How To Eat At Work And Not Get Fat

With busy schedules, tempting fast-food choices and way too many e-mails to sort through, we often fall prey to quick, convenient non-nutritious lunches that do little for one’s mood, energy or waistline.

But eating healthy in the middle of the day doesn’t have to be so hard. Here, experts share their top hacks to help you choose the quinoa bowl over the Big Mac.

Spice up your plate

 

Be like Beyoncé and pack some hot sauce in your bag. “Adding a little spice to meals is a great way to pay attention to the flavors in your food,” helping you to eat less, says Lorraine Kearney, a New York City nutritionist. Plus, spicy stuff, especially ginger, cayenne, turmeric and cinnamon, can help boost your metabolism. “[These spices] can speed up your metabolic rate by 50 percent for up to three hours and help you burn more calories.”

Take a picture of your meal

 “Snapping a photo helps my clients to stay accountable for their calorie intake,” says Kearney. Just the act of recording the image will encourage you to evaluate your choices. You can take it further by keeping a food picture journal or posting it to social media and sharing you weight-loss goals with all of your Instagram followers.

Order before you’re hungry

 

Log on to your favorite food-delivery Web site long before your stomach starts rumbling. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics found that those who ordered lunch ahead of their hunger pangs opted for lower-calorie fare than those who ordered when they were starving. “By ordering meals in advance, the likelihood of making indulgent purchases is drastically reduced,” says researcher Eric M. VanEpps, Ph.D.

Order from the kids’ menu

Seriously. “Our portion sizes are out of control,” says Paul Yau, founder of health appYaye. “With a kids’ menu, you are getting much closer to the right amount of food.” And there’s a bonus: It’s cheaper!

Snack before lunch

 

“Most of us get hungry every three to four hours. So, if there’s a long stretch between breakfast and lunch, or if you missed breakfast completely, a healthy snack like hummus and veggies or a homemade trail mix can help you resist making poor choices later in the day,” says Lauren Harris-Pincus, a registered dietitian and owner of NutritionStarringYou.com.

“Protein-and fiber-rich snacks [such as nuts and dried fruit] can also help stabilize your blood sugar to keep you mentally focused and physically active.”

Eat with chopsticks

Forget the plastic forks and choose chopsticks to keep from chowing down too quickly, no matter what the cuisine. “Eating slower helps you eat less … by giving your brain the time to register when you are full,” says Tanya Zuckerbrot, dietitian and founder of the popular F-Factor Diet. Bonus: Heavy, calorically dense sauces also will slide off of the chopsticks, resulting in fewer calories ingested than when people eat with a spoon or fork.

Drink before you eat

 

Have a couple of glasses of water before diving into your midday meal to help exercise portion control with ease. “Dehydration can mimic the feeling of hunger,” says Priya Lawrence, a dietitian and nutritionist. “We often eat when we are actually parched. Research from 2015 [by the] Obesity Society shows evidence concluding that water pre-loading before main meals leads to moderate weight loss.”

Take your top off!

 

Can’t resist ordering a sandwich instead of a salad? “Remove the top slice of bread from your lunch sandwich,” says Zuckerbrot. “Having your sandwich open-faced cuts down on the calories and carbohydrates.”

End it with fruit

“Skip the cookie and instead have an apple, pear or berries,” says Amy Gorin, a dietitian based in Jersey City, NJ. “Fiber, especially when combined with protein and healthy fat, will help to keep you full and satisfied for several hours.”