When students put on weight in college they jokingly call it their freshman 15 and attribute the gain to eating more fast food than they did at home, but what if fast food could be healthy?

Many fast food restaurants have marketed this idea in major campaigns since the release of this summer’s documentary “Super Size Me.” McDonald’s has stopped offering its super size and has instead added the GoActive Meal for adults, which includes a salad, a water and a stepometer to encourage healthy behaviors.

Other companies like Subway and Jamba Juice have been saying for years that their food is healthy and they’re even trying to cut back the calories.

All this sounds great to consumers and encourages them to eat the new healthier fast food, but it’s not as healthy as it sounds.

The salads at McDonald’s, for example, are conveniently listed on the nutrition guide separate from the dressings that most consumers put on their salads. The Ranch dressing has 170 calories and 15 grams of fat. When dressing is added to the salad, the calories and fat adds up to more than a regular hamburger would have had, 260 calories and nine grams of fat.

A plain baked potato from Wendy’s only has 270 calories and zero grams of fat, but order the bacon and cheese potato and those numbers go up to 560 calories and 25 grams of fat.

Stephanie Ewing, registered dietitian at Sacramento State, realizes how difficult this can be for students who are trying to eat healthier foods, so she has compiled a list of the dining options on campus and how each one can be made healthier.

Her first suggestions are to choose water over any other drink, then choose skim milk, fresh fruit instead of juices, lean meats, whole grains and fresh or frozen vegetables over canned. Also, limit the amount of foods containing refined sugar and fats, even healthy fats and try to avoid any deep-fried foods.

Making meals daily is not an option for many students at Sac State; instead many students grab their meal on the go.

Ewing suggests keeping in mind the following information when eating at the restaurants on campus.

Round Table Pizza now offers salads and sandwiches. Ewing said when ordering a salad get the dressing on the side and only use half of the packet and when ordering a sandwich order turkey, chicken or ham and do not get mayonnaise or cheese.

To make pizza healthier choose the skinny crust, roasted chicken or Canadian bacon and lots of vegetables.

For a lunch at Burger King choose a smaller burger like the Whopper Jr. and ask for no mayonnaise and no cheese. Ewing said an even better option is the Chicken Whopper with no mayonnaise.

Also, Burger King has an option that most people do not know about, which is that on any combo meal students can swap their fries for a side salad for no extra charge.

At Kung Fu Fats Ewing said to choose the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl or Thai Chicken Bowl and limit the fried rice and other items that are deep-fried. She also said to watch portion sizes because the combo meals can end up being a lot more than needed.

For breakfast students can often be found at Java City. Some healthy options there are fruit, yogurt and granola and yogurt. Lunch options at Java City include veggie sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, wraps and the salad bar.

Mother India, which is located in the Union and at the River Front Market, has become a popular place for students to eat lunch. Ewing said to order the veggie wrap, tofu wrap, chicken wrap or spicy kabob wrap when eating here.

For a-la-carte items order chef’s special, lentils, garbanzos, chicken masala or chicken vindaloo.

Ewing said the number one thing to keep in mind is how many calories are being eaten per day and to try to keep a high activity level to burn off any extra calories that are being consumed.

Ewing said that she would like to have signs created for each of the restaurants on campus to inform students of the healthier options available, but until then students may drop by the Dining Services office in the River Front Market to get a more detailed list of each restaurant.