How to eat burgers and pizza and still hit your macros

Short answer. Cook the lighter version yourself, keep protein high, and let the rest of the day fit around it. A burger isn't the problem; not knowing its numbers is.

1. Make it the lighter way, in its real format

Keep the bun, the cheese and the sauce, and change what's in them: lean beef instead of regular, light mayo in the sauce, reduced-fat cheese, a toasted bun. It's still a burger, not a bowl pretending to be one.

2. Air-fry instead of deep-fry

Fried chicken, mozzarella sticks and fries all work in an air fryer. Studies comparing the two methods found air-fried food ends up with substantially less fat than deep-fried, with a slightly different texture.

3. Keep protein high

Protein keeps you full. In one small study, raising protein from 15% to 30% of calories cut how much people ate by about 441 kcal a day without them trying. So pick versions with 40 g or more per serving.

4. Know the numbers

Recipe	kcal	Protein
Smash Burger	568	40 g
Pepperoni Pizza	585	41 g
Air-Fryer Fried Chicken with Slaw	563	48 g
Loaded Beef Nachos	694	52 g
Chocolate Chip Pancakes	576	41 g

Per serving, worked out per ingredient from USDA data.

5. Plan the day around it

If dinner is a 671 kcal bacon cheeseburger, breakfast and lunch need to make room. That's the part the Macromaxxing app does for you: it plans the whole day to your calories and protein, and if you swap a meal, the day stays on target.

Browse high-protein burgers, pizza and fried chicken.

Quick answers

Can you eat burgers and still lose fat?

Yes, if the day still lands on your calories. A lighter smash burger made with lean beef, light sauce and reduced-fat cheese comes to about 568 kcal with 40 g of protein.

Is air frying healthier than deep frying?

It uses far less oil. Studies comparing the two found air-fried food ends up with substantially less fat, though the texture is a little different.