What To Order At Shake Shack For Fat Loss (Men Over 40) - 155

Coach Brian Parana (0:18.828) My wife Amber helped open the first permanent Shake Shack in Madison Square Park back in 2004. We were just getting out of high school, and she ended up going to New York, and she had worked at Strickland's in Akron, and that gave her a lot of qualifying opportunity to be able to go out there and make this restaurant happen. It was really cool. Coach Brian Parana (0:47.822) So the original restaurant was one small kiosk in New York City, Shake Shack, and reported now over 670 locations worldwide by the end of 2025. This family connection, silly enough, connects me to Shake Shack, and it's an easy reason to add it to the restaurant series. A single Shake Burger, ShackBurger, excuse me, a single ShackBurger. Coach Brian Parana (1:18.110) Regular fries and chocolate shake come into about 1700 calories. Whoa. The fries and shake alone account for 1200 of that before we count the burger. I'm gonna evaluate six common choices. Build three complete meals that you can use, and you will also get a lighter option that has a lot of full protein. So we're gonna do somewhat similar but different from what we've been doing. Coach Brian Parana (1:47.955) In the the tiers and in different things of these episodes for the what to order restaurant series. So that's gonna be a little bit unique here at Driven for Health. I'm Coach Brian Parana, and this is episode 155. 11. That's how many restaurant series I've done so far, including this one. We covered Wendy's last, and we're back on the burger train. They all offer something a little bit different. One of the Coach Brian Parana (2:17.826) Big things about Wendy's, if you remember, it was fresh, never frozen. And with Shake Shack, they just have delicious burgers. So after coaching people for more than 20 years, thousands of people, I want to pay attention to two very important off the top numbers, calories and protein. When we focus on those two things. Coach Brian Parana (2:44.806) In any type of food that you're picking, especially when it does have protein in it, say a burger or chicken sandwich or a sub, then it can help you quantify about how many calories are actually even in the sandwich or whatever you're eating there, and to what degree you're gonna get the amount of protein that you need out of it. So I grouped the menu around six different awards. After that, I'll build Coach Brian Parana (3:13.646) Three meals that you can use straight away. And we'll start with the first award. It's just the chocolate shake. This guy, 750 calories. This is as many calories as most cheeseburgers, hamburgers are at say Red Robin's, to give you perspective. Because it's dairy, it does have about 16 grams of protein, but 45 grams of fat. And that is there's a lot more left over for the Coach Brian Parana (3:43.033) Carbs and sugars that are coming from this. For comparison, the single hamburger on the menu here is 370 with 25 grams of protein. So you can basically have two hamburgers. You'll get 50 grams of protein and roughly the same amount of calories. These shakes make this a big dessert choice, obviously. And Coach Brian Parana (4:7.944) In general, 750 calories if you're off a normal 2000 calorie diet, what that's over a quarter. It's like 30-35% of your total calories for the day. Whew, that ends up being a lot of calories. Now, if you have less and you're in a fat loss mode, this is taking up closer to 40 to 50 percent of your total calories that you you do. So you really have to pay attention to this. A shake like this would be best split. Coach Brian Parana (4:37.470) Up or the smallest size you can get to be able to cut down on the 750 calorie count total there. Award number two, the lowest protein return. This one goes to, figure, it's fries. The regular French fries is about 470 calories with six grams of protein. It's definitely not a shocker here. The single burger, a cheeseburger, contains 450. Coach Brian Parana (5:5.912) 40 calories and 29 grams of protein. That's the comparison we'd like to show you there on how much little protein are in fries. Obviously, they're potatoes, so they just don't have a lot of protein in it. And they're fried. Now, 470 calories and six grams of protein, the fries, they really contribute a little to the amount of. Coach Brian Parana (5:32.911) Protein that we're trying to target in most meals, which would be roughly 40 to 50 across three to four meals in a day for most guys. This word, the word fries, is always almost automatic when you get combos. So you really have to pay attention to not just throw it out there and launch and just say, I want fries with that. Do you? Do you? Award number three, read the full description. Coach Brian Parana (6:2.742) That's what this one's called. The Shroom Burger. This is the one that wins this. It's