Simple 200--300 Calorie Meals and Snacks

We are constantly being bombarded with fad diets, diet pills, new weight loss schemes - and I've done them all. I've done the diets that require meetings, the diets that ship the food to you, and if a celebrity has tried it, so have I. I've tried all the pills made, all the drinks, the cabbage diet, banana diet, the TWA Stewardess diet, the lunch box diet, and the 3 day diet. I might be addicted to diets. I exercise a lot and though I'm not fat, I'm also not skinny. This keeps me forever on a diet. When it comes down to it, every doctor has told me that you can try everything out there, but the bottom line is that you need more calories going out, than are come in. So, take a look at your activity level, and what you're eating. Most likely, if you're honest, you're not thinking about what you're eating. Eating doesn't just include the meals and snacks you've planned out, but it also includes that candy from your boss's desk, and the bite of casserole to see if it needs salt, and that last bite of waffle your child didn't finish just so it wouldn't go to waste. So essentially, if we become more aware of what's going in our bodies, we can take better control of how our body looks.

Let's be honest. Everyone is busy. I know I sure am. I want my diets to be easy. I don't mind planning out what I eat ahead of time. But I don't want to have to pull out recipes every time I need to eat. And I want to be able to grab a snack when I'm hungry, and to know without thinking, what is a good choice for me.

Current diet philosophies are saying to eat 5-7 small meals a day, but not to go over your daily caloric need. I'm not going to pretend I know the answer here about what your body needs. I'm not a nutritionist. I just do a lot of research on what is supposedly "best." I know for my body, experts say that I should be eating anywhere between 1300 and 1800 calories a day. If I were to go somewhere in the middle, and budget for about 1500 calories a day, I know that each of my six meals need to be somewhere between 200 and 300 calories. If your doctor tells you that you need more calories, it's easy to combine some of the meals below.

A local medspa I looked into has a diet program where you do just that - eat 6 200-calorie meals a day. They deliver it to your door for the low price of $500 a month. Seriously - I'm not being over dramatic here. I can tell you that I'm not about to pay that amount of money when I can put my own meals together for a lot less. After a bit of research I have come up with a list of meals and snacks that are all between 200 and 300 calories. I don't worry specifically about if it's 212 calories or 204 - because when it all comes down to it, some meals will be a little under, and some will be a little over, and it will all balance out.

So, for convenience, here's a list of go-to meals. I keep the ingredients handy. I prepare all my meals in the morning, and just eat as I'm hungry throughout the day. I know that if I've eaten all the food in my lunch bag, then I'm eating an appropriate number of calories. If I'm still hungry (which is surprisingly rare), I have a couple go-to snacks (I've included them here as well). An important thing to keep in mind is that a meal is a meal - it doesn't matter if it's "normally" considered breakfast food. Just eat a meal when it's time, and space your meals apart so you don't go a long time without eating. You don't want to eat everything by lunchtime and then suffer the rest of the day. Hopefully this list will be helpful for you.

200-300 calorie meals and snacks:

¼ lb scallops sautéed with garlic and spinach

light english muffin with 1 slice cheese and 1 fried egg

small can of tuna with 2 tbs of low fat mayo, diced celery, cucumber slices

Veggie burger topped with grilled mushrooms and onions

1 cup cooked penne with 1/4 cup light sauce and sauteed zuchinni, brocoli, and mushrooms

light vanilla yogurt with 1 cup berries and 1 cup Fiber One cereal

3.5 ounces of roasted leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary

1/4 cup brown rice mixed with 1.5 oz cooked salmon, 1/3 cup peas and sliced mushrooms sauteed in 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt with 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

6 cups air-popped popcorn sprinkled with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cantaloupe filled with 1/2 cup 2-percent-fat cottage cheese

6-8 baby carrots with 2 tablespoons light ranch dressing, 1 hard boiled egg

1 3/8-ounces chocolate-covered peanuts (Goobers)

Medium pear with 1 ounce brie

3 ounces drained tuna mixed with 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise stuffed in celery rib, 50 calories of yogurt

1 medium microwaved sweet potato with 1 teaspoon butter, sprinkle of cinnamon, 50 calories of yogurt

1 medium banana spread with 1 tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter:

18 Guiltless Gourmet baked yellow corn tortilla chips with 1/4 cup Guiltless Gourmet spicy black bean dip

2 ounces of smoked salmon with 1 tablespoon of nonfat cream cheese on 1/2 small whole-wheat bagel

3/4 cup of bran flakes with 1/2 cup skim milk, 50 calories of yogurt

2 slices of diet whole-wheat bread with 1 cup of vegetables and 1 ounce of sliced nonfat cheese

1 oz part-skim mozzarella string cheese and 1 medium apple

1 packet plain oatmeal with 8 oz skim milk

2 Waffles (Eggo - Nutrigrain whole wheat waffles)

5 Reese's miniatures

1/2 egg salad sandwich made with 2 tsp of light mayo wrapped in lettuce and tomato

Mozzarella cheese stick, 5 baby carrots and 5 celery sticks with 1/4 cup of fat-free black bean dip

Then, when you need a snack, or a few more calories for the day, choose from the following:

3.5 oz of chicken: 140 calories

4 oz glass of wine: 80 calories

1 rice cake: 28 calories

1 tbs peanut butter: 90 calories

1 cup cantaloupe: 53 calories

1 cup black berries: 62 calories

1 cup blueberries: 83 calories

1 apple: 72 calories

1 medium banana : 105 calories

1 white grapefruit (whole): 80 calories

1 cup grapes : 62 calories

1 orange: 62 calories

1 cup strawberries: 45 calories

1 Redbridge beer: 171 calories