Lose Weight Eating Sandwiches

Every so often, you hear about someone who lost weight by following a sandwich diet. Essentially, what they've done is mainly consume healthy sandwiches for weight loss. Sandwiches can be a perfectly healthy choice to incorporate into your diet, as long as you make them with healthy ingredients.

It's not impossible to lose weight eating sandwiches. However, whether or not you lose weight will depend on both the diet you're following and the types of sandwiches you're consuming.

Sandwiches often get a bad reputation based on how rich in carbohydrates they are. However, there's usually nothing wrong with integrating healthy sandwiches into a diet. Whether these will be healthy sandwiches for weight loss will depend on your overall eating habits.

Healthy Sandwiches To Help You Lose Weight

There are a wide variety of diets you can follow if you're hoping to lose weight. For long-term weight loss what matters is that you adopt healthy eating habits that you can stick to. Whether or not you can follow a sandwich diet will depend on how many calories you're allowed to consume and the ratio of macronutrients you're ingesting.

For example, diets like reduced-calorie, high-carbohydrate and high-protein diets might all allow you to eat carbohydrates. However, on low-carbohydrate diets you want to avoid consuming carbohydrate-rich foods like sandwiches on a regular basis. This is due to the number of carbohydrates in bread.

There might be some overlap between the macronutrients you can consume when following a specific diet versus simply reducing your caloric intake. However, many weight-loss diets heavily focus on adjusting macronutrient ratios, which means that healthy sandwiches for weight loss may differ between diets.

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If you want to eat your favorite sandwich on a diet, you'll very likely need to alter or create sandwiches that specifically adhere to your diet's restrictions. For example, Harvard Health Publishing says that calorie restriction typically involves reducing your calorie consumption by 500 to 1, 000 calories per day. Women may consume as little as 1, 200 calories per day, while men may consume as little as 1, 500 calories per day.

On a calorie-restricted diet, you may be able to eat sandwiches like our Charred Vegan Portobello Steak Breakfast Sandwich, with 366 calories, 15 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein and 44 grams of carbs. However, this same sandwich may not be ideal if you're following a strict, Okinawa-style, high-carbohydrate diet.

According to a July 2016 study in the journal Age and Ageing, Okinawan high-carbohydrate diets recommend reduced fat consumption and also tend to reduce calorie intake. Fat consumption might need to be as little as 6 percent of your diet's total calories.

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According to the Food and Drug Administration, fat provides 9 calories per gram. If 6 percent of the calories in a 2, 000-calorie diet come from fat, this means that you would be consuming just 13.3 grams of fat per day on such a diet.

In this case, a portobello steak sandwich would be off-limits. Instead, this recipe for Vegan Chili Baguette Boat, with 318 calories, 7 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein and 47 grams of carbs, would be much better suited to this diet. Similarly, if you're on a high-protein diet, you might prefer sandwiches made with a combination of plant-based proteins like hummus and low-fat meat-based proteins like chicken or turkey.

Keep in mind that if you're trying to lose stomach fat and gain muscle, you'll need to involve exercise in your diet. A high-protein diet on its own can't help you build muscle. However, high-protein sandwiches in combination with increased exercise can certainly help you meet your weight-loss goals.When loaded with calorie-dense toppings and made with highly processed bread, this go-to lunch option isn't the healthiest choice. To make a better sandwich, follow these healthy — and delicious! — rules from registered dietitians.

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Sandwiches are a lunchtime staple for good reasons. “From a convenience standpoint, sandwiches are relatively easy to eat in any setting, they can be as simple or intricate to put together as you want, some require little to no temperature control for at least four hours depending on the ingredients, and they travel easily in a reusable bag, ” says Trista Best, RD, MPH, an environmental health specialist and consultant with Balance One Supplements (a company that sells supplements) in Dalton, Georgia.

But from a nutritional standpoint, a lot of sandwiches are lacking. Slapping some processed meat and cheese on refined white bread with mayo isn’t the best way to fuel up midday. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make this lunchbox mainstay better for you, and better tasting, too. Just follow these easy guidelines for building a better sandwich.

