Subway Nutrition Guide
Good Options!

Subway Nutrition Guide

Subway has earned its reputation for offering customers a more nutritious alternative to traditional greasy and fatty fast food. But don't be fooled...

...not everything at Subway is a better alternative. As your Subway Nutrition Guide, I feel compelled to point that out.

If you were to opt for the 6-inch Double Meatball Marinara Sub, you'd be in for 860 calories, 42 grams of total fat, 18 grams saturated fat, 2 grams trans fat.

(The American Heart Association recommends that people limit trans fats to less than 2 grams per day).

You could eat a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a small order of french fries from McDonald's for less fat and calories!

And would you guess a 6-inch tuna sub has more calories, saturated fat and more than twice the total fat as a 6-inch Steak and Cheese Sub? And you thought fish was "good for you!"

In order to assure your Subway visit is part of your healthy eating or weight loss plan, I can (as your personal nutrition guide) offer you some tips on reducing fat, calories, and sodium and increasing fiber.

(If you're like most of my clients, you just want to know "What should I eat there?" See the blue Subway Nutrition Guide chart above for my suggestions.)

How indulgent can you afford to be? (Establish your personal calorie count.)

Or, use the following rough guidelines:

250-350 calorie menu suggestions could be considered a "mini meal" for a larger or more active person, or a full meal for a smaller person or someone in need of a lower calorie intake.

400-500 calorie menu suggestions would be appropriate for an average size person or an active smaller person.

600-700 calorie menu suggestions would be appropriate for a very active or larger person.

Subway Nutrition Guide To Reducing Fat

Condiments: Opt for vinegar, mustard, or one of the fat free sauces instead of mayonnaise (12 grams fat), Ranch Dressing (13 grams) or Chipotle Southwest Sauce (10 grams).

Save 4-5 grams of total fat by skipping the cheese (2-3 grams saturated fat).

Steer clear of Meatballs, Cold Cut Combo Meats, and even the Seafood Sensation. Ham, roast beef, and chicken (patty or strips) along with the Subway Club Meats are lowest in total fat and saturated fat.

"Double" turkey, roast beef, or ham is ok. Double Cold Cut Combos and Meatballs are not. Even better...stick with a "single" amount.

Stick with the "6g fat or less" Sandwich or Salad Menus and you can't go wrong!

Subway Nutrition Guide To Reducing Calories

Save 40-60 calories by skipping the cheese (amount on 6" sub, wrap, or salad).

60 calories/day x 3 days/wk = 180 calories saved/week. Over the course of a year, that's ~ 3 pounds of body fat.

Sandwich Condiments: Save ~ 100 calories by skipping the Ranch, Chipotle Southwest Sauce or Mayonnaise. Opt for the vinegar (0 calories), Mustard (5 calories), Fat Free Honey Mustard (30 calories), or Fat Free Sweet Onion Sauce (40 calories).

In general, ask for mustard or vinegar instead of mayonnaise.

Ordering the Breakfast "Wraps" Instead of the Breakfast Sandwich on 6-inch bread saves you a few calories...and literally I mean a few...as in 10-20 calories. But...

...saving 20 calories a day 5x/week is 100 less calories. Do that for a whole year and say good bye to ~ 1 1/2 pounds of unwanted fat.

More Subway nutrition guide facts:

Order 2 packages of the apple slices instead of 1 package of raisins. For half the calories, you'll get double the fiber.

Ordering a fruit smoothie drink is a great way to get a serving of the fruit group with your meal...but smoothies have ~twice as many calories as a whole piece of fruit...so think about splitting your smoothie with your eating companion.

Soup: Roasted Chicken Noodle, Minestrone, and Tomato Garden Vegetable with Rotini are the best options, having 1/2-1/3 as many calories as the other soups.

Skip the pizza - yes, Subway has pizza - and the cookies.

Subway Nutrition Guide to Reducing Sodium

Fat tastes good and salt tastes good. When one is reduced, the other is usually increased to make up for taste. Therefore low calorie or fat free salad dressing is higher in sodium than full fat dressing.

Vinegar and Oil both have 0mg sodium.

Skip the Fat Free Red Wine Vinaigrette...it's the highest sodium sandwich condiment. Opt for the Fat Free Honey Mustard Sauce or the Fat Free Sweet Onion Sauce. Either have ~ 1/3 less sodium than the Vinaigrette.

Want cheese? Swiss cheese has the lowest level of sodium followed by cheddar (Monterey or Natural). American cheese has more than double the sodium of cheddar and almost 8 times as much as Swiss! I guess that's the American way...more is better :-)

"Double" meat = double the sodium

Something you might not know: On average, the 6-inch sandwiches have more sodium than the soups!

Limit toppings such as bacon, salt, olives and pickles. Opt for vegetables such as lettuce, tomato, green peppers and onions.

Subway Nutrition Guide To Increasing Fiber

Make sure you order 2 packages of the apple slices. Together, it's the equivalent of eating 1 apple and you'll get 4 grams of fiber. Order them with your salad and toss them in!

The honey oat bread has the most fiber of all the bread choices.

Most of the 6-inch sandwiches provide 4 grams of fiber.

The minestrone soup is a low in calories and fat and provides as much fiber as most of the 6-inch sandwiches.

Ask for extra vegetables on your sandwich. 3 strips of bell peppers, 3 wheels of tomatoes, or 3 slices of cucumber (the amounts normally served on a 6-inch sub.) are so small that they provide insignificant fiber...so ask for more!

Subway's Nutrition Information to be Posted on Menu Board

Subway is the first large chain restaurant to list calories on menu boards in its restaurants in New York City, as is required by the city’s groundbreaking menu labeling law. While July 1, 2007 was the effective date of a regulation passed by the New York City Board of Health, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and other fast-food restaurants are refusing to comply while the industry sues the city in federal court.

Yay for Subway!

Not in New York City and want to see how your favorite meal stacks up? Get the nutrition facts for your favorite item combinations with this official Subway Nutrition Guide.

Back to Surviving Fast Food.

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** Note: Subway Nutrition Guide information current as of August, 2007 **