Lunch Box Diet Review

 

Author Simon Lovell, a British fitness trainer, has shot to fame with the Lunch Box Diet, a catchy, kitschy spin on "grazing", which is said to have been successfully used by actress Cameron Diaz. Tabloid and women's magazines on both sides of the pond have featured Lovell's concept of neutralizing hunger and preventing overeating at meals by setting dieters up with a lunch box - literally, like the one you had as a kid - which is packed with fruits, vegetables, healthy fats (nuts) and lean proteins, from which to snack throughout the day. Small portions of healthy low-calorie food as snacks - not exactly new technology or earth-shaking news, but it's a hit.

Grazing is a proven way to mitigate hunger - small portions of food throughout the day tames hunger and ultimately shrinks the stomach, causing you to feel fuller all the time and consequently eat less at dinner. Lovell restricts what's in your lunch box to 60% vegetables, 30% protein and 10% healthy fats. (We are talking carrot sticks, tunafish, chicken breast, sugarsnap peas, asparagus, broccoli and the like. No candy bars. Or chips.) Lovell's emphasis here is on low glycemic index foods which keep your sugar levels stable - thereby preventing those late morning or late afternoon hunger crashes. You're advised to eat a healthy breakfast (and don't skip, this is good advice regardless of what diet plan you're following) and in the evening, a healthy, portion-controlled dinner.

There is no fixed time frame to stay on the Lunch Box Diet, nor any specific promises of how much weight you can lose. Lovell's advice is to stick with the plan for anywhere from a week to a month to indefinitely - whatever your weight loss or maintenance goals. Additionally, if you are exercising (you should be!) and/or are physically active during the day you're advised to add some (good) carbs to your lunchbox - brown rice, wholegrain breads, pasta - for energy. Over time, you can gradually add little indulgences (a cookie, a piece of chocolate, etc.) to your lunchbox to treat yourself. As noted earlier, this is not rocket science - the vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and whole grains dietary approach is tried, true and effective. But you must be careful to use your common sense and monitor your food intake - or you will graze yourself right into a larger pants size. Lovell's plan doesn't offer any guidance or specifics on the subject of portions or calorie maximums and minimums - other than telling you to "control" them - but that may not be enough information for some people, and if you think that you're one of them, you may want to look elsewhere.

If you feel comfortable setting your own limits on breakfast, lunchbox and dinner portions, then this plan will be good for you - if you're very busy (who isn't?), if you're an inveterate snacker, or if you don't want to get too bogged down in the calorie counting and meal planning and prep for lunch every day. The plan is flexible with regard to what you want to put in your lunchbox - so if you don't like raw carrots, don't sweat it. The upside to the Lunch Box Diet is that following Lovell's food recommendations you'll (in all likelihood) be increasing your intake of the good stuff (vegetables, whole grains, fruit) by a significant margin. Lovell's plan is currently only available as an ebook that is currently selling for about $15 dollars (the website lists the price in British pounds, so that price may give or take depending upon exchange rates.)