5 Burgers that can make you FAT
November 25, 2009
Too many hamburgers are made with cheap meat and come topped with calorie-laden cheeses and fixings. But burgers can actually be great muscle fuel. “Beef has protein, iron, and other minerals, and vitamins, too,” says Jeffrey Hampl, Ph.D., R.D., Associate Professor of Nutrition at Arizona State University. The key to a healthy burger is selecting the right meat, then topping it wisely so neither the burger nor you is weighed down.
The only problem with trying to make healthy choices when eating out is most fast-food chains pack on massive amounts of calories and fat with an abundance of condiments. Here are six of the heaviest hitters.
McDonald’s
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese
Ingredients: Two quarter pound 100% beef patties, sesame seed bun, American cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle slices, slivered onions
740 calories
42 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 6 1 oz. Slim Jim Beef Jerky sticks
Sonic
SuperSonic Cheeseburger
Ingredients: Two beef patties, crinkle-cut pickles, chopped onions, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, choice of mustard, mayo or ketchup
898 calories
53 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 4 Hershey chocolate bars
Wendy’s
3/4 lb. Triple with Cheese
Ingredients: Three hamburger patties, two slices of American cheese, four strips of Applewood smoked bacon, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, honey mustard, four dill pickle slices, four onion slices, 1-2 tomato slices, lettuce and a bun
970 calories
60 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 18 Oreo cookies
Carl Jr.’s
The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger
Ingredients: Charbroiled 100% Black Angus beef patty, guacamole, two strips of bacon, two slices of melted pepperjack cheese, lettuce, two slices of tomato, red onions, and Santa Fe sauce on a toasted sesame seed bun
1040 calories
70 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 1 pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream
Burger King
Triple Whopper
Ingredients: Three flame-broiled beef patties with two slices of American cheese, lettuce, mayo, tomatoes, pickles and onions—all on a toasted sesame seed bun
1,160 calories
76 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 4 Snickers bars
Hardees
2/3 lb. Monster Thickburger
Ingredients: Two 1/3 lb. charbroiled 100% Black Angus beef patties, four strips of bacon, three slices of American cheese and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun
1320 calories
95 grams of fat
Calorie equivalent = 4 Dunkin Donuts Jelly-Filled donuts
If this doesn’t scare you off think of the fries and the large, possibly super-sized drinks you get on top of all that. People can’t complain about not losing enough weight when these items are part of the weekly diet. Imagine if you fed your dog or pet these items. Wouldn’t you feel horrible? You would be leading it to obesity, heart disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, depression, and the list goes on. If you simply cut fast food out of your lifestyle that is an improvement on its own.
