Rightly or wrongly I usually get my lunch from Boots and try to take advantage of their meal deal. Sometimes Tesco too.
Does anyone have suggestions for low carb options from either? I could prep food at home to bring with me but to be honest, chances are I won't do it. So I'm wondering what low carb things I could try?
Today I had their Caesar salad and some chicken bits as the snack portion of it. Surprisingly I wasn't that hungry and thought I would have been.
Get a tin of mackerel or John West Kippers. Super tasty and no hassle. And then of course a chunk of cheese or a handfull of nuts. A boiled egg maybe? Doesn't have to be complicated.
Sounds really simple will have to try this !
Salad and chicken works for me, too, if I get stuck. If you don't mind the mess of peeling and dicing it, an avocado is a nice addition.
Once you reach Ninja level low-carb, you should find that you can ride right through lunch - with maybe just a boiled egg or a piece of cheese, as above - and then eat when you get home. However you will need to eat a proper breakfast if you intend to do this. There aren't many people who can cope with one meal a day!
But if you can cope with one meal a day it's really really great!!!
I tried skipping breakfast today and was ravenous by the time I got to work and ended up getting a sugary protein bar and a pack of those BBQ crunch things, can't remember the brand. Back to breakfast tomorrow
It's well worth getting up an hour early and really making a meal of breakfast, especially in the early stages.
If I know I'm going to have a long day, I'll have 3-4 scrambled eggs, plus a sausage, some bacon, vegetables of some kind (usually a little side salad or stirfry), a smallish serving of Greek yoghurt, and if I happen to have some, a tablespoonful of muesli. Plus coffee, of course 
It totally sets you up for the day.
Skipping breakfast is a real hardcore manoeuvre - you won't be able to do it without pain until you're very fat-adapted, and you'll most likely want a fairly substantial meal at lunchtime. If you've only just started, try to establish a regular schedule, with repeating meals to avoid thinking about it too much. Give it a few weeks, and you'll be able to experiment and improvise a bit more. Remember, a big part of healthy eating is establishing healthy habits.
Hi! I’m so interested and pleased you said this TAT because I keep feeling a bit disappointed that I haven’t got to OMAD! This is encouraging! And I love my breakfast, which normally sees me through til late afternoon/ early evening. Still steadily losing weight which is great, obviously something working fine.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
If I'm working in the office (as opposed to outdoors), I tend to eat a somewhat smaller "brunch" about 11am. Occasionally I'll skip it completely or just have coffee and some peanuts. Either way, I have a very large evening meal.
OMAD will come naturally if or when your body is ready for it. I think a lot of people get impatient and try to go straight into radical fasting programmes. I've no doubt it works when you're fat-adapted, but you do have to walk before you can run.
Agreed, also for years my body has been subsumed under a mountain of carbs, so I am getting to know it’s new habits and needs. This was my aim, I am still learning to trust hunger signals and satiety feelings. Lots of hang ups around food and eating to dispel. 👍
I agree with Toad that people can fall into forcing it, rather than listening to their body and going with it. There's no way I could have managed on two meals, with nothing for 16 hours after my evening meal, when I had a high carb intake, but it feels comfortable and right now.
I have noticed no mention of fruit? Is fruit a complete no no? I have been enjoying my cheese and apple lunches. Also are baked beans allowed ever, I had some with my bought breakfast which I ate but I did leave my toast. In my defence I am quite new to this.
Try carrying a small pot of nuts, seeds, & a piece of 70% cocoa chocolate to avoid being caught out & having to buy something unpleasant when you’re out. I find the security of knowing I have something more wholesome to eat staves off nasty pangs & potential hangry shopppng.
I noticed Boots now sell 3xBabybel cheeses in the Meal Deal snack section, though it’s the lower fat type. They make a good portable snack. The dog I buy them for & I can’t tell the difference.
Lunch ideas I've really enjoyed from basic supermarkets /boots.
* fresh mozzarella ball with a 'simple salad' or garden salad. Just so simple and divinely rich and lovely. Keep a bottle of mayo or creamy dressing in your work fridge and that's you sorted for loads of things.
*One of the wee plain side salad bowls with a little flavoured tuna - chilli and garlic is my favourite.. And some creamy dressing or mayo. This is my most common lunch choice. So easy.
* other options for easy additions to your side salad bowl - the 2 ready boiled eggs in the little pot. Great. Likewise the little pots of egg mayo and tuna mayo really work. Small pack smoked salmon added to your salad - amazing. The little pots of olives and feta = instant Greek salad. I don't eat meat but hams, salamis and chicken mayo pots would work if you do.
* mini cheeses.. Usually there are a few types. Tesco, Ilchester, president and castello all do wee selections. Some supermarkets do pick n mix for mini cheeses. A few mini cheeses with a coffee is a great lunch and keeps you going really well.
* I've really enjoyed the pre washed celery sticks with houmous on occasion though going easy on the houmous is adviced. The celery sticks work well with any creamy dip like the garlic mayo or cheesy dips in supermarkets next to houmous, the trio dip would definitely work. Or even egg mayo or tuna mayo pots will work. Very nice.
* Most supermarkets do mini pots of mixed berries. If you pick up that and a little pot of double cream you've got a dream lunch there for pretty low carb too.
*I've seen cocktail sausages with mayo dip in those meal deals. Vile to me but certainly not breaking any lc boundaries.
*skip it - always an option and very good for lowering your blood insulin and getting closer to fat adaptation
Great ideas there.
I do like those creamy dressings/dips. If I know I'm going to be in the office for a few days straight, I'll buy one of those three- or four-packs and put it in the office fridge. They're probably full of preservatives, but they definitely brighten up a salad+meat.
I tried smoked salmon yesterday for the first time. I'm not a fan! I have a small Tesco across the road from work but I rarely go there for lunch and end up usually going to Boots. Might try it today.
You're going to be very restricted with boots.. I know this because I used to eat lunch from there at least once or twice a week.. And the options are extremely thin on the ground.
Also pls advise good veg LCHF options for dinner. Dinner is one diet want o bring on track. Pls give veg options to have light dinner.
I tend to buy the salads and add chicken or flavoured Tuna and just squeeze over some lemon juice as a dressing. You can maybe get some olives, feta or cheese to go with it.
You might be able to get some low carb soups, but you'd have to have a closer look.
Cold sausages, small cans of tuna, freeze soup and take that or left overs from the previous night dinner, my 2am snack at work is Celery/cream cheese/8 Brazil nuts and coffee, or cherry tomatoes in a punnet, the punnet lasts me 4 night duties.... I've found pre planning is my best option, I didn't do it last week and though I stayed low carb I STS weight
moreless put up a post recently which identified some very interesting websites to have a look at on the 'suggestions for a low carb xmas ' thread
Is low carb diet a risk for AF?
Very low carb days or IF days