Keto on the Go: Fast-Food Orders, the Protein-to-Calorie Test and the Three-Year-Old in the Kitchen
A 46-minute live for the group in February 2020, recorded right after the previous broadcast crashed with pink lines across my phone. We were in week seven of a reboot challenge. It covers four things: what members would order if they had to eat a whole day at fast-food chains, a back-of-the-napkin test for any meal, the last three "common concerns" from a low-carb book I was reading through with the group, and what to do when you catch yourself staring into the cupboard.
In this recording
- [1:21] Why this topic: I live alone and control my own meals. Most of you eat at work, with family, or on the road.
- [1:58] The challenge thread: a low-carb day built from a list of fast-food and casual-dining chains. I said "low carb," because with limited options that may be the best you can do.
- [2:46] Members' answers, read out. Grilled shrimp. Bunless breakfast sandwiches with coffee and cream. Grilled chicken with no bun and a side salad. Burrito bowls with no rice or beans. Lettuce-wrapped subs and burgers. Wings with celery.
- [3:36] A coffee aside: heavy cream is higher in fat and lower in carbs than milk, half-and-half sits in between, and skim milk still carries sugars.
- [8:43] The napkin test. How much protein is in this meal? If you ate it enough times to hit your protein target, what would your day's calories be?
- [10:10] Worked example: a meal with 25 g of protein, eaten four times to reach 100 g. At 500 calories a meal that's a 2,000-calorie day. At 250 it's 1,000.
- [11:30] The counterintuitive bit: a bunless double or triple burger can plan better than a junior bacon cheeseburger, because more meat raises the protein per calorie. Grilled chicken is usually the best bet.
- [13:36] The book: The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, which I said is where my information overwhelmingly comes from. Chapter four, concerns seven to nine.
- [15:33] Weight regain: my rule of thumb is keep carbs low for at least a year after reaching your goal, because your body's handling of carbs seems to lag the weight loss.
- [16:45] "Moderation": carbohydrates aren't an essential nutrient, I said, and no one needs corn or tomatoes specifically. Berries can fit.
- [22:27] Vitamins: the book says a varied low-carb diet covers them, and vegetables and berries supply vitamin C. I added that I already tell everybody to take a multivitamin.
- [24:05] Bones and kidneys: bone biology is outside what I know. On kidneys, the book says moderate protein shows no harm in people with normal kidney function.
- [30:29] Past month one, I said, the challenge is mostly bad habits.
- [31:50] Caught staring into the cabinet? Pause. Am I actually hungry? What's on my mind?
- [33:03] Treat the craving like a grumpy three-year-old: redirect with a walk, a breather, a game or a nap. Or have the cookies, as a decision and not a mistake.
- [36:35] Coaching exercise one: list your top three priorities. If diet isn't in them, an off day may just be good prioritising.
- [41:17] Exercise two: list the low-carb proteins and vegetables you'll actually eat, circle your favourites, cross out the rest.
- [43:48] Q&A: a spouse's carbs tempt you. Move them to one cabinet, shelf or bin you don't open.
Watching this in 2026
The napkin test is the keeper. It needs no app and works on any menu: protein in, calories out, scale it to your protein target. It also explains something people find odd: a bigger burger without the bun can be the better order. It's the same logic I used to build Stall Breaker, shrunk down to fit a drive-through.
The priorities exercise is the other one. Spouse fine, kid fine, job kept, and you ate some carbs? That isn't failure, it's prioritising. Unless the diet really is number one, say your doctors need the weight off before they'll operate, an off day is a choice you made, not a fall.
Then vs now: where the book and the research differ
Protein and kidneys. I read out the book's position that moderate protein shows no harm in people with healthy kidneys. The evidence page agrees for people without kidney disease. Across 28 studies (1,358 people), higher protein (at or above 1.5 g/kg/day, 20% of energy, or 100 g/day) did not change kidney filtration differently in adults without kidney disease (Devries 2018). If you do have kidney disease, protein targets are your doctor's call. See protein and kidneys.
How much protein. My shorthand was about 80 g for women and 100 g for men or taller people, rounding up for a margin of error (live SPWR4007; video UygKGoP_BtA). For reference, the adult RDA is 0.80 g/kg/day (IOM 2005). One review suggests 1.8–2.0 g/kg/day during energy restriction (Phillips & van Loon 2011). My numbers sit above the RDA, which is where I meant them to sit.
Vitamins "automatically." Here the book and the research pull apart. In the A TO Z trial, women on Atkins had shifted toward inadequate intakes of thiamine, folate, vitamin C, iron and magnesium by eight weeks (Gardner 2010). Menu modelling of four plans, including Atkins for Life, found none met the RDI for all 27 micronutrients from food alone (Calton 2010). That's probably why I kept adding "take a multivitamin" on top of the book. Variety helps. "Automatic" is too strong.
A year of low carbs after goal. That's my rule of thumb, not something on the evidence pages. I still think a slow return beats a fast one. See moving to maintenance.
Key points
- Fast food can be low carb: grilled protein, no bun, no rice or beans, salad or vegetables on the side.
- Napkin test: multiply a meal up to your protein target and look at the calories.
- More meat per bun can mean better protein per calorie.
- Healthy kidneys handled higher protein fine in the research (Devries 2018). Kidney disease: doctor first.
- A varied low-carb diet can still come up short on micronutrients (Gardner 2010).
- Craving? Pause, ask what you're really after, redirect, or decide.
Related
- Guide: How much protein · Protein and kidneys · Protein and satiety · Moving to maintenance · Who should talk to a doctor
- Blog: Hit your protein goal · Does protein help weight loss? · Regaining weight after keto · Nutrient deficiencies · Stop sugar cravings · Fruit on keto · Lifestyle vs diet
- Videos: Stall Breaker · Keto basics for beginners