Snacking Smart
It Keeps Your Metabolism Humming
Eating throughout the day, therefore refuelling you body every few hours, keeps your metabolism going and your energy levels high. Studies have shown that to maintain optimal levels of energy, we should be eating something every 3 hours.
It Helps You Eat Less at Mealtimes
Non-snackers tend to starve themselves in between meals. Waiting 6 to 8 hours before feeding our bodies again is not unheard off, especially when we are busy with everything else going on in our lives. But, as many of us can attest to, when we finally do sit down to eat, we have the over0whelming need to eat fast and eat more than we should. Our bodies are simply looking to stave of starvation and we devour anything and any portion in front of us. By doing so, we consume way more calories than we should and tend to food and portion choices that may not be as appropriate as they should be.Snacking helps stabilize your blood sugar levels throughout the day as well as keeping severe hunger at bay. According to experts, a healthy snack should be between 100 and 200 calories and a balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If a snack is overloaded in simple carbohydrates (sugars),such as candy bars and soda, you may get a temporary boost in energy, but in the long run, you will come crashing down and be left feeling even more hungry, definitely not the result we are looking for.
It Ensures You Get All of Your Vitamins
Snacking is a great way to help ensure we consume all of the daily nutrients we should be consuming, according to guidelines. It can be difficult to do this if we are simply concentrating on 3 single meals per day. However, if we capture some of these during the day, a healthy diet can be much easier to get our head around.
Many of us, especially as women, fall short of some nutrients with our regular diets. For example, by concentrating on snacks rich in calcium in between meals, women can avoid the shortfall with much less effort than having to reconfigure a meal.
It is also well known that most of us don’t have enough fruits and vegetables in our diets so be adding snacks that revolve around this food group to our diets, we avoiding having to overload at specific meals to keep up.
It Puts You In a Good Mood
By stabilizing blood sugar levels, snacking can help you avoid becoming lethargic and moody. Many of us have experienced a loss in ability to concentrate at some period throughout the day, which can lead to error at work and loss of productivity in general.
To keep you on your game and your mind alert, grab a healthy snack. Not only will you feel better in terms of energy levels, but you will feel more inclined to take on tasks and maintain your focus.
It Foils Even The Strongest Cravings
Healthy snacking choices can help us curb cravings for everything from salty to sweet. Instead of grabbing the bag of chips, satisfy a yen for salt by having a healthy alternative on hand, in this case, a great example would be a handful of edamame. Not only will you satisfy the craving, but you will also pack in some fibre and protein. If it’s a sweet tooth that causing you to stare at the box of Tim bits on your neighbours desk, try a multigrain waffle with fat free whipped topping and fresh strawberries. And for that ever-so-common chocolate yearning, reach for chocolate milk instead of a decadent dessert.
Not only will you feel better for over the next few hours, but your waistline will thank you as well!
Now that you can see the benefits of snacking on your body and your mind, here are some examples of great snacks to get you started:
Eating throughout the day, therefore refuelling you body every few hours, keeps your metabolism going and your energy levels high. Studies have shown that to maintain optimal levels of energy, we should be eating something every 3 hours.
It Helps You Eat Less at Mealtimes
Non-snackers tend to starve themselves in between meals. Waiting 6 to 8 hours before feeding our bodies again is not unheard off, especially when we are busy with everything else going on in our lives. But, as many of us can attest to, when we finally do sit down to eat, we have the over0whelming need to eat fast and eat more than we should. Our bodies are simply looking to stave of starvation and we devour anything and any portion in front of us. By doing so, we consume way more calories than we should and tend to food and portion choices that may not be as appropriate as they should be.Snacking helps stabilize your blood sugar levels throughout the day as well as keeping severe hunger at bay. According to experts, a healthy snack should be between 100 and 200 calories and a balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If a snack is overloaded in simple carbohydrates (sugars),such as candy bars and soda, you may get a temporary boost in energy, but in the long run, you will come crashing down and be left feeling even more hungry, definitely not the result we are looking for.
It Ensures You Get All of Your Vitamins
Snacking is a great way to help ensure we consume all of the daily nutrients we should be consuming, according to guidelines. It can be difficult to do this if we are simply concentrating on 3 single meals per day. However, if we capture some of these during the day, a healthy diet can be much easier to get our head around.
Many of us, especially as women, fall short of some nutrients with our regular diets. For example, by concentrating on snacks rich in calcium in between meals, women can avoid the shortfall with much less effort than having to reconfigure a meal.
It is also well known that most of us don’t have enough fruits and vegetables in our diets so be adding snacks that revolve around this food group to our diets, we avoiding having to overload at specific meals to keep up.
It Puts You In a Good Mood
By stabilizing blood sugar levels, snacking can help you avoid becoming lethargic and moody. Many of us have experienced a loss in ability to concentrate at some period throughout the day, which can lead to error at work and loss of productivity in general.
To keep you on your game and your mind alert, grab a healthy snack. Not only will you feel better in terms of energy levels, but you will feel more inclined to take on tasks and maintain your focus.
It Foils Even The Strongest Cravings
Healthy snacking choices can help us curb cravings for everything from salty to sweet. Instead of grabbing the bag of chips, satisfy a yen for salt by having a healthy alternative on hand, in this case, a great example would be a handful of edamame. Not only will you satisfy the craving, but you will also pack in some fibre and protein. If it’s a sweet tooth that causing you to stare at the box of Tim bits on your neighbours desk, try a multigrain waffle with fat free whipped topping and fresh strawberries. And for that ever-so-common chocolate yearning, reach for chocolate milk instead of a decadent dessert.
Not only will you feel better for over the next few hours, but your waistline will thank you as well!
Now that you can see the benefits of snacking on your body and your mind, here are some examples of great snacks to get you started:
- A handful of almonds, cashews, or pecans
- ½ an apple with an ounce of cheddar cheese or a hard boiled egg
- ½ cup of low fat yogurt
- Cottage cheese with fruit
- Ounce of smoked salmon, shrimp, crab or tuna on a high fibre cracker
