Is Subway a healthy option??

pinarellokid

hi all

trying to lose a little timber and been watching what i eat.

if i go to Subway and get a turkey salad butty from them and a side salad.. is this a healthy option

or are they stuffed full of unhealthy stuff??

been leaving the sauces off the sandwich and hope they are healthy

simon_masterson

I wouldn't say that it's 'healthy' as such, but you could do a great deal worse if it has to be bought out. That's assuming that you go for a 6", though! At least with Subway you can have some idea of what's going into it. Bread, particularly white, isn't the best way of getting your slow-release carbs, though; rice and pasta (preferably wholewheat/wholegrain) or even porridge, are better. You should be able to find a pasta salad at the supermarket but it will probably be covered in sauce.

If you want to lose weight though, cut down on the snacks and alcohol if you haven't, and try to reduce your calorie intake throughout the day. The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline. The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

jscl

It's health...ier is the argument. A 6inch ham with salad and no dressing is a healthy sub. But if you go having a foot long ham, salad and sauce dressing - you're racking in a good 650 calories. A footlong meatball is 800+ calories.

It's healthier to have a large nugget meal from maccas than some of the footlong subs. Just look at the kcals when you're ordering.

pinarellokid

6 inch turkey on wheat is my usual choice. 260ish calories.. i did hear they are loaded with salt..

what are the healthy options to go for when out and about..??? is there a better place to eat??

i work night shift you see so its a little harder to follow the normal routine

LegendLust

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't say that it's 'healthy' as such, but you could do a great deal worse if it has to be bought out. That's assuming that you go for a 6", though! At least with Subway you can have some idea of what's going into it. Bread, particularly white, isn't the best way of getting your slow-release carbs, though; rice and pasta (preferably wholewheat/wholegrain) or even porridge, are better. You should be able to find a pasta salad at the supermarket but it will probably be covered in sauce.

If you want to lose weight though, cut down on the snacks and alcohol if you haven't, and try to reduce your calorie intake throughout the day. The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline. The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

chrisaonabike

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

Why so?

It's what I've been doing recently. Not every day, but when the roads are dry. Small glass of fruit juice at 7am, then out for 18 miles, then back for shower and coffee, start work at 8.45.

I'm finding I start getting hungry about lunch time, and not so much so that I binge. Seems to be working so far - I'm losing weight gradually. I do work at home though. Not sure I could do this if I actually had to be out and about as well.

giant_man

Stick to the low calorie with no sauce, and they're not too bad. Before I went on a healthy eating kick back in March and lost 2 stone, I was forever eating subs, they're lovely but you do have to watch the contents imo ...

ben@31

A friend of mine had the theory "It doesn't matter what you eat, if you're that active you're burning the calories off again".

verylonglegs

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

Why so?

It's what I've been doing recently. Not every day, but when the roads are dry. Small glass of fruit juice at 7am, then out for 18 miles, then back for shower and coffee, start work at 8.45.

I'm finding I start getting hungry about lunch time, and not so much so that I binge. Seems to be working so far - I'm losing weight gradually. I do work at home though. Not sure I could do this if I actually had to be out and about as well.

I've seen this diet 'method' mentioned and discussed a fair few times on the forum now but my own take on it is that there is no general rule as far as food and weight go, we can all be very different. I can pretty much each what I want and won't put on weight, whether I'm exercising or not and as soon as I wake up in the mornings I need to eat or I'd pass out before I even get to work. Others however can survive til mid-day before eating with no real problems. Recognising and doing what is best for you personally is all that matters and it won't necessarily be the best thing for the next person.

neeb

verylonglegs wrote:

I've seen this diet 'method' mentioned and discussed a fair few times on the forum now but my own take on it is that there is no general rule as far as food and weight go, we can all be very different.

+1

Simon Masterson wrote:

The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline.

This certainly doesn't work for me, I just have (wholegrain) toast and coffee for breakfast but eat both lunch and especially dinner like a king, and I'm a skinny so-and-so. I do nearly all of my cycling in afternoons and evenings though - if I was cycling first thing in the morning I'd need a big breakfast.

