Snacking can be a healthy part of how you eat, or it can be a major reason you can’t lose weight! Unfortunately, most of our snacking is not healthy food.
What is the purpose of snacking?
Snacking can help get us from one meal to the next, so we’re not hungry and we keep our energy up. Ideally, when snacking you don’t wanna eat the first thing that you see, like chips, crackers, and cookies of large quantities.
Have you ever been so hungry on your way home from work or school and you found yourself going through a fast-food drive-through? Clearly snacking can help take the edge off our hunger and keep us from eating too much at a meal!
Snacking between meals can also help us maintain energy levels. If we snack smart, we can also get nutrients that our body needs. For example, snacking on a banana gives us potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium as well as fiber, on the other hand, snacking on a donut is not quite the same.
Here are some few guidelines for healthy snacking:
- Snacking should be mostly healthy food, such as fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products and nuts and seeds.
- Try to combine a carbohydrate food like fruit or starch with a food that has some protein like nuts or cheese. This helps keep our blood sugar levels stable.
If you have diabetes, this is especially important, but even if you don’t have any blood sugar problems, this is still a good idea. - Try to keep snacks around 150 to 300 calories. Women typically need less and men need more.
- Listen to your body and how hungry you are when you start to feel hungry so that you don’t get so hungry that you eat too much food. Most people will feel hungry 3-5 hours after a meal.
Here are a few examples of snacks that you might wanna try:
- Banana/apple with a 1/4 cup of nuts/seeds, or with 1-2 tbsp of nut butter
- 1 oz of whole-grain crackers with 1oz of cheese
- Half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on 100% whole grain bread
- Carrot sticks and pepper slices with a 1/4 cup of hummus
- 6-inch whole wheat tortilla with 1/2 cup refried beans, 2 tbsp shredded cheese, and some salsa
- A ⅓ cup of trail mix made with a variety of nuts or seeds like almonds and sunflower seeds and dried fruits like raisins or cranberries
- A container of low sugar Greek yogurts, or you could add your own fruit for extra sweetness!
By following these tips for smart snacking, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining a healthy weight! Before making any drastic changes to your diet please consult your doctor or a healthcare professional.