hi all,
i just started calorie counting on monday and so far so good. except that i'm really hungry all the time!!!
i've been trying to spend my calories wisely, but it's proving to be more challenging than i thought. so i'm wondering what are the most filling and low calorie foods and snacks people recommend. i hear nuts a lot, but i've always hated nuts. so any other suggestions?

as a frame of reference:
on days i can't make it to the gym, i'm working with about 1250 calories (as per fitday.com)
on gym days i can eat about 1700-1800 calories

the gym days aren't the problem so much as the non-gym days. i find that i've easily blown 700 hundred calories or more by the time i'm through with lunch and this makes the rest of the day really difficult.

thanks!

I like baby carrots. They are crunchy and take time to eat. A half a pound of baby carrots only has about 80 calories!

I try to buy foods low in calories and fat but high in fiber because they fill you up and keep you full longer.

be careful with those online calculators, they can be very innaccurate. Do you like nutbutters? When I'm hungry a banana with 1 or 2 tablespoons of nut butter (peanut, almond, cahew, pecan...) fills me up for a few hours. Or for lower cals put it on celery.

Aim for high protein snacks, like tuna, eggs, nuts, etc. I like to eat cheese OR tuna with a little mayo with wheat thins, hard-boiled eggs (without the yolk) with 1oz mixed nuts, piece of whole grain bread with turkey breast or peanut butter, cottage cheese (2%) with fruit. You can also try a protein bar. I eat a luna bar almost every day. They have about 9g of protein, 180 calories, and are filling.

You know, you could probably eat more! You look younger, and you're really active, which means you have higher metabolism even on days you don't work out.

My favorite low-cal snacks that help me feel satisfied have protein. So, with baby carrots, I'll have 1/4 to 1/3 cup 2% cottage cheese. Or I'll have half an apple or 1/3 a banana with some part-skim ricotta cheese or a lowfat string cheese or two. Canned water-packed tuna is another good snack, especially before a workout (30 minutes before). You can have 3 Triscuits or other crackers with it.

Jay

hard boiled egg, baby carrots (or any raw veggie) with hummus, cottage cheese, low fat string cheese

These were all really great tips!

thanks so much everyone! keep em coming!
i'm definitely gonna have to invest in some lowfat cottage cheese and string cheese because there are few things in this world that i love as much as i love cheese. i think i've just been finding it very caloric. and carrots would probably be a good idea. i used to keep a bag in the fridge but wasn't really eating them. though this was before i actually developed a game plan here.

i'm wondering if maybe this fitday thing is lying to me and i should be eating more even on the non gym days. the only advantage to the feeling of relative deprivation that comes from those 1250 calorie days is that it really motivates me to drag my lazy butt to the gym with the carrot of a decent meal dangling in front of me as my reward.

speaking of which, off to the gym!!

If you want to have a better idea how many calories you are burning you might consider investing in a bodybugg.

my favorite low cal snacks are prepacked easy to eat items such as

- south beach low fat cottage cheese cups = 80 cals
- dannon light and fit yogurts= 80 cals
-eating right (safeway brand) pre packages grapes and strign cheese combo- 70 cals

-eating right apple and peanut butter packs = 80 cals
- eating right - carrots and ranch packs - 30 cals
- chiquita red apple bite slices - 30 cals per bag
-brothers all natural fruit chips- the fuji apples are the bomb! so tart and sour- 45 cals i buy them at costco
- laughing cow cheese on a Thomas light wheat English muffin
-banana - 60- 120 cals depending on the size
-100 calorie bags of pop corn
- rice cakes
-dried fruit like cherries, craisins, appricots. yummy! high in cals but healthy so make sure and measure and portion control!
-special k bars- soooooooooo good! especially the vanilla ones they taste like rice crispy treats!= 90 cals
- 90 calorie quaker granola bars
-60 calorie jello sugar free pudding cups
-peanut butter and jelly sandwich on 45 calorie bread with one table spoon of skippy all natural peanut butter (90 cals) and one table spoon of smuckers sugar free jelly (10 cals)- total= 190 cals for whole sandwich

-frozen fruit balls like melons or even grapes or strawberries!

-all natural dryers fruit bars-70-100 cals depending on flavor

oh yeah forgot to add Tree top no sugar added apple sauce cups
and dole no sugar added peach or mandarin cups
also clementines and tangelos are great fruits easy for snacking!

and... I would consider raising our non gym days to 1400 cals... 1250 is awfully low.. I did that myself and realized how nutritionally bad that was..

Schumeany turned me onto hummus here (thank you so much). A tablespoon of hummus (the stuff I make is 36 cal) and two whole wheat rice cakes to spread it on (35 ea), is just over 100 calories.

Two celery stalks (40) stuffed with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (80) seasoned with a little Morton "light" salt, and fresh chopped garlic.

One string cheese is only 80.

The fake crab sticks are two for 80. I don't use sauce...I love them just they way they are, but they are good dipped in Vietnamese garlic chili sauce (virtually calorie free) instead of cocktail sauce.

One hard boiled egg is about 100. (if you don't want it plain, it's good with mustard).

Two tablespoons of tuna or canned salmon (45) mixed with mustard on a slice of Rubschlager European style whole wheat bread (those little square loaves found in the deli section) (70) with two sliced green olives on top. Total about 125 calories.

2 oz deli turkey (50) on 2 tbsp sauerkraut (5) with mustard, on the European deli bread (70) is a total of 125.

That bread is also great with your favorite 1 oz of cheese...say a soft and creamy herb havarti. About 170 total.

1 oz guacamole (50) on two rice cakes (70) totals up to 120.

1/4 cup air-popped pop corn plain is 90.

One cup of V8 juice is only 30.

Yogurt with fruit (I buy it plain and mix in my fruit and a touch of vanilla and some splenda) makes a great snack, but I prefer to save this for dessert.

two oz of deli turkey/chicken (50) spread with a tbsp of pesto (75), and rolled up is 120.

One corn tortilla (52) topped with 1 oz slice of cheese (100), with some salsa or Vietnamese chili garlic sauce. Heat to melt cheese, fold in half, and eat. About 155.

One corn tortilla (52) spread with 2 Tbsp low-fat refried beans (30) , sprinkled with a sliced green onion, chopped tomato and salsa, about 90 total.

Mix 1/4 cup canned salmon or tuna (90) with 2 stalks finely chopped celery (40), five sliced green olives (25), some dill weed, and roll up in a whole-wheat wrap (210). Half a wrap is about 180.

Mix and match any of the above any way you like. Let your imagination run wild.

I also make my own garlic dill relish (just add fresh garlic to dill pickles, run through a food processor) and that is virtually calorie free and can be added to egg or fish snacks...or others too.

When my cravings are getting the best of me, and I just can't seem to get enough to eat and I'm dying to really eat something filling, I'll occasionally have a 12 oz baked potato (200) with dinner, sprinkled with butter buds, and a 1/2 cup seasoned low-fat cottage cheese (80) on it. I try not to eat potatoes too often, but sometimes they really help you feel satisfied so you don't feel so deprived all the time.

Last time I dieted I started at a little heavier than you and found I lost weight (1-2 lb a week) on an average of 1500 calories a day exercising about 3 times a week. Don't forget to count all the walking you do as burned calories too! Oranges are good as you have to peel them so they take longer to eat. Low calorie hot chocolate is pretty filling like Highlights or something. About.com calorie thing is telling me to eat 1800 calories which I think is a bit OTT.
(also snap on the starting on Monday thing, the green and the alcohol calories)