a portobello mushroom filled with cheese. Shake Shack breads and fries the whole thing, which is amazing. But the sandwich is 510 calories, 18 grams of protein, and 27 grams of fat. Coach Brian Parana (6:29.226) It sounds healthy, but if you know how many calories are in a mushroom, like a couple mushrooms, like 30 calories. So to have a full sandwich made up over 500, it ends up being a big deal. That's why you have to read the description here when an item carries this healthy sounding label to it. And we've talked about, I believe, is episode off the top of my head is 79, something like that, about reading nutrition labels. Coach Brian Parana (6:58.654) You have to pay attention to them. If you just search driven for health, how to read nutrition label, I would hope that you'd pull it up. And let me do a quick scan here because I have them all in order. See if I was right. 79. How men lose. That was the eating on the go guide, which is what we're doing right now. Coach Brian Parana (7:24.148) Shoot. Let me see if spend just another second here. There it is. 74. I was close. I told you. I told you I was pretty close. But so 70, episode 74 is how to read nutritional labels. Episode 79 is my first introduction of the eating on the go guide, which you have access to and would love for you to download it from our podcast. The links in the show notes. It's got 20. Coach Brian Parana (7:51.775) Eight pages full of really good information and sneak peek, just to throw this out there. The next episode that's gonna come out tomorrow, because I'm been trying to do these daily, is on on the go gas station. What to go in and grab there? Because man, at gas stations you can get a hundred thousand calories that do not help you move in the direction of your health goals. Coach Brian Parana (8:18.702) Alright, that's an underlying thing I always talk about is the aim principle. And yeah, gas stations will take you far off. So I hope that you tune in to tomorrow's episode to listen in about that. All right. Back on track. So we are going over the the the portobello mushroom Shroom Burger. And yeah, it's not as healthy as you like it. So if you're vegetarian, just know that again, it's costing you at least twenty five percent of your calories of the day. And Coach Brian Parana (8:48.000) It's just not, it hasn't very little protein in it, too. Award number five is the sodium check. The single SmokeShack is gonna be it. It's 600 calories and 36 grams of protein. It carries 38 grams of fat. Anytime you see fat and protein very similar to each other, just throw this out here. Coach Brian Parana (9:14.478) For you guys, it's just not a good combination, it's primarily fat calories coming in to the mix. So we'll do some quick math here: 38 times 9. So I just like to do 38 times 10. So it's 380 minus 9. So that's 371 fat calories out of the 600. So it's over 50% fat what it is. Now, quick math there. Coach Brian Parana (9:42.218) Is the calorie per gram multiplier? Four is for protein and carbs. So four times thirty-six, we're gonna make my brain do a little bit of work. So we got the four there. four, and that's twelve. Coach Brian Parana (9:58.809) 13, it's like man, it's like 30, it's like so we'll say 140 calories out of it. Just do some quick math. I'm getting lost in all these numbers here, so hope that you're not though. So the SmokeShack burger is gonna end up being the the biggest sodium at 1800 milligrams. That's what we're looking for here. Coach Brian Parana (10:27.682) To pay attention to. It's nearly your dailies amount of recommended sodium intake by the FDA, and that's the daily value. So this is 80% or so of your total amount. That's like wow. If your doctor is asking you to watch your sodium or blood pressure, this one is not for you. The bacon, cherry peppers, cheese, and the shack sauce. Coach Brian Parana (10:55.704) Contribute to that sodium number. That's why it makes it taste so good. And if you order it, just keep the the the other meals in the day super duper light and drink a crazy amount of water to help flush that out like a gallon. Award five, the signature order. This is the single ShackBurger, is the signature order, it contains about 500 calories. Coach Brian Parana (11:23.022) 29 grams of protein and 30 grams of fat. So again, this is a big fat source with some protein in it and 1200 milligrams of sodium. So it's still not gonna be the ideal. A plain cheeseburger gives you 29 grams of protein for about 440 calories. The the single hamburger comes in at 350 calories with 25 grams of protein. So what we have here. Coach Brian Parana (11:53.231) Let's go over that again. The single ShackBurger, the special one, 29 grams of protein. The single cheeseburger is 29. And the hamburger's 25. It's the the cheese is the difference there, but the calories range from 500 to 440 to 370. And between