Bring Your Lunch, Change Your Life: 5 secrets to becoming a “lunch-bringer”

If you’re looking for surefire action you can take to lose weight, heal a health condition, maintain weight loss, improve your looks and boost energy, I’ve got an easy piece of advice.

Pack a lunch.

That’s it: Pack a lunch

If you’re like most people, you probably purchase your lunch from a lunchcart, deli, local restaurant or nearby fastfood joint.

Convenient, yes, but it isn’t helping your weight or your health.

According to a recent study by researchers at Tufts University in Boston, 92 percent of restaurant meals have too much fat, sodium, sugar and calories. Even “healthy” restaurants, or food joints’ “healthy menus” are suspect: only 32 percent of meal combinations at fast-food restaurants and 22 percent of those at sit-down restaurants met USDA healthy guidelines for fat, saturated fat, sodium and calories.

Then there’s the cost. According a recent survey by Visa, Americans spend anywhere from $20 to $53 each week on lunches, totaling from $1,001 to $2,746 yearly.

Making and bringing your lunch to work puts you in control—of your weight, your health, your looks and your wealth.

But you’re right: There are so many roadblocks to bringing a lunch—from scheduling regular shopping trips for ingredients to setting aside time to assemble the thing. Some people even struggle with what to pack their lunch in and where to keep their lunch while they’re working.

These are real-life obstacles, ones that I can help you surmount.

Here are 5  super easy, surprising secrets to packing a delicious workday lunch (that not only supports your health goals but has your co-workers looking at your meal with longing). Take a look. You can become “a lunch-bringer,” too. One week of bringing your own fantastic lunch and you’ll see a big difference in your weight, skin, energy levels and wealth.

 

Finding time for shopping. When do you shop for groceries? If your answer is “rarely,” then I’m not going to strongarm you into changing your ways. Do a quick Internet search for local grocery stores that will deliver, then place a standing weekly order. If you’re not used to shopping regularly, this will seem like a huge expense, but let me put this to you in another way: The groceries you buy weekly will be cheaper and provide healthier meals than the takeout food you are currently purchasing every day for lunch. If you live somewhere that does not have grocers who deliver, sign up for an online delivery service, such as Amazon Prime (which has a 30-Day free trial). If you are shopping weekly, purchase double portions of your favorite foods to bring to work.


Find time for putting your lunch together. For many people, finding time to put together a lunch is more difficult than finding time to shop. Here’s how I make this easy: Each evening, as I clean the kitchen, I earmark some of the night’s leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch, then pack them into a small air-tight container and stash in the fridge. While I have the fridge door open, I do a survey of what else I can add to my lunch. Maybe there are a few baby carrots or grapes in the produce drawer, or some arugula leaves I can quickly commandeer as tomorrow’s lunchtime salad. I may go a step further and check out the cupboards (Any nuts in there? Dried cherries? Anything?) and freezer (Any single-sized freezer containers of chili or stew or soup? Perhaps some grain or beans that I made at another time and packed away in single-serving containers?). I’ve even been known to raid my kids’ Halloween bags and Easter baskets for lunchtime treats.


Have the right lunch tote + containers. This is a big one. Each morning my husband used to go into the kitchen and, as he drank his morning coffee, he would grab a cleaned-up takeout container that he got from last week’s Chinese lunch special. After randomly filling it with food from the fridge, he would slip the container as-is straight into his briefcase. If he had packed something especially liquidy,he may wrap the container in a plastic bag. As you can probably guess, the inside of his briefcase was a mess. And soon he gave up, saying that bringing his lunch was too messy for him to deal with. Don’t let this happen to you! There are a host of fun, inexpensive lunch totesout there, from bento’s to bags and boxes. There are also all kinds of sturdy, airtight food containers to put inside these lunch totes. Think about how you like to eat and choose one that makes sense. If you’re addicted to quinoa bowls, look for a large, single container. If chilis and stews are your thing, find a thermos bowl. If you love a bit of everything, try a bento box. 




Get enough protein and veggies. One of the biggest lunchtime mistakes I see clients make is consuming too many carbs midday. When you purchase your lunch, carbs are a tempting option: They are plentiful, they are so much cheaper than protein and veggies, and as pure comfort food, they are incredibly tempting. But a career of this will leave you unfocused, fatigued, grouchy, puffy, and in no state to meet your professional goals. For your own health and the good of your career, I urge you to pact a healthful  lunch featuring protein and veggies, two foods that will keep you focused and energized until the end of the day, while also contributing to a stable mood and increased mental acuity. A serving of protein is about the size of a deck of playing cards. So think a cup of quinoa or millet or another grain with a one-cup serving of veggies and some beans or leftover salmon or poultry. Or a container of chickpea soup and a green side salad. Or anything else that strikes your fancy. For some recipes that can help, go here.


Include a treat. And maybe a drink. For those of you who don’t take your lunch because homemade food isn’t as exciting as the stuff you can buy at the takeout shop up the street (the one with the amazing chocolate chip cookies sitting near the cash register!), I have advice: Never pack a workday lunch without including a treat. And perhaps a travel thermos or bottle of something fun to drink (I like water with cucumber slices or homemade ginger drink). By showing yourself that homemade lunches can be just as fun and treat-filled as anything you can pick up the corner deli, you will be more likely to consistently pack and bring your own healthy (and yes, yummy) food. Suggestions for healthy treats include this delectable strawberry pudding, a container of homemade nut butter popcorn, store-bought or homemade kale chips or whole grain tortilla chips with a side of guacamole.


Bonus tip: Where to store your lunch. If you’re lucky enough to work in an office with a dedicated kitchen (featuring a fridge large enough to store everyone’s home-brought lunches), fantastic. Just make sure you either label your lunch bag or use a container that is so different-looking from everyone else’s that no one will mistake it for their own. If you’re one of the folks who must store your lunch at your desk, you’re in luck. Many lunch containers come with their own cold packs. But you can also buy thesecooling packs separately. (A multi-pack of these typically runs under $8.) How to use these cold packs: Simply store in your home freezer overnight and slip into your lunch bag each morning before leaving the house. Most can keep an average-sized lunch col for up to 8 hours.