How your food is prepared has a role to play when it comes to choosing a diet that’s best for you, and the same can be said about fast food sandwiches. “The way it is prepped can make a difference. I have nothing against a good burger, but sometimes, the meats aren’t the best quality and packed with saturated fats and or it is charred to a degree that it may contain bad byproducts,” explained Dr. Amy Lee.
Even when it comes to deli meats, there are some that are healthier alternatives than the rest. For example, freshly cut lean meats like turkey, chicken breast, or roast beef are better than prepackaged lunch meat or highly processed bologna, salami, pepperoni, and pastrami. The more organic and minimally processed, the better. It might also help to know what ingredients go into your deli meat: the fewer the ingredients, the healthier it will be.
Additionally, portion sizes, which directly impact how many calories you’re consuming, also make a difference. Supersizing, the concept of upping your portions to larger sizes, can be detrimental diet-wise, per the expert. “So when one meat patty is a standard portion size, you are now eating two or three patties stuffed between layers of cheeses which can bump over the caloric intake easily. For example, a standard portion size is a 6-inch sandwich vs. a foot long; but we are given this impression that we should eat the whole foot long,” shared the nutritionist.