Mickidoodle's Journal, 04 January 2018

Would saltine crackers allow more? Maybe even the salt free? 

I would skip the crackers and eat the tuna over a large bowl of romaine lettuce. I find it much more filling and satisfying but it is lower in calories, higher in fiber and lower in carbs. 

Carrots cucumber lettuce can all make you feel fuller with less calories. 

yea, lose the crackers, they are empty calories.  

Heh, you do whatever makes you happy; diet advice is abundant and sustainable success less so. What works for me is whatever means I don't feel hungry. At this point in my life, that means lots of fat, moderate protein, and carbs only from vegetables and non-sweet fruits (e.g. avocado, olives). --- My calorie intake required for maintenance is much higher when eating this way, than when eating low-ish carb (e.g.incl tomato, sweet potato). So, you have room to play around with numbers and see which ones feel best for you. --- At other points in my life, I've happily and successfully done long stints of : strict vegan while running a lot; eat-small-amounts-when-physically-hungry; intuitive-eat-anything-while-monitoring-emotions. And probably something I'm not remembering. What never worked, for me personally: counting calories. But plenty of people here swear by that. Maybe other things work for me only because I burn so many calories typing aloud ... 

I would say if 1200 calories is too hard try exercising more so you can eat more also try to eat how you would if you where at your goal weight already and eat lots of vegetables and good protein don’t waste your calorie allowance on things like crackers they ain’t got nutritional value 

Throw some excercise in there. Healthy heart and more energy are just a few things that come out of it. Plus you don’t have to eat only 1200 calories and come out looking scrawny on the other side. Join a local gym or excercise group. 

Alan Tyler crackers are not empty calories, as they provide the body with valuable carbohydrate. Every food has its purpose, even junk. 

Hi Mickidoodle, you’ll get lots of advice! LOL but you have to discover a WOE (way of eating) that works for you! 🙋🏻‍♀️A number of these suggestions are good! Increasing low caloric intake high bulk foods like cauliflower and leafy greens or cabbage are always good to do with that tuna! LOL or put it into celery if you like celery, or stuff romaine or cabbage or kale leaves with it and eat it like a fancy rolled stuffed leaf lunch with a few crackers on the side of your plate. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Good luck! 

It is hard. I just had elbows with sauce and hamburger. Half a cup of pasta is 200 calories! But measuring cups have been very helpful. 

Cracker are empty calories? They are carbs, muscle sparing energy giving carbs. Not empty. 

@Seoneill check into pasta zero or zoodles or a spiralizer for creating spiral vegetable strips from squash to use in place of noodles. The nutrition value for nutrients is higher abd the calories are lower unless you are carb loading for a reason? 

lol carb loading. Man, this forum is so critical of carbs, they are just calories, like fat calories. CICO 

Diablo360x, calories are NOT just calories, there are good carbs, and bad carbs, crackers are as useless as your lack if imagination! A good carb, to have rather than crackers made with processed, flour, would be a half of a sweet potato, that also has way more nutrients! If you do not have anything nice to say, just shutt the Hell up! 

and Diablo360x, keep looking at the posts here you may just learn something! 

This goes for Melkiah as well... 

Opinions are like elbows... most folks have (at least) one. Listen to your body... but keep your mind in charge of it! So many variables with a very low calorie diet - how often you eat, what times (hours after waking versus hours prior to sleep) you eat, when (after eating or before) and how you drink (only when you're thirsty versus gorging yourself), activity load (lifestyle habits which burn calories versus planned exercise), types of activity (those of an aerobic nature if reducing WEIGHT and toning is important versus STRENGTH building/training), etc. All that (above) to say... begin with the goals(s) in mind... then, filter the advice of those who've had success with similar goals and go from there. Everybody's different, and every body's different. 

Everyone is different but for me on a 1500 cal/day rule....ditching crackers and any other processed flour/sugar helps the hunger be less severe. As crazy as this may sound, I found that good probiotics and digestive enzymes help keep me from getting as hungry too. 

Wow! I had no idea the conversation that post would create! I plan to do interval training when I get a handle on counting my calories- this is only day 4. But I decided to count calories because I just can’t give up carbs- I know I can not do that long term. I will end up binge eating carbs in my closet 🤣. I will try to pick better carbs in the future like what was suggested tho! It makes since to put better nutrients and more filling foods in me on low cal diet. I need to make the most of every calorie! I am human- I know that I will still eat chocolate, cookies, or bread on occasion. 😜 

Tell me about it my RDI is suppose to be 2700.