Need help with healthy(er)snack and nutrition suggestions

1) My favorite healthier snacks are Greek yogurt, low fat cheese (mostly because the full fat ones don't really fill me up more for the extra calories), fruit, beef jerky (I just discovered those this week end and I'm now addicted), Quest nutrition bars.

2 and 3) Hard to tell as we don't know what you eat. We just make easy meals are, some protein, frozen veggies, and sometimes egg noodles, couscous, rice etc. You could skip the grain/starch and just eat the veggies and protein, and less of it. My husband typically eats the same thing and has a snack later (a smaller meal, usually).

4) If you're hungry, you're doing it wrong. That's where calorie quality matters. Typically protein and fiber will make you full longer... for some people fat is just as good though, you might have to try it out. I get hungry a few days a month during my cycle and it's much harder then, but by making good choices (like filling up on veggies and lean meat) it's doable. I'm eating 1600 calories and I'm very rarely hungry otherwise, and that's with eating some not so healthy things at times.

5) I try to eat 80% healthier, and I use 200ish calories a day for whatever I feel like eating. Been working great so far.

I feel like by the questions your asking you will soon be way too overwhelmed... Just keep it simple... Non processed food and all fruits and veggies. Just make that the staple of your diet. Plain oatmeal, brown rice, brown rice noodles to replace pastas and cereal and stuff. Rice cakes for snacks. They are really yummy with pb, banana slices and cinnamon! And listen to your body.... If your hungry eat if not then dont. You will learn more the longer you stick with it! Just keep the weight loss super simple at first and yeah.Ohh! And just stick with it and keep it clean... Your tastebuds will adjust within a month! And i suggest weight lifting for faster fat loss.

Replacement for coffee creamer, I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Love it!!

Regarding the holidays, try to plan a big workout in the morning before a day that you know is going to involve a big meal. It also helps to take a small portion of everything you want to try, rather than piling your plate as high as it will go. If you're still hungry after you've tried everything, go back for a little more of your favorite. There's no reason not completely restrict yourself on the holidays, you should be able to enjoy everything in moderation.

And regarding bread, I personally don't eat as many sandwiches as I used to because I found that I don't get as much for my caloric buck as I do with a big ol' salad full of high-protein and high-fiber ingredients. I'll still have them sometimes with those 100 calorie deli flats, because it's the stuff IN the sandwich I like better than the bread itself. But if sandwiches are your favorite thing ever, then by all means you can keep eating them and just make room for them in your daily plan. Or just have half a sandwich and a cup of soup rather than a whole sandwich.

The more rules you put on yourself early in this process, the more likely it is that you will give up. Just make small changes to start, adapt to them, and then keep making small changes.

Lots of great advise here, but still giving my two cents worth:

1. I also need the crunch factor. Instead of chips & dip I use celery sticks and Laughing Cow light cheese wedges. They are not the best as far as cheese goes, but they are creamy & taste like dip, and a huge stalk of celery and one wedge is about 45 calories. I prefer real cheese (who doesn't) but I'm not wasting my limited calories on cheese right now. I also mix Greek or regular plain yogurt with spices and very little salt to use as a veggie dip - the more spices the better! I also mix frozen spinach and artichokes with yogurt to make a dip that's really good! Experiment!

2. Baby steps! Change things up a little at a time. It's a long process depending on how much you have to lose it may take a year or longer to lose the weight. You can't expect to sustain a weight loss plan that is super restrictive - like you said it's too hard to keep it up long term & you'll give up. My whole family is on this healthy lifestyle kick with me, Even though they are all normal-sized we ALL benefit from lower fat, lower sodium, whole grains, etc. It's a healthy lifestyle forever that I'm working on, not just a diet, so I won't cook any differently for them.

3. Change your carbs to whole grain versions - pasta, bread, etc. You need carbs, just control your portions. Eat all the vegetables you want, but fruit has lots of calories, so I limit to 1-2 small pieces per day. Oh, and rice cakes are all carbs (and they taste like Styrofoam, just sayin'...).

4. Spread you calories throughout the day, plan for small snacks between meals. Protein keeps you feeling full longer. You shouldn't be starving, but just starting to feel hungry by your next meal. Greek yogurt, a small handful of nuts, beans, whole grains, quinoa, these are all really good sources of protein. If you eat meat choose lean cuts.

Protein is key for me. My snacks consist of the following items:

Hard boiled eggs
Beef Jerky
Cheese Sticks
Handful of nuts
Protein Shake
Greek Yogurt (Fage Total 0% in my case)
Hummus and Veggies
Edamame (freezer section in individual portions. I cook it, then salt it, then eat it cold)
Roll-ups (low calorie lunch meat, I like Thin and Trim rolled with a piece of ultra thin cheese)
Shrimp (I buy it precooked and frozen and take out what I need. I usually eat it with Old Bay seasoning on top, and dip it into greek yogurt combined with cocktail sauce or lemon juice and Old Bay)
If you need crunchy, try pretzels or popcorn.

I don't have loads of time, so I tend to prep all of the snacks on one day, making sure they are portioned correctly so all I have to do is grab and go. I LOVE stale popcorn, so I make a couple of bags at once and portion them out. I do the same for my eggs, where I hard boil and them peel them, and then put them into a baggie with salt and pepper. The pepper discolors the eggs, but who cares? It's easy and keeps me on track.

Good luck!

Questbars
Planters mixed nut packs
Light yogurt

My snacks are rice cakes (especially the caramel corn ones from Quaker - 50 calories, VERY low sodium, a bit of sweet plus crunch? YES!), low fat string cheese, banana chips (I have a little food scale in my desk at work, so I measure out a serving and then munch)...

I also picked up a few of the 100-calorie snack packs for when I'm jonesing for sweet but want to avoid scarfing down the entire bag.

Fresh fruit and veggies are always good, and chalk up another vote for Greek yogurt.

My problem is I'm a real salt fiend, but I'm trying to save the sodium for full-on meals rather than snacks.