Lighten Up At Lunchtime and Lose Weight

Feast or famine?  Is that how your lunch hour goes?  You either skip lunch entirely because you’re too busy and there are errands to run and chores to get done.  Or you chow down on a fast food burger and fries.  Neither is good for you or for losing weight.

If you skip lunch entirely, the odds are that a couple hours later you’ll be famished and hitting the vending machine for chips and a candy bar.  That means a fast rise in blood sugar and drop as well, which means another vending machine run.

But if you splurge on a fat-filled calorie laden burger and fries you can use up your entire calorie allowance just on lunch, never mind all the fat and salt.

Here are 5 ways to lighten up at lunch and lose weight:

Lunch Tip #1:  When fast food is your choice, look for items on the menu that aren’t fried.  Stay away from burgers. Choose roasted chicken.  A sandwich is fine, just skip the mayo.  You can ask for a couple of juicy tomato slices instead.  If you go for the salad have no fat or low fat dressing.  Choose ice tea or water to drink rather than soda.

Lunch Tip #2:  Don’t add cheese, or bacon, both are high fat, low fiber and you really won’t miss them on a sandwich or in a salad.  Skip the fries entirely, there’s just no way around it.  If you can order a wrap instead of a sandwich you’ll save another 100 calories. 

Lunch Tip #3:  When you know your day is going to be hectic, plan for it ahead of time.  Pack a light lunch. Even if you just stash it in your own refrigerator, you’ll know it’s there and won’t succumb to stuffing yourself full of cookies.  Lunch on the run can mean a tuna fish salad moistened with chopped dill pickles and cucumbers.  Add a few whole wheat crackers and a piece of fruit and you’ll have a lunch that wont’ stick to your ribs but will stick with you until dinner time.

Lunch Tip #4:  Stay away from deli meats.  They often have added fat and sugars.  Use mustard instead of mayo as your sandwich spread.  Add lettuce, bean sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber slices and pickles to bulk up your sandwich.

Lunch Tip #5:  Another good choice for lunch that’s fast but tasty is soup.  Stay away from cream based soups and you should be fine, calorie-wise.  There are lots of prepared soups that stay within a 100 calories or so per serving.  Add in a healthy sandwich and you’ll be filled up but not filled out.

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