Can't remember if any of the subway bread options are true wholemeal or not - I'd say that you could do a lot worse than have a 6" sub with chicken/turkey or the veggie pattie option, salad and no fatty dressing, IF there is a wholemeal option. But you could do better too of course.

Bread gets a bad rap undeservedly because it is so difficult to get really good bread in the UK, as well as because of the gluten thing which is way over-hyped by the health food industry. Only a small minority of people are genuinely gluten intolerant. You will get a lot more nutrition (vitamins & minerals as well as slow-release carbs) from a decent wedge of real wholemeal bread than from a bowl of white rice.

simon_masterson

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't say that it's 'healthy' as such, but you could do a great deal worse if it has to be bought out. That's assuming that you go for a 6", though! At least with Subway you can have some idea of what's going into it. Bread, particularly white, isn't the best way of getting your slow-release carbs, though; rice and pasta (preferably wholewheat/wholegrain) or even porridge, are better. You should be able to find a pasta salad at the supermarket but it will probably be covered in sauce.

If you want to lose weight though, cut down on the snacks and alcohol if you haven't, and try to reduce your calorie intake throughout the day. The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline. The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

A lot of professionals do it. Lizzie Armitstead is just one I've heard of to advocate such a method; she mentioned in an article somewhere that in order to lose 3kg before the racing season she would do the first hour of training without any sustenance, to the point of dizziness, and that she knows other pros that spend entire days eating only fruit.

I've done it myself; it's perfectly practicable. It just makes work a little less comfortable than perhaps it ought to be...!

peat

ben@31 wrote:

A friend of mine had the theory "It doesn't matter what you eat, if you're that active you're burning the calories off again".

It only works if 'eating what you like' is reasonably balanced. If you do loads of exercise and eat only deep fried meats and salty chips, you may get fit, but you won't be around to enjoy it.

Joeblack

verylonglegs wrote:

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

Why so?

It's what I've been doing recently. Not every day, but when the roads are dry. Small glass of fruit juice at 7am, then out for 18 miles, then back for shower and coffee, start work at 8.45.

I'm finding I start getting hungry about lunch time, and not so much so that I binge. Seems to be working so far - I'm losing weight gradually. I do work at home though. Not sure I could do this if I actually had to be out and about as well.

I've seen this diet 'method' mentioned and discussed a fair few times on the forum now but my own take on it is that there is no general rule as far as food and weight go, we can all be very different. I can pretty much each what I want and won't put on weight, whether I'm exercising or not and as soon as I wake up in the mornings I need to eat or I'd pass out before I even get to work. Others however can survive til mid-day before eating with no real problems. Recognising and doing what is best for you personally is all that matters and it won't necessarily be the best thing for the next person.

This...

Top nutrionalist's are heading back to the think from about 60 yrs ago (when obesity wasn't a problem) and saying that a lot of the government guidelines are just plain wrong.

Check out Martin Macdonald on facebook or google him he has a website, he champions the inclusion of butter over low fat spreads and full fat milk amongst other foods in a diet, he also states that salt shouldn't be a problem and sugar is ok as long as its after excersise to replenish the bodies naturally depleted stores.

He also debunks the myth that you need to eat breakfast and that those that don't are more likely to consume extra calories throughout the day.

In reference to the Turkey subway sand which question, yes that is fine as long as it makes up part of a balanced days food intake.

Joeblack

Simon Masterson wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't say that it's 'healthy' as such, but you could do a great deal worse if it has to be bought out. That's assuming that you go for a 6", though! At least with Subway you can have some idea of what's going into it. Bread, particularly white, isn't the best way of getting your slow-release carbs, though; rice and pasta (preferably wholewheat/wholegrain) or even porridge, are better. You should be able to find a pasta salad at the supermarket but it will probably be covered in sauce.

If you want to lose weight though, cut down on the snacks and alcohol if you haven't, and try to reduce your calorie intake throughout the day. The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline. The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

A lot of professionals do it. Lizzie Armitstead is just one I've heard of to advocate such a method; she mentioned in an article somewhere that in order to lose 3kg before the racing season she would do the first hour of training without any sustenance, to the point of dizziness, and that she knows other pros that spend entire days eating only fruit.

