Breakfast is often regarded as the most important meal of the day, but in truth all of your meals are equally important for keeping you well nourished and primed to live your healthiest life. Creating well balanced meals is vital for minimizing overeating, feeding your muscles, and helping you to lose or maintain weight, so each meal should have a combination of fats, protein, and carbohydrates to allow you to feel your best. If you’ve been struggling to lose weight although you feel like you’ve been following a healthy diet, this is the lunch that could be impeding on your progress.
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Rice is an excellent base for many healthy meals, but the variation of rice that you opt for can make all the difference in your weight loss. While delicious, white rice has been stripped of many of the nutrients that make carbohydrates good for you, leaving it as an empty source of calories that won’t help to keep you full or satisfied. “White rice has been stripped down to its very core, meaning the grain's outer layer and germ, as well as any nutrients they contain, have been removed. White rice's high carbohydrate content is the only thing that remains. White rice also has a high glycemic index, which raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” explains Luna Regina, founder of Healthy Kitchen 101.
Carbohydrates, contrary to popular belief, are a necessary addition to your diet--even for weight loss. They help to keep you full and provide sustained energy throughout the day, but it’s important to make sure that the carb you’re choosing is actually nutritionally dense because not all are created equal. When building your lunch, start from the basics and try to include at least one vegetable. From there, you can add on a protein source, such as chicken or beans if you’re plant based, and a healthy fat such as avocado or a handful of nuts. In choosing your carb, opting for a whole grain or multigrain variation will be your best bet for ensuring that all the valuable nutrients are still intact in order to glean the most benefit from your meal.
Rice can be a great addition to your diet as a base for a healthy and well rounded lunch. “If you want to eat rice, go for brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice, since they are much healthier. Brown rice has just had its hull removed, so it still has all of its nutritional value. Quinoa, on the other hand, is high in antioxidants and protein” suggests Regina. White rice may be tasty, but the flavor it offers is not worth the nutrients it withholds. With the empty calories, you will find yourself hungry again in no time, making you more prone to overeating which in turn creates an uphill battle for your calorie deficit.
Healthy eating for weight loss doesn’t have to mean removing all of your favorite foods from your diet, and sometimes all it takes are small switches in your eating habits to garner the biggest results. Swapping white rice for brown rice is a great way to ensure that your body is getting the nutrients it needs at lunchtime to keep you full and satisfied so that you can continue to make healthy decisions throughout the day that support your weight loss goals.
