I didn't realise how much the little snacks were hurting me!

[concernedchild]

I'm a large lady. That's being polite. I'm 19st13lbs. By virtue of this weight, my maintenance calories are 2600.

I'm eating at 1800 odd, and have been really frustrated that I wasn't losing weight. Surely an 800 calorie deficit should have the weight falling off me.

But I recently tracked all the extra snacks that "definitely can't hurt" and realised I was eating closer to 2500 a day!!! No wonder I wasn't losing. I was absolutely shocked by this and also a bit annoyed at myself because I was working hard in the gym and just not getting anywhere.

So yeah, just a rant. But now I'm taking berberine to kill the food noise and I'm eating in a proper deficit. Hoping to lose a stone in the next 50 days

No, just a handful of berries/one apple/one satsuma per day. I am in my 50s, so I am putting my middle down to menopause as well!

Going to get on and do a Tesco shop for tomorrow morning so I have whole foods in for the whole weekend

Any recommendations of good snacks from there?

Stop with the snacks! No snacks. Just healthy meals. Then you won’t be hungry for snacks.

@cardibach I get hungry. I'm not going to deny my hunger signals when I can snack within my calorie limits.

If you eat good, whole foods in appropriate amounts you won’t (often) get hungry. I’ve lost 2 stone and have 4 to lose still. I speak from experience. Don’t save calories for snacks. Eat proper meals.

@cardibach I do eat proper meals.

Bananas, nuts, cottage cheese pot, tangerines, edamame, salted popcorn snack bags (not big bag), dates (not with added sugar or glucose), hummus and celery or carrot sticks or sliced red pepper, any fruit, 85 or 90% chocolate bar.

Hah what quack told you that? The spread of someone's body fat is largely genetic and not determined by the make up of ones diet.

Then you won’t want snacks. Honestly, it’s that simple.
Edit: I eat 2 meals a day. Brunch at about 11-12 and dinner at 5-7. Occasionally I might want a snack mid evening, but it’ll be small. A little chocolate, or an apple…

It's not relevant to Tesco because I don't think they offer them, but I quite like snacks that are portioned out in mini-packs. Sainsbury's do these, mini packs of nuts and Crazy Jacks dried apricots. Mini breadsticks made with extra virgin olive oil so non-UPF. Oh, an Di missed off the first list, Nakd bars. Also calorific but good if you only have one.

Interesting thread, I don’t snack much but I’m very honest with my calorie counting with Yazio and usually my two coffees a day (often they are my only snacks) are 120 kcal. That’s 200 ml of Oatly Barista, 100 ml in each.
I have to say I don’t understand the comments about not feeling hungry. I assume feeling hungry is quite normal and not a bad thing. I feel hungry before dinner, and then I have the dinner, otherwise I would do something else instead of eating.

Snacks I like to have on hand

• boiled eggs, either boil a load and keep them in the fridge or buy the 2 packs from the sandwich section
• cheesestrings
• beef jerky
• cottage cheese (Longley farms full fat - Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, home bargains)
• full fat Greek yoghurt - not Greek style and not low fat.
• veg that can be eaten raw - cherry tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrots

@SpringingAlong I had to go GF and it changed my whole habits as I'm not keen on GF bread, and a lot of easy grab snacks were suddenly out- I like the mini Nairn cheese bites - I've only found them in Sainsbury's but a handful of those is great for a savoury 'snack' - like you I stopped snacking though when I 'mainly' stopped the sugar (I have the odd GF cake' and stopped wheat .

I really am in awe of people that can be satisified with a snack of fruit or watermelon, carrot batons, that type of thing

Cold and wet is all that comes to mind. Even yoghurt, cold and runny.

It feels mean and unsatisfying. Not so bad in boiling hot summer when you need watery things.

I always need things like nuts or one of my egg muffins that I make with cheese/meats in it. Dried fruit I dont mind, that feels more fulfilling.

In cold weather, a cut up apple or pear with a good sprinkling of cinnamon and/or nutmeg, microwaved a couple of minutes till softened and hot is good eith a blob of thick yoghurt and some pecans. It's sort of like instant healthy apple crumble.

That sounds more like it

Right???? A cup of tea and a biscuit is infinitely more satisfying on a day like today than a handful of nuts or some fruit

@concernedchild if I could have one biscuit per day I wouldn’t be morbidly obese. I can’t have them in the house unfortunately.

A smallish baked sweet potato is a delicious snack and ideal for this weather (avoid the massive ones). And they're not low carb, I make an exception for them sometimes, though.

Also I love roasted chestnuts over winter, sadly they're only available for a very short period around Christmas.

Can I ask what a typical day of two’s meal plan is please @cardibach

I am also someone who needs to snack and I don’t think I can get by on Greek yogurt and berries and then do a morning at work. Honestly think I’d faint. Would love to wean myself off of snacks though. Snacks are my downfall.

@Icecoldtulip have you tried fasting? Once you are used to it you don’t get hungry in the morning even though you haven’t yet eaten. By having a late lunch and early dinner I have eliminated snacks as there isn’t a slot for them. If you have breakfast at 8am you will naturally feel hungry mid morning.

@EasterFox i haven’t tried fasting. I honestly don’t think I’d manage. If I don’t eat breakfast I end up with a terrible headache at work and feel really tired and hands go a bit shaky. I could probably try it at weekends but not sure if that’s how it works. I think if I could lose the snacks I might be able to lose weight.

Yeah I totally get that!

@SwordToFlamethrower actually no. It's because I have an eating disorder and trauma that I hadn't worked through :)