A high protein lunch you can buy on the way

The problem with shop-bought lunch

A standard meal deal is engineered around price, not nutrition. The typical white-bread roll, crisps and soft drink combination lands around 750–900 calories with roughly 12–15g of protein. It is a lot of calories for very little of the thing that keeps you full.

That leaves the classic 3pm dip and a raid on the biscuit tin, which is not a willpower problem. It is a protein problem.

What a good bought lunch looks like

• 20g protein minimum. That is the point where a meal reliably holds you until dinner.
• 350–550 calories. Fits any normal daily target without maths.
• Real carbohydrate. Wholemeal bread, tortilla or grains — you need fuel, not just protein.
• Salt at or under 1.5g. Easy to blow past in food-to-go.
• A named meat or fish percentage in the ingredients, not just "chicken".

How the Gym Fuel range measures up

Every pack was built to that spec deliberately, which is why the numbers are on the front of the pack rather than the back:

Pack	Protein	Calories	Salt
Chicken & Egg Club	22g	468 kcal	1.6 g
Protein Packed Tuna	26g	441 kcal	1.4 g
High Protein Chicken Salad	23g	422 kcal	1.3 g
Cajun Chicken Wrap	24g	455 kcal	1.5 g
Fajita Chicken Wrap	22g	447 kcal	1.5 g
Roast Chicken, Pepper & Feta Protein Box	24g	398 kcal	1.7 g

Nutrition figures shown are the current pack specification. Always check the pack you are holding.

Picking the right one

If you want the most protein

Protein Packed Tuna — 26g, and still under 450 calories.

If you want the lowest calories

Roast Chicken, Pepper & Feta Protein Box — 398 kcal with 24g protein, and no bread.

If you want something that eats like a normal lunch

Chicken & Egg Club on oatmeal brown — 22g protein, and the pack most people come back for.

If you are eating at your desk

The wraps. Less mess, one hand, no crumbs in the keyboard.

Where to buy it

Gym Fuel is in convenience stores, supermarkets, forecourts and gyms across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Check the stockist finder for the nearest chiller.