Best Restaurant Franchises for Dieting

We all know the saying that abs are made in the kitchen. However, they don’t necessarily have to be made in your kitchen. Abs are really made with a caloric deficit. You can eat out if you wish and still lose body fat. If you can track the calories and macros at the restaurants you order from, eating out is completely permissible on a fitness plan. In this article, we will discuss some of the best restaurant chains for dieting. These chains will work especially well if you are on an intermittent fasting plan and you’re willing to eat high volume meals.

1. Chipotle Mexican Grill

Not enough good things can be said about Chipotle. It is a Mexican food chain that specializes in using no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. Chipotle is one of the first national restaurant franchises to commit to using only organic produce to make their food. They don’t use meat raised with added hormones.

If you know what to order at Chipotle, you can hit the bulk of your calories and protein while still being in a deficit. Chipotle is arguably one of the most macro-friendly food chains in the world. The amount of nutrient density you get for the price is pretty good.

The ideal meal you would get at Chipotle would be a burrito bowl consisting of either chicken or steak.

The recommended selections for the chicken bowl would include:

• Double chicken
• Brown Rice
• Black Beans
• Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Cheese
• Romaine Lettuce

This whole meal would run you about 1,030 calories and give you 87 grams of protein.

The recommended selections for the Steak bowl would include:

• Double Steak
• White Rice
• Pinto Beans
• Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Cheese
• Romaine Lettuce

This whole meal would run you about 970 calories and give you 65 grams of protein.

2. Viva Chicken

Viva Chicken is a restaurant chain that specializes in authentic Peruvian-Style rotisserie chicken. Their unique blend of spices and flavors will take your taste buds to a different dimension. Viva chicken started in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2013 and has since expanded to total of 12 locations throughout the United States.

If you are fortunate enough to live in a town that contains a Viva Chicken and you have goals of getting lean, take advantage of this gem of a restaurant. The amount of protein you can get out of a meal at Viva chicken is quite high for the caloric investment.

The recommended selections for a meal at Viva Chicken would include:

• ½ Chicken White Meat
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Viva Salad
• 1 Rocoto Hot Sauce

The whole meal would run you about 1200 calories and give you 85 grams of Protein.

3. CHOPT Creative Salad

CHOPT is a creative salad company with a mission of making healthy eating exciting for all people. They make quality food using locally bought produce through the relationships they form with farmers. CHOPT has a total of 79 locations in the United States as of 2023.

Many of the menu items at CHOPT are low in calories and high in protein. However, one of their most macro-friendly food items is the Classic Cobb Wrap.

The Classic Cobb Wrap consists of:

• Grilled Chicken
• Avocado
• All-Natural Smoked Bacon
• Cage-free Egg
• Blue Cheese
• Grape Tomatoes
• Romaine Lettuce

The whole meal would run you about 780 calories and give you 54 grams of Protein.

4. P.F Chang’s

If you love Asian cuisine, but its hard for you to track it on a fat loss program, then P.F Chang’s would be a great option for you. P.F Chang’s menu options infuses dishes from all Asian cultures including China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and more They have more than 300 restaurant locations worldwide in 20+ countries.

You can find the nutritional information for any dish on the menu. One entrée that stands out as far as macro friendly is the Chang’s Spicy chicken steamed.

The Chang’s Spicy chicken meal consists of:

• Chicken with sweet spicy chili sauce.
• Green onion
• White rice

The whole meal would run you about 1,030 calories and give you 63 grams of Protein.

5. Starbucks

Everyone knows Starbucks for their coffee, but not everyone knows how fitness-convenient Starbucks can be, especially for their sandwiches. You can find a Starbucks in almost any part of the world.

Starbucks has food menu items with the calories and macros listed. The great thing about some of their food items is they’re low in calories and high in protein. If you are on a fat loss plan paired with an intermittent fasting plan, you can break your fast with one of Starbucks’ all-day breakfast sandwiches. Two good menu options for a small meal would be the Turkey, Provolone, & Pesto on Ciabatta sandwich or the Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

The Turkey, Provolone & Pesto on Ciabatta consists of:

• Ciabatta Roll
• Turkey Breast Raised Without Antibiotics
• Provolone Cheese
• Basil Pesto
• Roasted Red Bell Peppers

The whole meal would run you about 520 calories and give you 32 grams of Protein.

The Impossible Breakfast Sandwich consists of:

• Sesame Ciabatta Bun
• Fried Egg Patty
• Plant-Based Breakfast Patty
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese

The whole meal would run you about 420 calories and give you 21 grams of Protein.

Conclusion

Successful dieting does not always have to come from cooking food yourself. You can get lean eating at your favorite restaurants, even if you choose to eat out more than you cook. Many of these restaurant chains cater to the fitness community by putting the calories and macronutrient breakdown of their meals on their websites. These restaurants work especially well if you can get adequate protein. If you do Intermittent fasting, restaurants like Starbucks and CHOPT would be beneficial for a lunch or small meal to break your fast. Restaurants like Chipotle, Viva Chicken, and P.F Chang’s would be beneficial for a large meal or dinner. Of course, this would depend on your individual calorie needs.