JohnR41

I agree with tjlhb. You have too many processed snacks/foods and the result is that they are displacing healthy whole foods. The more processed foods or snacks you can eliminate the better chance you will have to maintain good health and a normal healthy weight.

Here are the good items you listed, in my opinion:

Apple, green tea (without sugar), grilled chicken salad and meat from the dining hall as long as it's lean rather than fatty. Combine the meat with lots of vegetables, the more the better. Pistachios are ok in very limited amounts.

What to avoid: Processed meats like hot dogs etc. I don't think ham or turkey sandwiches (on a hoagie) are contributing very much nutrition to your diet. I assume these are sliced deli type meats and very salty. What you're getting is high sodium, low fiber and low nutrition in general. Essentially, it's a bread sandwich....too much bread, especially white bread, has very little nutrition, if any. A bowl of pasta will give you very little nutrition also. The tomato sauce will give you a little but it's not enough to justify eating a big bowl. If possible, it should only be a very small side dish (about 100 calories like a slice of bread). I know, it's a big tease! If that's the case, it might be better to forget about it altogether.

The bottom line is to concentrate on natural whole foods as much as possible and eliminate processed foods as much as possible. Eat as many fresh (non-starchy) vegetables as possible. Vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrition. One serving of meat for a meal is about the size of a deck of cards or the size of the palm of your hand.

One thing you might try is to hard boil a dozen of eggs at one time. Then keep them in a bowl in the refrigerator. You can use them at any time during the day as a snack or whatever. I do this but I only eat the white of the egg. If you eat 2 or 3 whole eggs, it's too much saturated fat.