Whether you are bulking or losing weight, having a convenient option like Wendy’s for food is beneficial.
So what should you eat at Wendy’s if you work out? If you are losing weight, a grilled chicken salad or sandwich is a high protein and moderate fat meal. If you are bulking, a grilled chicken sandwich and a double burger is a high protein/carb meal. You should avoid fries as they are 360 calories with minimal protein.
In this article I will provide:
- 3 meal options for what to eat at Taco Bell to lose weight
- 3 meal options for what to eat at Taco Bell when bulking
- My top 4 tips for eating at Taco Bell both before and after your workout
Check Out Our Complete Guide On High Protein Fast Food For Bodybuilding
What to Eat at Wendy’s To Lose Weight: 3 Meal Options
Three meal options to order at Wendy’s to lose weight are:
1. 450 Calorie Wendy’s Cutting Meal Plan
- Order a strawberry summer salad, use 1 packet of dressing
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 450 calories with 41g of protein (35%), 25g of carbohydrates (21%) and 23g of fat (44%).
A salad is a good option when losing weight because it’s high in protein and fat but low in carbs. This is ideal as protein and fat will give a feeling of being full and satisfied much longer after eating compared to carbs. When losing weight, reducing hunger is crucial to making the process sustainable in the long term.
By not adding french fries with your meal, you are reducing the calories by 360 calories, 47g of carbohydrates and 17g of fat. Fries are a lower volume food, meaning they physically do not take up much space for the calories, combined with minimal protein, this is a simple way to decrease calories without missing out on nutrients or feeling hungry later.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
I do not recommend eating this meal around a workout as it does not have enough carbs to provide you with sufficient energy for your training. While you can increase the carbs by adding french fries, this also increases the fat which will also reduce the energy available for your session.
Instead, I recommend ordering a grilled chicken club sandwich. This meal has 344 calories with 33g of protein, 35g of carbs and 8g of fat.
2. 650 Calorie Wendy’s Cutting Meal Plan
- Order a grilled chicken club sandwich
- Add 6 chicken nuggets
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 613 calories with 48g of protein (31%), 49g of carbohydrates (32%) and 25g of fat (37%).
The grilled chicken club sandwich is a relatively even mix of protein, carbs and fat. This even mix is ideal during weight loss as it will keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day but also energized after each meal.
Adding 6 chicken nuggets will increase the meal’s protein by 15g and fat by 17g. This boost of fat and protein without adding unnecessary carbs will keep you feeling full and satisfied much longer after you eat. This will make the process of reducing calories to lose weight much more sustainable in the long term.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
If you are planning to eat this meal pre or post-workout, I recommend ordering it without the chicken nuggets. While the extra protein and fat are beneficial to help you feel full, we don’t need them before a workout. Instead, we want to focus on foods that are higher in carbs and lower in fat like the grilled chicken club sandwich.
3. 850 Calorie Wendy’s Cutting Meal Plan
- Order a strawberry summer salad, use 1 packet of dressing
- Add a grilled chicken club sandwich
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 815 calories with 74g of protein (36%), 60g of carbohydrates (29%) and 31g of fat (34%).
Adding the grilled chicken club sandwich helps to boost the meal’s calories by 344 with a relatively even mix of carbs, fat and protein. This even mix compliments the summer salad well resulting in a higher protein and fat meal with lower carbs. This ratio will leave you feeling full and satisfied while still energized throughout your day.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
If you are eating this meal around your workout, I recommend sticking with just the grilled chicken club sandwich as it’s higher in carbs but lower in fat. High carbs pre-workout provide us with a quick dose of energy, which is what is needed to feel energized throughout your workout.
By keeping the fat lower, you are not slowing down this process and instead are making sure all the carbs can be quickly used by your body for energy. If one sandwich is not enough calorically, a second sandwich is a good option to increase the meal’s calories to 688.
What to Eat at Wendy’s When Bulking: 3 Meal Options
Three meal options to eat at Wendy’s when bulking are:
1. 700 Calorie Wendy’s Bulking Meal Plan
- Order a grilled asiago ranch chicken club sandwich
- Add 4 chicken nuggets
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 669 calories with 50g of protein (30%), 43g of carbohydrates (26%) and 33g of fat (44%).
The grilled asiago ranch chicken club sandwich is a relatively even mix of protein, carbs and fat. This mix is ideal when bulking as it ensures sufficient protein for muscle repair and recovery while still feeling energized and not overly full after a meal.
