Healthy Snacking Tips
Guest post by Brittany
Whether you find yourself on a strict diet or just trying to cut back on junk food, it’s often difficult to fight the munchies. Let’s face it, snacking happens. Sometimes you find yourself scavenging the through your cabinets, other times you over indulge in the coffee cake sitting in the break room.
People often find themselves munching throughout the day to cope with stress or combat fatigue, but in doing so they tend to make very poor choices. Even “healthy snacks” can be deceiving. Keep these tips in mind to avoid unhealthy snacking.
First and foremost, snacking is good for you.
It’s important to eat throughout the day, as this can provide you with a consistent energy flow and help reduce overeating. Snacking in between low calorie meals has long been encouraged by health and diet experts. That being said, what you choose to eat directly correlates to how much of it you should consume.
Don’t stock up on junk.
It can be helpful to have an assortment of snack foods at your desk or at home, but avoid the typical suspects, like chips or candy. You may think that a “sugar rush” will give you more energy, but it’s actually the opposite. Consuming a ton of sugar will increase fatigue. Keep high fiber snacks around instead, like fruits and vegetables, multigrain crackers, roasted nuts, oatmeal or low fat yogurt. If your office provides snacks, make a request for healthy alternatives.
Beware of Misleading Packaging
Deceptive labeling is fairly common, especially for “healthier” items. Granola bars are an excellent example. Although they contain a decent amount of fiber and some vitamins, many of these bars contain very large amounts of sugar, sometimes as much as candy bars. In essence, it’s very important to know what to look for in nutritional information. As mentioned above, high fiber as well as high protein products will provide you with more energy and make you fuller faster. Avoid high amounts of complex carbohydrates, saturated fats, and sugar.
Water is Your Best Friend
You’ve heard it time and time again, but you should drink at least 8 glasses of water each day; and no, your tea and coffee consumption don’t count. In fact, coffee is a diuretic and actually dehydrates you. In addition to flushing out toxins, drinking plenty of water also helps you feel fuller, longer. Try keeping a large tumbler or thermos at your desk, filling it up throughout the day. Make it a goal to refill your glass 3-5 times a day to ensure you drink at least 64 ounces. You will probably notice a difference in your energy level in only a few days, not to mention a reduced urge to eat.
Snacks and Treats are Two Different Things
A snack is something to eat in between meals, a treat is something indulgent that you eat every once in a while. Don’t get the two confused! If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, go for healthy desserts like greek frozen yogurt, fruit and berries with cream, or a few small pieces of dark chocolate. Remember the better you eat, the better you will feel.
Author Bio: Brittany writes about healthy living and fitness on behalf of Healthy Choice. For more tips and information about quick healthy meals, check out www.healthychoice.com. Don’t diet, live healthy!
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