that cheeseburger and hamburger, it's the cheese, which accounts for roughly 70-ish calories or so. And that would be a typical slice of cheese. Coach Brian Parana (12:23.256) Just for simple math, say Kraft American sliced cheese, you can just call it 100 calories for simple, easy math to add up however many calories are in that burger there. However, you prefer the Chicken Shack, it's 550 calories with 33 grams of protein. So more protein, but it's got bread and it's fried, so it still has a lot of fat in it, and it doesn't necessarily win too much more than the others. Coach Brian Parana (12:52.460) And you would naturally think, I would pick the chicken over the beef, but at 33 grams of protein and 31 grams of fat, it's not a good deal. The best meal is the best full meal is the last award. My winner is the double hamburger. 560 calories, 44 grams of protein, and 30 grams of fat. Coach Brian Parana (13:17.794) Finally, we got a winner where you have more protein than the amount of fat that is in a product. Now, if you want a full meal to get into that 40 to 60-ish grams of protein, this one will do it. The double ShackBurger will get you in trouble, though. 760 calories. It does have 51 grams of protein, but 48 grams of fat. So that's the big difference. Coach Brian Parana (13:46.105) Whereas the double hamburger again, 44 grams of protein and 30 grams of fat. So much less, 18 grams less than the double ShackBurger because of all the special stuff on there. So we have to pay attention. That's gonna be a single hamburger, double hamburger, gonna be the winners here. Not the most exciting thing to get at Shake Shack, of course. Coach Brian Parana (14:10.796) Now, if we're looking at three meals to actually get, let's look at how we can actually build some meals to make it enjoyable. Well, we got the famous Shake Shack meal. Start with a single ShackBurger. Add regular fries and chocolate shake. Well, that gives you about 1720 calories, 51 grams of protein, but 97 grams of fat, and your day's intake of sodium. Yowza. Coach Brian Parana (14:40.322) That's too much, and it's really not gonna be the winner here. The lighter meal is gonna be a single hamburger with water. Boring, but it checks the box. It'll have 25 grams of protein, and hopefully it'll hold you over for a little bit and not get you hungry sooner rather than later. That ends up being a big challenge here. The full high protein meal is gonna be the double hamburger. Coach Brian Parana (15:8.748) With water or a zero calorie option as well. I'm a big Coke Zero fan. That would be my choice or a diet. This is the second one. So I probably would get one of those at this meal and say the water for my daily intake that I drink automatically. Now, most guys that I'm coaching, this is the one that said, hey, we're gonna get a double hamburger and call it a day. If you absolutely were going there for the Coach Brian Parana (15:35.833) Fun and enjoyment of it, we'd probably go with a single ShackBurger just to get to participate in with everyone else. Maybe have a couple fries. And if someone else was drinking the shake, maybe one sip or two and we call it. But you're gonna be no fiber, lots of calories, lots of sodium, and it ends up getting it challenging. Now, something that Shake Shack is getting right. Coach Brian Parana (16:4.838) They added a good fit menu in late 2025. It groups higher protein choices with common modifications, such as lettuce wrap, that protein type option that we've known to come from In-N-Out Burger as well. Maybe that'll be a future episode as well. But when we are looking at anything with lettuce wrap that cuts out at least a typical hamburger. Coach Brian Parana (16:32.204) Bun is gonna be about 120 calories and about that's gonna be 30 carbs, something like that. And so that ends up being a challenge. They do have gluten-free options as well that appear. So you can get a single ShackBurger and a lettuce wrap, or the double ShackBurger and the lettuce wrap. And so you'll get a little bit more enjoyment around that. And when we wrap it in lettuce, we get about Coach Brian Parana (17:1.462) 170 less calories because of the bun and whatever else goes into that. So that ends up being so like I said, a a a bun, a regular bun is 120 calories. They probably put butter on it and then up that whereas the extra fifty calories comes from pretty easy. So the wrap can save 170 calories, which is ideal. And then you get that double burger, that's the win. Coach Brian Parana (17:28.578) The rule to use at any burger restaurant, you first you gotta look at the nutrition labels. We're trying to understand what the best, highest protein, lowest fat options are. And again, for Shake Shack, it's the double hamburger, and that ends up being it. Some of the other ones, it ends up being a single, say cheeseburger or hamburger. You do the