The Best Bulking and Cutting Meals at Burger King Explained

Let’s face it — Burger King probably isn’t the “healthiest” place to grab a meal, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.

But when you’re out and about and you get a yearning for that flame grilled taste, it is possible to negotiate your way through a meal that tastes great AND helps you reach your physique goals.

Admittedly, bulking at BK is going to be a lot easier than cutting.

But so long as you’re armed with a full helping of self-discipline, it is possible to find menu items that will allow you to maintain your diet.

So what are the best bulking and cutting meals to order at Burger King?

The best cutting or weight loss meal at Burger King for most people is the Chicken, Apple and Cranberry Salad with Tendergrill — it comes in under 500 calories and offers a nice serving of protein to support your training.

On a bulk at Burger King? Stay away from the double Whopper and go for the premium grilled chicken sandwich for plenty of carbs and protein to fuel your muscle gains.

Let’s take a look at these menu items, a few other options, and some general Burger King ordering tips.

The Best Cutting Meal at Burger King: Chicken, Apple & Cranberry Salad with Tendergrill

When you are on a cutting cycle, you want every meal to count.

After all, the difference between success and failure could be in that mouthful that you’d convinced yourself isn’t going to make a shred of difference.

When you’re trying to get your body fat below 10 percent every single one of those mouthfuls definitely counts!

So, what should a good cutting meal look like?

It should be filling enough that you don’t feel like you need a side of fries to go with it.
It should also be low calorie to allow you to end up in a daily caloric deficit.
You also want your fast food cutting meal to be low carb, which essentially means that anything that involves a burger bun can be tricky to fit into your calories

(Carbs won’t derail your cut, but they do take up calories in your diet that you should be dedicating to lean protein.)

So, what does Burger King offer that meets those criteria?

The menu item you should look for at Burger King while cutting is the Chicken, Apple and Cranberry Salad with Tendergrill.

It will provide you with 480 calories and 28 grams of protein — those are really respectable macros.

Hold the dressing to keep this salad in your range. Don’t worry — the chicken is delicious on its own.

One salad that you should definitely AVOID at BK is the Crispy Chicken Garden Salad.

It may sound healthy but this salad is going to throw a wrench in your cutting cycle.

It contains an eye-bulging 870 calories, which is 223 more than a Whopper, along with a massive 71 grams of fat!

The Best Bulking Meal at Burger King: Premium Chicken Grilled Sandwich

It’s not hard to put on “mass” at Burger King.

Just think of Elvis Presley, who was known as the Burger King in the 70s as his late night visits led to a ballooning physique.

But, I’m guessing that’s not the type of bulk you want to put on.

When it comes to lean physique gains, you need to be a very discerning customer at BK.

When it comes to the best fast food meal for bulking, you are basically flipping the script on what to look for when you are cutting.

You want to order a meal that is:

high in calories
high in protein
has a medium carb content
provides a good mix of nutrients and healthy fat
and is relatively low in sugars.

At Burger King, the best meal option to meet those needs is the Premium Chicken Grilled Sandwich with Apple Slices and Skim Milk.

Make sure to tell them to hold the mayo!

That meal will provide you with 515 calories, 40 grams of protein, 49 grams of carbs and 24 grams of fat.

It’s not ideal but, so long as you are training and hard eating clean for the rest of your week, it will not run your clean bulking cycle.

Other pretty decent options for bulking at Burger King include:

the Specialty Chicken Sandwich, which will provide you with 25 grams of protein and 460 calories
the Chicken Whopper with the same protein and calorie counts
and the Whopper Junior which has 30 grams of protein for 540 calories.

All of these nutrient counts assume that you are holding the mayo, of course!

One burger to steer well clear off at Burger King is the Double Whopper with Cheese.

It’ll add 1060 calories to your frame and 56 grams of protein but the saturated fat count is way too high for general healthy eating.

You might think 1060 calories sounds great for a bulk, but assuming you actually want to eat other meals that day, it could push you way too high into fat-gain territory.

Wrapping Up

When it comes to fast food options for staying on track with your bodybuilding lifestyle, Burger King should not be at the top of your list.

Other fast and fast-casual restaurants have better options.

But, if you are dead set on heading to BK, or if it’s the only fast food joint in your vicinity, then it is possible to eat relatively clean while still enjoying your meal.

If you are in your cutting phase, you should choose the Chicken, Apple and Cranberry Salad with Tendergrill.

For bulking, opt for a grilled chicken sandwich instead of the greasy, calorie-bomb burgers.

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Hope this helps!