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

Forgot to add
Carrots
Celery

I got as far as two tins of tuna feeds a family of four and I can’t stop laughing

I agree with @Mullington I'd add some boiled eggs. I'm always starving after a salad. I can't do low carb though!

This 🤣🤣🤣🤣

A boiled egg is nice with tuna. Also if you get the flavoured tunas (I have a jalapeno tuna in the fridge) mean you don't really need mayo or any additional flavouring.

Mayo yes is calorific, 2 tins tuna not needed only need one.

What are you having for lunch on other days?

Tbf I use 2 tins of tuna to make a pasta sauce for four of us.

Two tins of tuna can easily feed four people. Not sure what all the hilarity is for.

2 tins of tuna in olive oil and mayo on the salad?
You'd have been better off having a pie.

Yes 2 tins could feed 4, as part of a meal like pasta, or maybe jacket potatoes. Not as the main focus of a salad.

DH and I are both the same weight as we were in our early 20s (healthy, on the skinny side though) and we hardly ever eat salads. IMO, they don't fill you up and you end up eating something else a few hours later because you are still hungry.

If I were you, I'd have a smaller salad but have a filling soup with it, something like lentil. There are some great Middle Eastern or Turkish soups that are easy to make from scratch and taste really good (if lentils aren't your thing). Or you could add a portion of whole grains to the salad. This will keep you full much longer. Maybe add some more healthy fats too - olives, almonds, avocados, etc. You could also add a tablespoon of seeds. Or some tinned beans - cannellini, kidney etc.

Olive oil is good for you but calorific. Go for brine or spring water when you are dieting.

OK, but one tin is fine in that case.

No, but OP has already said they're small tins, so she probably has the equivalent of one normal size tin on that salad. And tbh, even with two full sized tins, its not actually a huge amount of calories - and its protein so will help fill her up. If she was finding after eating that sort of lunch for weeks she wasn't losing weight, then yes, it would probably make sense to suggest looking at whether cutting back on the tuna would help.

OP, I've lost weight recently (only 9lbs but that was roughly my aim). Two tins tuna does sound like a lot. Also, I'd be looking at having breakfast to get my metabolism going, if only something like a banana or low fat yogurt with some blueberries/other berries on top. For lunch, I've had rivita crackers with slim slices of cheese, tomatoes and cucumber, toast with peanut better and something like an apple of banana afterwards. I enjoy salads and have had small cubes of cheese, a cold boiled egg or prawns with mine. I'd be looking at half a tin of tuna. Again, I'd probably have an apple or banana afterwards, but other seasonable fruit will be along soon. Occasionally, I've had soup with a slice of bread/roll.

Having said the above, if you're losing weight on what you've eaten, then fair enough. Going forward your future diet has to be something you can maintain - I just made a few adjustments, ie smaller portions/I swapped a sandwich and fruit lunch for the above which is lower calories.

I've skipped pages 2-7 just to write the same thing.

2 cans of tuna honestly OP, you'll be the size of a Kia Sorento by morning.

That's about 500 calories which is OK.

Good Guys cheese crackers are 5 calories each

You could also have cottage cheese instead of tuna on other days.

Candyfloss grapes are nice as sweeter.

Hartleys sugar free jelly pots are 10 cals. I buy a few and then the packets of jelly to make my own.

Rich tea light biscuits are 38 cals

Batchelors Slim a Soup eg minestrone is 53 cals

@KippersForBreakfast peak batshit mumsnet comment right there!

Weight loss is calories in and calories out, you don't need to cut out bread. A slice of cheese on toast with tomato slices and salad would probably be less calorific than 2 x tins of tuna with loads of mayo (try myfitnesspal to see how many cals hide in even a small serving of dressing) and salad. The toast option would also meet your need for carb/protein/veg/dairy

This is fine, load up on protein first and you’ll find you won’t be craving carbs later in the day.

OP I have also had tuna salad for lunch.
One tin of tuna but a bloody decent squeeze of mayo in it, mixed with red onion. I really don't think your Mayo amount is a huge amount. Yes there's calories in it, but tuna is dry as fuck otherwise. I've probs had the same amount of Mayo mixed with my one tin (I'm going to look at your photo again)

I also added sweetcorn, edamame beans and kalamata olives to my salad. All have quite a lot of calories compared to salad leaves but they lifted my salad and made it a tasty and interesting lunch.

I'm not sure why you're being hounded for having a tuna salad for lunch 😂 Although two tins for one person is quite a lot. It's not like you're eating a bag of pork scratchings though

Did you google a random tin of tuna, instead of looking at the calories on each of the tins of tuna you actually opened and put on your plate? It will vary a fair bit, depending on weight of can and whether they're in water or brine or oil.

Same with the mayo - visually, on top of 2 cans of tuna, it looks a generous portion, but the calories will depend on your actual serving size and what the ingredients are. The jar you took it from will tell you these things.

Mumsnet drives me nuts with its lack of precision - the information is on the label, just use it!

That’s not too bad if you’re using the small tins of tuna (especially if you missed breakfast). Although I’d probably measure how much mayo or dressing I was using if I’m on a diet (it’s easy to go overboard!)

Fat, whilst calorific can help to make you feel fuller longer. Healthy fats like avocado, oily fish, olives, seeds and nuts etc can all be added to a salad. They’ll also add flavour so you need less mayo/dressing. I’d measure them though so you know how big a portion should be.

If you wanted to add some protein and fibre then you could swap the cracker for puy lentils or quinoa (you can buy ready cooked packs and just add a couple of spoonfuls to a salad if you don’t have much time for lunch).

You can add flavour to salads with lemon juice/vinegars, chilli, herbs and spices. This might help you to reduce the amount of mayo whilst also having a fairly interesting lunch. I also find having lots of different flavours and textures makes in more interesting (so maybe tuna and egg rather than just tuna, or adding things like capers, cornichons, roasted or pickled veg, seeds, beans or chickpeas, a small amount of feta/shaved parmesan etc).

A lot depends on the mayonnaise
If you used full fat mayo the lunch is around 540 Kcal
If you used light mayo then around 355 Kcal
If you used lighter than light mayo then around 300 Kcal

My benchmark tends to be 400 Kcal for lunch then some fruit and yogurt on top