A lean protein and vegetable wrap can be a healthy lunch for weight loss.
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When you are trying to lose weight and avoid high-calorie fast food, wraps are options that you can pack and carry with you for lunch. By choosing your ingredients carefully and varying your choices, you can use lunch wraps to help you lose weight and prevent boredom on your diet. Remember that what you eat with your wrap and during other daily meals affects your weight loss just as much as your wrap.
Think About Lean Proteins
The filling for your wrap should include a source of lean protein, such as cooked chicken breast, turkey breast, tofu, canned tuna or beans. Low-fat or fat-free cheese is a source of protein and calcium. Protein is a filling nutrient that can help you lose weight because it slows the emptying of food from your stomach and delays the onset of hunger, according to Harvard University. Avoid fatty meats and full-fat cheese because they are high in cholesterol-raising saturated fat and calories.
Fill Up on Vegetables
Eating more vegetables can help you lose weight because they are low in calories and high in fiber, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Add sprouts and cucumber slices to a wrap with garbanzo beans and fat-free yogurt, or add lettuce and tomatoes to a classic turkey wrap. Cooked vegetables, such as grilled eggplant and zucchini, go well with low-fat cheese. Fruit is also high-fiber and relatively low-calorie, and you can try a wrap filled with black beans and mango or papaya, or chicken breast with diced pears.
Be Creative with Fillings and Toppings
Leftovers can be healthy, low-calorie fillings or lunch wraps. Make a salad with diced leftover cooked chicken breast, romaine lettuce, raspberries and low-fat vinaigrette, and stuff it into a wrap. Another combination with leftovers is cooked fish with shredded cabbage and cilantro. Full-fat spreads and dressings, such as mayonnaise, butter, ranch dip and honey mustard sauce, can add unnecessary calories to your lunch wraps. Instead, use lower-calorie options, such as fat-free plain yogurt, salsa and yellow or Dijon mustard.
Other Considerations
A smaller wrap is lower in calories and better for weight loss than a larger one. Also, choose a whole-wheat or other whole-grain wrap because regularly substituting whole grains for refined options can help you control your weight, according to the the publication "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010." You can reduce the calorie content of your wrap by using a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla. To further support weight loss, have fruit and vegetables to round out your lunch instead of unhealthy high-calorie sides, such as cookies and chips.
FAQs
Fill Up on Vegetables
Do slimming wraps really work? ›
These devices use hot air, infrared technology, or another heating element to get you cooking. They're supposed to work by making you sweat off excess weight and inches, but the weight loss effect is water weight not fat. This is not an effective long-term weight loss strategy.
What can you wrap around your stomach to lose weight? ›
Some people use a neoprene body wrap, which is similar to wrapping plastic wrap around your mid-section. The makers of these wraps claim that you lose weight by increasing your core body temperature. In other words, you sweat a lot — especially if you wear it while exercising.
Are sandwiches or wraps better for weight loss? ›
“Both can be a healthy option,” says Sara Haas, RDN, LDN, a chef and registered dietitian. “It really depends on what the wrap or sandwich is made with, how big it is and what's inside! For example, a wrap filled with cured meats and cheeses made with a burrito-size wrap will pack loads of sodium and saturated fat.
How to get rid of tummy fat? ›
8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life
- Try curbing carbs instead of fats. ...
- Think eating plan, not diet. ...
- Keep moving. ...
- Lift weights. ...
- Become a label reader. ...
- Move away from processed foods. ...
- Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale. ...
- Hang out with health-focused friends.
Wearing it too tight can do more damage than good. Belly wraps aren't waist trainers. Some people claim that a waist trainer can help you lose weight after pregnancy. There is no evidence of this, and a postpartum belly wrap isn't a waist trainer.
Can you lose weight eating wraps everyday? ›
By choosing your ingredients carefully and varying your choices, you can use lunch wraps to help you lose weight and prevent boredom on your diet. Remember that what you eat with your wrap and during other daily meals affects your weight loss just as much as your wrap.
Is a wrap enough for lunch? ›
However, they can actually contain more calories and fat than two slices of bread, so they aren't necessarily healthier than a sandwich. That being said, wraps are of course perfectly healthy when eaten as part of a balanced diet. Stuffing it with a range of vegetables is definitely a great lunch choice.
How to choose a healthy wrap? ›
Opt for whole grain
Taylor recommends choosing 100% whole-grain products whenever available. “Spinach wraps may look and sound healthier,” she notes, “but they contain only trace amounts of spinach and are typically made with refined grains — meaning no calorie or carb savings. And no added fiber.”
What is the healthiest tortilla for weight loss? ›
The best carb for weight loss might surprise you: corn tortillas! Corn tortillas have all the ingredients for a healthy weight-loss recipe.
Corn tortillas have all the ingredients for a healthy weight-loss recipe. They are whole-grain, packed with fiber, come portion-sized right out of the package, and pair perfectly with protein and veggies for a balanced meal, like in these Salmon Tacos with Pineapple Salsa or the Best Veggie Enchiladas you'll ever make.
Is wraps healthy for a diet? ›
However, they can actually contain more calories and fat than two slices of bread, so they aren't necessarily healthier than a sandwich. That being said, wraps are of course perfectly healthy when eaten as part of a balanced diet. Stuffing it with a range of vegetables is definitely a great lunch choice.
What is a healthy wrap instead of bread? ›
Corn tortillas are a good source of fiber because they are considered whole grain – just like whole grain bread – and magnesium, which plays a vital role in brain, heart, and muscle health. They are also lower in carbs, calories, and fat, than flour tortillas. Flour tortillas do also have benefits as they provide iron.
How do I choose a healthy wrap? ›
Opt for whole grain
Taylor recommends choosing 100% whole-grain products whenever available. “Spinach wraps may look and sound healthier,” she notes, “but they contain only trace amounts of spinach and are typically made with refined grains — meaning no calorie or carb savings. And no added fiber.”
