Slimming Lunch: In the office or telecommuting, what do you eat to lose weight?
Do you want to lose weight or regain a healthy weight? Nutritional rebalancing is essential, but on days when you're in the office, or working from home and lacking time, it's not always easy to get a balanced dish that matches your needs...follow the guide!
Whether you work from home or in the office, lunch can quickly turn into a headache when trying to lose weight... What do I order in a restaurant or canteen? What do I do on days when I don't have time for lunch? What do I eat while working remotely? Sarah Marin Meyer, RD, co-founder of Make Me Healthy answers all the questions you might have about lunch, and gives you her tips for eating a balanced diet, without blasting the number of calories in your diet. wherever you are!
Midday meal for slimming: At remote work or in the office, we balance our plates!
Whatever the case, it's important to make sure you get a well-balanced meal, as Sarah Marin-Mer reminds us.
“For this, it is essential that your meal includes all the necessary ingredients: a part of protein (animal or vegetable), a part of starches (ideally ideal), a part of vegetables and a part of vegetable oil,” explains the dietitian.
The ideal distribution on your plate should be:
- Half vegetables
- ¼ plate of whole grains
- ¼ protein (animal or vegetable)
- 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
But as the specialist points out, we are all different, and so are our needs. The portions of each ingredient are specific to each ingredient and as part of the quest for weight loss, they can be accurately identified and calculated by a dietitian.
“It is important to provide your body with everything it needs: whether for a meal, for the whole day (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner) or even for the week, month and year. This applies whether you just want to stabilize your current weight, or lose weight. or weight gain. , as you say.
Skipping a meal: why is it a bad idea when you want to lose weight?
When you have busy days during the week, you may be tempted to skip lunch or snack in front of your computer...bad idea!
Sarah-Marin-Mair explains, "Even if you have a short time, it's essential to take at least 20 minutes to lunch. It's essential for your health!" .
“Skiping a meal is the worst case scenario, you risk making up in the evening (without realizing it!) during dinner, or even before you snack while preparing the meal. Lunch the next day you feel so hungry that it still requires time to organize yourself,” says my specialist. nutrition.
danger? A bout of fatigue in the afternoon and a desire to snack (often rich and processed foods: fatty, sweet, salty, etc.). As the specialist reminds us, these habits will inevitably affect your weight, whether you simply want to maintain your healthy weight or lose weight.
Your body needs regularity to function in the best possible way. To do this, give yourself a break for a few minutes, even if it means finishing or starting a few minutes later/before.
“Whether you want to lose weight or not, depriving your body of a meal is not a good idea at all. Especially since on the weekend it will resume its usual rhythm, only to be deprived again during the week. Several complications are ok. Worth taking Time for lunch!”, she encouraged.
Good tip: Be careful, when we talk about eating a meal, it's about taking a few minutes to eat your meal and nothing else: it's not recommended to eat your meal while looking at your computer or your phone. You won't realize how much you're eating, you may not feel fullness, and you'll finish your meal either after you eat more than you used to or feel hungry.
Lose weight: for lunch, homemade everything is good!
The ideal way when you go to your workplace is to bring your lunch from home. This way you will know exactly what your meal is.
To save preparation time, you can make an extra portion at dinner time the day before, but you can also cook all your meals on Sunday for example and store them in the fridge or freezer.
"This trick works on making complete meals, but it also simply cooks loads of veggies, starches, and proteins so you only have 'compilation' to do during the week: mix starch, veggies, and protein and add herbs, spices, and vegetable oils," explains Sarah-Marin-Meir.
Good tip: It's okay to get in at first, but it quickly becomes part of your J routine! It's the best way to eat a balanced diet (and save money); Whether you want to lose weight or just stay healthy.
Slimming Meal: A perfect sandwich for a quick but balanced meal?
If you don't have time at noon for a classic lunch break, a sandwich can be an interesting alternative, provided you make it yourself, to control what you find there!
And yes, contrary to what one might think, a homemade sandwich can be a very good option despite the bad reputation it may have.
To prepare a healthy homemade sandwich, a dietitian recommends combining:
For the starchy part: wholemeal bread, ideally organic and sourdough (kamut, spelled, buckwheat, rye, etc.)
For the protein serving: slices of boiled egg (ideally organic), smoked tofu, seitan, pork (ideally organic), tuna, etc.
For vegetable fat serving: avocado or vegetable oil
Optional: You can add a few green salad leaves, tomato slices, and pickle slices (check the ingredients list to make sure it doesn't contain sugar).
