Trying to figure out how many snacks I can stuff in my mouth to satisfy my hunger – while staying within a 1,550 calorie limit for the day – felt like an insurmountable objective at first when I decided I needed to lose major weight.
Why 1,550? According to Real Appeal, the weight loss program I participated in as part of my company’s healthcare package, this was one of two options for long-term weight loss and management. The other option – 1,250 for speedier results – was, well, fuggetabaoutit. Especially considering I was walking farther and faster plus other workout routines. I knew I would just be starving myself and I needed those snacks!
It would be particularly difficult during the morning not to snack away three quarters of my calories before lunch – I would get up at 4:45 a.m. to work out by 5, returning home by 6:45 a.m. to a 300-calorie smoothie. More often than not that smoothie would last me until the work snack witching hour – 10 a.m. – where I would start rooting through the fridge of my home-based office for meaningful, fulfilling sustenance. Would it be carrots and hummus? Edamame beans? Nuts and jerky? How about a hard-boiled egg (or three)? Pickles and olives? Or….a cookie? Caramel popcorn? Maybe a mixture of all of it?
Whatever it was going to be, it needed to tie me over until it was officially lunchtime. Over time, as my husband saw how serious I was, he started searching for small calorie snack packs, loaded up on snackable veggies and fresh, protein-rich dips, yogurt and fruit (which would last about as much as a day or two, before my insatiable seven-year-old son with a bottomless pit for a stomach got a hold of it. I’d nosh, and then find and record it on my food tracker app.
Over time I got really good at determining what foods would truly fill me up, and give me energy to power through the rest of the day. For lunch, I tended to gravitate toward anything in a bowl or tortilla, with the right mix of veggies, grains and protein. This avocado, feta, couscous, and chicken bowl was one lunch mainstay – it was easy to put together, and I can load as much Sriracha on it as I wanted
The best advice I can give in this area is to experiment, listen to your body’s reaction to certain foods,, and know that if you want a glass of wine at the end of the day, you’re going to have to adjust the resulting calorie intake earlier in the day. Don’t cheat and not include the snack in the app – it’s not worth it, obviously. And large glasses of water are both necessary and your friend in healthy fullness.
Bon Appetit!
What else did you eat?
It’s been all over the map, but most importantly needed to help fit within my calorie count of 1,550 while filling me up – the morning was my most crucial time. I tended toward consistency so that my husband’s shopping didn’t get out of control, or too expensive. In addition to what’s mentioned in the post, I ate lots of raw veggies (red peppers, celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas – basically large veggie packs) with all manner of hummus flavors. Hard-boiled eggs, jerky, popcorn, rice cakes, pickles, olives, pickled eggs, pickled anything. :) Light on the trail mix as that can add up. Oh, and lots of lemon in my big cups of water. What do you like to snack on?