Autoimmune diet stuck for snacks

ByteLily

I'm on an autoimmune diet for my arthritis. I'm not allowed sugar, gluten or dairy. So I can't eat alot of my typical snacks / meals like a piece of toast and an egg, or an egg with cheese and some fruit. I tried gluten free bread and I hated it.

Could anyone help me out with some snacks ? I've only got 1200 ish calories alotted to me and I'm earning another 300 through exercise.

I've tried things like hummus and cucumber slices and it didn't hold me over. After my workout or around 3pm I am absolutely starving .

cmriverside

Well, 1200 calories is going to be tough, with or without food limitations. 1500 is definitely better.

I would suggest you Google foods/snacks and pick some. I like trail mix, oatmeal with nuts and fruit, leftovers, etc. Roasted chickpeas are better for me than hummus, lower calories and more filling.

sollyn23l2

How about nuts, fruit, boiled eggs, or beef jersey? I agree that you should google it. There's a million ideas out there. You will have to cook.

ByteLily

cmriverside wrote: »

Well, 1200 calories is going to be tough, with or without food limitations. 1500 is definitely better.

I would suggest you Google foods/snacks and pick some. I like trail mix, oatmeal with nuts and fruit, leftovers, etc. Roasted chickpeas are better for me than hummus, lower calories and more filling.

It sure doesn't seem like enough calories. I said that I was sedentary and wanted to lose a pound a week. If I said half a pound it bumped me to 1400 🙄.

Elphaba1313

I'm doing the same, but I'm just reducing my carbs (which obviously includes sugar) way down. I cannot go without dairy. It's hard enough going without bread etc (Carbs are my favourite food group). I've only been trying it for a week and haven't noticed a huge difference in my inflammation and pain (although I've lost 2kgs which means I've lost some excess fluid which is nice!) but I HAVE noticed a huge difference in my fatigue levels, and the associated auto immune induced brain fog. I was having to find somewhere to nap around the middle of every day and now I have much more energy.

So my snacks are largely natural yoghurt with some berries, nuts (including celery with peanut butter on it which is the absolute best IMO) and cheese.

Mind you, my rheumo didn't mention dairy - but you auto-immune diseases may differ to mine, as may the opinions of our specialists! It also depends how much sugar is in the dairy you are eating. It has natural sugars in it and so I don't drink milk (don't like it) and try to keep my cheese consumption sensible. Which is not always easy!

herblovinmom

Hmmm, I eat low sugar low carb gluten free low dairy.. it was a challenge at first, I was eventually able to swap my go to foods for gluten free versions. I have yet to go completely dairy free. I enjoy a dab of butter on my veggies and the occasional goat cheese or yogurt 😋 one thing at a time helped me be consistent.
Snacks.. I eat fruits and veggies,protein drinks(check the ingredients) bars, jerky sticks (check the ingredients a lot have soy sauce which is a source of gluten), hard boiled egg, egg salad, tuna salad, gluten free crackers, nuts, edamame, corn tortilla chips w/salsa and avocado, olives/tapenade, dehydrated fruit/veggies, roasted chickpeas, lunchmeat rolled around pickles or veggies, pickled anything is yum, I basically eat snacks all day just as a meal, I also eat a lot of leftover dinners. Sometimes I’ll have an egg for breakfast and I’ll dip a slice of bacon in it instead of toast, or I’ll buy a specific brand of gluten free/vegan thin bagels that are delicious, there is a lot of yummy gluten free breads out there but you gotta toast them and they are hit or miss which brand and variety so you gotta try a few to find one you like. Don’t give up. It’s a lifestyle for sure. Reach out if you need support.

asugar1390

I am able to support you if needed . I am unable to eat most starches and no sugars due to a health condition. It’s really hard . My favorite snack is popcorn made the old fashioned way - can you eat that ??