Adding 4 chicken nuggets boosts the calories by 185 without adding a significant volume of food. When bulking, many people struggle to consume enough calories because of a constant feeling of being physically full. If you can boost meals through foods that are low in volume, like chicken nuggets, eating higher calories will be more comfortable.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
If you are planning to eat this meal pre or post-workout, I recommend excluding the chicken nuggets as they are higher in fat without adding any significant amount of carbs. Around a workout, we want to keep the carbs high so our body has a source of energy. As fat makes this process more difficult for our body, we want to reduce fat in these meals.
If you are looking to increase the calories of a pre or post-workout meal, I suggest adding a second grilled chicken sandwich as this is higher in carbs and lower in fat which is best around a workout.
2. 900 Calorie Wendy’s Bulking Meal Plan
- Order a grilled asiago ranch chicken club sandwich
- Order a double stack hamburger
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 897 calories with 63g of protein (28%), 60g of carbohydrates (27%) and 53g of fat (53%).
Adding a double-stack hamburger increases the calories of the meal by 412. This is a better option than a second grilled chicken sandwich as the burger had 70 calories more, but due to more fat, is smaller in size. When bulking, utilizing food that is higher in calories but lower in volume will make eating increased calories more comfortable.
You want to make sure you don’t overdo the fat however as it is quite satiating and can give you the feeling of overindulging in a really rich meal. The double-stack does not have any additional fat sources like bacon or cheese making it the best option.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
If you are eating this meal around a workout, substituting a grilled chicken club sandwich instead of the hamburger is recommended. This will keep the carbs high in your meal but will help to reduce the fat. Around our workouts, keeping the fat lower will ensure our body can use the carbs and we feel energized during our workout.
3. 1100 Calorie Wendy’s Bulkin Meal Plan
- Order a grilled asiago ranch chicken club sandwich
- Order a double stack hamburger
- Add four chicken nuggets
- Do not add french fries
This meal has 1,081 calories with 73g of protein (27%), 69g of carbohydrates (26%) and 57g of fat (47%).
When bulking, many people struggle to eat enough calories because of a constant feeling of being physically full. If you can add food that is lower in volume but higher in calories to your meals, it can make eating higher calories more comfortable. Chicken nuggets are a great addition as they are a low volume food that will help increase your meal’s calories.
Pre/Post Workout Recommendations
If you are eating this meal before or after your workout, you may want to consider the 700 or 900 calorie meal options as consuming a meal this high in calories is likely to leave you lethargic and less energized. Similar to that sleepy feeling post-Thanksgiving dinner.
Tips for Eating at Wendy’s Before a Workout (Pre-Workout)
What you consume before a workout is a critical factor in providing the energy you will need throughout your workout. For anyone looking to maximize their gym performance, your pre-workout meal is a key consideration that should not be overlooked.
Should you eat at Wendy’s before a workout? Yes, you should eat at Wendy’s before a workout. A grilled chicken sandwich, without french fries, provides a high carbohydrate, moderate protein and fat meal that is ideal pre-workout. Ordering a second sandwich is a good option if you need more calories.
- Read more in my article Can You Eat Fried Food Before And After Workouts?
3 Tips for How to Eat at Wendy’s Before a Workout
My top 3 tips for how to eat at Wendy’s before a workout are:
1. Order a sandwich
Before your workout, you want to be eating a meal that is high in carbs as your body will be able to use these as a quick energy source keeping you energized throughout your workout. This sustained and quick energy is important so you can push hard enough at the gym to see progress.
At least two servings of carbs are recommended, with a serving being about the size of your closed fist. At Wendy’s, a sandwich bun is the best option.
I recommend trying to consume this meal 1 – 2 hours before your workout.
2. Order a meal with grilled chicken as the protein source
Fat slows down our digestion process providing a slower and more consistent energy source. While this is ideal in our day to day life, before a workout, we want a quick more intense burst of energy that comes from carbs. Therefore we want to limit the fat we are eating and focus on prioritizing carbs.
Grilled chicken is the leanest meat option at KFC, therefore it is the most optimal to include in your pre-workout meal.
3. Skip the french fries
While french fries are high in carbohydrates, which is ideal for pre-workout, they are also high in fat. When fat is consumed with carbohydrates, your body isn’t able to use the carbs as fast and cannot create that quick burst of energy needed for a workout. Therefore, it’s recommended to skip the french fries and focus on carbs from lower fat sources.
