Snacking the Right Way While Dieting

Hi Alonda, welcome!

My tip is to eat the snacks you like in moderation. This is how I lost 44 pounds, and I've been maintaining that loss for about a year and a half now.

Tonight, I had some Coconut Bliss hazelnut chocolate frozen desert. The serving was 95 grams for about 210 calories. Well, for me, 95 grams is a little much. Last night I had about 65 grams of the same ice cream, but tonight I had about 80 grams. It's all about what fits into your calorie goals.

You mean to help keep you full during the day? I think raw veggies can work, especially if you are mostly trying to get past some psychological hunger and getting used to not eating as often. A piece of fruit/berries or greek yogurt or cottage cheese can be good options. Nuts work for some people, but some find them not so filling or too easy to overeat. I sometimes like a protein bar (Quest if you like them tend to be filling for me because of all the fiber and also work as a sweet snack and help meet protein goals). It really depends on your goals and the calories you've put aside for snacks.

Also, you will want to figure out what works for you in terms of meal # and timing. What I figured out early on is that I tend to feel more satisfied and less hungry if I eat 3 more substantial meals and don't snack much. There was an adjustment period at first (which I filled by having raw veggies on hand) and sometimes I do add in an afternoon snack since I tend to eat dinner late and often work out mid-day or before dinner, but limiting snacks actually results in less hunger, for me, as I just don't think about food as much.

Fruits, veggies, add peanut butter to your favorite fruit or veggie. Nuts, yogurt, baked kale or spinach chips, popcorn.

I love fresh fruit the 100 claorie bags of popcorn are great as well and raw veggies with hummus are are a really great low cal snack.

I also am less hungry with bigger meals - I definitely like a big breakfast (600 cals), and 500-600 for lunch and dinner, with ~200-300 left for an evening snack. That way I don't have to think about food that often

For meals, I like to have a good chunk of meat and fat in there. I use plain Greek yogurt as a side or topping for a lot of things, which bumps up the protein. Fiber helps, I often have it in the form of a cabbage or spinach salad, or some boiled green beans or asparagus. For starches, I find potatoes with skin way more filling than rice or pasta. (Baby potatoes are good because there's more skin per potato, and the skin's what has most of the fiber.)

So all that leaves me less needful of snacks. Snack-wise, 2nd cottage cheese or nuts, or a handful of berries. Also: a banana, a bowl of oatmeal. (Cottage cheese is probably the most effective, for me.) If I'm just kind-of hungry but can't let it go, I might have a mug of miso soup (30 cals for mine) or chicken bouillon.

During the day, coffee is helpful to suppress appetite between meals, on days when I happened not to eat exactly enough. (But not if I'm straight-up hungry, as in unfed, that just leads to a headache.) I like cream in my coffee (and I like it sweet), but lately I'm substituting some of the cream with unsweetened almond milk to bring the calories down.

I'd also say, once you figure out 5-10 meals and snacks that hit the spot, rotate them fairly often. It's easier to stay on track that way.

eat whatever you want, just do not go over your daily calorie intake, a calorie is a calorie at the end of the day

I keep boiled eggs in the fridge. Full of protein, on average 60cals and keeps me feeling full.