HOW TO SAVE CALORIES AT LUNCH TIME
With busy schedules, lunch is often a forgotten meal or ends up adding a load of calories because of falling prey to eating out, take-out, or hitting the nearby vending machine.
Lunchtime can actually be a time to get in healthy foods while providing energy for your brain and body during the afternoon. It can also be a time to slip in some exercise to clear your brain, bust stress, and get in some of the 30 or so minutes recommended each day for overall fitness.
If making changes for health are difficult for you to do, take small steps like some of the following mini ideas. Pick one or more each week, to move you toward a healthier lifestyle.
- A 12" sub roll is the equivalent of about six slices of white bread, so order your sandwich on a less hefty slice of bread.
- Replace the regular mayo or other higher calorie spreads with mustard, hummus, horseradish, or vinaigrette salad dressing.
- Replace the higher fat deli meats with leaner choices like turkey, chicken, tuna, salmon, hummus, or other lean meats.
- Add veggies to the sandwich and forget the slice of American, cheddar, provolone, or Swiss cheese – it is extra calories you probably will not taste when your sandwich is loaded with vegetables and meat!
- If you are looking for crunch with your sandwich, fill up on vegetables rather than chips. Most of us do not get enough vegetables for the day and the big benefit is they fill you up on minimal calories. If you are eating out, ask for a vegetable side dish to replace the rice, fries or chips. Vegetables can also be added by having a side soup or salad, or choosing a salad for your main dish (have the dressing on the side and limit other high calorie add-ons!). If you pack your own lunch, you can take raw veggies with a dip that is either low in calories or adds some nutrition to your day like salsa, hummus, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or vinaigrette dressing.
- When eating out, choose a restaurant more likely to have healthier food options. Many restaurants are now providing nutrition information either on site or online. You may be surprised at what your favorite foods contain! Consider splitting a lunch entrée with a friend, choosing a broth based soup (which has fewer calories than a cream soup or chowder) and/or salad instead of an entree, or ask for a half portion. If you will be near a refrigerator in the afternoon, you could split the entrée in half and take the other half home for another lunch or dinner.
- Watch out for super-sizing and buffets. You are not really saving if the quantity of food is more than you need and is contributing to added pounds, or the food is of lesser nutritional value. Avoid fried foods when possible.
- Instead of dessert, have a piece of fruit. Choose fresh fruit when possible rather than more processed fruit. By the way, the fruit on the bottom of yogurt does not count as a fruit serving. If you like fruit with your yogurt, stir in some fresh fruit.
- When it comes to beverages, look for one that supplies nutrients that make the number of calorie worthwhile — like a glass of milk or a moderate serving (no more than about 8 ounces) of 100 percent fruit juice diluted with seltzer water. If you have to buy a bottle of juice that is more than 8 ounces, share it with a friend. Remember that water or other non-caloric beverages like tea are the best options.
- Packing a lunch puts you totally in control of your food choices. Limit yourself to reasonable serving sizes and focus on healthier choices proteins and vegetables or you can also split your lunch in half and save some for an afternoon snack. You can put together your own frozen meals by putting leftovers in reusable containers and heating up at the office.
- A great habit is to preplan a healthy snack for between meals. This way you are not excessively hungry when meal time arrives and you have greater control over what and how much you eat. When you are hungry, everything looks good, you tend to make less healthy choices, you may eat more quickly before your body registers that it's had enough, and you are more likely to overeat.
- Be mindful while you are eating lunch rather than multi-tasking. One of the reasons we eat is for pleasure. When you eat mindlessly, you may eat more because you are not getting the pleasure from enjoying the flavor of the food. You may also be less aware of your total food intake and overeat.
- Don't think that skipping lunch is an option for cutting calories. When large blocks of time happen between meals, not only do you end up less productive, more tired, and grumpy, but your body will mutiny at some point and prompt you to overeat or make less healthy choices later in the day. It may also put your body into temporary starvation mode, which can negatively affect your metabolism, making it more difficult to lose weight.
Make a list of the hints above that might work for you. Choose one or more each week to help you enjoy lunch while also meeting your health and weight goals.