livedanceandlove

Hi, I'm sorry to hear that. It's a bummer, but trust me it will be worth it and it will get easier. I have Celiac, and a few other intolerances. I had a back injury that lasted almost a year. I recently cut 99% of dairy free and my back didn't Start healing until then. It's wild because I had no digestive reaction or other. My body obviously couldn't do it's job being busy with all that inflammation. So don't give up! Some of my go to snacks. Collagen Protein Powder, nut butters, smoothie bowls (if you can't have natural fruit sugar you can thicken with avocado, frozen zucchini or frozen cauliflower rice. )The Tuna packets are only 80 calories and 14 grams of protein. Protein is key if you are on such a low calorie diet. Happy to talk you through that. Mini charcuterie boards with things like lupine beans, pickles, ham rolls ups/wrap lettuce with sriracha , olives, jerky etc. I would say that if some of these snacks aren't holding you over you might need to look at what your meals are made up of. Protein is your best friend. I've been loving Kevins Naturals semi prepared chicken. Too good! Hope this helps, Christine De Souza

neanderthin

Not sure snacking is a prerequisite for losing weight, why not just skip snacking. 1200 calories is not a lot of food when you consider the protein required in a deficit and if your going to snack I would suggest high protein low calorie foods like a boiled egg or sardines, something like that or break your calories into 4 300 calorie meals. Cheers

SafariGalNYC

Low sugar Fruit, low sugar vegetables, coconut yogurt, almond yogurt, all meats, all fish.

For quick bites:
Smoked salmon & avocado bites
Almond tortilla + a breakfast sausage link
Tuna salad with celery
A few slices of Turkey
Sashimi
Seaweed salad
Popcorn
Pasta salad — use chickpea or another gluten free.
Deviled egg
Soup or broth can be filling.. I have a bone broth every other day..low cal.

yirara

Oddly, the recommended diet here consists of skipping meat, especially red meat as it's suspected to increase inflammation. Gluten is no problem unless one is sensitive to it. It's strange how recommended diets vary by location.

neanderthin

yirara wrote: »

Oddly, the recommended diet here consists of skipping meat, especially red meat as it's suspected to increase inflammation. Gluten is no problem unless one is sensitive to it. It's strange how recommended diets vary by location.

That's not surprising considering the stance on red meat generally, and it's like a free spin, who's going to object, and quite a popular stance in the vegan community over the years as well. Not very scientific though, more dogma really.

yirara

neanderthin wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Oddly, the recommended diet here consists of skipping meat, especially red meat as it's suspected to increase inflammation. Gluten is no problem unless one is sensitive to it. It's strange how recommended diets vary by location.

That's not surprising considering the stance on red meat generally, and it's like a free spin, who's going to object, and quite a popular stance in the vegan community over the years as well. Not very scientific though, more dogma really.

Hmm.. here both gluten-rich food (bread, twice a day) and meat are considered part of a normal diet. But I think this is getting off-topic.

neanderthin

yirara wrote: »

neanderthin wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Oddly, the recommended diet here consists of skipping meat, especially red meat as it's suspected to increase inflammation. Gluten is no problem unless one is sensitive to it. It's strange how recommended diets vary by location.

That's not surprising considering the stance on red meat generally, and it's like a free spin, who's going to object, and quite a popular stance in the vegan community over the years as well. Not very scientific though, more dogma really.

Hmm.. here both gluten-rich food (bread, twice a day) and meat are considered part of a normal diet. But I think this is getting off-topic.

Discussing foods that may be inflammatory or not is off topic, ok. Cheers

yirara

neanderthin wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

neanderthin wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Oddly, the recommended diet here consists of skipping meat, especially red meat as it's suspected to increase inflammation. Gluten is no problem unless one is sensitive to it. It's strange how recommended diets vary by location.

That's not surprising considering the stance on red meat generally, and it's like a free spin, who's going to object, and quite a popular stance in the vegan community over the years as well. Not very scientific though, more dogma really.

