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What Should You Order at Subway to Lose Weight?

To lose weight at Subway, order a 6-inch Grilled Chicken on multigrain with veggies and no cheese or sauce: 300 calories and 26 g protein.

Reviewed by Menu Scan Editorial TeamLast reviewed 7 min read

The short answer

To lose weight at Subway, order a 6-inch Grilled Chicken on Hearty Multigrain with all the vegetables and no cheese or sauce: 300 calories and 26 grams of protein, per Subway's published nutrition. Add double chicken for about 380 calories and 42 grams. The Baja Chicken Protein Pocket (330 calories, 24 grams) is another light pick, while a footlong Spicy Italian passes 1,300 calories.

Subway looks like a diet-friendly choice because you can watch them pile on vegetables. But the default builds carry a lot of cheese and sauce, and a footlong doubles everything. A footlong Spicy Italian is 1,320 calories. A 6-inch Grilled Chicken built the light way is 300.

Subway publishes nutrition for every sandwich, bread, meat portion and sauce, so you can add up an order before you get to the counter. Here's what to order, using Subway's own October 2026 numbers.

Is Subway good for weight loss?#

Yes. Subway is good for weight loss if you order a 6-inch with lean meat, load up on vegetables and go easy on cheese and sauce. Subway's light "Fresh Fit" builds, which cover multigrain bread, the meat and all the vegetables, run 270 to 310 calories with 19 to 26 grams of protein for the meat options.

The protein matters. Higher-protein diets help preserve lean muscle and keep you fuller while you eat less, according to a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. At Subway, chicken and roast beef give you the most protein for the calories.

What is the lowest calorie sandwich at Subway?#

The lowest calorie sandwich with meat at Subway is the 6-inch Oven Roasted Turkey in its Fresh Fit build, at 270 calories and 20 grams of protein. The Veggie Delite is lower at 220 calories, but it only has 10 grams of protein. These values are from Subway's US nutrition information:

6-inch sub (Fresh Fit build) Calories Protein Sodium
Grilled Chicken 300 26 g 570 mg
Roast Beef 300 25 g 780 mg
Rotisserie-Style Chicken 310 24 g 750 mg
Oven Roasted Turkey 270 20 g 810 mg
Black Forest Ham 280 19 g 850 mg
Veggie Delite 220 10 g 360 mg

Subway's Fresh Fit values include Hearty Multigrain bread and all the fresh vegetables, with no cheese or sauce. Numbers are as of October 2026; your build will vary.

To order it, ask for a 6-inch on Hearty Multigrain, your meat, every vegetable you like, and mustard, red wine vinegar or Frank's RedHot instead of a creamy sauce.

What's the best Subway order for weight loss?#

The best Subway order for weight loss is a 6-inch Grilled Chicken on Hearty Multigrain with double chicken and all the vegetables. Subway lists a 6-inch portion of grilled chicken at 80 calories and 16 grams of protein, so doubling it brings the sandwich to about 380 calories and 42 grams of protein.

Order Calories Protein
6-inch Grilled Chicken, Fresh Fit build 300 26 g
6-inch Grilled Chicken, Fresh Fit build, double chicken about 380 about 42 g
Baja Chicken Protein Pocket 330 24 g
6-inch Oven Roasted Turkey (Fresh Fit) + 8 oz Chicken Noodle Soup 340 27 g
6-inch Roast Beef (Fresh Fit) + Applesauce 370 25 g

Totals are sums of Subway's published item values. Chicken Noodle Soup and Applesauce are at participating locations.

Double meat is the best upgrade on a diet. It adds protein without much fat, and it's what keeps a 6-inch from leaving you hungry an hour later.

How many calories do cheese and sauce add at Subway?#

A slice of cheese adds 80 to 110 calories and a creamy sauce adds 60 to 100, which is why Subway's standard recipes are so much higher than the light builds. The standard 6-inch Grilled Chicken is 510 calories, versus 300 for the same sandwich with just bread, chicken and vegetables. From Subway's condiment and cheese listings for a 6-inch:

Add-on (6-inch portion) Calories
Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce 0
Red Wine Vinegar 0
Yellow Mustard 10
BBQ Sauce 25
Sweet Onion Teriyaki 30
Honey Mustard 60
MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette 60
Baja Chipotle 70
Peppercorn Ranch 80
American cheese 80
Provolone 90
Mayonnaise 100
Monterey Cheddar, shredded 110

Mayo and shredded Monterey Cheddar together add 210 calories, almost as much as the 6-inch bread itself. If you want one, pick one: a slice of American or a light sauce, not both. Frank's RedHot is the only zero-calorie sauce, but it has 440 mg of sodium per serving.

