearty bean soups, including minestrone, lentil and split pea soups, accompanied by crackers or crusty rolls provides a satisfying, carbohydrate-rich low fat meal. Chili, if not glistening with a layer of grease, can also be a good choice. For example, a Wendy's large chili with 8 saltines provides about 400 calories, of which only 25% are from fat. (Ideally, meals should be less than 30% fat.)

Best Chicken Sandwich Bet: Grilled chicken sandwiches are fine-- except for the special sauces. The 29 grams of fat in the BK Broiler makes it almost as fatty as a double cheeseburger. Wipe that mayo off! (Or request no mayo.)

Best Burger Bet: If you can't find an eatery that offers more than just burgers & fries. you'll have to make the best of a bad situation. If you do order a burger, request an extra roll or extra bread. Squish the grease into the first roll, then replace it with the fatfree one. Boost carbs with fluids such as juice, soft drinks and lowfat shakes. Enjoy your gym-bag snacks (pretzels, fig bars) for dessert. Athletes with big appetites should order two small burgers (each with a roll) rather than a double burger with 1 roll. For a similar price, you'll get more carbs with the two rolls.

Better Red Meat Bet: Better than burgers, satisfy your meat hankering with a lean roast beef sandwich. For only 260 calories, you can get a Roy Rodgers Roast Beef Sandwich (4 grams of fat); this is preferable to the 260-calorie McDonald's hamburger (10 gms fat).

Best Salad Bar Bet: At a salad bar, be generous with the colorful vegetables, chick peas, kidney beans, pasta salads and hearty breads, and carefully choose lite dressings. Beware of Caesar Salads. For example, Boston Market's Chicken Caesar Salad with four tablespoons of dressing totals 670 calories, of which two-thirds are from fat (47 gm). You could have gotten a chicken breast (without skin), corn bread, steamed vegetables, and dill potatoes for only 15 gms fat and 570 calories.

Best Baked Potato Meal Bet: Your best bet is to order two potatoes, one plain and one with a topping. For example, at Wendy's, by splitting the Broccoli & Cheese topping (14 grams fat) between two spuds, you end up with a hearty 770 calorie, carbohydrate-based meal that fuels your muscles. For added protein, drink a glass of lowfat milk.

Best Pizza Bet: Order pizza that's thick with extra crust rather than extra cheese. The more dough, the more muscle fuel. For example, one slice of Pizza Hut's pan pizza (260 calories) has 10 more grams carbohydrates than does a slice of their thin 'n crispy pizza (200 calories). Pile on veggies (broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, onions) for a vitamin boost. Blot off any grease with a napkin.

Best Chicken Dinner Bet: Roasted, rotisserie or grilled chicken meals are generally preferable to fried chicken meals. But you still need to abstain from eating the skin. By removing the skin and wing from a KFC Rotisserie Gold Quarter Breast, you remove 13 grams of fat and 115 calories. If fried chicken is your only option, get the larger pieces, peel off the skin, and eat just the meat. For carbs, order extra rolls, corn on the cob, potatoes or baked beans; include nutrient-rich carrots, squash, spinach or broccoli. Although the vegetables are sometimes buttery, you can balance them in by eating lower fat foods at other meals.

Best Dessert Bet: Lowfat frozen yogurt is fun, refreshing, and carbohydrate-rich (read that loaded with sugar). Fro-yo may be a "best bet" for dessert, but don't think it's a meal replacer. Regular yogurt has far more nutritional value.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD specializes in nutrition for exercise. She offers private nutrition consultations at SportsMedicine Brookline. Her popular Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 2nd edition ($20) and The New York City Marathon Cookbook ($23) are available by sending a check payable to Sports Nutrition Services to 830 Boylston St #205, Brookline MA 02467. Or, order via www.nancyclarkrd.com