For the serving of vegetables: It is necessary to accompany your sandwich with vegetables such as chewable vegetables (which you can easily transport in an airtight box): cherry tomatoes, carrots/cucumbers, radishes...so you will have a whole meal that is delicious and ready in minutes!
Slimming Lunch: Making the Right Lunch Choices on the Go
"If you want to buy your meal outside, you can go to a supermarket...what if preparing your meal at home frees you up more time on your lunch break?" , confirms the nutritionist.
In the supermarket, you can choose pasta salad, rice, cereals ... but be careful, they always lack vegetables: consider eating more raw vegetables (cherry tomatoes, radishes ...) for a truly balanced and complete meal.
Another possible option: raw vegetables, organic white skinless pork (or any other easy-to-eat cold protein), and a typical grain salad: tabbouleh, quinoa salad, bulgur salad, etc.
Good tip: be sure to read the ingredients list for the already prepared salads you choose, they often contain sugar, syrup, etc.! These are point solutions (troubleshooting) but the ideal of course is to avoid industrially processed dishes: a homemade pasta salad would be so much better!
Salad Bar: Good or Bad Idea if I Want to Lose Weight?
Are you lucky enough to have a salad bar in your canteen, or is there a sign near your desk? At first glance, a salad bar is a great alternative for lunch if you want to lose weight and eat a balanced diet ... but provided that you respect the proportions for each portion of the food:
Make sure to eat a portion of vegetables, a portion of whole starches, and a portion of protein (animal or vegan).
Be warned: Often, the base (and thus the most important amount) is the starch base and vegetables are a simple accompaniment, in very small amounts. So consider ordering the portions reversed with a vegetable base and then adding grains and protein.
Lunch at the restaurant: What do I choose to eat in a balanced way?
Another possible lunch option during the week: the restaurant.
To try to balance your diet as much as possible, even when you go to a restaurant, Sarah Marin Meyer advises:
Consult the restaurant's menu in advance, as much as possible, to anticipate your choices.
Make sure that they are introducing new products and that the card is not extended. In general, a short card is a good omen of the quality / novelty of the products used.
Do not direct yourself towards the proposed salad, take the time to consider the composition. The choice of salad is often wrong: either it's a very light salad with a few leaves of green salad and a hard-boiled egg that won't stop you, and you risk snacking as soon as you leave the restaurant, or it will be a (very) rich salad like a warm goat cheese salad (with only the three leaves). bottom toast), or a salad with giblets, croutons, extra sauce, etc., which will eventually have a bit of green.
Feel free to ask the waiter questions about the size of the plates, what they contain, to order additional vegetables for the portion that suits you, a change in accompaniment ...
Switch to grilled fish, which is often accompanied by vegetables and consume the (starchy) bread that accompanies it (beware, don't forget the starch! It's essential, even when you want to lose weight).
Or opt for grilled meats, which are often accompanied by starches (feel free to order pasta instead of fries) and ask for a vegetarian supplement.
Good advice: In any case, plant-based supplements are always necessary, because restaurants never provide the amounts needed for a well-balanced diet!
Remote work: what to eat for lunch to lose weight?
If you're working remotely, Sarah Marin-Marin highly recommends creating an "emergency recipe," "the recipe that will save you when you're working remotely and don't have time to prepare a meal."
For example, you can inflate whole semolina in a bowl by pouring boiling water over it and covering the bowl by placing the dish on it. Meanwhile, take the ratatouille out of the freezer, reheat it in a skillet or in the microwave, cut a few cubes of smoked tofu and you'll have a complete meal!
Bread is also very useful when you're short on time, says the dietitian: A few slices of fresh or frozen bread will save you from cooking starchy foods. All you have to do is combine the protein (fried eggs for example) and vegetables (the soup of the previous day, the vegetables you cooked earlier or simply a salad of raw vegetables: shredded carrots, shredded celery, green salad ...).
Tips for fast food at home:
Always keep raw frozen vegetables in the freezer
Always slice whole wheat bread in the freezer
Cook large quantities of whole grain starch and vegetables in advance and store in airtight containers
Grate raw vegetables in advance (carrots, celery, red cabbage, etc.) and store them in airtight containers.
Always keep plant-based proteins like tofu and seitan in your fridge (no cooking required, very quick preparation)
Skillet Cooking: Mix everything - proteins, starches, vegetables, herbs, spices, vegetable oils - in a skillet
Prepare your meals in advance on Sunday evening, for the week: full meals or large amounts of starchy foods and vegetables