cheeseburger to make it a little more fun. All right, moving into the fast five. Coach Brian Parana (17:56.675) We covered the menu, but let's go through how Shake Shack develops its food and runs its business. Some interesting different things about Shake Shack itself that I found interesting and wanted to share with you. Number one, why did the crinkle cut fries return? In 2013, Shake Shack began replacing its frozen crinkle cut fries with fresh cut potatoes. The fresh fries took more. Coach Brian Parana (18:26.072) Kitchen work, the restaurant struggled to make them consistently. Customers kept asking for the crinkle cuts to return. And a year later, Shake Shack flipped that back. It's a lot of the mechanics of keeping the restaurant moving in a clean operation are a big reason why companies choose. Just like remember Panda Express, they changed the orange, the orange chicken sauce. Coach Brian Parana (18:55.244) Because they want it to be more consistent and more available to make it easier for them. So that was episode this the the the Panda Express, episode 153. Just so that you can go back and listen. Number two, what does Shake Shack have in common with fine dining? Well, founder Danny Meyer calls Shake Shack fine casual. Coach Brian Parana (19:25.802) And I could see that, especially coming from New York. He says the early recipes were tested in the kitchen of Eleven Madison Park. The original burger also used the same beef served at Union Square Cafe. That fine dining background helps explain the attention paid to the detail of the single burger patty itself. Number three, what makes the ShackBurger patty different? Coach Brian Parana (19:54.883) Why is it been just all over the place, right? Why had why has it gained so much popularity? Shake Shack worked with New York butcher Pat LaFrieda to develop its own beef blend. The company keeps the exact blend a secret, of course, and confirms that it uses whole muscle cuts with no added trimmings or fat. And that's a really good thing because it's like an all-beef patty and not Coach Brian Parana (20:24.654) Full of a bunch of other things. Next, the cold patty gets pressed into on a hot griddle, creating the brown crust and keeps the juices in the patty itself. It's like searing it. So that gives it some of its unique taste, flavor, and experience why it's been so good. Number four, why did this shack sauce recipe have to change? Coach Brian Parana (20:54.080) An earlier version of shack sauce included finely chopped pickles. The pickle pieces kept clogging the squeeze bottles in the kitchen. So, again, it's an operational thing. We gotta remove that from the recipe so the employees could keep the sauce and the burgers and everything consistent. All right. The restaurant has to make the same burger hundreds of times a day and clog bottles. Coach Brian Parana (21:23.990) Slows down the whole process. And lastly, number five, when did Shake Shack open its first drive-thru? Well, that was somewhat recent. It opened its first one in December 2021. The first two were Maple Grove, Minnesota, and Lee's Summit, Missouri. That happened about 17 years after the permanent Madison Square Park location opened and Coach Brian Parana (21:52.588) The drive-thru gave Shake Shack a way to reach more suburban customers, just like any other fast food restaurant. It's surprising that it took so long for them to actually do that. As we wrap up, I want you to remember the next time you go into Shake Shack, we're going with a single or a double hamburger is going to be the big win to get plenty of protein and keep the calories in check. If you don't want to be boring, then go with the ShackBurger single. Coach Brian Parana (22:21.646) To make it a little more fun and do the lettuce style for the double ShackBurger, and you'll be actually okay there. Fries you need to split with someone. If you're gonna go with a tasty milkshake, absolutely need to split that as well. If you need more help with eating on the go at all these restaurants, I have an eating on the go guide. It's at go.brianparana.com slash eating on the go. It'll be linked in the show notes. Grab it, please. Coach Brian Parana (22:50.048) It comes with the same type of breakdowns for all the restaurants that I've been doing since episode 145. And this is episode 155. All right. So there's a lot of them that are in there, like Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Panda Express, Wendy's, and more. So the next time we're at a gas station, pit stop, that's what I'm talking about tomorrow. And that is also inside the guide. And if you're on the go, share this with an episode or get your Coach Brian Parana (23:19.938) guide and pass it along. I'd love to get that out to more people to help them. That's it for this episode of Driven for Health. Train hard, eat smart, and I will catch you in the next one.