How to get away from calorie dense foods?

_rachel_k

I have a limit of 1700 calories a day. I try to walk to work during the week (2km each way) plus walk at lunch (2km). I also run 3 days a week (6km, 10km, 21km) and I haven't been losing weight. I was sort of watching what I ate but fruits, oatmeal and pretzels (my replacement for chips) are taking up 1,000 of my calories and when I come home most days my bad will be cooking supper. Somewhat healthy but I can only eat a fraction of what I want to (I am always hungry) and I am just at a loss as to where to go from here

I know I need more veggies but I have a hard time choking them down plain and raw. And I know I should add more protein but that's calorie dense and doesn't fill me up either

LKArgh

1000 calories in snacks does sound a lot. Maybe scheduling meals at regular times would work better for you? Not because large meals are better than smaller snacks, but if for you controlling snacks is hard, then maybe just not snacking and eating meals at predefined times would be more easy to follow as a routine.

Francl27

Protein, fat, fiber. Basically everything you say doesn't fill you up, but if you need 1000 calories of oatmeal, fruit and pretzel to feel full, it's obviously not working either (which is totally normal as they are pretty much all carbs).

ki4eld

Francl27 wrote: »

Protein, fat, fiber. Basically everything you say doesn't fill you up, but if you need 1000 calories of oatmeal, fruit and pretzel to feel full, it's obviously not working either (which is totally normal as they are pretty much all carbs).

I'm just gonna go thread-to-thread and say "Ditto Francl27."

I'll add "eat slower" and consider spacing your meals. Eat half now, then come back in an hour and eat the other half. You won't add a single calorie you aren't already planning, but it'll help with feeling full and snacky cravings. Also, don't just track your calories, track your carbs and protein. Use the food diary as a meal planner for the day, not just a tracker for what you've already eaten. And for the love of your sanity, get the snacky foods out of the house. My weakness is cookies, especially shortbread. Guess what is never, ever in my house? Yep.

JoRocka

stop eating calorie dense food and replace it with low calorie food.
don't over think it.

I use pretzels to- but typically I only have 2-3 in a day- the small ones- just to stave off my morning cranky stomach.

I prep all my snacking foods/mini meals in advance- so there is no question that I'm making a conscious choice to NOT eat food I prepared and paid for if I reach for something else.
I also pre-log all my food for the day- sit down and just do it first thing- that way I know how much wiggle room for snacks I have. If you come prepared then you can figure out what you need for "snacks"

ElJefeChief

Personally, I just don't eat pretzels. It's just baked flour. I mean, I'm not criticizing it, but it's basically chunks of simple carbohydrates formed into pretty shapes.

Queenmunchy

You don't need to eat vegetables plain and raw! Seasonings, roasting, steaming, pureeing, stir fry are your friends.

To make vegetables easy for my family to eat and lower calories, I just add finely chopped, pureed, or grated vegetables into everything including any soups, stews, chilis, one pot meals, burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, nuggets, sauces, etc.

Other ways we eat veggies are things like buffalo cauliflower, vegetable noodles or rice, and fritters.

Most of my days are something like
Breakfast: Vegetable/meat/cheese (whatever) frittata or egg bake
Lunch: Salad, soup, stew, chili, vegetable and cheese stuffed peppers
Dinner: Zoodles with any kind of meat or sauce, vegetable/turkey burgers wrapped in greens with roasted vegetables, stir fry with chicken or fish, "crack" slaw with whatever I have around, meatballs with sauce and veggies, cauli-rice with some kind of stew (chicken cacciatore, carne guisada, jerk chicken, etc)

Need2Exerc1se

Broth based soup is a good filling way to get in veggies. You don't have to eat veggies raw. Cooked veggies are very nutritious.

Beans pack a great diet punch. High in fiber and micronutrients. Decent source of protein. Very filling and low carlorie.

Lean meats and seafood are also good ways to fill up.

JoRocka

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Broth based soup is a good filling way to get in veggies. You don't have to eat veggies raw. Cooked veggies are very nutritious.

Beans pack a great diet punch. High in fiber and micronutrients. Decent source of protein. Very filling and low carlorie.

Lean meats and seafood are also good ways to fill up.

you had me up to protein.

They are a sad substitute for protein- but they are a useful way to get lots of thing into your diet- I'm a big believer in black beans. But like peanut butter they are wildly over rated in the "protein" department.

Need2Exerc1se

JoRocka wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Broth based soup is a good filling way to get in veggies. You don't have to eat veggies raw. Cooked veggies are very nutritious.

Beans pack a great diet punch. High in fiber and micronutrients. Decent source of protein. Very filling and low carlorie.

Lean meats and seafood are also good ways to fill up.

you had me up to protein.

They are a sad substitute for protein- but they are a useful way to get lots of thing into your diet- I'm a big believer in black beans. But like peanut butter they are wildly over rated in the "protein" department.

They are not a substitute for protein, they contain protein. Not a high amount, but a decent amount. Soy and green peas especially. Split peas have 23g per 1/2 cup (dry). Dry roasted soy beans has 30g per 1/2 cup.

JoRocka

170 grams ( 6 oz) of chicken is 165 calories and 35 grams of protein.

I just looked up dry roasted soy beans and several entries gave me 30 grams:13 grams of protein and 144 calories.

I'm not arguing the value of beans- check my diary- it's what I've been eating for the last 2 weeks except any take out left overs I have. But as a protein source they are kind of laughable.

Need2Exerc1se

JoRocka wrote: »

170 grams ( 6 oz) of chicken is 165 calories and 35 grams of protein.

I just looked up dry roasted soy beans and several entries gave me 30 grams:13 grams of protein and 144 calories.

I'm not arguing the value of beans- check my diary- it's what I've been eating for the last 2 weeks except any take out left overs I have. But as a protein source they are kind of laughable.

30g of dry roasted soy beans is about 1/4 cup, so that sounds about right. As to laughable, I guess it depends on goals. 13g of protein sounds decent to me.