Okay, so I need to revamp my snack plan. Right now I have three main meals a day and 3 snacks. The problem is that my snacks aren't filling me up enough and are too many calories. I need to cut about 200 cals/day from my diet, and I think it has to come out of the snacks.

Right now my typical snacks are: 10am - banana, tangerine (about 140 cals). 2pm - tangerine, apple (about 100 cals). 4pm - lowfat yogurt (I can't stand the artificial sweetener kind so these are about 150 cals). I use them to count as one of my servings of dairy and three servings of fruit in my attempt to get enough fruits, veggies, and calcium. (For reference, I eat my meals at 7:30am, 12pm, and 6:30pm.)

I need to be less hungry AND eat fewer calories. Please give me snack ideas! My first thought for something very filling and low-cal is to buy diet snack bars like SlimFast, but I really don't want to do that.

What is your current calorie target?

How much exercise do you do in a week?

Jay

bars suck. bleh. i like

-hummus with red bell pepper strips (90cals)
-sugar free chocolate pudding with 1C raspberries (120cals)
-a couple hard boiled eggs (140cals)
-steamed veggies like the green giant veg for one
-toasted pita w/guac (150cals)
-blueberries w/ cool whip and graham cracker (150cals)
-CHEESE. omg any kind....

hope something sounds yummy!

My calorie target has been 1400-1600 on weekdays and slightly higher on the weekend, but I'm not losing. I'm trying to drop it to 1200-1400 on weekdays so that I can get back to goal while still allowing a cheat meal on the weekend (for example my Saturday cals tend to be 2000-2200, Sunday more like 1800).

My exercise kind of depends on the weather but I'm trying to do more inside so I'll be more reliable. My official schedule is running MWF (distance MF, intervals W), strength (NRLW) TTh (I just started last week), swimming Th, and biking and swimming S. I usually end up skipping 1-2 of the runs (sometimes doing elliptical instead) and 1 of the swims.

Zucchini, red bell pepper strips and laughing cow
Cottage cheese and blueberries
Hardboiled egg whites with fruit

Really I'd just swap out a fruit from each snack with a bit of protein.

Asparagus wrapped with sliced turkey! Yum!

A low fat latte and fruit. My most favorite snack!!

Yeah, I'm big on adding protein into my snacks lately:

Apple w/ a laughing cow wedge
Low carb tortilla wrap w/ laughing cow, turkey breast, and mixed greens (120 or so)
Greek yogurt w/ 1/2 cup frozen berries (120)
Protein shake w/ frozen berries and almond milk (170)

baby carrots, cucumber, celery with hummus
hard boiled eggs
1 laughing cow cheese with 6 reduced fat town house crackers
cottage cheese

*I agree that yogurt with artificial sweeteners is gross. It has a horrible after taste! I wish I could find a regular yogurt with just LESS sugar, not fake sugar *

Mandi - that's why I go for plain yogurt, usually greek, with the frozen fruit. Sometimes I add a little sweetener if I feel so inclined, but I like the control.

I do eat some fruit as an afternoon snack, but I find I have to have some kind of protein and/or (healthy) fat in my snacks to keep me full.

Some suggestions -
string cheese (most mozzarella is made with part skim milk) - 80 cals for 1 oz.
hard boiled egg - the yolk has half the calories, but the fats will help fill you up
someone suggested hummus already - w/ veggies or whole wheat something to dip
raw nuts and seeds - 1 oz. can have anywhere from 150-195 calories. 1/2 oz. is so filling. I love almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanuts... yum!
a leftover ounce or two of the chicken etc. you cooked for dinner the night before
1/4 avocado spread on a piece of whole wheat pita
I also make my own protein muffins and bars. If you find that adding protein is helping you and want more protein-acious options, their are some recipes in the weightlifting forum or I can pass some along (most recipes I've gotten from this site).

Laughing Cow lite cheese wedge with 6 Triscuits
Apple with peanut butter (watch the PB amount!)
carrots and pea pods (or sometimes celery)
ww tortilla w/lf Mexican cheese blend--heated as a quesadilla, with salsa

Y'all beat me to the "more protein" answer! I'm on a cottage cheese with fruit kick right now. THis week I have fresh blueberries and strawberries to put in it, but often it's frozen fruit. ANother favorite is an apple and PB or apple and sharp cheddar cheese (just a bit). Also hard boiled eggs, Laughing Cow spread on a wrap (or 1/2 depending on the size) with a slice of turkey.

I too cannot stand anything with artificial sweetner. My DH eats full fat vanilla yogurt, and I often stir a small amount into my lf cottage cheese - changes both the texture and flavor. I don't eat a lot of yogurt right now, but when I do I buy plain and add my own fruit and sweetner (just a bit, depending on the fruit)

It's amazing how a little yogurt changes up cottage cheese. I stick to Greek or carb control yogurt. I like to stuff my hardboiled egg whites with a little laughing cow cheese or a really flavorful olive.....I bet both would be great together!

A great and filling snack - a 3 oz can of tuna in water (90 calorie) broken up and mixed with romaine hearts, grape tomatoes, kirbys, red onion, mushrooms. I use a little balsamic vinegar to dress it.

Ya know what really fills me up? A cup of hot tea. Try and drink that a couple of times a day. Also, don't forget to drink lots of water. It really helps keep me full.

Thanks for the tips guys! The laughing cow wedges are a great idea, since they are individually packaged. My problem with things like hummus is that once the container is in my house, I will eat the whole thing too fast. I'm tempted by Megan's protein muffins, but I have a similar problem with muffins (I eat the whole dozen instead of one at a time.)

I need to learn how to cook hard boiled eggs!

Robin, yeah, I drink about 2-4 cups of hot tea a day during the winter, and 2L of water per day (well, a little less if I have 4 cups of tea!).