I've done it myself; it's perfectly practicable. It just makes work a little less comfortable than perhaps it ought to be...!

This is complete tosh!!!!

There are such diets that include fasting but these athletes all work on advice from top nutrition experts and they would not give such poor advice, there is very little in fruit apart from carbs and these carbs come from sugar.

And don't bleed on about vitamins because there is more vit c and b in veg that in fruit

simon_masterson

neeb wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

I've seen this diet 'method' mentioned and discussed a fair few times on the forum now but my own take on it is that there is no general rule as far as food and weight go, we can all be very different.

+1

Simon Masterson wrote:

The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline.

This certainly doesn't work for me, I just have (wholegrain) toast and coffee for breakfast but eat both lunch and especially dinner like a king, and I'm a skinny so-and-so. I do nearly all of my cycling in afternoons and evenings though - if I was cycling first thing in the morning I'd need a big breakfast.

Can't remember if any of the subway bread options are true wholemeal or not - I'd say that you could do a lot worse than have a 6" sub with chicken/turkey or the veggie pattie option, salad and no fatty dressing, IF there is a wholemeal option. But you could do better too of course.

Bread gets a bad rap undeservedly because it is so difficult to get really good bread in the UK, as well as because of the gluten thing which is way over-hyped by the health food industry. Only a small minority of people are genuinely gluten intolerant. You will get a lot more nutrition (vitamins & minerals as well as slow-release carbs) from a decent wedge of real wholemeal bread than from a bowl of white rice.

That does explain a great deal... Ultimately if you're burning it off it doesn't matter, I guess. I think of the 'bicycle diet' as a lot of cycling followed by eating what you should be eating anyway, in larger quantities.

Though some people just don't seem to get fat. I am one of them (10 stone 8; 6'0 in height), though I'm heavier than I was even just three or four years ago or so, and a good few pounds heavier than I was after 5 months not being able to do much cycling. Nevertheless when I was a student I ate what I wanted, and looking back, was probably eating enough for four on a daily basis... Ludicrous dinner portions, fast food, tubs of Ben and Jerry's, loads of biscuits... I was still under 10 stone for most of that. Sadly these days it doesn't work like that!

You raise a good point about bread, though, and I've never heard anyone advocate white rice as a particularly nutritious food. I never buy it.

peat

The easiest way to lose weight, imho, is to review your meal portion size.

Since moving away from the parental bosom, when i go home for a meal, i am shocked at the sheer quantity they plate up for me. They have always had weight issues and they 'have tried everything' etc etc. Ball-arks. My father is the worst culprit, he'll wolf it down and before its even reached his stomach he declares that he's still hungry so needs seconds.

Small portions and take your time when eating. Over time your stomach will shrink (de-stretch) to a more normal size.

I couldn't face a 3 course meal now. It's starter OR pudding. (I'll always choose pudding....uummmmmm)

zx6man

Yup portion size for sure, I cut out all the snacks then just lowered the carbs a little, and lost 5 stone that way. I didn't call it a diet either.

simon_masterson

Peat wrote:

The easiest way to lose weight, imho, is to review your meal portion size.

Since moving away from the parental bosom, when i go home for a meal, i am shocked at the sheer quantity they plate up for me. They have always had weight issues and they 'have tried everything' etc etc. Ball-arks. My father is the worst culprit, he'll wolf it down and before its even reached his stomach he declares that he's still hungry so needs seconds.

Small portions and take your time when eating. Over time your stomach will shrink (de-stretch) to a more normal size.

I couldn't face a 3 course meal now. It's starter OR pudding. (I'll always choose pudding....uummmmmm)

Very true. Very similar to the 'slightly healthier' crap that you can buy. That gateau (etc) might not be quite as bad as a 'regular' gateau, but it's still a gateau. If you want to lose weight, stop stuffing your face. The supermarkets are only in it for the money; they don't care that they aren't actually persuading people to change their guzzling ways, which is what will actually help them to lose weight.

