1) Starvation mode is nonsense. It comes because of a single study where a bunch of people were fed a diet of 1560 calories for 24 weeks. If you starve yourself for 6 month, then yes, your metabolism is going to get all sorts of fucked up.
Minnesota Starvation Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2) Your brain is fucking with you You need to distinguish between actual hunger and conditioned hunger. Ever notice that you are hungry at approximately the same times each day? That's ghrelin being a stupid little fucker and messing with your mind. Ignore it by drinking some water.
3) Eat protein In a caloric deficit, keep your protein intake to 1g/lb body weight. This has muscle sparing effects. As an added bonus, protein has thermogenic effects (some people think it should count as ~3.7ish cal/g instead of 4) and is the most satieting thing you can eat. The next most satieting thing you can eat is fat.
4) Lift heavy If you want to get into low body fat, then lift heavy weights. Again, muscle sparing. Cardio is fine, but lifting is more effective.
5) Eat big meals If you don't like eating small meals, then dont. Eat 2 big meals a day instead.
Meal frequency and energy balance. [Br J Nutr. 1997] - PubMed - NCBI
Skip the trail mix. It's full of calories and sugar. 2-3 handfuls every few hours adds up to a lot of calories.