Between meals, small snacks (100-250 Calories) are essential to keep your metabolism going, your energy levels up, a focused mind and your stomach satisfied so that when it comes to your next meal, you can approach it with a calm mind rather than raging stomach! I think we all know what happens if you wait too long to eat in-between meals, and it aint pretty!
There's a funny myth out there that "snacks are bad" and "snacking leads to weight gain". I'll give them half credit on this one. What you don't remember about this saying is that unhealthy snacks are "bad" and uncontrolled snacking leads to weight gain. There is good news though. Ready for it? Healthy snacks are very much good for you, help achieve daily % of vitamins, minerals, etc. and controlled snacking can often times lead to weight loss!
Now, if you are an expert in the snacking department, like me, you're probably pretty excited to hear this wonderful news! If I'm being honest, sometimes I look forward to my snacks more than my meals! But that's where I have to be careful. Snacks need to know their place, and should never take place of a meal. Got it? Kapeesh? Okay, good. ;)
Maybe some of you are wondering, well Shannon, at what times am I supposed to incorporate snacks? What a great question. This is when you are to be prepared. Prepare for at least 2 snacks a day. For snacking to be successful you need to start a food schedule. For example, hopefully you are all now starting to eat breakfast (as this starts off your energy for the day), then comes a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and perhaps even a snack after dinner, all within 3-4 hours of each other (CAUTION: as a society we have learned that anything we eat after dinner is considered dessert, and actually tend to crave something sweet because of that thought process, and bad habits.. more on this later, but be cautious if you decide to have a snack after dinner)
Seems simple enough, right. Who is to say, though, that on your way home from work there is a terrible accident and you are stuck for at least an extra hour. You start realizing that you are starting to get hungry. Be prepared! Have a small bag of almonds in your car if you are a commuter. It will make you a more alert, keep you satisfied until dinner and bring some kind of happiness to a not so happy commute ;) Or lets say you run out the door and completely forget to eat breakfast, have a healthy power bar in your purse you can eat on your way to work. These simple strategies of being prepared will be the difference in a healthy eating day, and perhaps an "off" eating day.
Everyone's schedule is different, I know this because hopefully not everyone's is like mine.. some days waking up and starting my day at 4am. On these days, I completely understand not wanting to have a "meal" during this time.
For me, I will actually start my day, around 5am with a snack; a banana, or half a power bar, something that will get my wheels turning, but not something too overwhelming.
Around 7:30am I'll have some Oats with just a little bit of dried cranberries with some coffee.
Around 11am is when I'll actually have my lunch- egg white omelet, turkey bacon, and a side of fruit (see previous blog.. I told you I always have to have my omelet)
Around 2:30/3, I'll pull out some deli turkey, hummus, and some rice crisps or carrots for a snack.
Dinner will usually be around 6:30, and it varies what's on the table, last night it was a turkey burger (made from Jennie-O extra lean ground turkey) with a bit of low-fat pepper jack cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes mixed in, with a mixed green salad.
I had a late night snack of a cup of Special K w/ Berries cereal (it's cures my sweet tooth, without overdoing it with fat)
Okay, so that is just an example of how you can incorporate snacks into a planned schedule. What helps me most is to have my snacks prepared and ready to go for the week on sunday night. I will cut up all my fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, etc.) and put them in containers, cut up my veggie snacks (carrots, celery, peppers, etc.) and place them in tupperware, and make sure I have enough healthy snacks ready to go if I need to simply grab something.
Some of you may have such good intentions, but just simply don't know what kind of snacks are healthy.. well I'll do my best to list some of my favorites that may or may not suit your fancy :)
*LOVE hummus and Rice Crisps (serving size 38 crisps=130 cals) or veggies*Carrots & a few stalks of Celery cut up with 1tbsp Peanut Butter
*Fruit and 1-2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
*Almonds!! (all you need is about 10-12) or a handful of trail mix
*Deli Meat w/ a piece of cheese
*Light String Cheese
*3/4 C Fat Free Cottage Cheese & Peaches
*Power Bar (make sure to check saturated fat.. sometimes it really is too good to be good for you.. and you should feel confident in what the ingredients are. I like LaraBars, it's all natural ingredients, but they are really sweet, so you really only need half at one time)
*1 serving fortified cereal w/ 1 Cup Skim Milk (I wouldn't say to have this all the time, but it's a controlled snack and will satisfy a late night sweet craving)
These are just a few of my favorites. Depending on goals, and what your meals consist of, you can cut down how many "sweet" snacks you have, such as fruits. Please feel free to ask me any questions! Everyone is different and has different goals in mind.
Remember, it's not a meal, so don't get too carried away. If your almonds come in a container, pour out 10 and put the container away. The only time you can leave the container out is for veggies, please by all means, eat all the veggies you want! :) Also remember to be prepared. You are more likely to reach for your fruit or veggies if they are cut up nicely. If caught unprepared, that bag of chips just may find their way into your lap :O Don't let this happen to you..
Now it's your turn.. Start with what time you get up and plan your snacks accordingly!
Breakfast__________
Mid-Morning Snack__________
Lunch_____________
Mid-Afternoon Snack___________
Dinner____________
After-Dinner Snack? _____________
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