Hmm.. here both gluten-rich food (bread, twice a day) and meat are considered part of a normal diet. But I think this is getting off-topic.

Discussing foods that may be inflammatory or not is off topic, ok. Cheers

No, offtopic for TOs question.

Strudders67

I can't add to the snack ideas, but if you're starving I would suggest you change your goal and eat a little more with your main meals. If you fill up with more veg / salad or add more protein such as eggs or tinned fish, you may not need so much in the way of snacks in the middle of the afternoon.

You don't mention your age, height or current weight but if you've been allocated 1200 cals, it's likely that you don't have a lot to lose. If so, trying to lose 1lb a week is probably too aggressive anyway. Drop the goal to 0.5lb a week and give yourself those extra 200 cals a day. It's far better to lose slowly than to get hungry, give in to the cravings and undo what you've worked towards. If it takes you an extra few weeks to get to your goal weight, is that really going to make a huge difference to the rest of your life?

kshama2001

ByteLily wrote: »

I'm on an autoimmune diet for my arthritis. I'm not allowed sugar, gluten or dairy. So I can't eat alot of my typical snacks / meals like a piece of toast and an egg, or an egg with cheese and some fruit. I tried gluten free bread and I hated it.

Could anyone help me out with some snacks ? I've only got 1200 ish calories alotted to me and I'm earning another 300 through exercise.

I've tried things like hummus and cucumber slices and it didn't hold me over. After my workout or around 3pm I am absolutely starving .

I used to like hard boiled eggs with various salted nuts or seeds as a snack.

You could also have an egg with rice.

If I had to be gluten and dairy free I would eat a lot more Thai food.

(San-ji is one brand that has a GF soy sauce.)

Keliz1173

Have you tried edamame? I buy it shelled in the frozen food section. High in protein so might help with the hunger.

guil0095

I have rheumatoid arthritis and some of my go to snacks are raw nuts, like walnuts and pecans. Awesome for arthritis sufferers. I agree with what another user suggested about broth. Super filling and you can make it at home whatever you have on hand. I also like baking up some veggies for snacks too, like brussels and sweet potatoes, and just eating a bowl of that.

shaumom

I can't have sugar, gluten, or dairy either (medically restricted diet), so...hope my snacks might be of use?

So first thing I have is I got a cheap electric ice cream maker. And I make easy 'sorbet' in it with either soft fruit blended up in a blender and just poured in, to make the sorbet, or I cook harder fruit (like apples) and then blend them up and make a sorbet out of them.

The apple one - do that with some cinnamon and nutmeg added, and I swear, it tastes like apple pie ice cream or something. Watermelon or cantaloupe with a little lemon added (or blueberries, lemon juice, and mint for watermelon when I'm feeling fancy) are lovely.

This can be done with blending and freezing the fruit, then partially thawing and blending again, when you want to eat them, but I like them in the ice cream maker better.

Roasted chickpeas are tasty and worked for me. I made homemade socca bread as well ( a chickpea based French flatbread, very basic ingredients) that went well with some hummus plus cucumbers, dill, and a little lemon juice.

One quickie meal I make, which I use as a snack sometimes, is just cooked ground beef, rice, and some salsa poured on it, then heated up. Can adjust the calories based on the rice and beef, you know?

Re: the calories, though. How is your weight loss? It might be that these few calories ARE too low for you. If you start losing weight more quickly than they suggest, at least you'll know and can add some calories back in. Or if you have any physical activity you are able to do, you could eat more calories and with the exercise, you'll have a net 1200 calories, yeah?

While everyone is obviously different, I know that I can't function at that low a calorie range (I have auto-immune problems myself). Just makes me feel much worse than normal that I struggle to function and eventually just tank and have to quit.

I tend to have to try to do more activity, or slower weight loss with higher calories, to make it work for me. But I figure, better a slower weight loss than a bit quicker weight loss that tanks because I can't function with the lower calories, yeah?