Dieters often struggle with the “fact” that snacking is a bad habit. We don’t need the Myth Busters guys to tell us this is ONE BIG FAT LIE!
Planning one or two snacks a day is a sound strategy for feeling full, staying satisfied and keeping you focused on your journey to a lighter weight.
Skipping snacks or going long periods without eating can be a set-up for diet failure. Intense hunger often leads to overeating or nudges you into grabbing junk foods that are readily available.
Don’t cut out snack calories completely. Instead, find yourself a few great-tasting healthy snacks and enjoy in the proper portions!
The right snack will fuel your energy and keep hunger at bay until your next major meal.
Here are four ways that planned snacks can put you on the road to weight loss success:
Do snack makeovers. Rather than completely change your snacking behaviors, pay attention to the types of snacks you enjoy and find healthier ways to satisfy your cravings for sugary, salty, crunchy, or other treats! For example, if a salty chip snack is your favorite, try a microwave popcorn snack (saturated fat-free) as a healthier alternative. Or if a sweet and creamy treat is what you crave, try Jell-O brand 70-calorie rice pudding or chocolate pudding cups. Chocolate lovers may want to try calorie-controlled Fudgsicles instead of a candy bar.
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Add color. Instead of snacking on bland-looking snacks like chips or crackers, choose colorful fruit and vegetable options like red cherries, green grapes or blueberries (they make a great frozen treat!) or orange baby carrots, red pepper slices or cherry tomatoes. Their bright colors are a good reminder that in addition to being high in fiber and low in calories these foods pack a punch of disease-fighting phytonutrients.
Go portable. One of the challenges to dieters is finding snack options that travel well. Whether you’re in the car or at the workplace or shopping mall, nutrition bars like Luna or granola bars like Quaker’s Simple Harvest are portable snack options that fit nicely in your purse, briefcase or desk drawer. Apples, bananas and oranges also make for great portable snacks that come in their own healthy wrapper.
Track snack calories. An easy guideline to follow is to choose snacks that are within the 100-200 calorie range. By tracking your snack calories, you can compare products and choices and find ones that meet this guideline. Our personality-based meal plans offer Premium Members ideas for planned snacks that taste good and fall within this healthy calorie range.
I hope these four tips will make it easier for you to include planned snacks as part of your healthy weight loss program. |
