Proper nutrition is the basic element around which the entire process of healthy weight loss is built. But most people losing weight focus on breakfast and dinner, mistakenly believing that in the middle of the day you can afford to eat everything that comes to hand. This position is partly justified by the fact that working people have little choice - they often have to use catering services, and their time for food is extremely limited. But it is the wrong lunch that can cause excess weight to not go away.
What to eat for lunch to lose weight
To decide what to eat for lunch to lose weight, you need to remember that your meal must correspond to a certain number of calories. The required amount of calories is determined depending on the person's weight and activity. Most people lose weight by consuming between 1,000 and 1,600 calories per day. For example, 400 calorie meals and two 100 calorie snacks.
You can get 400 kcal for lunch with the following menu:
- salmon steak (150 kcal), 1 cup steamed broccoli (55 kcal), 0.5 cup boiled brown rice (105 kcal);
- chicken steak, leafy greens, carrots, 0.5 cups quinoa;
- 100 gr. tofu, Brussels sprouts, whole grain pasta.
Chicken steak with vegetables
Recipes for every day from the pros
Lunch with proper nutrition can be not only healthy, but also very varied. We offer you lunch options that you will definitely want to take note of.
Protein dishes
Whether or not to dine is a personal matter. But eating during the day is:
- The body receives the necessary substances for energy production.
- Reduce the risk of overeating at dinner.
- Stable metabolic rate.
- Feeling good.
- Slender body.
- Getting the necessary vitamins and amino acids for the day. Insulin levels are normalized.
Almost everyone can cook familiar dishes. But there are recipes that are not quite ordinary, but are prepared quickly. They can be included in the menu for variety.
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Jamie believes that it takes 15-30 minutes to prepare a delicious lunch. Here are examples of satisfying, interesting and low-calorie dishes.
Ricotta and lemon pancakes:
- Ricotta or low-fat paste-like cottage cheese – 400 g.
- Lemon – 1 pc.
- Grated or ground nutmeg – ¼ tsp.
- Egg – 1 pc.
- Flour – 1 tbsp. l.
- Grated hard cheese – 40 g.
- Olive oil – 50 g.
- Salt and pepper - to taste.
Mash the ricotta or cottage cheese with a fork, add lemon zest, egg and flour. Nutmeg and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Fry small pancakes in hot oil until golden brown. Serve them with tomato sauce, lecho or tomatoes in their own juice.
Crispy Mint Zucchini Salad:
- Zucchini or zucchini – 400 g.
- Mint – 1 bunch.
- Red pepper – ¾ tsp.
- Salt – 1 pinch.
- Olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.
- Lemon – 1 pc.
Grate the zucchini on a coarse grater. Finely chop the mint. Place them in a cup, add salt and pepper, season with oil and lemon juice, mix well. The crispy salad is ready.
Rassolnik:
- Beef meat on the bone.
- Chicken giblets.
- Onions, carrots, celery.
- Potato.
- Salted cucumbers.
- Pearl barley.
- Vegetable oil.
- Lemon.
Cut the finished giblets into slices and add to the soup, then add pearl barley and salt. After the potatoes are ready, add the frying. Acidify the pickle with lemon juice to taste. Add a bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. Boil a little. Lunch is ready.
The body perceives long breaks between meals as a hunger strike, so it intensively begins to store fat from any food. Even if it's a leaf of lettuce.
Almost everyone can cook familiar dishes. But there are recipes that are not quite ordinary, but are prepared quickly. They can be included in the menu for variety.
Jamie believes that it takes 15-30 minutes to prepare a delicious lunch. Here are examples of satisfying, interesting and low-calorie dishes.
Mash the ricotta or cottage cheese with a fork, add lemon zest, egg and flour. Nutmeg and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Fry small pancakes in hot oil until golden brown. Serve them with tomato sauce, lecho or tomatoes in their own juice.
