A lunch that keeps hunger away?

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katieloui16
katieloui16 Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
So, I suppose I've never been a great fan of lunch. This became somewhat of a problem a year ago when I would just skip lunch altogether, but then having late-night snacks as I wouldn't have been satisfied with dinner because of my skipping! And because of that, I would say to anyone to NEVER skip a meal - it will come back to bite you!

Anyway, recently I've started eating lunch again, though I despise eating big lunches but the lunch I usually have only leaves me full for a couple of hours, making me restless, hungry and a tad (!) snappy untill dinner.

Does anyone else have this problem of not wanting to eat too much for lunch, but then ending up hungry and waiting for dinner?
Some advice on what to eat instead - I usually have half a french baguette for lunch - would be really appreciated.

Thanks! :)

Replies

  • lucifa73
    lucifa73 Posts: 110
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    A french baguette is white bread so the carbs are refined within an inch of their lives. Switch to whole meal or whole grain bread and the carbs will fuel your system for longer. What do you fill your baguette with? Try loading it with salad. A good tip I picked up was to spread it with avocado rather than butter.

    Soups are good (not creamy ones though!) as the fluid helps fill you up and keep you satisfied.

    If you can (and you are organised) make pasta or rice salads the night before (brown options would be better from a GI point of view but personally I can't stomach them - instead I use spinach/tomato flavour pasta or wild rice) with loads of veg.
  • krislshoe
    krislshoe Posts: 459 Member
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    Try snacking on some almonds and string cheese when that afternoon snack pang hits you.....ten almonds and a stick of light string cheese is 140 calories and does the trick for me...and both of these protiens are soooo good for you.
  • DanOhh
    DanOhh Posts: 1,806 Member
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    TIP: It's OK to snack. As long as the snacks are healthy foods. Take health snacks to work and spread your food out w/ a morning snack and an afternoon snack. This can subside the hunger pains. Good luck!
  • caro83
    caro83 Posts: 11
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    Hey Katie,

    I'm a terrible one for skipping breakfast until about a year ago I never bothered with it. Come 11 I'd be starving and picking at crisps and chocolate and then not feeling like lunch.

    I know one thing a half of a bagette would certainly not fill me, not unless it was packed with filling and that'd be even worse than all that white bread.

    If I were you I'd be going for a full multigrain bagettte instead. If not cook up some pasta the night before and have it. Its filling and because its high in carbs its released slower so that you feel fuller longer. keep it to a tomato based sauce so that your not bringing your fat levels up too much

    Good luck
    Caroline
  • vaughny
    vaughny Posts: 145
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    What time are you eating lunch? What time are you eating dinner? I wouldn't let more than 5 hours pass between lunch and dinner. And if it does place a snack in between that time. Foods that I eat for lunch that help me are tuna salad pouches (100 cal) with whole wheat crackers try to find ones with a good amount of fiber the fiber will help keep you full.Add a side salad and that should help.
  • roylawrence
    roylawrence Posts: 1
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    I too went for the longest time skipping lunch,eating a big dinner and snacking till bedtime,only to wake one day and say this is out of control.I only recently started reining it back in.My way to beat the cravings without getting the "I feel like crap" symptoms,is I eat something every hour and a half or two at tops,it's sometimes a carrot,or an apple,a banana,cup of yogurt,pack of crackers,you take it from there.doing this I'm not starving at the end of my day.a co-worker did this very technique and went from 325 down to about230 in four months and said it was very easy.Along with doing this I have started walking "a-lot".I walk a mile before work a mile at lunch,a mile after work,and after dinner I make myself go to a nearby stripmall and walk back and forth from one end to the other three times,equals about 2.7 miles,I've only been doing this a week today and man do I feel so much better!!
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
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    I made some homemade turkey chilli....i bought a package of chilli mix, added 2 cans diced tomatoes, black beans and pinto beans, and lean ground turkey, and it was sooo good, and all the protein keep you feeling full for a long time! And its low in calories! But you can crockpot some of it and have it for lunch for a week or a few days(you might get chillied out) and i added a little cheese substitute on top and it was fantastic
  • Amber030583
    Amber030583 Posts: 490 Member
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    Peanut Butter! Since this site I have changed my eating habits and believe it or not Peanut Butter is a great filler! Almost every work day anyways I have a PB&J for lunch. It really helps!
  • loopybec2002
    loopybec2002 Posts: 313 Member
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    I do a tub of lettuce tomato and cucumber and sometimes chopped carrot along with a can of tuna and some low fat french vinegeratte thie hardly touched your calories for the day and is super scrummy! also if at work and get peckish I dive in for the snack a jacks - Salt and vinegar flavour! They actually taste like salt and vinegar they don't just taste like cardboard.
  • fullboost
    fullboost Posts: 53 Member
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    what about a tin of healthy soup and some peanut butter on toast?
    A whole tin of say vegetable soup usually comes in under 200 cals, peanut butter on toast (1 teaspoon!) is about 150.
    The weight of the soup and the fact its liquid will fill you up, and the peanut butter and toast will feel like a treat / desert.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    Lunch is my biggest meal....and I usually spread it out over 2 hours. I have a salad 30 minutes before my actual lunch hour. Grilled Chicken or pork chop during or right after my lunch hour, depending on what I'm doing. Then some fruit when I return to my desk.

    I do this for a couple reasons. Since I sit at a desk all day I like to move for most of my lunch hour. I take a walk during most of the year in all weather sans temp extremes and precipitation. In the summer I swim. I find this helps keep me more alert during the rest of the day. It also help me avoid that "anvil in the stomach" feeling you get from eating a big meal.

    I also snack through out the day. In fact when I actually think about it....the only part of the day I don't eat anything is 8-10, after that I usually eat hourly. I don't do this because I believe it keeps my matabolism "burning". (I'm skeptical of that theory actually) I do this because it makes me the most comfortable, and mentally helps keep me within my calorie goal.
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
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    I like to make my own whole wheat wraps, using a LOT of salad items and then throw in some tuna or chicken (leftovers). IUt is healthy and the protein holds me longer.

    And there is NO reason that you should go from lunch to dinner without something else to eat. 5-6 smaller meals are really a healthy way to go and it keeps your metabolism working. Keep a bag of mini carrots, almonds, or some peanut butter handy for afternoon snacks.

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