1. Load it with fruits or vegetables. In many sandwich recipes, vegetables are seen as secondary. Sylvia Melendez-Klinger, RD, the founder of Hispanic Food Communications, says that when it comes to fresh, delicious, and healthy sandwich ideas, vegetables can be the star. “Cucumber, tomato, and zucchini slices, water chestnuts, or your other favorite vegetables are all great, ” she says.

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“Fruits add a wonderful tasty crunch to sandwiches. Try thin-sliced cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, pears, and apples with your sandwiches, ” Melendez-Klinger says. And don't forget the classics — lettuce, onions, pickles, and fresh peppers, Best says. “For those who prefer hot sandwiches or less-crunchy toppings, avocados, cooked peppers, cooked mushrooms, grilled onions, and spinach are great choices, ” Best says. “By adding a variety of produce over high-fat condiments and a variety of meats you are making this meal more balanced and healthier.”

2. Lay down a lighter spread. Many a healthy sandwich is undone by high-calorie spreads like full-fat mayonnaise. Instead, find ways to add flavor without a lot of fat, says Kathy Taylor, RD, the director of nutrition at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. “Choose low-fat condiments like low-fat mayo or salad dressing, mustard, or hummus to add moisture to your sandwich and still keep it in a good calorie range, ” she says. A few slices of avocado can be another good choice; although it is high in fat, it is the healthy monounsaturated kind. Holly Klamer, RD, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, adds guacamole and a splash of olive oil vinaigrette to the list of light-yet-flavorful dressings.

3. Go with lean protein. “The base of your sandwich is typically a protein, whether it be peanut butter or an animal protein of some sort, ” Best says. Meat can be part of a healthy sandwich — the secret is choosing lean, healthy sources of protein that don’t burden your sandwich with excess fat and calories. “Choose healthy proteins like sliced chicken, fish, or turkey, or even canned tuna or salmon, ” Taylor suggests. Look for light tuna in a can or pouch, which has less mercury than albacore according to the Environmental Defense Fund. Peanut butter or another nut butter is a good option for plant-based eaters. “If it is an option, choose natural peanut or almond butter, because there are less fillers and it tends to be more nutrient dense, ” Best says. Plus, an article published August 2021 in Nature Food

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4. Choose whole-wheat bread. One of the best ways to make your sandwich recipe both filling and nutritious is to choose the right bread, explains Melendez-Klinger. “Mix up your sandwich selection by trying breads higher in fiber, such as whole wheat, ” she says. “These choices will help you feel fuller longer.” That’s because high-fiber foods are bulkier and also slow the absorption of sugar to improve blood sugar levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.

5. Eat a smaller sandwich. Finally, one of the simplest ideas is also one of the easiest — avoid the monster sandwiches that are available at many restaurants in favor of a smaller portion, Taylor says. “A footlong adds double the calories, ” she says. Or, if the sandwich comes on thick bread, try removing the top or bottom slice to slim the sandwich down, Klamer suggests.

For a truly healthy sandwich, what you leave out is just as important as what you include. “There are a few ingredients you'll want to avoid specifically when it comes to condiments and toppings, ” Best says.

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1. Don’t load up on cold cuts. Cold cuts are certainly the easiest sandwich filling to use, but Melendez-Klinger says you need to be careful, as many traditional prepackaged “luncheon meats” are loaded with fat, sodium, and preservatives. Saturated fat and sodium may increase your risk of cancer, obesity, and heart disease, according to Cleveland Clinic. If you do go the deli meat route, choose fresh over prepackaged and low-sodium when available. Fresh slices of cooked chicken or turkey (ideally that you have cooked yourself) are a better and leaner alternative, Best says.

2. Don’t layer on the cheese. Cheese is another easy way to make an otherwise healthy sandwich unhealthy. Make sure you’re using genuine cheese rather than a cheese product, Best says. “I recommend avoiding American cheese slices at all costs, ” she says, since it is categorized as a cheese product and not simply cheese. Bleu cheese and feta are better options, though they’re more frequently found on hot than cold sandwiches, Best says. Or, you can just avoid cheese entirely in favor of a flavorful sandwich spread, such