MILO BRYANT: Control fast-food calories

We often wonder about the nutritional content of the foods we eat at restaurants, especially fast-food places. Quite often our first thoughts are correct, too.

The fast-food joints aren't the most healthful places for us to invest our dietary dollars.

The foods are usually either high in bad fats or full of calories that have little, if any nutritional value - or both.

You might be thinking, "I already know this, so why is this fool telling me about it?"

Well, you're being told because you're human, and humans sometimes cave in to what's easiest. We're like water flowing downhill: We take the easiest path.

And sometimes the easiest path to satisfying hunger is to make that quick stop to get a burger and fries that won't take long to eat. We always seem to be rushed, right? So we need something quick, something that will sustain us until we can get home to a bigger meal.

So we head to the arches, order the $3 burger and ask the person at the drive-up window to "supersize me."

Here are a few hints to help you when you're in that rush.

• Remember why we're stopping by the fast-food joint. It's not to have a full-scale meal, so think about portion sizes. Portions we get now are more than what we used to get. And who said we have to order a double burger and large fries along with a big soda? That's a full meal. Why not get a grilled sandwich, be it chicken, turkey or beef, and a large water? That's more than enough to get us to dinner. So, let's be aware of how much we're taking in.

• We know what restaurants are on our way home, so check out their Web sites. Most of the national chains have pages with nutritional content. It might be cumbersome going through the amount of entries. However, it's enlightening to find out just how many fat calories are in those small fries.

• It's our money, so, let's not be shy about a special order. Get it without mayonnaise or the special sauce, or don't get it.

• Try to avoid buffets. I was bad about this in my college days. I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth, so I had no problem in overeating in a huge way. Many of us still do that. We hit buffets because of the perceived value, and then we eat more than we should to make sure we get the full value.

• Lose the sodas. We consume too many calories from soda when water is much better for us (I'll talk about that more next week). Because sodas are liquid, we're not thinking about all the other stuff that's in them. We do our bodies a serious disservice when we top off meals with a big gulp of soda.

We can eat at fast-food joints. We just have to be extra conscious of what we're putting into our bodies.

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Bryant holds training certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, USA Weightlifting and the Titleist Performance Institute. Reach him through the "contact" link at www.nobullfit.com