Healthy But Too Caloric

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AngelWitch1205
AngelWitch1205 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone. I'm struggling with losing a few healthy favorites. I used things like almonds and chia seeds in small quantities because I know the health benefits of these items. But as I plan my food Infind these items to be so uber caloric they will need to be extremely rare, they just are too expensive calorically. I think I will figure out the balance and get my nutrition from many foods, but losing chia and nuts bothers me. Has anyone else dealt with this? I think in many ways I just need to learn healthy meal and snack options that don't include such calorically expensive items.

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  • Gab149
    Gab149 Posts: 26 Member
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    I have a daily allowance of eight almonds (no more, no less) and six pieces of dried apricot. :smiley:
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    How many calories are you trying to eat daily that you can't fit these foods in? I've been at maintenance for 3 years now, but I never gave up nuts when I was eating 1400 calories daily. I didn't eat them every day, but I did eat them often. If I ate an avocado, then I would skip the almonds. If I wanted the Chia seeds then I ate less yogurt with it. There are ways to make it fit. You can do this.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited August 2017
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    18 almonds = about 100 calories. I don't think that is high. And a tbsp of chia seeds might only be 70 calories. For all the nutrition = worth it.
    I have a feeling you might not have a food scale.

  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
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    Work them in a few times a week, instead of trying to fit them in daily.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I include nuts (various kinds) nearly daily, as I enjoy them and think they are good for me, and they fit my macros well. This might include adding pistachios to a salad or almonds to a stir fry or pinenuts to a pasta dish.

    I might have a chia pudding occasionally, but don't really work to fit in nuts or seeds (like the various trendy seeds) that don't do anything for me tastewise -- I think there are equally good sources of the nutrients or in some cases they are overrated.

    For me, in reasonable amounts the calories from nuts (like those from olives, avocados, some olive or coconut or avocado oil for cooking) are going to add a huge amount of satisfaction so are worth the calories, and I find I am happier not going really low fat and I prefer these kinds of whole foods or lightly processed plant based sources of fat to some others.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
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    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    18 almonds = about 100 calories. I don't think that is high. And a tbsp of chia seeds might only be 70 calories. For all the nutrition = worth it.
    I have a feeling you might not have a food scale.

    Agree with this. I will never give up my Almonds and Chia Seeds have actually helped me reduce my calories. A small amount helps me feel full longer!!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I generally don't snack on nuts alone anymore, because 1) when they're roasted and salted, I find them extremely hard to moderate and 2) even when they aren't, it's easy to overdo.

    But I will use them to garnish a salad or casserole. My veggie pate grinds some walnuts in with the vegetable. They'll show up in the topping for a fruit crisp, etc.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    Alomnds are awesome and can be very satiating. The key is portion control. I buy in bulk at Costco and then immediately pre-portion into individual bags.

    Lately, I've been crushing almonds and putting them in cottage cheese and Greek yogurt with fruit. Yummy.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
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    kwtilbury wrote: »
    Alomnds are awesome and can be very satiating. The key is portion control. I buy in bulk at Costco and then immediately pre-portion into individual bags.

    Lately, I've been crushing almonds and putting them in cottage cheese and Greek yogurt with fruit. Yummy.

    This is an example of how different foods can have completely different satiety levels for different people-almonds/nuts/seeds do absolutely nothing for me and I can easily eat 2-3 servings and not even feel like I ate anything. Pair that with their high calorie per serving content and I have to be very careful with them!
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    Alomnds are awesome and can be very satiating. The key is portion control. I buy in bulk at Costco and then immediately pre-portion into individual bags.

    Lately, I've been crushing almonds and putting them in cottage cheese and Greek yogurt with fruit. Yummy.

    This is an example of how different foods can have completely different satiety levels for different people-almonds/nuts/seeds do absolutely nothing for me and I can easily eat 2-3 servings and not even feel like I ate anything. Pair that with their high calorie per serving content and I have to be very careful with them!

    This is true. Every person is different. I do better eating more protein, but my brother does better eating whatever he wants but only between 9 am and 7 pm. Go figure.

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