Lunch Time Foods & Having 5 meals p/d

I think the five times a day thing means mini meals, or else 3 meals plus two snacks. Any way you want to, figure out how many calories you want to eat at each meal and then see what you can have. Maybe open faced sandwiches with just one piece of bread would work for you--you get your bread but you're slashing your carb and calorie count. Soup and salad is great for lunch! I like corn tortillas for a wheat alternative for my carb. Brown rice or Quinoa are good too.

Lunchtime is where I'm most likely to eat the wrong things, mostly because of my coworkers, who are absolutely consistent in their daily takeout rituals.

And if I eat a healthy lunch, I'll start getting a craving for something sweet or crunchy within 3-4 hours, so for me, having a second lunch handy is key.

I tend toward four meals a day, with breakfast being as simple as a protein powder shake or some hard boiled eggs with kosher salt or sriracha sauce.

If you want to avoid the carbs (potatoes, rice, bread), which is a good idea, just experiment with other meals and see what satisfies you. A full meal of lean skinless baked chicken with Montreal steak rub, pinto or black beans, mixed veggies, and plentiful spinach will fill you up solid, especially with a tall glass of water. I also love fajita bols with fajita steak, romaine lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and peppers.

Try some new stuff - carbs lose their attractiveness once you start trying, enjoying, and incorporating other meals into your daily life. Their importance in your mind and to your palette fades quickly. :-)

I used to love grilled ham and cheese, now I just cook a few slices of ham or other meat and sandwich some cheese in between. No bread necessary, its like a meat and cheese pancake. Very tasty as odd as it sounds. eating many mini meals throughout the day doesn't make sense to me, nor does it really work for me.

Hey all,

I find that if I have a meal with loads of protein I feel more full than if I don't. I read somewhere that it is the protein that gives you the full feeling. So every other day I have a protein shake for breakfast or for a snack, something like a Promax Diet thats only 215 kcal per serving, also their dark choc bars are very good for an afternoon snack... they actually taste like choc! But they are heavy on the kcal at about 200 so be careful but you get loads of protein so hence you feel full, it's a trade off I find.

Lunch wise I am a big fan of soups, home made or New Covent Garden. For my carb crave I go for a slice of rye bread, again stogy about 100 kcal per slice but combined with the soup it's a winner and will keep you going till your afternoon snack.

I usually snack on fruit in the morning and my girlfriend has just introduced my to small snack pots of nuts, but in bulk and make your own, portion of about 20-30 grams in a small tuppaware and that will give you the afternoon boost because nuts are slow burning fuel, best ones I find are almonds and cashews. Be careful not to over indulge because with a lot of energy comes a lot of kcals.

I find that if I mix it up and don't have the same thing everyday, I get on just fine but that is the tricky party, loads of prep and planning but for me it's all worth it.