Which Subway bread is best for weight loss?#

Hearty Multigrain is the best Subway bread for weight loss, at 200 calories for 6 inches and 3 grams of fiber. Artisan Italian is close behind at 210 calories, and Italian Herbs & Cheese is the highest of the 6-inch breads at 250.

The bigger choice is size and format. A footlong doubles the bread to 400 calories. Subway's 12-inch wrap is 300 calories, more than any 6-inch bread, so a wrap isn't the light option it looks like. The Protein Pockets use a smaller 9-inch wrap (150 calories), which is why the Baja Chicken and Peppercorn Ranch Chicken pockets come in at 330 calories with 24 grams of protein, sauce included.

Are Subway salads and protein bowls lower in calories?#

Not always. Subway's salads and protein bowls skip the bread, but they come with more meat and cheese, so some end up heavier than a light 6-inch sub. Subway lists the Grilled Chicken salad at 450 calories before dressing, and the Grilled Chicken protein bowl at 620 calories with 48 grams of protein.

The protein bowl is a fair pick if you want a big, low-carb meal (11 grams of carbs), but it's double the calories of a Fresh Fit 6-inch. For weight loss, a light 6-inch with double chicken gets you almost as much protein (about 42 grams) for about 380 calories.

What should you skip at Subway when you're trying to lose weight?#

Skip footlong Italians, meatball subs, tuna and the cookies. They add a lot of calories for the protein you get. From Subway's nutrition data:

  1. Footlong Spicy Italian: 1,320 calories, 52 grams of protein (double the 6-inch values, as Subway instructs).
  2. Spicy Italian wrap: 1,010 calories and 2,780 mg of sodium.
  3. 6-inch Meatball Pepperoni: 670 calories, 32 grams of protein.
  4. 6-inch Tuna: 560 calories; the tuna portion alone is 250 calories with 23 grams of fat.
  5. Cookies: 200 to 210 calories each with 2 to 3 grams of protein.

Sodium is the other number to watch. The 6-inch 5 Meat Italian has 1,910 mg, close to the FDA's 2,300 mg daily limit. The Fresh Fit Grilled Chicken has 570 mg.

How does a Subway meal fit into a calorie deficit?#

A 300 to 400 calorie Subway order fits easily into most weight-loss plans. If your target is 1,800 calories a day, a 6-inch Grilled Chicken with double chicken uses about a fifth of it and covers a big share of your protein. Our guide to eating out on a calorie deficit shows how to plan the rest of the day around a restaurant meal.

If you're trying to gain instead, here's what to order at Subway to bulk up. For another chain with lean grilled chicken, see what to order at Chick-fil-A to lose weight.

At a local sandwich shop without posted nutrition, Menu Scan AI can help. Snap the menu with your iPhone and it estimates calories, protein, carbs and fat for each dish from the menu descriptions, then labels the best matches for a weight-loss goal. Treat the results as estimates, not lab values. The app is free to download; its listing says an annual subscription is required for full access, including menu scanning and AI nutrition analysis.

Frequently asked questions#

What is the healthiest thing to order at Subway?#

A 6-inch Grilled Chicken on Hearty Multigrain with all the vegetables and no cheese or sauce is one of the healthiest orders: 300 calories, 26 grams of protein and 570 mg of sodium, per Subway's nutrition information.

How many calories are in a 6-inch Subway sandwich?#

It depends on the build. Most of Subway's light Fresh Fit 6-inch subs run 220 to 310 calories, while standard-recipe 6-inch subs range from 310 (Veggie Delite) to 670 calories, depending on the meat, cheese and sauce.

Is a Subway footlong too much for weight loss?#

For most people, yes. A footlong doubles every value, so even a light Grilled Chicken footlong is about 600 calories, and a standard footlong Spicy Italian is 1,320.

Is the Subway wrap healthier than bread?#

No, not for calories. Subway's 12-inch wrap is 300 calories, more than any 6-inch bread, which run 200 to 250. The smaller 9-inch wrap used for Protein Pockets is 150 calories.

What is the lowest calorie sauce at Subway?#

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce and red wine vinegar are 0 calories, and yellow mustard is 10. Mayonnaise is the highest at 100 calories per 6-inch serving.

Sources#

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