Tips
For Healthy Snacking
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Guest Article by Christopher William McCombs
Dieting
can sometimes feel very challenging, especially if you
are the type who likes to munch on a lot of sweet or
greasy snacks in between meals. This typical kind of
snacking is how many people gain a lot of weight in
the first place. So when you transfer over to a healthier
diet, and choose not to snack, it can sometimes feel
like an eternity until your next meal. But really, there
is reason why you should ditch the snacking habit altogether
just because you've chosen to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
With a few smart strategies, you can happily munch away
while adding minimal calories to your daily intake.
Don't
Snack Mindlessly
Some
people like to plop down in front of the television
and just chomp on whatever happens to be nearby, not
because they are actually hungry or trying to overcome
a craving, but because they want to keep their mouth
busy. Avoid this at all costs. This kind of snacking
can make you easily put away hundreds of calories without
even thinking about it. If you have a compulsion to
keep your mouth busy, try chewing gum or sipping coffee
or tea while watching television.
Always
Take Portion Size Into Account
Some
trail mix that you might have on hand might say that
it only has one hundred calories per serving. And that
works great, so long as you actually stick to one portion.
If you are just grabbing the mix from the bag, it's
easy to eat up two or three servings really quickly.
So if something says that it has one hundred calories
to the third of a cup, go ahead and break out the measuring
cups to make sure you eat just the right amount.
Don't
Assume It's Healthy Because It's called Diet
Sometimes
a product will tout to be low in fat, but it will be
loaded with sugar. Other times, a product will claim
to be low calorie, but that's assuming that you only
eat a miniscule portion. Even if it claims to be healthy
for you, make sure to read the label and learn what
you are putting in your body. You may be shocked at
just so healthy "diet" foods can be.
Be
Extra Cautious About Trans Fats
You
probably already have heard by now that trans fats are
really bad for your health and cholesterol levels. And
snack foods are the one area where trans fats usually
pop up. Even if you see "zero grams of trans fat"
proudly and loudly emblazoned on the packaging, that
doesn't mean that you should trust it. By law, if an
item has less than half a gram of trans fat per serving,
it can legally be advertised as having "zero grams
of trans fat." How you can tell if it actually
has trans fats or not is by looking at the ingredients
list. If you see the phrase "partially hydrogenated"
anywhere on there, you should try to avoid that food.
If you are looking for something that you can usually
snack on, you can't go wrong with fruit and granola.
No diet should ever have you feeling hungry all the
time, so smart snacking should be an integral part of
your overall fitness plan.
Chris
McCombs is a Long
Beach personal trainer in California. One breezy
day while walking out of a fish taco restaurant Chris
stumbled onto a radical approach to losing fat at a
rapid rate which he helps people all over Long Beach
do today. Chris is also a personal
training marketing expert and helps self employed
personal trainers to triple their income and cut their
work hours in half.
