Low calorie lunches for weight loss
Cut about 200 calories from the lunch you eat now. That’s the NHS share for lunch. But the lowest-calorie lunch isn’t always the best one. Two NHS soups show why.
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How many calories should a low calorie lunch be?
About 200 fewer than you have now. To lose weight, the NHS says to eat around 600 calories a day less. It suggests taking about 200 of that from lunch.
Need a number to start from? Public Health England’s rule of thumb is 600 calories for lunch. That’s for keeping your weight steady, not losing it.
From a 600 lunch to about 400
- 1
Start
About 600 calories. The PHE guide for lunch at a steady weight.
- 2
Cut
About 200 calories. The NHS share of a 600 a day cut.
- 3
Land
About 400 calories, if your lunch was about 600 to begin with.
Your lunch may be bigger or smaller than 600. So the cut matters more than the end number.
Write down your usual lunch and its calories on a typical day. The NHS says this shows you where to cut. For your whole day, see how many calories to lose weight.
Easy low calorie lunch ideas
The NHS has 67 free lunch recipes. Each one is under 600 calories a portion. Here are 9 of them, all under 400.
| Lunch | Calories a portion | Protein a portion |
|---|---|---|
| Prawn salad | 194 | 14 g |
| Tuna and potato salad | 199 | 13.5 g |
| Spiced chicken and vegetable soup | 219 | 20.4 g |
| Chicken noodle soup | 245 | 26 g |
| Panjabi dhal (spiced lentils) | 245 | 15 g |
| Salmon and cucumber wraps | 292 | 18.6 g |
| Turkey sandwich with coleslaw | 302 | 20 g |
| Haddock with spinach | 322 | 37 g |
| Turkey tikka kebabs | 376 | 37.5 g |
Source: NHS Healthier Families
Rather have a jacket potato? The NHS suggests a baked potato for lunch, skin and all for more fibre.
Gram for gram, starchy food has under half the calories of fat. So watch the butter.
Pick 2 and cook a batch on Sunday. Lunch meal prep shows how to keep them safe all week.
Is the lowest calorie lunch the best for weight loss?
Not always. Take two NHS soups.
The carrot soup is 100 calories. The chicken and vegetable soup is 219.
| NHS soup | Calories a portion | Protein a portion |
|---|---|---|
| Easy carrot soup | 100 | 4.6 g |
| Spiced chicken and vegetable soup | 219 | 20.4 g |
Sources: NHS: carrot soup; NHS: chicken soup
The bigger difference is protein. The NHS says protein can help you feel full for longer. Most veg can too, and it’s low in calories.
So build each lunch on some protein: beans, pulses (like lentils and chickpeas), fish, eggs or lean meat. For more, see high protein lunch ideas.
Low calorie lunches for work
Buying lunch? Check the label first.
Calories are shown per 100 g, and sometimes per portion. The maker’s portion may not be yours.
Front labels often use traffic light colours. All or mostly green is a healthier choice. Any red means high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugars.
Six ways to help cut about 200 calories at lunch
- Drink water or a sugar-free drink instead of fizzy drinks or juice.
- Swap crisps for plain popcorn, plain rice cakes or raisins.
- Swap a muffin, cake bar or chocolate for fresh fruit, or tinned fruit in juice.
- Add veg or salad, which is low in calories and can help you feel fuller.
- Add some protein, like beans, pulses, fish, eggs or lean meat.
- Measure oil with a teaspoon, and count the mayo and spreads.
Sources: NHS: calorie counting; NHS: healthy eating; NHS: food swaps
Pick the two that fit your usual lunch and start tomorrow. For the afternoon, see healthy snacks for weight loss.
Does soup first help you eat less?
It did in one lab study. Sixty adults of a healthy weight ate lunch there once a week for 5 weeks. Some weeks they had vegetable soup first.
With soup, they ate 20% fewer calories across the whole lunch, soup included. That’s about 134 calories. Chunky or smooth made no clear difference.
It tested single meals, not weight loss over months.
Still, it’s an easy trick to try. The NHS vegetable and lentil soup is 146 calories. More ideas are in low calorie filling foods.
When to speak to a GP
Speak to a GP if:
- You have a medical condition or a special diet for your health. Talk to a GP first, before you change how you eat.
- You have, or think you may have, an eating disorder such as binge eating, or you’ve had one in the past.
- Your BMI (a score of your weight for your height) is overweight or obese and you want help to lose weight. The same goes if your waist is more than half your height, or obesity runs in your family.
- Your BMI is overweight or obese and you have diabetes, pre-diabetes (blood sugar higher than normal but not yet diabetes), high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Joint pain, heart or circulation disease and sleep apnoea (breathing that stops and starts as you sleep) count too.
- You keep losing weight without changing your diet or exercise.
For support with eating disorders, the charity Beat can help.