This year I have been working on my 'new normal'. As I get older, meal plans and workouts that worked a few years ago, do not seem to be effective any more. I decided to take the first few months of 2018 to figure out what works for my body now and how can I make sustainable changes.
For the last 2 months I have been making an attempt to stay within 1600 calories in a day. I have not had any form of refined sugar for over a month. I have been working out for a minimum of four times a week. One thing I have NOT been doing is starving myself. Mostly because I cannot. I have found various options to satisfy my salt and sugar cravings. While I eat everything (except refined sugar and meat) I try and keep carbohydrates rich food to as minimum as possible and choose whole wheat over refined carbs as much as possible.
As requested my some of my readers below is a list of some of my go-to-snacks. While there are a lot of fruit options on this list, I do not have more than 3 fruits in a days. The idea is to mix and match and stay within the 1,600 calories while staying nourished and full. I hope you find the list useful.
Satisfy your sweet tooth
1. 1⁄2 medium apple, baked, topped with 1 Tbsp lowfat yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon (45 calories)2. 1⁄2 small banana, (50 calories)
3. 5 Full pitted date (50 calories)
4. 1 miniature box of raisins (45 calories)
5. 5 Medium Strawberries (25 calories)
6. 1⁄2 cup strawberries with 21⁄2 Tbsp nonfat yogurt (47 calories)
7. 14 seedless red grapes (48 calories)
8. 1/2 Nakd Cocoa Orange Bar (70 calories)
Indulge a salt craving
9. 11⁄2 cups salted air-popped popcorn (46 calories)10. 1⁄4 cup shelled edamame with sea salt (37 calories)
11. 2 Dolmas (40 calories)
12. 1 pretzel rod (37 calories)
13. 5 Lightly salted almonds (35 calories)
14. 1 medium sliced cucumber mixed with 1⁄2 cup chopped celery, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and salt to taste (45 calories)
15. 6 oz eight-vegetable juice (39 calories)
16. 1 kosher dill pickle (10 calories)
17. 1⁄2 cup plain fat-free yogurt sprinkled with 1 tsp sunflower seeds (49.6 calories)
Crunch and munch
18. 11⁄2 cups sugar snap peas (40 calories)19. Small celery stalk smeared with 1⁄2 Tbsp natural peanut butter (49 calories)
20. 1⁄2 small apple with 1 tsp soy butter (46 calories)
21. 1 brown rice cake with 1 Tbsp sugar-free jam (44 calories)
Smooth and creamy
22. 1 Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb wedge spread on cucumber slices (35 calories)23. 1 tsp almond butter (34 calories)
24. 1⁄2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt with fresh strawberry or blueberries (43 calories)
25. 1 oz avocado (about 1⁄8 of an avocado) squirted with lime (45 calories)
Solid standbys
26. 1 cup of mangoes (100 calories)27. 1⁄2 apple (50 calories)
28. 1⁄2 cup peppers with 1 Tbsp yogurt dill dressing (45 calories)
Thirst quenchers
29. Lemon Sparkling Water (0 calories) 30. 12 oz Iced black coffee (with artificial sweetener if desired) (10 calories)Below are 10 Life Changes I have Made
• #LifeUpdate • I get a lot of DMs about food and fitness but I really suck at having cohesive answers for those. Here’s the basic outline of what my lifestyle looks like right now: 1) I maintain a food log and stay within 1600 calories per day NO-MATTER-WHAT. 2) I workout 5 times a week minimum. 3) I don’t drink aerated drinks. 4) I don’t drink alcohol. 5) It has been almost a month since I have had refined sugar. 6) I DO eat fruits in moderation. 7) I drink 90oz (2.5 liters) of water daily. 8) I check the menu of the restaurant and plan what I will be having in advance. 9) I take daily supplements. 10) I sleep 7 hours a day, minimum. | P.S. This is an Inside Out Quinoa Burger from #TrueFoodKitchen my go-to-Burger with nothing to feel guilty about. #True365 #TanviInDC #VegetarianSinceBirth #FitnessXTanvi A post shared by Tanvi • Tanvii.com (@tanviidotcom) on Feb 24, 2018 at 3:16pm PST
Other Resources
You can find what protein supplement and bars I eat at my Amazon store (here).If you are on Instagram I share 'what I eat' frequently with portion size and calorie count. You can catch the previous meals in the "Food Choices: Highlights" on the profile page. You might have to view it on the mobile app as the Highlights are not available on the desktop version of Instagram.
I also have a Pinterest board where I share all things 'Healthy Living' and plan to add more to the board over the next weeks.
You can also check out my previous posts on snacks (here) and health (here).
PIN THIS
I hope you found this post helpful. Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have.
