T Nation

What are Your Diet Hacks?

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

I dont know if theres a post about this kinda thing here, but here go’s anyways.

Im not following someone elses diet right now, im just doin my own thing. Fairly simple and broish. Now most of us have problems with certain parts of our diet - snacks, desserts, even getting enough water in - and i was curious what others do to deal with that.

Here are some of mine…snacks can be a real problem for me. Main meals i am good on for the most part. So for snacks, one thing we do is we keep turkey pepperoni (from costco) around. Another that we just recently did is we bought a box of quest bars from costco. Not only is it great for work at coffee break, but it helps when i want snacks. There are some others that i have done but i wont list those right now.

Dessert…i grew up in farm country, and one thing that my Grandpa was particular about was having dessert at the end of the day. Unfortuantly for both my Dad and me, thats something thats still influencing us. So…instead of cake or ice cream every night, i like to keep low cal popsicles around. Only 20-40 cals depending on what ones you buy so its not going to impact me that much.

Finally another hack i use to get more water in, not drink pop or booze and just have something different, is carbonated water. We buy bubly (costco again) but most of them will do.

So…whats yours?

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#2

I like to mix protein powder or cocoa powder with Greek yogurt to make a sort of low calorie mousse and eat it VERY slowly
If I have more calories to spare, I sometimes use sour cream instead of yogurt

These are amazing!!!

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#3

Skyr yoghurt

50g protein
248kcal

Jobs a good ‘un

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#4

I second Skyr.

You can add various flavors - mix in some frozen berries or fruit, lemon juice and stevia, some cocoa etc. and you’ll get a feeling you’re eating ice cream while getting 50 grams of protein.

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#5

Mostly, eating four meals a day has been a game changer for me…I’ve tried eating three meals a day, but I can only really sustain that if I’m doing little or no exercise.

Also, eating a high(ish) calorie breakfast with loads of protein really helps me feel full till lunch and sets me up for the day. *I normally have one scoop of low cal choc flavoured whey protein, one dessert spoonful of choc spread & Peanut butter, porridge and raisins.

Blueberries, lentils, beans, Brocolli, Yoghurt, cous-cous etc are also good healthy foods that can taste really good if you mix them with other things IME.

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#6

I bought a tub of non fat siggis two days ago. 400kcal and nearly 80g protein!

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#7

Nice…i do 4 meals a day too, with two of them being in the morning before work. The second one isnt huge…but its neccessary to manage my blood sugar. Aside from that i use snacks or mini meals to reach my nutrition goals

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#8

Instead of dessert, at the end of a meal I’ll have a couple sips of apple cider or other sweet fruit juice. That tops off the meal nicely by satisfying the want for something sweet without getting over full or a whole lot of calories.

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#9

Nice thats a good idea too

#10

You should try mixing sparkling water w/ ACV and stirring in a packet of stevia- tastes like soda, blunts hunger and 0 calories

1 Like
#11

For snacks:

Celery is a fantastic “crunch” deliverer. It’s a great peanut butter delivery mechanism, of course, but I’ve recently ventured to replace chips with celery when doing chips and salsa, and it works very well. Pretty much anywhere you need to add crunch to a meal, use celery.

I’ve been consuming a lot of “Nuts n More” peanut/almond spread, which is a souped up peanut butter with slightly better macros (more protein, less carbs/sugar) that comes in a variety of delicious flavors. Worth looking into. Also a big fan of Egg Whites International drinkable egg whites. 26g of protein in a cup of them, they are odorless and flavorless and mix with anything. I’ve replaced milk with egg whites (for shakes and to mix with cereal), and am using significantly less protein powder now.

I also like having a lot of broccoli and peppers around for snacks. Your Costco most likely carries these in the cold produce section. For the broccoli, I’ll either dip it in some miracle whip or go with sugar free BBQ sauce or hot sauce. Sauerkraut is another great buy in this regard. Minimal calories, all good stuff to put in your gut.

For desserts:

Monkfruit sweetener is a 1 for 1 zero calorie sugar replacement and bakes. My wife has been baking with it and there’s no noticeable decline in flavor quality.

Since you’re a Costco shopper, see if yours carries “Keto friendly bread”. 45 calories a slice, lots of fiber, no net carbs. I have taken to eating 2 slices of it with some natural peanut butter before bed as my dessert. Very satiating, high quality nutrition.

4 Likes
#12

I topped ice cream with chips last night…

#13

Thanks for sharing.

#14

I love using pickled veggies to add texture and flavour to meals. Kimchi, sauerkraut, gherkins etc add a ton more flavour to the standard carb+protein affair than plain veggies. It’s also a nice way to keep sodium up, since I tend to sweat a lot

RE sweet stuff, I always like keeping pink lady apples in the fridge. Idk if it’s just me, but those suckers are like candy. I also like keeping low-cal hot chocolate sachets around. Jarra is a brand we get here that is super tasty and ~62 calories per serve with full fat milk

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#15

Sundried tomatoes for me.

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#16

Pancakes:

• 80 gr oats
• 2 bananas
• 10 cl coconut milk

I blend it all and add it to

• 2 big scoops whey chocolate or vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 4 egg whites
• cinamon
• half a pack of baking powder

Then cook it all with love and patience. This is a big portion and I have pancakes for 4-5 days with this, lots of prots, not that much carbs, almost no fat. I eat them with fruits and calorie-free syrup as a post-workout at my school

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#17

What brand? How’s the shelf life?
I currently eat Angelic Bakery sprouted grain bread, but I’d love to upgrade

#18

You are the last person who needs a diet hack. The bread you eat has like 60 calories a slice and you want to “upgrade” to save 15 calories? Ridiculous.

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#19

I also have an awesome pancake recipe as well:

Mash two ripe bananas with 2 eggs.
Add a big spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter, and a dash of salt, stir together.
Add one scoop of chocolate protein powder (mine adds 30 g protein), stir together.

Cook on griddle like normal pancakes. I add smashed blueberries heated in microwave with a pinch of honey as “syrup” replacement.

So good.

4 Likes
#20

The idea isn’t to reduce total calories. I do not enjoy eating g bread and would prefer to eat something else but my parents make me. The idea is that saving calories from bread allows me leeway to fit more enjoyable stuff in