Liza KaneSport & Exercise NutritionI am a dietician working at the University of Iowa's Campus Wellness and Recreation Center. Recently, I had a current student of the University come to me seeking assistance. My client is a 21-year-old female that weighs 150 pounds and is 5'5 in height. Her primary goal is to lose 10 pounds over the next 6 months by incorporating exercise into her daily routine. She has begun walking to each of her classes everyday, which adds up to a total of one hour of walking per day. She also exercises at the Recreation Center 3 times a week, where she does 45 minutes of moderate to intense cardiovascular activity and 20 minutes of moderate weight lifting. To help determine her caloric needs, I calculated her basal metabolic rate using the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation, which comes out as 1,446 calories a day.Since she is a moderately active full-time college student, eating fast food is simply easier for her because it is both cheaper and faster than preparing a meal at home. Her personal favorite spot on campus to get a quick meal is Subway, because it is easily accessible, affordable, and, of course, fast.To determine whether or not her Subway meal was a better option compared to a home cook meal, I decided to take a closer look by comparing her sub sandwich to items purchased at Hyvee. The turkey sub sandwich she usually orders consists of 12 inches of 9-grain wheat bread with 6 slices of turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers. At Hyvee, I purchased 14 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, an 8-ounce box of quinoa, a pound of fresh asparagus, and 1 gallon of skim milk.Although Subway often advertises meals as the affordable way to remain healthy, after comparing the Hyvee purchases to the Subway sandwich, Subway was not the more affordable option. As table 1 shows, one 12" turkey sandwich from Subway came to a total of $6.63, whereas $3.95 was the cost of one serving of the home cooked meal. However, although slightly more expensive, Subway was much faster than the home cooked meal. To go to Subway, order a sandwich, and get back home to before eating, it took a total of about 9 minutes. On the other hand, to prepare the home cooked meal, it took more around 75 minutes before eating it.As for Nutrient content, I compared both the nutrient density and overall nutrient information of both meal options. As Table 2 shows, the foot long sub from Subway had higher amounts of carbohydrates (92 g), saturated fat (2 g), and sodium (1340 mg) than the meal prepared at home which only had 35.4 g of carbohydrates, 0.3 g of saturated fats, and 577.9 mg of sodium. Although the Subway sandwich is 157 kilocalories more than the home cooked meal, the home cooked meal is actually higher quality due to it's nutrient density. The home cooked meal was over 10 grams higher in protein, which would leave my client with more satiety. Along with satisfaction, the higher protein content in the home cooked meal is important when considering my client's goals and physical activity. Although the Subway meal was slightly higher in fat (.8 g), it was also significantly higher (1.7 g) in saturated fat, which, simply puts, tells my client and I that the fat content in the home cooked meal is much more desirable fats for her diet. On top of the nutrient content of both meals, when considering my client's BMR, the home cooked meal is a much better option for her 1,446 kcals per day.After comparing both meal's nutrient density, we came to the conclusion that my client earned the most bang for her buck eating our home cooked meal, as it proved to be more nutrient dense than the Subway sandwich. Although table 3 shows that Subway has higher amounts of nutrients in many of the categories, there is also a significant caloric difference (117 kcal) between the Subway sandwich and home cooked meal. Another 117 kcals of the home cooked meal would put, with an exception to the carbohydrate content, fairly above the Subway sandwiches protein and fat. Although the fat content of both meal options would still remain rather similar in amounts, as mentioned earlier, Subway's sandwich has a much higher amount of saturated fats than the home cooked meal, which would make the home cooked meals fats more desirable for her diet.After reviewing our client and her weight loss goals, I would encourage her to try and prepare a healthy meal at home either once or twice a week as opposed to picking up a Subway sandwich. Due to her 1,448 BMR, I would explain the importance of having three balanced meals around 400-500 kilocalories with two snacks around 100-150 kilocalories every day. I would use tables 1 through 3 to advise her and explain to her my findings with each meal, and also I would provide her with Hyvee's weekend brochure so she could see the different options of healthy sale items she could use for her 1-2 home cooked meals per week. Aside from providing other at home options, I also compared and contrasted the nutrient findings from both Subway and the home cooked meal. With this information, I was easily able to prove to her that she was actually paying more money at Subway for less nutrient dense food as compared to the well-balanced meal prepared at home. Since I realize that my client will still eat Subway due to her busy lifestyle, I suggested different options while she is there. I explained BMR to her, and how her meal at Subway was too many calories for a single meal. For future Subway trips, I suggested instead of the 12" sandwich, to maybe try a 6" sandwich with an apple or yogurt side option. To further assist her to make the home cooked meal even easier, I recommended serving sizes for each part of the meal. After doing all of this, my client was able to realize that the home-prepared meal was overall the best option for a well-balanced meal that targets 4-5 food groups.After going through and explaining all of the different factors that go into both of her meal options, our evaluation concluded that the home cooked meal was more cost efficient, nutrient dense, and an overall better option considering her weight loss goals. In the end, my client and I both came to the conclusion that spending more time preparing a meal was more beneficial than eating a quick on-the-go meal for time efficiency.Table 1: Cost and Time
Meal Factors
Subway
Home Cooked Meal
Cost ($)
$6.51
$3.95
Time (minutes)
9 minutes
75 minutes
Table 2: Nutrient Information
Nutrient
12" Subway Sandwich
Home Cooked Meal
Kilocalories (kcal)
560 kcal
403 kcal
Carbohydrate (g)
92 g
35.4 g
Fiber (g)
10 g
3.6 g
Protein (g)
36 g
48.4 g
Fat (g)
7 g
6.2 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
0.3 g
Sodium (mg)
1340 mg
577.9 mg
Calcium (mg)
600 mg
622 mg
Iron (mg)
300 mg
370 mg
Table 3: Nutrient Density
Nutrient
12" Subway Sandwich
Home Cooked Meal
Kilocalories (kcal)
560 kcal
403 kcal
Carbohydrate (g)
.32 g
.089 g
Fiber (g)
.036 g
.09 g
Protein(g)
.128 g
.12 g
Fat (g)
.025 g
.015 g
Saturated fat (g)
.008 g
.0007 g
Sodium (mg)
.004 mg
.0014 mg
Calcium (mg)
200 mg
160 mg
Iron (mg)
100 mg
90 mg
