Perhaps you'd like to lose some weight but the thought of restricting yourself to three meals a day is an unappealing one, if not downright scary. What happens if you get hungry in between your scheduled meals? Will you be forced to go hungry with your stomach growling for a couple hours or will you give in and start eating everything in sight because you're so hungry?
The good news is that for many weight loss plans you are allowed, even encouraged, to make snacks a part of your day. But before you start reaching for that bag of chips and a coke, there are some things to keep in mind about adding snacks to your healthy weight loss program.
Just because you're allowed to eat snacks between meals, it doesn't mean you should overdo it. The idea is to fill up your tank so you're living on fuel instead of hunger pains. Good healthy choices are in order and remember it's not an all-you-can-eat deal. At the end of the day it's still going to matter how many calories you've consumed. Make your calories count for something by making them healthy ones.
Here are a few snack ideas that can work with your healthy weight loss program:
* lowfat mozzarella cheese sticks
* lowfat yogurt with fruit added
* vegetables such carrot sticks, zucchini slices, broccoli
* fruit - apples, grapes, melons
* combos like a banana with lowfat peanut butter, apple slices dipped in lowfat yogurt, celery sticks with lowfat Ranch dressing
* nuts such as raw almonds
* small cup of lowfat granola with skim milk
* fruit smoothie without added sugar
Have snacks ready to go in your fridge. If you wait until you're super hungry and can't see straight, you'll want to reach for the quickest and easiest thing you can find. Make that the fruit or vegetables you've already cut up and have waiting for you the minute you open your fridge.
If you still need convincing that snacks are okay, think about how being really hungry affects your metabolism. If your stomach says it's hungry and doesn't get fed, your body begins to think it's not ever going to get fed and goes into hoarding and storing mode. You want your body to know it's not going to starve so it keeps burning calories as it should.
Snacking between meals can be a positive part of your weight loss plan if you eat before you're beyond hungry, have your snacks prepared ahead of time, and you make them healthy snacks.
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