Fast Food Calorie Counter – Hamburgers
When you are in the mood for fast food, specifically, a juicy fast food hamburger, it may be hard to find a substitute that will satisfy your craving. So, just how much (calorie) damage will a fast food hamburger do to your weight loss or weight maintenance diet? It depends upon the type, size, extra ingredients or toppings along with other factors. The following calorie chart features the most modest, and diet friendly, choices on top and the worst choices toward the bottom of the chart. Be aware that adding sauces, even condiments (that don’t come standard on the hamburger, such as extra catsup) increases the calorie count. Also note the serving size (in grams). It makes sense that a White Castle ‘slider’ is lower in calories than most all other options. Keep in mind that it is much lower in calories because it is so small! When tallying calories in fast food hamburgers, (serving) size definitely matters. In parenthesis, next to the calorie count, the size of the burger is displayed (in grams). This is not an exhaustive chart but features some of the most popular (nationwide) fast food chains. While it’s best to stick with the first half of the chart as all of these burgers provide fewer than 400 calories, there are ‘best bets’ within each category. These picks are highlighted in green. All White Castle options are best bets (except the double bacon cheeseburger) because they are ½ the size of the other burgers.
| Restaurant → Type ↓ |
McDonald’s Calories (weight) |
Burger King Calories (weight) |
Wendy’s Calories (weight) |
White Castle Calories (weight) |
Other – Sonic, Dairy Queen, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s Calories (weight) |
| Small Hamburger | 250 (100g) | 260 (109g) | 250 (N/A) | Single slider – 140 (58g) | Sonic Jr. Burger or Jack in the Box or Hardee’s Regular- 310 (117g/118g/129g, respectively) |
| Cheeseburger | Regular – 300 (114g) | Regular – 300 (121g) | Jr. cheeseburger -290 (N/A) | Single- 170 (67g) | DQ original cheeseburger – 400 (156g) |
| Larger Hamburger | McDouble- 390 (151g) |
Double burger (no mayo) – 360 (146g) | Custom – plain ¼ lb patty w/ buttered bun – 440 (N/A) | Double – 240 (98g) |
DQ Deluxe ‘local’ hamburger – 350 (163g) |
| Larger Cheeseburger | Double – 440 (165g) | Whopper Jr. w/ cheese- 380 (159g) | Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe – 350 (N/A) | Double- 300 (113g) | DQ Deluxe ‘local’ cheeseburger- 400 (177g) |
| Signature/specialty burger | Big Mac – 540 (214g) | Whopper (no mayo) 510 (268g) | The “W” – 580 (N/A) | Jalapeño cheeseburger – 160 (60g) | DQ ¼ lb. Grillburger with cheese – 530 (217g) OR Hardee’s ¼ lb. Little Thickburger – 570 (223g) |
| Burger with Bacon | Big & Tasty- 460 (206g) | Double Bacon Cheeseburger – 520 (183g) | Baconater® single- 660 (N/A) | Double bacon cheeseburger – 400 (121g) | Jack in the Box Jr. bacon cheeseburger – 430 (131g) |
| Other | Angus mushroom & Swiss – 770 (283g) | Double Whopper w/o mayo – 740 (352g) | Double stack – 400 (N/A) | Bacon Jalapeño cheeseburger – 210 (67g) | DQ Ultimate® burger – 780 (259g) |
So, if you have a hankering for a fast food burger you should keep a few things in mind for calorie-control. First of all, if you are in the mood for just a taste, go small and plain. Secondly, toppings can and do add calories. Ask for extra vegetables, such as low-calorie lettuce and go mayonnaise-free or dressing-free whenever possible. If you prefer your burger with mayonnaise, add approximately 100 calories to the totals wherever you see “without mayo.” In addition, as you can see from the chart, often, a smaller plain cheeseburger is lower in calories than a larger hamburger. A fast food hamburger is not completely off limits when you are trying to control calories; however, these burgers are high in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and some contain trans fats, so they are not a heart-healthy choice. Keep your visit to your favorite fast food establishment infrequent and attempt to keep your meal’s total calories to 400 to 500 calories for women and 500 to 600 calories for men. A hamburger plus a side salad with reduced-calorie salad dressing should do the trick.
REFERENCES
- McDonald’s Nutritional Information
- Burger King Nutritional Information
- Wendys.com: Nutritional information
- Hardee’s Menu
- Dairy Queen Nutritional Information
- Sonic Burger Nutritional Guide