How I Still Eat Chick-fil-A — And What My CGM Data Showed Me About Eating It Differently
- Amy Alford
- Apr 17
- 3 min read
Let me start with something I want you to hear clearly.
I still eat Chick-fil-A. I still eat fries. I am a nurse who wears a continuous glucose monitor every single day and tracks her blood sugar in real time — and I still pull through the drive through.
Because this was never about eliminating the food you love. It was always about understanding how your body responds to it.
And what my CGM showed me changed everything about how I order.
The Way Most People Eat Fast Food
You pull up to the window. You grab a few fries out of the bag before you even leave the parking lot. You sit down. You eat the rest of the fries while they are hot. Then the nuggets.
Normal. Human. What everyone does.
Here is what that looks like on my CGM. Fries first — blood sugar spike to 180. Cravings hit hard about an hour later. Afternoon energy gone.
Not because Chick-fil-A is bad. Because carbohydrates eaten first — without protein or fat to slow their absorption — hit your bloodstream fast and hard.
What I Changed — And What Happened
Same order. Same restaurant. Same Amy.
I just changed the order.
Nuggets first. All of them. Even the fried ones. Then fries after.
My CGM data: spike to 152. Came back down in a reasonable time. No significant crash. Cravings were quieter. Afternoon was still mine.
From 180 to 152 — just by eating the protein before the carbs.
Why This Works — The Simple Nurse Explanation
When protein arrives in your stomach first it slows gastric emptying — the rate at which food moves into your small intestine. Slower gastric emptying means glucose from the fries is absorbed more gradually into your bloodstream.
The fries are the same fries. The glucose response is completely different.
This is the PFF eating order — Protein, Fiber, Fat first, carbs always last. And it works everywhere. Even in a drive through.
Carbs need a BFF. And Protein Fiber Fat is your carbs best friend.
How I Order at Chick-fil-A Now
My order has not changed much. How I eat it has changed completely.
Grilled nuggets or fried nuggets — eaten first, every single time
Side salad or fruit cup if available — eaten second
Waffle fries — eaten last, after the protein is already in my system
Water or unsweetened tea — no sugary drinks which would spike on their own
The few fries in the parking lot habit is the hardest to break — that is where the naked carb sneaks in before the protein buffer is built. Even just waiting until you sit down makes a difference.
This Is Not About Perfection
A 152 spike is still a spike. I am not telling you this is a health food. I am telling you that real life includes drive throughs, road trips, kids sports nights, and days when cooking just is not happening.
And in real life — strategy beats restriction every single time.
You do not need to stop eating fries. You need to eat them differently.
Your Next Steps
Ready to understand how your food is actually affecting your blood sugar?
Not Ready for a CGM? Start Here 👇
Insulin Resistance Checklist — 10 signs your body may be trying to tell you something —
PFF Meal Ideas Guide — 20 protein first meal ideas with eating order notes —
Ready to put it all together:
If this blog helped, that's exactly what I do inside my 14-Day Belly Blast — a full two weeks of blood-sugar-friendly meals, daily workouts you can scale to any level, and daily coaching from me, a nurse who's lived the midlife metabolism struggle myself.
We start June 1. And to be straight with you: it's the LAST new round I'm running before I shift to one-on-one VIP clients for the rest of summer. So if this has felt impossible to crack on your own, this is your window.
Health is wealth. 🤍
— Amy Alford, RN
Your Glucose Nurse | @absolutelyamyable
From a nurse's perspective — not medical advice. This content is for educational purposes for adults with insulin resistance or prediabetes who are not on insulin or diabetes medication. Always consult your licensed healthcare provider.
Affiliate disclosure: The SIGNOS link in my bio is an affiliate link. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products I personally use and believe in.
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