Can I eat McDonald's with gestational diabetes? From burgers to fries to apple pies, the menu is dissected for you to know that yes; it's possible!
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McDonald's for Diabetics FAQ's
It's dependent on the time of day (because breakfast is normally less tolerable), but with the exception of obvious high carb items like soda, sweets and buns, just about every menu item can be eaten in moderation. The simplest way to eat McDonald's moderately is to half (or remove) the bun.
Excessive fries, sodas, flavored and sweetened coffees, sweet tea, baked goods, ice cream, breaded chicken and fish fillets, oatmeal, whole buns.
Half the bun on any sandwich or burger, limit the fries, avoid breaded chicken and fish fillets, add extra vegetables, eat a salad with low carb dressing.
Yes; although McDonald's doesn't have many low carb items on the menu, making an item low carb is easy to do. However, some items should be avoided.
Some fast food items are completely safe for diabetics and others need to be modified to be safe. Modifying an item can be done by simply eating a smaller portion.
Eating on the Go
Let's face it - we can't prepare for everything, all the time! Life can be hectic, and in a moment hunger can strike in the middle of traffic.
Don't stress over not having a prepped meal. Just find the closest eatery and make good choices. And by good choices I mean follow the standard gestational diabetes diet rules:
- Avoid or strictly portion blood-sugar-spiking carbs.
- Carbs like sugar, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, juice, fruit, soda, ice cream, baked goods, etc.
- Pair carbs with protein.
I'm going to spell it all out in this post but if you have a good handle on the diet and just want a quick reference, click the link below to download the chart.
McDonald's Low Carb
Quick Reference download
(1 page) for when you're out and about 😉
McDonald's has a super helpful nutrition calculator that you can use to look up your favorite item and know just what you're eating.
The whole team is really excited about this book because it's the solution to the number 1 problem with gestational diabetes: what to eat!
Breakfast Items
One hash brown has 16g of carbs, which is within allowance for many moms.
Make it better...
It lacks protein so I suggest pairing it with the Sausage, Egg and Cheese McMuffin, but cancel the bread. Doing so adds 16g protein and 3g carbs for a total or 19g carbs. (thumbs up)
The Sausage Burrito has 26g carbs and 13g protein. Twenty-two of those carbs come from the tortilla, and since it's white flour, those carbs are pretty much void of any beneficial nutrition.
Make it better...
If you know you can handle that ratio of carbs to protein for breakfast, go for it! If not, you can still order it but put the contents into a bowl without the tortilla. Doing this takes the carbs down to 4g and the protein down to 9g. That may not be enough to hold you over until snack time, so double the order!
The Big Breakfast without the biscuit is basically just eggs, sausage and a hash brown. It has 17g carbs and 21g protein. (winner)
Breakfast Sandwiches
Each sandwich bread (McGriddle, bagel, biscuit) is around 40g - 50g carbs each! Way too high for breakfast, even if you eat just one half of the bread. So when it comes to breakfast sandwiches, cancel the bread and just eat the contents. The contents (egg, meat, butter, cheese) will give you 4g carbs and 14g - 16g protein depending on the meat.
Always order with the egg so you can pack in that great nutrition.
Visit the Best Foods for Pregnancy to see why eggs are so great!
English Muffins are a bit safer. Each English Muffin is 27g carbs with 5g protein. Again, if you know you can handle that, go ahead and order the Egg McMuffin with 30g carbs and 17g protein (preferred because of the egg) or the Sausage McMuffin with 29g carbs and 14g protein. If you're unsure, just toss half of the bread.
Better...
The Steak, Egg and Cheese Biscuit, without the biscuit, is 4g carbs and 22g protein.
What to Avoid
- Hotcakes
- Breads (biscuits, bagels, McGriddle)
- Oatmeal
The hotcakes, oatmeal and yogurt parfait are loaded with carbs and not appropriate choices for the diet, breakfast or any meal.
Burgers
Here's the deal with all McDonald's burgers. Depending on the size of the sandwich, beef patties are 15g - 20g protein and buns are about 28g - 34g carbs with about 6g protein. With added condiments you're looking at about 35g - 45g carbs per burger.
That's not a terrible balance of carbs to protein, however, the majority of those carbs are (from the bun) empty and spiking. Plus, if you eat the whole burger, you don't have any carbs left over for other foods if you're still hungry.
So when it comes to burgers, at least remove half of the bun so you can fit in more food with more nutritious carbs.
Make it better...
With any burger you get, load up on the veggies! Burger veggies have carbs, but not the carbs that will spike you. AND veggies have a variety of nutrients that you and baby need (prenatal vitamins don't cover it all).
Double the lettuce for sure! (More of anything green!)
Artisan Sandwiches
These sandwiches use a different bun and it's 42g carbs.
