Eating out / Burgers & American / Potbelly

What I'd Order at Potbelly to Lose Weight

I order the salad version of the sandwich at lunch and keep the bread for the dinner carb meal.

John Schaefer, fat loss coach for 27 years · Updated October 2026

Type your goal weight and every order below shows how much of your calories and protein it covers. Same math I use with clients: goal weight x 12 for calories, goal weight x 0.7 for protein.

What do I order?

Tell me where you're eating and your goal weight. I'll tell you exactly what to get, with the calories and protein.

Want me to email you your numbers? Your calories, protein, carbs and fats for your goal weight, plus this page so you have it at the table.

Answers are estimates from published nutrition data, not medical advice.

My Potbelly orders

A Wreck Salad with Chili

Lunch style

A Wreck Salad plus a cup of chili

614calories45gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 34% of your calories and 43% of your protein for the day.

Grilled Chicken & Cheddar Original

Carb meal

Original size sandwich

570calories50gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 32% of your calories and 48% of your protein for the day.

Farmhouse Salad

Lunch style

How I order it, the calories and the protein are in the Eating Out Playbook, along with 59 other chains and 25 kinds of restaurants.

See the Playbook ($7) →

The rule at Potbelly: the lunch style order is built on protein, fat and fiber. The carb meal is the one you have when this is your dinner, or the one meal of the day you're spending your carbs on.

How I fit any restaurant into the day

Protein firstEat the protein, then the vegetables and fats, then the carbs. You're satisfied before the bread matters.

One carb meal a dayBread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fries. Keep the big carb hit to one meal. On a night out, that's dinner.

Zoom out to the weekFat loss runs on your weekly average. One dinner out is easy to absorb when the rest of the week is steady.

The Eating Out Playbook

Every restaurant you go to, already figured out.

60 chains and 25 kinds of restaurants, including Potbelly. Search the place you're going, pick an order, and see how it fits your goal weight before you sit down. Works on your phone, $7 one time.

Get the Playbook Free: my numbers

Quick answers

What is the best high protein order at Potbelly?

A Wreck Salad with Chili: A Wreck Salad plus a cup of chili. It comes to about 614 calories and 45g of protein.

How many calories should I eat at Potbelly to lose weight?

It depends on your goal weight. I use goal weight x 12 for daily calories, so a 150 lb goal is 1,800 calories a day and a lunch around 500 to 800 of them. The a wreck salad with chili is 34% of that day with 43% of the protein. Type your own goal weight on this page to see your numbers.

What should I avoid at Potbelly if I'm trying to lose weight?

The ones that stack calories with little protein: Lucky 7, BIGS (1,420 calories), Chicken Salad Salad (874 calories).

Can I eat Potbelly and still lose fat?

Yes. I've never told a client to stop eating out. Build the order around protein, keep the carbs for one meal a day, and Potbelly fits fine. I order the salad version of the sandwich at lunch and keep the bread for the dinner carb meal.