Packing Lunch for Weight Loss

You might remember getting a packed lunch as a kid to enjoy amidst the chaos of the school cafeteria, but for many people the concept of brown bagging it ended after grade school. From cafeteria fare to office runs to the local drive-thru, most people spend a pretty penny every week by dining out at lunch during work. But as you start to focus on weight loss New Jersey, it might finally be time to bring a bagged lunch back into style.

There are all sorts of reasons why dining out for lunch is popular. Lunchtime is your time. It is your chance to step away from your desk and mingle with coworkers who you may not see much as you are stuck in your small cubicle. When you buy yourself lunch you are forcing yourself to leave your computer behind and take a mental break from all that your workday entails, but you are also opening the door to potential diet destruction—especially if your lunch is often handed to you through a window.

Changing up your lunch routine can give you a serious boost during your medical weight loss program. When you start a new weight loss program, your eating habits are the first things to change, but many people struggle to switch their eating habits at the office. To really follow through on your weight loss goals you will need to make a full shift to a healthier way of life, and this includes eating better at work.

Here are a few tips for packing a healthy lunch for the office:

• Bring several small servings. Set yourself up for a good day by bringing multiple small servings of food that you can eat every several hours. This is a much more beneficial way to eat than going for one large meal in the middle of the day. Plus, eating a small bite every three hours can help you resist hunger.
• Make it the night before. Start incorporating lunches into your nightly routine by packing meals ahead of time. This is easy if you make bigger dinners every night and save the leftovers. Otherwise, try making yourself healthy lunches like salads or sandwiches that meet your meal plan requirements.
• Stick with whole foods. Do your best to leave highly processed foods out of your lunch. Use simple foods like whole fruits and vegetables, unprocessed forms of protein like fresh cold cuts, nuts or beans and whole wheat carbohydrate sources. Before you add anything new to your lunches make sure to talk with your weight loss doctor.

When you get to the office, make a habit of avoiding tempting spots like the vending machine or the doughnuts in the office lounge and stick to just eating the food you brought from home. Bringing your medical weight loss diet to work is a great way to boost your weight loss efforts in New Jersey.