- Want to learn more about fats before a workout? Check out Should You Eat Fat Before A Workout? (No, Here’s Why)
Tips for Eating at Wendy’s After a Workout (Post Workout)
Your post-workout meal is just as important as your pre-workout meal, but instead of providing energy, it is responsible for kick-starting the process of repair and recovery. Optimizing your recovery is crucial to ensure muscular growth, increased strength and the ability to continue to perform well at all gym sessions during your week.
Should you eat at Wendy’s after a workout? Yes, you should eat at Wendy’s after a workout. The grilled chicken sandwich provides a high carbohydrate and protein and moderate fat meal that is ideal post-workout. Ordering a second sandwich is a good option if you need more calories.
3 Tips for How to Eat at Wendy’s After a Workout
My top 3 tips for how to eat at Wendy’s after a workout are:
1. Order a sandwich
The energy your body burns throughout your workout is mostly fuel it has stored. As soon as we can replenish these stores, our body will kick-start the job of repairing the muscles. The cycle of damaging muscles and repairing them is what will lead to muscular growth, so this is a key process to prioritize.
So how do you replenish your body’s stored fuel? Eating a meal that is high in carbs, within 1 to 1.5 hours after your workout is recommended.
You also want to ensure at least two servings of carbs, with a serving being about the size of your closed fist. At Wendy’s, the best option is a sandwich bun.
2. Order a meal with grilled chicken as a protein source
While a meal high in carbs will start the process of repairing our muscles, protein is what our body needs to get the job done. Therefore, we also want to make sure we are consuming protein with our post-workout meal.
While we want a meal high in carbs and protein, we want to limit how much fat we are eating. Fat will slow down how quickly your body can break down and absorb the protein and carbs delaying the recovery process.
Grilled chicken is the leanest protein source at Wendy’s, making it the best option post-workout.
3. Skip the fries
Fat gets in the way of our body digesting and absorbing carbs and protein. Think of it like carbs and protein are cars that are racing to get to the finish line of your muscles. Fat is the traffic jam that slows down how quickly they can get to their destination.
Since we want to prioritize this recovery process allowing our muscles to repair and grow, limiting fat after a workout is recommended. At Wendy’s, french fries are high in carbs but also fat therefore it’s best to exclude them from our post-workout meal.
- Related Article: 10 Best Low Sodium Wendy’s Meals
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about eating at Wendy’s if you work out.
Can I Eat at Wendy’s and Still Lose Weight?
Yes, you can eat at Wendy’s and still lose weight. To lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit, which simply means you are eating fewer calories than you are burning. Wendy’s menu has some lower-calorie options, such as a grilled chicken sandwich and salads, that make it possible to maintain a caloric deficit.
Can I Eat at Wendy’s and Still Gain Muscle?
Yes, you can eat at Wendy’s and still gain muscle. To gain muscle, you need to eat enough protein post-workout that your muscles have the building blocks they need to repair and grow. Wendy’s grilled chicken and double-stack burgers offer enough protein and a second can be ordered depending on your caloric needs.
What Meal at Wendy’s has the Most Protein?
The meal at Wendy’s with the most protein is the pretzel bacon pub triple. This meal has 1520 calories, 89g of protein, 54g of carbohydrates and 106g of fat.
What Meal at Wendy’s has the Most Calories?
The meal at Wendy’s with the most calories is the pretzel bacon pub triple and large chilli cheese french fries. This meal has 2058 calories, 106g of protein, 107g of carbohydrates and 134g of fat.
Which Meal at Wendy’s has the Least Calories
The meal at Wendy’s that has the least calories is the Jr. Hamburger. This meal has 250 calories, 13g of protein, 25g of carbohydrates and 11g of fat.
More Fast Food Meal Plans
Check out our other bulking and cutting meal plans from popular fast-food restaurants:
- Eating At McDonald’s For Bodybuilding (6 Meals)
- Eating At Burger King When Bulking or Cutting (6 Meals)
- Eating At Jack In The Box When Bulking (6 Bodybuilder Meals)
- Eating At Dairy Queen When Bulking (6 Bodybuilding Meals)
- Eating At Carl’s Junior When Bulking (6 Bodybuilding Meals)
- Eating At Five Guys When Bulking (6 Bodybuilding Meals)
About The Author
Laura Semotiuk is a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified nutrition coach. She works with athletes and active individuals looking to improve performance and develop healthy nutritional habits and behaviors. She has a passion for cooking, meal prepping, and creating simple and healthy recipes.