Slipping up at lunchtime may not seem like the end of the world, but the fact is that if one-third of your meals are filled with saturated fats then it becomes that much harder to achieve success with your bikini body diet plan.
It may come as no surprise to you to learn that lunch is the most calorific meal of the day for around one in ten workers, with more than two-fifths (42 per cent) adding insult to injury by eating their lunch at their desk and failing to move around at all.
Today's busy lifestyles mean that many people rely on fast food instead of planning their lunches carefully, according to Juliette Kellow, a nutritionist for sandwich chain Subway, which commissioned the research.
She said: "This new survey ... actually shows that when it comes to lunchtime, a quarter of us choose convenience over healthier options. We often don't have that great a choice at lunchtime for a healthy heart, for our waistline and for our overall health."
The company's research also revealed some worrying facts about the nation's intake of fruit and vegetables at lunchtime.
For instance, a quarter of us fail to eat any fruit at lunchtime, while half do not have a side salad - a great way to get vitamins and minerals into your daily diet.
However, almost a fifth of us manage to sneak crisps and chocolate into our diet at least three times a week.
"We really don't have that healthy a lunch, but there are plenty of opportunities to change that," Ms Kellow observed.
If you recognise your own habits in some of the statistics above, it might be worth taking some time to plan your workday lunches more carefully.
Even if you don't have much time to prepare a packed lunch before you leave home in the morning, you can easily make your midday meals more wholesome by ditching the crisps and chocolate and replacing them with a tasty salad, a couple of pieces of fruit and some unsalted nuts.
