One of the hardest things I struggled with in changing my diet was what to eat for lunch. Our culture has made having lunch equal a sandwich. Now, I’ve had great sandwiches and still love them all but having a sandwich means eating over 300 calories of the worst carbohydrates (bread) and bad fats from spreads or mayonnaise.
The following tips will help you curb at least 500 calories out of your diet each day. Do this consistently and it will result in 1-2 lbs of weight loss per week! I will also include a recipe for a tasty low carb, low cal tuna salad sandwich that I use in our house and even my six-year old enjoys it regularly.
Tip #1 Hold the Bread
It is tough to eat out and eat healthy. Restaurants like to fill us up with breads because they are inexpensive and customers always leave feeling full. A good start is to get the same sandwiches you regularly enjoy but don’t eat the bread. This might seem crazy or odd the first few times you eat the inside of your lunch and leave the outside, especially to your lunch companions. However, you will feel physically better because you will not leave bloated and mentally better knowing you have made a healthier choice to avoid extra calories of carbs! Two slices of sourdough bread equal 276 calories!
Tip #2 Don’t Sauce Me
Be sure to make or order your lunch without sauces, gravies or mayonnaise. This one was easy for me because I never liked my food soggy and found that restaurants put too much mayo on most of the time; however, these fats do add lots of flavor and this is an important part of eating. To make your lunch taste great try using mustard in place of mayo and plenty of pepper. One tbsp of regular mayonnaise is 100 calories – mustard has ZERO calories! There are several varieties of mustard available that will give you the flavor you crave but not the extra calories.
Tip# 3 Anti-Pasta Please
I have been accused of being anti-carbohydrate, which is not true. That said, I am anti-pasta, anti-bread and anti-sugar. The preparation of meals with these three items is fast and easy, but the reason for many problems including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. We need carbohydrate to live but we should only be ingesting carbohydrate from fruits and vegetables. Try giving up your pasta’s, your bread’s and eliminate refined sugar from your diet for two weeks-you will feel better and look better because you will start mobilizing stored fat for energy and you will stop holding water associated with excess carbohydrate consumption.
Light & Lean Tuna Salad Sandwich
Start with fresh iceberg or red lettuce leaves. Mix water packed canned tuna with 1-2 tbsp of yellow mustard and add pepper to your desired level of flavor. Dice up 1 stock of celery and 1 carrot stick and mix in. Spread 2-3 heaping tbsp of tuna salad mixture onto lettuce like a wrap and grate 1 cube of cheddar cheese on top. This is a tasty lunch and only 100 calories!
