Healthier food options

TaylorMeans

I sometimes have a hard time finding healthier options to pack me for lunch. My lunch seems to be always high in calories. What kind of things do you pack or eat for lunch??

deannalfisher

i mean on a given day it varies but i take breakfast and lunch type food to work - so 2 greek yogurts, a thing of oatmeal, a cinnamon fiberone bar, some type of protein (cook up some chicken or similar); rice

its all about fitting foods into your goals - i know with my higher carb intake, that if i don't front load them i'm stuck with an epic bowl of cereal in the evening

what are you eating that is high in calories

Running2Fit

Greek yogurt
Salads - usually a Kale Caesar Salad with chicken or hard boiled egg
Veggies
An apple or banana or orange
String cheese

I don’t eat big lunches so I usually do some combination of these that is around 200 calories.

RelCanonical

I've been really big on egg salad sandwiches. Two eggs, 1tbsp of miracle whip (mayo is fine too), 1tsp mustard. I use the low-calorie bread you see (mine is 35 calories a slice) which saves quite a few calories, but you could also use a lettuce wrap or just eat the egg salad. It's about 250 calories and very filling for me.

cwolfman13

Define healthier options...what do you consider high calorie?

This time of year we make a lot of soups and stews and take leftovers for lunch. I also eat a lot of sandwiches and salads.

lalalacroix

I often have some sort of sandwich with meat and vegetables. Usually around 400 calories. Good calories, good macros, healthy for me.

ritzvin

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Define healthier options...what do you consider high calorie?

This time of year we make a lot of soups and stews and take leftovers for lunch. I also eat a lot of sandwiches and salads.

ditto on soups/stews. Easy to make in bulk quantities. Just scoop into bowl and microwave (if you have a fridge, microwave at work). Generally low calorie and very filling for the calories (most soups include a lot of fibrous veggies and/or beans. Often topped with a dollop of greek yogurt.

Or I do a plate of veggies, small side of potatoes, and a (lean-ish) ~3-oz serving of meat.

ritzvin

deannalfisher wrote: »

what are you eating that is high in calories

this. we might be able to suggest some lower calorie swaps.

PumpJockeyy

Some sort of meat with rice and veggies is a staple for me. Easy to make 3 days of lunches at a time. Usually bring some sort of bar and piece of fruit to snack on at break.

kimny72

There are a couple of ways to approach this, if some of them don't apply, feel free to ignore.

First, make sure you aren't going too low cal. Your profile says I think that you have @ 10 lbs to lose. The absolute most you should be aiming for is 1 lb per week, and honestly 0.5lbs would probably be better.

Second, are you wasting calories elsewhere that would be better used on a hearty lunch? Playing around with how many calories you spend where can really help until you find the right pattern for you. Watch out for beverage calories, most people don't find beverages filling and a lot of us simply can't afford them when we are trying to lose.

I bring a lot of grain salads - so a grain like rice, pasta, barley, quinoa etc with frozen mixed veggies and canned beans and a protein like canned tuna, shredded leftover chicken, or shrimp. Mix it up with a bottled salad dressing. I'll also bring sandwiches or wraps, leftovers, or a Lean Cuisine with added frozen veggies to bulk it up. Then a Fiber One brownie at @ 4pm cause I'm fancy like that