by Danielle Corbett

Created on: September 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 06, 2008

Balancing the nation's budget and creating world peace may seem more attainable than the realization of a healthy lunch, especially with a busy schedule. What can one do to squash hunger and dodge the ever-so-tempting diet pitfalls? Living like a Buddhist monk out of your closet is not the right answer. However, there are lifestyle changes one can benefit from by implementing a more cosmopolitan approach to eating. Many non-Westernized countries approach lunch as the most important meal of the day and perceive it as exciting and nourishing and not as a restrictive plate of food devoid of enjoyment. With this said:

1) Move away from the computer, office cubicle, and take time to enjoy your meal. At your cubicle, your stomach is relating to your food as work. Instead of devoting all of your time to enjoying your meal, you are distracting yourself with the stresses of work and ignoring any of your internal signals of satiety and inviting the production of stress hormones which often trigger weight gain. Basically you end up attacking food as the prey and you are the angry predator.

2) Food is exciting, so make it that way. Diversity often excites the senses, so pick foods that excite your taste buds and its palate. People often find themselves hungry because they ate a meal where only the sweet centers of their tongue were attacked. Find out what keeps you full. Is it a little bit of sweet, a little bit of sour, a lot of bitter, or a modicum of spicy? Gastronomes do not have a one dimensional palate so knowing what keeps you full can help prevent you from packing an unappealing lunch and grazing the vending machine.

3) Do not drastically change your diet. People are less likely to stay on a diet if they drastically change everything about it at one time. Make gradual and subtle changes. If you find yourself drinking only sugary sodas with every meal, then alternate your mornings with water, lunches with flavored water, and dinner with a diet or regular soda, reducing sugar intake by more than one-thirds.

4) Pack your meal with mindful and quick alternatives. Here are some suggestions when preparing your lunch, or choosing one through a drive-through:

Salads are excellent alternatives as an entire meal. However, salads are culprits when added ingredients are packed with extra calories or fat. Buy or prepare salads without these culprits. Most importantly search the grocery store for your favorite dressing low in fat, calorie, sodium, and sugar. Keep a bottle at work

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