The other culprit in my view is Starbucks. People don't think of it as 'fast food'. Everybody knows (though many try not to think about it) that McDonalds et al is awful stuff, but a Starbucks muffin and one of their enormous caramel lattes can be pushing 1000 calories, and some people not only have more besides but have that day in day out. Have a full English at Wetherspoons for breakfast, Starbucks for elevensies, Big Mac for lunch and some processed microwave junk for dinner, followed by a night drinking Fosters, washed down with a nice kebab...

AchillesLeftKnee

Well, my personal, totally gimmicky, "one weird old tip" for weight loss is...

Be sensible about what goes in, don't snack, and get some exercise. If the weight's not coming off, then either burn more calories or drop the intake. Don't do anything to radical or faddy because it won't be sustainable and, more importantly, it won't be enjoyable, and life's not supposed to be a torture chamber*.

Erm, and that's about it.


* Excludes those who're into S&M.

LegendLust

Simon Masterson wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't say that it's 'healthy' as such, but you could do a great deal worse if it has to be bought out. That's assuming that you go for a 6", though! At least with Subway you can have some idea of what's going into it. Bread, particularly white, isn't the best way of getting your slow-release carbs, though; rice and pasta (preferably wholewheat/wholegrain) or even porridge, are better. You should be able to find a pasta salad at the supermarket but it will probably be covered in sauce.

If you want to lose weight though, cut down on the snacks and alcohol if you haven't, and try to reduce your calorie intake throughout the day. The old saying says that you should 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a peasant', and I find that to be a good basic guideline. The more brutal method is carb depletion - eg. ride to work on no breakfast and last until lunch - but unfortunately this may not be great for your productivity!

That advice is suicide

A lot of professionals do it. Lizzie Armitstead is just one I've heard of to advocate such a method; she mentioned in an article somewhere that in order to lose 3kg before the racing season she would do the first hour of training without any sustenance, to the point of dizziness, and that she knows other pros that spend entire days eating only fruit.

I've done it myself; it's perfectly practicable. It just makes work a little less comfortable than perhaps it ought to be...!

I go out fasted for my morning training rides. HOWEVER I don't wait until lunchtime to eat anything. If you're training (I don't mean just riding to work) then after a hard session then you need to be getting nutrients, protein and some carbs into your system to aid recovery and help you get stronger. You get faster on a bike not through training but through the recovery from training.

I have my breakfast after my morning training ride and eat most of my day's carbs at this meal.

If you carried on riding fasted and not eating until lunch then you'd be in a right state by the end of the week and I bet illnesses would set in after many weeks of doing this.

SBezza

You can do some pretty hard training fasted, and you don't need to pig out on carbs to replenish glycogen either. I know that eating starchy carbs is not the best solution to losing weight for me. I can eat similar calories but alot of that is in the form of starchy carbs, and put on weight, similar amount of calories but with more protien and fat as a percentage of that calorie count, and the weight comes off.

You can still get enough carbs in your diet without resorting to bread, potatoes, pasta in large amounts. Eating a decent diet that includes fruit and veg will give you enough carb intake to replenish glycogen even when training hard on a daily basis. Unless you start going near threshold, the majority of training would be using fat as a fuel source anyhow, and even an hour at threshold wouldn't use all the glycogen in the body.

I have occasionally fasted until lunch (including a easy ride to work), but I have done it on non training days, and I would possibly do it on days where glycogen usage might be minimal such as long rides.

As for Subway, a better option than pasties and sausage rolls etc, but probably not the healthiest option you could find in the shops.

simon_masterson

LegendLust wrote:

I go out fasted for my morning training rides. HOWEVER I don't wait until lunchtime to eat anything. If you're training (I don't mean just riding to work) then after a hard session then you need to be getting nutrients, protein and some carbs into your system to aid recovery and help you get stronger. You get faster on a bike not through training but through the recovery from training.

This is the method I prefer; just a recovery drink of milk, oats, maltodextrin, dextrose and unflavoured protein powder is what I use. It works well.

chrisaonabike

LegendLust wrote:

.... after a hard session then you need to be getting nutrients, protein and some carbs into your system to aid recovery and help you get stronger. You get faster on a bike not through training but through the recovery from training.