Grate the zucchini on a coarse grater. Finely chop the mint. Place them in a cup, add salt and pepper, season with oil and lemon juice, mix well. The crispy salad is ready.
Cut the finished giblets into slices and add to the soup, then add pearl barley and salt. After the potatoes are ready, add the frying. Acidify the pickle with lemon juice to taste. Add a bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. Boil a little. Lunch is ready.
Advice from nutritionists
For anyone trying to lose weight or lead a healthy lifestyle, nutritionists advise:
- take into account the correspondence of the energy value of food to human energy expenditure. This rule is usually ignored. Eating high-calorie foods (potatoes, sugar, flour products) results in the body receiving much more calories than it expends. As a result, the mass increases and leads to obesity;
- diversify your food list. The content of nutrients in products must correspond to the physiological needs of the body. Every day you should consume about 70 different substances that are very important for life, but not all are synthesized in the human body;
- choose the right diet, frequency and regularity of meals. It is necessary to take into account the need for nutrients and energy depending on the body and age.
Advice from experienced nutritionists
Developing sustainable healthy eating habits:
- minimize the consumption of unnatural food that has zero nutritional value and high calorie content (especially for adolescents);
- replace juices with fruits, avoid carbonated drinks;
- give up alcohol;
- if possible, replace tea and coffee with water;
- always have breakfast. Skipping breakfast causes the body to go into starvation mode and begin storing fat. This will also force you to increase your next meal;
- drink a lot of water, 8-9 glasses a day.
Important! It is better to buy vegetables and fruits at the market; you should not choose imported beautiful, shiny ones, since they are of no benefit. Preferably fresh, seasonal, organic vegetables and fruits grown in nearby fields and gardens.
Recommended serving size for lunch
When deciding what to eat for lunch, remember that you definitely need:
- complex carbohydrates in the form of cereals, herbs, vegetables;
- good vegetable fats such as flaxseed, sesame, olive oil;
- vegetable and animal proteins in sufficient quantities - legumes, meat, sour cream, fish, poultry.
For each organism, the ratio of the listed substances is selected taking into account individual needs. For example, people who are losing weight need more protein, while those who are focused on gaining weight need complex carbohydrates. In any case, the diet should always contain three components - proteins, fats, carbohydrates. None of them are excluded, only in this case the lunch will be complete and healthy and will not harm the figure.
Which products to choose
For proper nutrition, the best options are:
- fruits. Fruits with low sugar content (oranges, pineapples, apples, lemons, peaches, grapefruits, cranberries) should replace sweets;
- vegetables. You should get carbohydrates from vegetables. They contain vitamins, fiber and other nutrients. These can be tomatoes, any cabbage, celery, bell peppers, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, etc.;
- legumes This food is rich in carbohydrates, fiber and iron (peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans, soy). 1/2 cup of peas or lentils provides approximately 7-8 grams. fiber;
- whole grain products have a lot of fiber (barley, buckwheat, oats, rye, rice, wheat, millet). It is recommended to eat at every lunch meal;
- nuts and dried fruits. By eating nuts and dried fruits, you can suppress hunger and replenish your supply of vitamins and nutrients.
Whole grain products
Important! You should avoid pork, potatoes, yeast products (various baked goods) and those made with malt (beer).
Lunch menu options for a slim figure
A complete diet should consist of several dishes: first, main (hot with or without a side dish), drink. Complete the menu with a salad or appetizer of your choice. Sometimes you can indulge in a light dessert.
The maximum total calorie content of all dishes for lunch is 450 kcal (fat - 30-40%, protein - 40-50%, carbohydrates - 10-20%).
Imagine putting all the food together. Your portion should fit into your palms, folded into a handful.
Light traditional or creamy soups are an integral part of the diet. Their regular use contributes to the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. First dietary dishes for lunch:
- bean soup with vegetable broth;
- vegetarian borsch;
- Mushroom cream soup;
- green pea puree with broccoli;
- cream soup with pumpkin.
