Manage Your Life

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

5 ways to transform your lunch hour

The Lunch hour; those pivotal 60 minutes of the day where you steal away from the office,fuel up for the afternoon, or run an errand or two — you could call lunch the most versatile hour of the day, if not the most powerful. From checking in with your shrink to schmoozing clients or cutting back on your daily spending, we’ve counted down some of the best ways to spend your lunch hour and what to eat while doing it.
Photo Credit: Wolfgang Leinbacher/iStock

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Leinbacher/iStock


1. Lunch Time Activism: Between munching on pita chips you can change the world for the better. Amnesty International’s protectthehuman.org offers a variety of ways you can do some good on your lunch hour.

2. Deftly Navigating Office Politics: Sure you’ve left high school behind you but choosing who to have lunch with can still impact both you social life and career.

3. Trimming Your Spending: Since the recession began the brown bag has become more fashionable around the office but is it worth it? If you stack up your home made sandwich against a store bought one -- cent-by-cent -- how much are you really saving?

4. Trimming Your Wasitline: From sandwiches to soup to pizza, we’ve got a ton of great recopies that will go easy on your wallet, keep you fit and help you take back the time you waste in the deli line.

5. Find Out Whether You Really Need to Eat Lunch at All: Three women challenge their bodies by dramatically switching up their eating routines. From six meals a day to eating only once in a 24-hour period, they try to figure out just how often you really need food.


For more ideas on how to make the most of your lunch hour, keep reading.

More From Marie Claire:

Eating to Impress Your  Boss
The Ultimate Holiday Survival Guide
A Favorite Lunch Recipe
My Moment of Zen
Looking for More Fitness and Career Advice? Subscribe to Marie Claire!


Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
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From the Community…

Comments 1-10 of 45
  • Angela's Avatar
    Posted by Angela Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:35pm PST

    It is very rare that I will bash on any articles on Shine, however this particular article reeps no benefits from the headline that was written.

    "Transform" your lunch hour? Here I was thinking, "alright, some more ideas for me to get the most out of my day", instead I get these? Not at all what I think me and maybe a few others would have wanted to hear. Ladies, if you can do it, go to your gym for 40 minutes during your lunch hour maybe 2-3 times a week, or get out and go for a walk around your block, or maybe walk up and down stairs if you work in a big office building. There are a lot of other ways to "Transform" your lunch hour that don't really include only eating once every 24 hours. Which by the way is the most ridiculous advice I've ever seen on here.

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  • Andrea's Avatar
    Posted by Andrea Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:16pm PST

    amen angela, amen

    Report Abuse
  • Elm's Avatar
    Posted by Elm Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:39pm PST

    Huh??? This makes no sense. Total disappointment.

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  • Kristy's Avatar
    Posted by Kristy Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:58pm PST

    Was this article supposed to be a joke? And since when did any major magazine endorse something as stupid as eating only once in a 24 hour period? There is a word for that: Aneroxia. And that will get you spending your lunch hour with your shrink. What's the next article, Binge and Purge?

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  • EugeniaqS's Avatar
    Posted by EugeniaqS Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:07am PST

    Angela, I agree with you about the article being bogus, but go to the gym during lunch? Then come bck to work all sweaty? Really?

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-10 of 45

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