14 DAY TRIAL // The key to losing weight and keeping it off is not, as we might be tempted to believe, sticking to a restrictive diet, but rather learning how to cheat better on it, as recent studies have shown. Another solution to drop the extra pounds is by eating plenty of snacks throughout the day: however, FitSugar warns, there are several aspects on snacks we must bear in mind at all times.
Health experts and nutritionists tell us that snacking in between meals is actually recommended, because it helps eliminate the feeling of severe hunger, thus, the risk of overeating once we sit down at the table. Snacks are also ideal to keep our energy levels up throughout the day, as well as to lose weight, as long as we make sure we don’t go above the 150-200-calorie limit per each individual snack. With this in mind, next up we can focus on the do’s and don’ts of snacking smart.
The first thing we need to learn about snacks is that there is a big difference between snack and treat, as FitSugar also points out. While snacks have the function of boosting the energy level by meeting one or more of our nutritional needs, treats do no such thing, their only purpose being that of satisfying a craving. Treats also come with more than the 200 recommended calories – this limit for each snack being also among the things we must pay attention to, if we’re looking to lose weight.
“Make a snack bag of nuts.” FitSugar recommends. “Nuts are a great snack being high in fiber and antioxidants. One ounce, about a handful, is considered a serving. Prepackage your own one-ounce snack bags of raw nuts, so you can grab one when you are on the go. Better yet, go green and make your premeasured snacks in small, reusable Tupperware containers.” the same fitness-oriented publication points out.
The next three tips on smart snacking have to do with the when, the where and the how of snacking. For starters, we’re to set “snack times” that must be respected every day. The idea to introducing snacks into our daily diets is to do it in such a way as to prevent getting too hungry from one meal to another, so we should set a snack hour between breakfast and lunch, and then another one between lunch and dinner. This way, we’ll avoid overeating when we sit down at the table, FitSugar guarantees.
As to where to snack, experts say it’s best we do that in the kitchen, just like it were a regular meal. “Don’t keep snacks at your desk. If you keep snacks, and unhealthy ones at that, in a drawer at your desk, you’re setting yourself up to overindulge. Sitting in proximity to empty calories means you are more likely to consume more calories. Keep healthy snacks in the kitchen at work. This way you must get up from your desk to snack, and moving around during the day is a good thing.” FitSugar writes.
For the last part, the ideal would be to monitor each portion that we munch on, so eating straight from the bag or carton is not a good idea. Since we’re to make snacking a very organized little routine, we should also make sure we weigh each portion and then pack it individually in a separate container, so that we effectively eliminate all risks of overeating.