Although there is no secret food that will help you lose weight, eating the right type of salad for lunch can benefit your weight-loss efforts. However, eating a lunchtime salad with high calorie, unhealthy ingredients can limit the amount of weight you lose. Learning how to prepare low-calorie salads for lunch can help you create a calorie deficit of at least 3,500 calories each week to lose about 1 lb.
Salad Benefits
The leafy greens in salad are low in calories and contain small amounts of fiber. A head of Boston, or Bibb, lettuce has 1.8 g of fiber and 21 calories; iceberg lettuce has 6.5 g of fiber per head and 75 calories. The fiber in your lunchtime salad can help you feel full at lunch and into the afternoon. Men and women need about 38 and 25 g of fiber, respectively. If your calorie goal is 1,500, eating a low-calorie salad at lunch can help you stay within your range.
Nutritional Considerations
To avoid boredom and ensure you meet your daily nutritional needs, vary the composition and types of salads you eat everyday for lunch. If following a 1,500 calorie diet, you need to eat about 56 g, or 225 calories of protein, about 900 calories from carbohydrates and up to 375 calories of monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. Set a goal of eating between 1/4 to 1/3 of your total calories in your lunch time salad.
Build a Healthy Salad
A healthy, well-balanced salad for lunch is more than just a head of lettuce. Adding tomatoes and broccoli for vitamin C, carrots for vitamin K and small chunks of avocado for healthy fats enhances the nutritional value of your salad. Add high quality protein such as tuna, cooked kidney or pinto beans, boiled eggs, salmon or grilled chicken. The avocado has 47 calories for 1 oz., the egg contains 70 calories each, and the beans, salmon, tuna and one-third of a chicken breast each have about 100 calories. Protein values range from less than a gram for the salmon to 21.68 g for tuna. Occasionally, add 1 oz. of blue or feta cheese, cooked couscous, small amounts of brown rice or baked croutons.
Warnings
Eating very low-calorie salads for lunch may make it difficult to meet your caloric needs for the day. If you begin to lose more than 2 lb. a week, increase the number of calories in your salad or throughout the day. Saturated fats in salad dressings can contribute to heart disease. Instead, use olive oil based dressings, flavored vinegars or fat-free versions of your favorite dressing. Although macaroni or other pasta-based salads offer carbohydrates, avoid pasta salads with full-fat mayonnaise or salad dressings.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20: Fiber, Total Dietary
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17: Energy
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20: Protein
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- National Institutes of Health: Tips for Losing Weight
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