Many people cut carbs when trying to lose weight, meaning sandwiches are often on the ‘do not eat’ list. This is a real shame, since sandwiches can be healthy, nutritious, and aid in weight loss. Sandwiches can be an excellent addition to a carbohydrate or calorie controlled diet. They are also excellent for providing energy before or after a gym/training session. A carefully considered and created sandwich allows you to build the perfect ratio of protein, fats and carbohydrates; essential when creating a diet for weight loss, muscle gain or gym/training/sports endurance.
One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to restrict your carbohydrate intake. This means foods like bread, pasta and potatoes are off the menu. Despite common beliefs, it can be counterproductive to remove carbs from your diet altogether. The body uses carbs as an energy source, meaning completely removing them from your diet can result in tiredness and greatly reduced gym performance. When introducing carbohydrates back in to your diet, your body will often gain weight due to a decreased metabolism (a symptom of going cold turkey with carbohydrates). The best way to lose weight with a carb controlled diet is to reduce carbs, instead of removing them completely. This means that a sandwich can form part of a healthy, carb controlled diet. 2 slices of brown bread only have about 30 grams of carbs! Many people reduce their total daily carb intake to less than 100 grams when trying to lose weight.
When dieting for muscle gain, carbs form a very important part of your diet. The body needs surplus calories to build lean muscle mass; carbs are an excellent source of muscle friendly calories. When combined with protein and healthy fats, a sandwich can make the perfect pre or post workout meal. A pre workout sandwich should have complex carbs (white bread) for a constant energy release, as well as protein (for muscle repair). A post workout sandwich should contain simple carbs (for a post-workout muscle repair glycogen boost), and protein (for muscle repair). Healthy fats also help greatly with the repair and growth of lean muscle tissue.
An example weight loss sandwich:
2x slices of brown bread
1x slice of chicken breast
2x slice of ham
1x Tbsp of low fat mayonnaise
2x Lettuce leaves
Low fat margarine
An example of a post-workout sandwich:
2x slices of white bread
2x slices of chicken breast
1x sliced boiled egg
1x Tbsp of tomato ketchup
2x Lettuce leaves
1x Tbsp sweetcorn relish
Taylors of Oxford are a deli from Oxfordshire that specialise in creating healthy, delicious sandwiches for their customers. They also provide Oxford catering services.