Lunch time! One of my favourite meals of the day. Also on this list is breakfast time, dinner time, nap time and Game of Thrones time. But lunch can be a tricky meal since it usually isn’t eaten in the ease and comfort of home. Our lunch break is precious time and you don’t want to waste the first three quarters of it just on prep. Alternatively there is the option to go down to the local café and wonder why a chicken wrap costs $15.
Happy Lunch = Happy Worker
We want our lunch to give it the most it can. We want to have enough food to keep us full and energized, preventing energy slumps later in the day (I’m looking at you 3pm). We also don’t want to eat so much that we immediately fall into a food coma for the rest of the afternoon.
Aim to have a plate which is half non-starchy vegetables (such as carrot, lettuce, tomato, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower), a quarter protein (think egg, deli meats, chicken, fish, beef, lamb) and a quarter carbohydrate (try brown rice, wholemeal pasta, bread or wraps). The vegetables fill you up and provide fibre, vitamins and minerals, the protein helps with muscle function and repair and the carbohydrates provide fuel for the brain – important for those afternoon meetings.
Easy ideas
Tips
Emergency Supply
Keep some of these in your draw at work for the days where you realise you’ve left your lunch at home
When we hear the word diet, many ideas could have popped into mind. Atkins, juicing, cleanses, calorie counting, alkaline diet, meal replacement shakes and skinny pills. The word diet comes from Greek origins, meaning “way of life”.
But are fad diet trends slowly dying out? Even as early as the 18th century, there have been various methods come and go, all with the promise of weight loss, health and happiness. Here in 2017, is the world finally accepting that good health short and long outcomes come from variety, moderation and balance?
We’ve done the diet in the past. Something happens in life such as upcoming events, change in lifestyle and we feel the need to go on a diet for a few weeks. Cut out a food group or replace main meals with a shake or restrict caloric input completely. The diet works for a few short weeks, then we resume eating the way we did before and regain any weight lost through the strict regime with interest.
After doing this a few times over we finally get it – that diet isn’t for me. It isn’t sustainable and can be unpleasant. Are the diet trends disappearing?
The short answer is no.
Diet trends are going as strong as ever. They have however, been remarketed and rebranded. We know about yoyo dieting and tend to be hesitant over the “D” word. Even as a health care profession, some people don’t like the word dietitian due to the word “diet”.
Instead we find ourselves inundated with the bikini challenge, intermittent fasting, meal services, paleo and veganism. Instead of just focusing on foods like the traditional “diet”, a lot of “challenges” also put a strict regime of exercise to comply with. Similar to a fad diet, they are for a short period of time (usually eight weeks) and once over, you’d resume you’re previous eating pattern and regain any weight lost or lose muscle tone gained.
While we may not be swallowing tapeworms like the 1950s trend, there are still diets claiming to be a cure all. To see if you’re eating pattern is giving you the best it can, come and have a chat to our Accredited Practicing Dietitian at the SportsTec Clinic.
For some people, there are a lot of feelings and associations around food. More than ever, people are becoming more conscious about what they are putting into their bodies.
Generally, we have a pretty good idea of which foods are healthy and what are less healthy options. So, if you’re feeling guilty over a food choice like eating that piece of birthday cake in the office, take a breath and remember this:
Food has no moral value.
You’ve never seen a chocolate bar or a banana rob a bank. Food, quite simply, is food. When we feel guilty about food, this can trigger the “well I’m off the wagon anyway” mindset and lead to eating more than intended.
Healthy eating is consuming a wide variety of foods from all food groups in moderation. It isn’t about cutting out entire food groups, counting calories and macronutrients or starving the body of the nourishment it needs.
It can be tricky to change the mindset and habits of a lifetime, however if we change the way we think and talk about food, maybe we can make the world a happier place, one day at a time.
