Weight Loss Meals And Lunch
Weight Loss Meals And Lunch |
If you are trying to lose weight, you’re likely looking for ways to cut calories. Skipping lunch may reduce calorie intake in the short term, but if you get too hungry, you might overeat later in the day. If you don’t eat lunch, you may also find yourself lacking energy in the afternoon. A healthier choice is to eat a lunch that supports your weight loss efforts.
Healthy, quick weight loss meals need to be high in nutrients and low in empty calories. Fast food, processed meats, white flour products and deep-fried foods are all high in empty calories. Your best bet is to include protein and high-fiber, complex carbs with your meals. This combination of nutrients will help fill you up and keep you feeling satisfied for several hours.
Some weight loss meals
Wheat Pitas
Whole-wheat pitas are easy to stuff with high-nutrient ingredients for healthy and quick weight loss meals. Fill up a pita with two slices of low-fat mozzarella cheese, two slices of tomato, sprouts and 1 tbsp. of low-fat honey mustard dressing. If you are still hungry, have a small apple with your meal.
Beans
Beans and brown rice are both high in fiber. By themselves, they are incomplete proteins because they do not contain all the essential amino acids. By combining them together, you will create a complete protein. Over the weekend, prepare a batch of beans and brown rice and store them in the refrigerator. During the week when you need a quick lunch, take out the beans and rice, heat them up and place them in a soft whole-grain wrap. Add chopped up lettuce, tomato, salsa and light sour cream, and roll it up into a burrito.
Turkey Sandwich
Sliced turkey breast is a lean source of protein. Make a sandwich with turkey breast on whole-wheat bread and add lettuce, tomato, low-fat cheese and either low-fat mayonnaise or mustard. To increase the nutritional value of the meal, garnish the sandwich with a handful or celery sticks and baby carrots.
Hummus
Hummus is a paste made from tahini and garbanzo beans. Tahini is crushed up sesame seeds and garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas. This combination is high in protein, complex carbs and dietary fiber. You can get pre-made hummus at a grocery store and you can find sandwich shops that make it fresh. Add hummus to the center of a multi-grain wrap that is lying out flat. Then, chop up and cucumbers, lettuce, olives and tomatoes and spread them across the hummus. Sprinkle a little feta cheese across the top, lay sprouts over the mixture and roll it up. One of the weight loss meals to add in your daily routine.
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is a versatile, high-protein food. While you can eat it plain, you can also add it to dips, spread it across sandwiches or mix it in with pancakes. To break from tradition, treat yourself to a dessert for lunch. Mix up a bowl of cottage cheese with cherries, crushed pineapple, chopped up mandarin orange slices, chopped up walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon. To keep calories and fat down, use low-fat cottage cheese.
Bison Burger
Bison is a lean source of protein that is also high in iron. After cooking a bison burger, place it on a high-fiber, whole-grain bun and add lettuce, tomato and ketchup. If you like cheese, add a slice of low-fat provolone. If you are a vegetarian, substitute the bison with a veggie burger. In either case, turn your burger into a pizza burger by adding pizza sauce and low-fat mozzarella cheese.
Beverages
What you drink for lunch is an important decision. The beverage you choose has the potential to either promote—or prevent—your overall weight loss. A non-diet soft drink or a milk-based flavored coffee beverage can contribute hundreds of calories to your lunch. But non-caloric beverages such as water or sugar-free diet drinks can fill you up and energize you without adding calories. A lunch for weight loss meals includes abundant amounts of non-caloric drinks that are consumed not only at lunch, but throughout the day.
Conclusion
If you are packing a sack lunch for weight loss, choose a range of foods that are low in calories and easy to transport. It is also critical that you choose foods you like so that you stick to your diet. A lunch for weight loss meals that includes low-calorie foods from different food groups would be carrot and celery sticks, an apple, a whole grain bagel with hummus spread and lettuce, and a bottle of water. If you find yourself at a fast food restaurant, the American Heart Association suggests ordering smaller portions, choosing salads with low fat dressings, and avoiding fried foods.
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