How To Eat An Enormous And Filling Sandwich Every Day For Lunch And Still Lose Weight
It’s possible. Because I do it.
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by Audie Metcalf
Hi. Me again. Talking about all of my tricks for losing 50 lbs with no medications, solely through changing my diet. And a little bit of this. And more recently, this.
So much of the diet thing is about reframing food in our minds. I didn’t have food “noise” exactly, but I realize now I definitely had a lusty relationship with food. I don’t much care about desserts, and I have never had trashy food in the home, but man do I love a cream-based cold salad, a charcuterie board overflowing with cured meats and triple cream cheeses, and, of course, a drippy, overstuffed, gigantic, bready sandwich.
Sandwiches are, how do you say? Ah yes. Perfection. Such a genius idea, isn’t it? A world of possibilities between our two hands. And yet, it’s almost staggering when you start to really look at how calories add up, even if you’re doing all the “right” things like choosing multi-grain bread and avocado slices and lots of veg.
First, let’s break down the calories of let’s call it a typical turkey sandwich for lunch:
2 slices of bread: 200 cals
Avocado: 120 cals
3 slices of cheese: 260 cals
6 oz turkey: 150 cals
Mayonnaise: 300 cals
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion: negligible
Bag of Sun Chips because we’re being healthy, right?: 210 cals
Total: 1249 calories
So that’s for a typical lunch that you’d get out at a “healthy,” fast, casual place.
And so just as an example, a woman weighing 150 lbs, should be eating around 1800 cals a day in order to maintain that weight. And so with this “normal” and “healthy” lunch above, that would leave her (us) 560 calories for all other meals and snacks for the rest of the day. Sooooooo. Yeah. The issue here is just that most of us have no idea how unbelievably high in calories things are—which is why so many of us feel so confused about our weight. We aren’t eating cakes! Or fast food! Or snacking!
And yet … we just can’t lose weight. And I promise you, once you really break down the amount of calories you’re eating just for one day, you’ll get it.
Ok enough of all that. You were promised a sandwich you CAN eat while still losing weight, and a sandwich you’ll get. And none of that lettuce-wrapped bullshit. Let’s look at it:
Still enormous, still condiment-laden, still very fun to look forward to lunch. But with some tweaks so that you’re actually in control of your body. And for me, that control is worth forgoing the luscious mouth-feel of full-fat mayonnaise. Only just. But it is. So let’s now look at the swaps I made and the calorie count:
1 slice of sourdough bread: 110 cals
6 oz turkey: 150 cals
Tomato, lettuce, onions: negligible
Mustard: 0 cals
1 tbsp light mayo: 35 cals
Half cup cornichon: 8 cals
Half an apple: 50 cals
Total: 353 calories
And of course, it also has 42 grams of protein from the turkey. And listen. Closely. I know you think you’re sad about no cheese and no avocado. But I promise you, PROMISE you, in the context of a big sandwich, they sort of aren’t fully registered. I’d much rather have an intentional piece of gorgeous cheddar with some Branston pickle* where I can really savor it, rather than the barely-there experience of sliced cheese on a sandwich. Same for avocado. I just don’t miss it. I have my avocado as part of my avocado toast in the morning or as guacamole where it can really be the star.
Ok. So. If you’re making sandwiches at home, it’s easy. Just follow the path above. I always have sliced deli meat in the home. Essential. And today I only had romaine in the house but I actually prefer it with ultra-crunchy iceberg lettuce (no, I won’t be entertaining anyone who blasphemes iceberg—it’s the perfect sandwich lettuce) and I swap things in and out all the time, including the sides.
A wide slice of sourdough is also crucially important because it needs to be big enough to slice in half for it to make the sandwich, and then slice in half again so that you have two halves of sandwich to eat which is the only correct and satisfying way to eat a gigantic sandwich.
Sometimes I’ll do Coleman’s mustard, roasted red peppers from a jar, and marinated onions. I’ll also swap out turkey and do a lovely lean deli roast beef. Oh! I also do a tuna salad blended in the FOOD PROCESSOR (try it) with mostly yogurt and a couple of tbsp of mayo and then I add in onion powder, celery, and red onion at the end.
As for sides I’ll swap in cottage cheese for more protein, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums if they’re in season. But I won’t stray from my favorite pickles—the perfectly tangy cornichon*.
If you’re out in the world, it’s imperative you hear me when I say this. This has changed everything for me. If you find yourself at a Subway or a Jimmy John’s or a Jersey Mike’s, don’t let yourself get into a “fuck it” mode.
You can still order a delish sandwich, just do the smallest size of bread, lots of mustard and vinegar and tons of shredded lettuce, lots of pickles and onions and tomatoes, just skip the cheese and mayonnaise.
Because once we give into our “fuck it” mode too many times, we are confronted with an “oh fuck” moment when we try on our jeans from last season and none of those moments will have been worth it. I also have some kind of weird thing in my purse like this* so that I can have a side with my sandwich without resorting to chips, my greatest enemy:
I realize this is a stupidly long article about something so insanely simple and obvious, but it took me nearly my entire adult life to figure this out. So who know? Maybe this will help. If you make any gorgeous, huge sandwiches at home, dm us a photo. I’ll see it. I’ll probably even make it myself.
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
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