Snacking: Don’t Let it Kill Your Diet

Many dieters will find ways to drastically reduce their calorie intake for their three main meals of the day. They find great breakfast alternatives, low fat lunches, and carbohydrate free dinners. Yet their diet plans seem to yield no results. The culprit? Snacking. Calories during snack times can add up to an additional meal or more, and making the wrong snacking choices can kill any diet plan.

Traditional snack choices are all readily available, incredibly tempting, and huge diet no-no’s. A few common example are candy bars, potato chips, French fries, and ice cream. All are high in bad carbohydrates or saturated fats.

But without being able to munch between meals, you may constantly feel hungry. The key to a smart diet program isn’t eliminating snacking altogether, but to find snacks that are wise food choices.

The most important thing to do when you start a new diet is to wipe out temptations from your house. Give away all the old snacks, chips, candies and more. Replace them with healthy choices that you can reach for without feeling guilty.

Some great snack choices are nuts, low fat cheese, fat free yogurt, fresh fruit, chopped vegetables such as broccoli or carrots, or a healthy shake. Fix up a black bean and chicken salad and chill it in the fridge for your next snack craving. Making sure that you’re prepared when hunger hits is key.

Of course, in today’s busy world, people spend more times out of their homes than they do in. This is where it’s easiest to slide through a drive through for some French fries or pick up a bag of chips at a convenience store. Be prepared. If you know you have a day full of errands, pack some healthy snacks with you. A small cooler of ice is all it takes.