You can always ask them to change the bun or just toss half of it.
Chicken & Fish Sandwiches
Grilled Chicken
The grilled chicken fillets have 28g protein. As of now, they come on the Artisan bun. Check above for their review.
Crispy Chicken & Fish
Due to the batter on these meats, the carb count is higher.
The Buttermilk Crispy Chicken fillet (by itself) is 20g carbs and 20g protein. It's served on the Artisan bun so it'll put you at max carbs, if not above.
The McChicken and Filet-O-Fish (just the meats) are about equal in carbs and protein, around 9-12g. The bun added makes each sandwich about 35g - 40g carbs and 15g - 20g protein. Because these are smaller sandwiches and not as filling, I'd highly suggest removing half the bun so you can eat more food without exceeding your carb limit.
What to Avoid
Avoid the breaded chicken and fish fillets because the extra carbs aren't nutritionally worth it and they put you close to your max carbs without satisfying your hunger, leaving little or no room for more food/carbs.
Nuggets
Nuggets have just under 3g carbs per nugget and 2.5g protein. So, you can eat up to 10 nuggets and only consume 26g carbs, but that doesn't leave much left for you to eat other nutritious and filling foods.
A 6-piece or 4-piece nugget is ideal. The 6-piece has 16g carbs and 15g protein and the 4-piece has 11g carbs and 10g protein.
Tenders
Tenders have about 6 and a half carbs and about 10g protein per tender. You can get either the 4-piece with 35g carbs and 39g protein or 2-piece with 13g carbs and 20g protein.
This info does NOT include dipping sauces. Dipping sauce nutrition isn't shown on their website, or on the individually packaged sauces. Proceed with caution!
Salads
Best choices on the menu!
Currently there are two salads; the Bacon Ranch and Southwest. You can order either salad with grilled or buttermilk crispy chicken.
The Bacon Ranch Salad is safe with either type of chicken, because even with crispy chicken it's only 27g carbs and 33g protein (WITHOUT THE DRESSING). With grilled chicken it's only 8g carbs and 42g protein.
The Southwest Salad has a lot more ingredients and carbs. Ordering with grilled chicken is great because it has only 27g carbs and 37g protein, and that leaves you with room to eat something else if you're still hungry. However, ordering the crispy chicken will give you 46g carbs with only 28g protein.
This info does NOT include salad dressing!! Salad dressing nutrition isn't included on the McDonald's website, but it is on each package of dressing. Ask the person taking your order which dressings are low carb!
Sides & Extras
Fries are full of carbs, but you can still eat them in moderation! If you haven't tried fries while having gestational diabetes yet, take it easy and eat only a few to see how your glucose reacts.
If you know you can handle fries, check out the carb counts below.
- Small Fry - 29g carbs
- Within limits, but you should spend half of those carbs elsewhere.
- Kid's Fry - 15g carbs
- Yoplait Low-fat Strawberry Go-gurt - 7g carbs
- This is the only acceptable yogurt, as the others are very high carb. Be careful to get the correct yogurt!
- Apple Slices - 4g carbs
- Side salad - 3g carbs
Drinks
For the purpose of this article, carbs in drinks are limited to 10g based on a two-point value assessment.
- Your hunger won't be satisfied from just liquid, so carbs should be saved for more nutritious and filling foods.
- Carbs in liquid form are processed much faster than solid foods and have a higher risk of spiking your blood sugar.
- Diet Soda 0-1g carbs depending on size.
- Diet sodas use alternative sweeteners, likely Aspartame. Aspartame is widely used (Equal, NutraSweet, etc.) but under much controversy.
- People with the rare genetic metabolic disorder PKU should NOT consume Aspartame.
- Diet sodas use alternative sweeteners, likely Aspartame. Aspartame is widely used (Equal, NutraSweet, etc.) but under much controversy.
- Honest Kids Apple Juice 8g carbs.
- Cappuccino 9g carbs and 6g protein, so that's a safe bet.
- American, Coffee and Iced Coffee all are 0-1g.
- 1% Milk is 12g but has a healthy balance with 8g protein, so it's a safe bet as well.
Dessert
Kiddie Cone is just 8g carbs!
Chick-fil-A, IHOP and more at Fast Food and Restaurants!
Jackie Weisman
Hi! Newly diagnosed momma on the go always. So if I am reading this right - I can ditch the bun and save tons of carbs? Like a burger bowl?
So a double quarter is 43, but the bun is 34. Take off the bun and I am left with 9 carbs.
Is that right?
THANK!
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hi Jackie! That's right! At fast food joints, most of the carbs come from the fries and bread. Everything else if pretty much meat and veggies. The regular condiments, like ketchup, have low sugars in the amount they're served in. Things like dipping sauces tend to have more carbs/sugars, so you'll want to be careful with these.