..we hear you say. And, of course, one of the great things about having lunch out is that you get to socialize with others, and take a break from your office or home space. But just because you take your own lunch to work, or eat lunch at home, doesn’t mean you can’t still socialize or have a break.

If your colleagues are going to a food court for lunch, it's totally acceptable to take your brown-bag lunch with you. If you feel like you need to buy something, have a coffee (low-fat!), tea, or diet soda. You can't take your lunch to a restaurant of course, but you can always eat your lunch beforehand, and go just for a drink (diet soda, iced tea, low-calorie coffee).

Don't forget that one of the bonuses to not eating out at lunch time is it frees you up to spend your lunch hour doing something other than driving and getting food. You can:

• Take a walk
• Get some shopping done
• Read a book
• Go to the gym
• Call a friend
• Take your lunch to a park and dine al fresco

Whatever you decide to do with your bonus hour, and whatever delicacies you take for lunch this week, enjoy!