Friday or Saturday night is the prime time to get a takeaway. Everyone has had a long week at work and no one can be arsed to cook or tidy up afterwards. When you are trying to shed a few pounds, this can put you in a tricky situation. So, instead of licking an apple and crying yourself to sleep, why not make a sensible choice and join in with friends or family.

I have been carrying out some thorough research of takeaways lately and I want to share with you a list of those that are under 500 kcals. There is nothing magical about being under 500, but  it’s a sensible number of calories that most people would have for an evening meal.

If you are unsure of how many calories you need then check this out.

McDonald’s

Fast Food Under 500 Kcals

Ronald has got a good thing going on. It is cheap, fast and easy. I can have a meal sat in my lap within 30 seconds and I don’t even have to get out of the car. Mcdonalds have an entire menu dedication to being under 400 kcals and another for under 600 kcals.

The meal I would go for is The Sweet Chili Chicken One (A fancy name for a chicken wrap), a shaker side salad (Imagine that, you don’t have to have chips) and diet Coke. All of that for only 385 kcals which isn’t that bad. You are getting a good source of protein, some goodness from the salad and staying hydrated. Everyone is a winner.

KFC

Me and the Colonel go way back. His finger licking chicken has been keeping me busy for years. When most people think of chicken you presume it must be healthy and low in calories. It starts to become a little bit less healthy when you dunk it in fat and fry it. Strange that.

If I was trying to be careful with calories and make a sensible choice I would select the Zinger Ricebox with a drink. It’s essentially rice, salad and chicken. It has some fancy seasoning on the make it taste good and it’s under 500 kcals. Get it down ya! There are loads of these rice box variations and they are all reasonably low on calories.

Burger King

The only time I ever have a BK is if I stop at a services and have left the house unprepared. The item I have selected is a Cheeseburger and small fries. This meals comes in at 530 Kcals which is breaking my own rules and the title of blog, but I’m feeling rebellious today. You wont even feel like you are on a diet and you are keeping calories relatively low. By aiming for the smaller chips you are saving yourself 100’s of calories and the guilty feeling the next day.

Domino’s

Pizza doesn’t spring to mind when you are thinking of being healthy, but with some sensible decisions you can make it fit in your calorie targets. Unfortunately stuffing a whole pizza is out of the question, unless you have a spare 900 kcals left for the day.

The option I would go with is the Large American Hot – Thin and Crispy Crust. If you half this with a friend or loved one you will be each eating 481 kcals. If you eat the whole lot on your own, you are just being a piggy. The nutritional information is hidden deep with the Domino’s website and it’s a shame. People struggle to make informed choices and no one (except me) has looked at that nutritional information sheet.

I hope you have found these choices helpful. Don’t feel like you have to miss out, be miserable and make dieting boring. Try and do the same things as you did before, but just make sensible choices. A few easy swaps and you will hitting your goals in no time and you will still have friends at the end of it. After all this talk about food, I need to order a takeaway.