Meat, fish or seafood with side dishes provide the bulk of the nutrients entering the body. When combined with soups and appetizers, this food is very filling. Dietary main courses:
- baked shrimp omelette;
- zucchini stuffed with meat;
- chicken fillet baked with low-fat cheese;
- pita roll with canned tuna;
- salmon baked in the oven.
Salads
Light meals will help diversify your diet. Make them with foods that fill you up quickly and for a long time, such as fiber-rich vegetables. Salad options for lunch:
- with chicken fillet, sour apple and Chinese cabbage;
- from cheese, olives, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers;
- with dried fruits and boiled beets;
- vegetable salad with chicken eggs;
- with carrots, low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream.
Without treats, the diet becomes meager and the diet becomes intolerable. Healthy eating dessert dishes for lunch:
- fruit salad with yogurt dressing;
- strawberry and orange sorbet;
- cottage cheese and apple casserole;
- milk-vanilla pudding;
- fruit and berry jelly.
Beverages
The dietary lunch is completed with a hot or cold drink. The following drinks help you lose weight:
- smoothie;
- green tea or coffee without cream, milk, sugar;
- fruit drink;
- fresh juice;
- mineral water.
Cream of broccoli and leek soup
You will need:
- Broccoli (500 grams)
- Egg (4 pcs.)
- Garlic (2 cloves)
- Cream 20% fat (200 ml.)
- Leeks (500 grams)
- Salt
Preparation:
- Prepare leeks and broccoli for cooking by rinsing under water. Place in a saucepan half filled with water. Cook for about 7 minutes.
- After cooking, transfer the vegetables to a bowl and cover with cold water.
- Strain the vegetable broth and set aside.
- Using a hand blender, puree the vegetables. Add to broth.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, gradually adding cream. Add spices. As soon as the broth begins to boil, remove from heat.
- Divide boiled eggs into yolks and whites. Grind the yolks until smooth. Add chopped garlic to the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the mixture to the broth and mix thoroughly.
- The cream soup is ready.
Of course, if you have special containers for liquid dishes, then you won’t have a problem taking such a dish to work. It has been proven that hot liquid dishes, like soups, should be eaten several times a month to normalize the functioning of the stomach. Therefore, do not be killed by grief if soups are extremely rare in your diet.
General recommendations: when and how to eat
If you sweep everything off the table for lunch, nothing good will happen. You immediately begin to feel drowsy, concentration and attention decrease, and the desire to do anything disappears. You need to have lunch properly to stay full and alert.
General recommendations:
- Eat at the same hours. The best time for lunch is 12:00-15:00. During this period, the digestive system works well, so even relatively dense food is easier and faster to digest.
- Make wise choices when dining out. In catering establishments, the menu almost always includes fresh vegetable salads and soups. You can eat up to 300 g of them. For the second course, it is better to choose fish or meat, but only 100 g. If the menu only includes business lunches, then you can order the first and second courses in half portions or refuse a side dish.
- Reduce the calorie content of the first course. The soup should not be such that the spoon stands up. If you add a minimum of fat, potatoes and pasta, the taste of the dish will not change much, but the calorie content will be significantly reduced. It is better to cook with lean meat and lean fish. It is better to give preference to pureed soups with vegetables or with cereals, such as quinoa, pearl barley, and lentils.
- Drink liquid before meals. Lunch should start with a glass of water, about 20 minutes before. This will fill your stomach and reduce the amount of food you eat. A large portion of fresh vegetable salad has the same effect.
- Protein food for second. An excellent option is meat and fish, but not fried, but baked, steamed or stewed. It is better to use stewed vegetables and cereals as a side dish.
The calorie content of lunch should be 35-40% of the daily value. You need to eat slowly, chewing your food thoroughly. Eating dessert for lunch or drinking sugary drinks with food is not recommended. It's better to leave them for afternoon tea.
