low sugar, low carb lunch ideas

What about a salad? Greens, veggies and chicken/tuna? Or if you like smoothies maybe reduce some of the fruit and add in veggies like spinach or kale?

I have no lunch ideas really, but I would suggest you add sodium to your list of macronutrients. It doesn't look like you eat vegetables, but adding those would increase your fiber. Good luck!

I find that soups make great low carb, low cal options. Make a big batch and then eat the soup all week for lunch. I doubt if it is the fruit that is keeping you at a plateau. Maybe you need to eat more for lunch. Have a lean protein lunch and pair it with a big salad or fresh vegetables. Some soups that work well might be white chicken chili, chili made with lean, white ground turkey, chicken and sweet potato soup, bean soup, etc.

Hey folks, I've been loving my smoothies for lunch recently because they're easy and cheap and low calorie, but they're really high in sugar due to the fruit. I've been absolutely stuck at this weight for a little while and I'm wondering if sugar and carbs might be the culprit. My dad and grandpa are type 2 diabetics also, so keeping an eye on sugar wouldn't hurt me. Anyone have some awesome low carb and low sugar lunch ideas? Bonus points if they're cheap/low cost ideas. And if you have any ideas why I'm plateauing majorly, I'd love advice and feel free to look at the diary.
p.s. yesterday's popcorn lunch is not typical, so please don't judge me

I usually have 2 oz. of organic cheddar and a piece of fruit for lunch--usually a low-fructose fruit. If I feel like having a higher-fructose fruit, I just cut the portion in half and save the half for later. The cheddar will suppress your appetite for several reasons. The butterfat is a natural blood sugar/insulin swing inhibitor and the calcium speeds the loss of belly fat. Organic cheese also has much higher levels of CLA---which has been shown to boost fat loss. I also might have some cut up vegetables like celery and green pepper. That carries me right through to my mid-afternoon slump when I grab a handful of some kind of nuts. Macadamia nuts have been shown to boost metabolism, so I will eat 7-10 of those most commonly. But walnuts and pistachios are good too. I don't worry about fat because I am on a lower-carb plan. I usually aim for 15 grams or less of fructose which means I eat a lot of citrus---especially, my favorite for fat loss---grapefruit. Grapefruit is magical for helping one to burn fat. Haven't looked into the biochemistry of grapefruit but I just know that eating it has been shown to boost fat loss.

Join us over at www.reddit.com/r/paleo and www.reddit.com/r/keto for low-carb and natural eating support? We also have a pretty active low-carb community on here, just mostly on non-default public forums because low-carb is apparently the devil to most people on MFP.

Yes, it seems that the body builders and runners dominate the forums here (and they can be as domineering as the body builders at the gym) Body builders and runners apparently HATE low-carb plans. While carbs are great for high-performance athletes, they are not so good for the obese---particularly obese women.

I find that soups make great low carb, low cal options. Make a big batch and then eat the soup all week for lunch. I doubt if it is the fruit that is keeping you at a plateau. Maybe you need to eat more for lunch. Have a lean protein lunch and pair it with a big salad or fresh vegetables. Some soups that work well might be white chicken chili, chili made with lean, white ground turkey, chicken and sweet potato soup, bean soup, etc.

A fruit smoothie can yield a whopping 45 grams of fructose per meal and can derail fat loss. Especially need to beware of commercial "fruit smoothies" which can be made of a little fruit, a LOT of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and ice.

Soups and salads are great lunch ideas.

You can make salads very different by changing the greens (mixed greens, spinach, romaine, etc), the dressing (I love Ken's Steakhouse Lights - especially the Northern Italian), and the toppings.

I love jalapenos, olives, scallions, shredded chicken and salsa with romaine lettuce for a taco salad. Or, spinach with feta, tomatoes, craisins and light italian dressing.

In the winter I love to make a pot of soup and take that with me. Today I am making Red Lentil Curry that I will split into 5 servings and take with me to work each day.

All great ideas here. I love the idea of a rotisserie chicken. I have some snack/meal ideas. It really depends on how much you eat in one sitting. It depends on how low carb you are going too.

- 1/2 -1 cup cottage cheese with spinach, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds
- 1/2 chicken breast (I butterfly them and cooke them on the foreman grill) with a salad (I like spinach salads) with balsamic vinaigrette, or zucchini/squash sauteed in butter and a little salt, or creamed spinach. Easy creamed spinach - sautee shallot/onion and garlic in olive oil or butter until translucent and the garlic is fragrant, add spinach and wilt. When wilted add some cream cheese 2 tbl is probably enough - I use 1 of those packets. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat up well too.
- pork chop w/ 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce.
- 1-2 oz of cheese, 1/4 cup nuts, and an apple or strawberries
- celery and 2 tbl peanut butter or cream cheese
- turkey and cheese rolled up in a lettuce leaf, and 1/2 cup nuts
- greek yogurt with some fruit and slivered almonds (you will probably have to add a sweetener...I can't eat it plain)

Ok, and these two might sounds strange but...
- BLT salad in a cheese roll. I mix 1 avocado with 4-5 pieces of bacon and chopped tomato. I then roll that up in a cheese slice with some spinach leaves.
- Tuna salad in a cheese roll. Tuna salad (or chicken) made however you like, rolled up in a cheese slice.

60-100 is what many "lower carb" plans recommend and this level has the advantage of boosting fat loss without eliminating fruit. Most people on this type of plan elect for eliminating grain and sugar and consume a couple of pieces of low-fructose fruit per day.

100-200 grams of carbs would still result in some fat loss over an extended period--depending on the activity level. Those who are very active, would probably perform better at the upper end of this carb range. The 200 gram range would not be a fat-loss plan per se, but would result in fat loss if the person were running a lot and restricting fat although depletion of essential fatty acids could be a problem in that scenario.

I personally cannot eat over 100 grams of carb per day or my fat loss just comes to a screeching halt, even if I stay well below my calorie allowance.

Interesting. What number of calories is this based on? surely if you are eating 2000 calories you will be having more carbs than someone eating say 1200 no? I'm at 1800 - set to 45% carbs. Lower carb is something I am likely going to be looking into but quite honestly I am not sure how much lower I could go and still eat 'normally'. My family have no need to be on a reduced carb diet so I have very few things I could change. Just curious