This makes sense. I can buy the idea that a small amount of post-ride protein will aid muscle recovery.

If you carried on riding fasted and not eating until lunch then you'd be in a right state by the end of the week and I bet illnesses would set in after many weeks of doing this.

Not sure this would follow for everyone. I've always been fairly breakfast-averse in normal circumstances. Whether I ride or not, I can't face food first thing. My routine tends to be tea, start work, coffee, then I'm getting peckish by about 11.30. So if I'm trying to lose weight I tend to just delay eating for a bit, and try and have a small lunch. Providing I eat it slowly, I can avoid eating twice as much with a little self-control.

I expect that as I get stronger and faster, I'll need more in the way of fuel - I have no religious attachment to any particular routine.

19 miles this morning - I'm now on my second vat of coffee and feeling quite good

giant_man

Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day, I don't care how many 'experts' say otherwise.

sassse

Why not make your own food and take in to work with you.

I make wraps, they are easy and you can control the calolries and fat, they also don't take up much room in my rucksack.

One favourite is use wholemeal Discovery wrap, into microwave for a few secs to warm. Spread w with small amount of houmous (one of the flavoured ones is good Piri Piri or onion), put on salad, then put some sliced chicken on top, fold over end and wrap up.... put into foil to keep fresha nd wrapped. You can also put a bit of mayo in if you like... but extra fat and calories.

Total calories is between 250-350 per wrap depending on exact filing and amounts you use.....

Cheaper and easier overall than trying to buy food out.

ugo.santalucia

pinarellokid wrote:

hi all

trying to lose a little timber and been watching what i eat.

if i go to Subway and get a turkey salad butty from them and a side salad.. is this a healthy option

or are they stuffed full of unhealthy stuff??

been leaving the sauces off the sandwich and hope they are healthy

Healthy and Subway don't really go together....
Problem is they tend to kill everything with mayonnaise related sauces, which pack up more calories than the rest of the meal and are only there to give some otherwise inexistent taste. The bread they use is packed full of preservatives and additives to stay moist and not develop mould. The meat is typically mechanically reclaimed and reformed with the addition of preservatives, water, gel agents and emulsifiers.
You are better off with a DECENT chicken kebab with fresh salad in a wrap, if you don't abuse with the sauce

t.m.h.n.e.t

Talking about dropping calorie intake without this. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ :evil: :evil: :evil:

AchillesLeftKnee

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Talking about dropping calorie intake without this. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ :evil: :evil: :evil:

Which is probably up there with every other calorie use guesstimator in terms of it's usefulness and relevance.

t.m.h.n.e.t

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Talking about dropping calorie intake without this. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ :evil: :evil: :evil:

Which is probably up there with every other calorie use guesstimator in terms of it's usefulness and relevance.

"Probably" meaning you don't know. Glad to clear that up

chrisaonabike

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Talking about dropping calorie intake without this. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ :evil: :evil: :evil:

Which is probably up there with every other calorie use guesstimator in terms of it's usefulness and relevance.

I thought this wiki article was quite interesting. Obviously you have to be a bit careful (especially when it says 'citation needed') which 'facts' to assume are true, but its assertion that the decrease in BMR with age is due to loss of lean muscle mass rather than anything else did chime with my experience.

I have a lot more muscle, not less, than I did when I was 20, and I've long suspected that the reason I can't eat packets and packets of biccies without turning into a lardie any more is simply because mostly I sit on my arse during the day, rather than anything else.

amaferanga

A chicken salad sandwich is a pretty decent lunch, if you make it yourself. Ham salad would be okay, but not as good.

But when you buy things from Subway or most other sandwich shops or takeaways there's so much other crap added to give it flavour that the calories start to shoot up. Some of those 'healthy option' salad boxes that supermarkets sell are actually ludicrously unhealthy, again just to make them taste good.

As others have said, if you want a healthy lunch then prepare it yourself at home and take it with you to work.