Is this too much lunch for a diet?

[Hatehooveringsomuch]

Trying to shift a couple of stone.
I eat v healthily, but probably too much, I don’t work out normally, but have started again.
I’m a person who has to cut back a lot and not eat much/work out daily to stay slim.
In the past when I was v slim, I went to the gym and had less carbs & smaller portions. I’m trying fasting also.
I’ve had no breakfast, just got in from school run, morning work and walking the dog.
Is this too much?
There’s two tins of tuna and two crackers, the rest is just salad? Assuming that’s okay?
Dinner is broccoli, cauliflower, carrots & chicken, piece of fruit afterwards.
I’m attempting to cut right back on carbs, my portions seem big though 😂but I’m hungry
Desperate to lose weight

One tin is enough,
If you buy the ones with the flavoured oil no need for dressing, I would put it in a big bowl rather than a plate, add some raw green beans, and if you really need more of a flavoursome dressing a tablespoon of houmous would be better, not sure if you have the ones with toppings?
Or a quarter of avocado and mix it all up like a chopped salad, the avo will cover the salad like a paste so acts like a dressing.

One tin of tuna is enough. Add some avocado to the salad and maybe a couple of chopped walnuts? Or a boiled egg?

I did wonder about the two tins instead of one…but I feel hungry, they’re very small and after a Google, it says 85 calories per tin, which isn’t too bad.
Are crackers 70 calories each?
200 for mayo is scary, def need to knock that on the head

2 tins of tuna seems like a lot on paper- but in the pic it doesn't look much. Are they full sized ones or the little tins?

I thought the same, I was like "woah 2 tins of tuna!?" reading the OP but then the photo looked like a much smaller portion than I'd pictured.

I don't like salads generally but I do like this one I make and find it filling:

Spinach leaves, cucumber, avocado, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries and some seeds/nuts (usually pine nuts and pumpkin seeds). I usually have either buffalo mozzerella or halloumi but you could substitute another protein. Then a splash of olive oils and balsamic vinegar

Does that look like too much tuna to you? It doesn't to me. They must be those tiny tins.

I'm doing extremely well on a low carb diet and I would eat that meal without a thought op. I would replace the mayonnaise with a lower carb salad dressing and have seeded oatcakes instead of the crackers you had.

Also, I would try and have the smaller meal, and give yourself the option that if 30mins after eating you are still starving, you can have some more.

9/10 you won't need it.

I'd check the calories of the actual tins you're using rather than Google.

Everyone needs different amount of calories and exercise in order to lose weight or maintain so its really hard to know if this it too much for you in particular or not.
Have you considered counting calories, joining WW or SW or getting a PT/nutrition advice? You really are not going to get consistent or relevant advice from a load of strangers who don't know your age, what else you're eating, are you menopausal, what your exercise levels are.

I zhuzz up a salad with a sort of drizzle - lemon juice, pinch of chilli flakes, a sprinkle of smoked sea salt, that sort of thing. Once you accept that salad is boring it makes it easier, somehow. Don't forget that you can add green stuff like cold cooked broccoli and cold cooked mange tout to your salad.

It might be an idea to total up the calories, but also log how long it is before you're hungry again after eating that.

The calories/size is fine, if you don't need a snack before dinner and/or a huge dinner because you're starving.

Potentially the extra protein in 2x tuna and fat in the mayo etc could do you better overall than basically having leaves to save calories but raiding the fridge by mid afternoon!

2 tins of tuna is a lot and it’s also a lot of mayo. The salad, cracker, 1 tin of tuna and half the amount of mayo would be fine. You could add a light vinegerette if you need more flavour. Have some yogurt or fruit for dessert to fill you up more.

I’m with you on the Mayo but try and switch out for healthier vinegar based dressings or a really nice one is low fat natural yoghurt with mint sauce stirred through and a tiny bit of sugar

We ALWAYS underestimate calories, and it's infuriating how many there are in mayo, or even just olive oil.

Don't skip breakfast!! You'll be so ravenous by lunchtime that you'll want to squirt the mayo directly into your mouth. If you have a handful of overnight oats and some fresh fruit chopped over it before you leave the house you'll be less willing to eat your own children by midday.

Your best bet is to get the Noom app and follow their instructions for a few weeks - they make it all fairly painless, and I've lost over a stone in the last 2 months doing it, and probably could have done it faster to be honest.

You need to look at the calories on the actual one you have used though. The same for other things ‘a cracker’ isn’t 70 calories because there’s a wide range and it depends on what cracker.
For things like sauces and dressings you should weigh them out for about 2 weeks so you can understand how much X amount of calories actually is and what it looks like.

I think a lot depends on whether the tuna is tinned in oil or water - personally I prefer the taste of the water one and oil adds a lot of calories. Also, is the mayo lite or full fat?
I also would not recommend going without any breakfast.

Yes - you have to season everything to within an inch of its life to make this tolerable. I use smoked paprika, a pinch of salt, a pinch of chili flakes and a teaspoon of toasted flaked almonds and practically everything tastes great. Or those teeny weeny capers.

I'm not a food nazi but two tins of tuna is more rhan I'd eat for lunch presuming they are the fat ones

Roasted veg
Roasted sweet potato
Pickled onions/gherkins/beetroot
Few crushed up tortilla chips
Hot sauce
Bit of crumbled feta
Different grains (merchant gourmet do good ones)
Fruit
Crispy bacon - a crumbled rasher goes a long way!

She says ‘on a diet’, so presume she’s trying to lose weight?

I think you’re better off having a slice of wholemeal bread rather than crackers and mayo. What about a tuna sandwich with salad. Use Greek yoghurt in place of the mayo with plenty of seasoning.

A bit of balsamic vinegar adds a lot of flavour to a salad. If you do fancy mayo, it's safest to weigh it onto your plate - it's quite hard to eyeball the difference between 10g and 25g accurately. Don't cut out healthy oils entirely, just be careful how much you use.

Please just eat normal food
Just cut down on bread /pasta and potatoes

Not Stop eating them. Just a bit less

Find out when you eat too much and why (boredom? Angry? Stressed? Pms? Period?)
And then substitute your biggest problem food ( like eating biscuits daily) with a " one day only " rule. And try to replace your problem food with healthy varieties of that food.

It's not calorie counting. Its part eating smaller portions.. but mostly just eating better food. Like how the italians and French eat
Full of carbs. And fat!
But less bigger portions
And no eating bags of chips and cookies etc

I love these threads 😁 brings out the nutters. Already a couple of blinding posts.

Looks lovely. If it were me I’d swap one tin of tuna for a boiled egg for more protein to keep me full up for longer.

Could also do exactly the same salad base but with a salmon fillet and poached egg. And a side of broccoli if you wanted to add more greens.

My diet tip is lots of seasoning!