Don't Let Snacking Sabotage You!

A good snack not only turns off the appetite, but it can prevent it from being triggered in the first place. Many view snacking as counterproductive to weight loss however, proper snacking can actually help you burn more calories in the process. Research shows that snacking on the right amount of healthy foods in addition to eating three meals each day can boost your metabolic rate more than just eating three meals a day. Snacking stimulates the body to burn more energy similar to adding more logs to a campfire to make it burn longer, the proper quantity of healthy snacks keeps the body's metabolic fires stoked throughout the day.

The most important emphasis I can make on snacking would be on both quantity and quality of snacks. It does you no good to eat healthy snacks if you are consuming too many of them. This will just frustrate and aggravate you. According to a survey by the Calorie Control Counsel, one-third of all adults put "snacking too much" as their main reasons for weight loss failure. Unfortunately, when people do not know how to snack properly, they end up eating a fourth or fifth meal. By misunderstanding proper portion sizes of their snacks they end up consuming two to three times more calories than they realize. Even when you choose healthy foods you also need to be sure you are creating the proper fuel mixture to satisfy your hunger and stabilize your blood sugar levels. This is very important to keep you from binge eating later. Just because you are throwing the right amount of something on the fire, this does not mean it will burn longer, you have to throw the right fuel on the fire, or in this case eat the right kind of snack.

Many people immediately picture carrots, celery sticks, and broccoli as a healthy snack. While these are healthy foods they are not going to satisfy your hunger. You risk a greater chance of bingeing on sugary foods and carbohydrates after eating these. Your snack needs to be comprised of some healthy protein, some high fiber, low-glycemic starch, and some good fat. When mixed together, this balanced fuel mixture is digested slowly, causing glucose to trickle into your blood stream which controls your hunger for hours. Typically this type of snack should only amount to 100-150 calories for women and 150-250 calories for men. A few examples of these well rounded snacks include:

Morning or afternoon snack

• Piece of fruit, 6 ounces of plain low-fat yogurt, 5-10 nuts and one scoop of vanilla or banana flavored protein powder.
• 2 tablespoons of hummus with one small piece of whole-grain, high-fiber pita bread (about 4 inches in diameter) and 1-2 ounces of sliced chicken or turkey.
• 1/2 cup of nonfat cottage cheese, one piece of fruit, and 5 to 10 nuts
• Protein smoothie made from 1-2 scoops of powder mixed with 8 ounces of skim-milk (You can dilute the milk by reducing it to 4 ounces and combining it with 4 ounces of filtered or spring water, Lactose-free milk is also an option for those that have trouble digesting dairy)

Evening snacks

• Protein smoothie
• Vegetable based soup with 1-2 ounces of sliced chicken or turkey
• Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants Chewy bar or Fiber One bar can help with the late evening sweet cravings.

Be sure to clean the junk food out of your cabinets and replenish them with some healthy snack options to prevent bingeing. Be sure not to rely solely on protein and snack bars for your snacks. While they are a quick fix when you are in a pinch, they are not all created equal and thus may cause you to have sugar cravings later in the day. Try to be as frugal as possible with regards to snack bars.
These healthy snacks should do a great job of keeping the fire burning strong throughout the day, helping you to stay on track and guide you closer to your goal!

Bon Appetit!