Snacks: How They Fit into Your Weight-Loss Plan

Snacks: How They Fit into Your Weight-Loss Plan

Ellie Savoy 02/09/2019 6

There is no denying that everyone at one time or another has had a snack attack. Americans love to snack almost as much as they want to lose weight, but snacking habits are adding too many calories and too few nutrients to our diets.

Views on snacking differ. Some feel that snacking is bad and that eating between meals leads to weight gain. Others believe that eating many small meals and snacks throughout the day is healthy for maintaining energy levels and optimal weight.

When snacking is done “right” it keeps your energy levels up and gives you more opportunities to get in all your nutritional needs. Pay attention to your body. Listen. Observe. How do you feel before, during and after the snack? Some will work better for you than others. You are unique and your body will inform you.

The key to incorporating snacks into your weight-loss plan is to keep moderation and balance in mind.

Alleviate Snack Attack Guilt

Try to understand why you are snacking. Is your daily diet missing nutrition or are you eating too little at meals.

You might be snacking to soothe jangled nerves when you are emotional, or to entertain yourself when you are bored. Whatever your reason, acknowledge it and start thinking about how to create a life that is deeply nourishing and truly satisfying.

Many convenient snack foods are highly processed and full of chemicals, additives, damaging fats and refined sugars. When a snack attack hits you, try foods that are filling and satisfying, but also nutritious.

Figuring out why you are snacking will help alleviate the guilt.

Choose Healthy Snacks

  • Snack on things that don’t come in a plastic wrapper or a box, like fresh fruit, leftover vegetables or rice cakes with almond butter and fruit spread.
  • Make your own signature trail mix or kale chips with hummus.
  • Grab a small handful of nuts

Healthy Snack Upgrades

  • If you are craving something crunchy, upgrade from potato chips to raw carrots, apples or whole grain crackers.
  • If you are craving a candy bar, upgrade to a handful of nuts and dried fruit.
  • Instead of a cup of coffee, upgrade to teeccino (carob, barley, chicory, dates, orange peel, almonds, and figs. All organic and delicious according to my husband)!
  • Instead of ice cream, upgrade to applesauce with cinnamon or bananas and almond milk in the blender.

Upgraded snacks are high in nutrition and give you a greater sense of satiety and satisfaction; you won’t feel physically or psychologically deprived, and you’ll have plenty of energy to sustain your activities for hours.

Snacking is enjoyable and there is a wide variety of healthful goodies for whatever you’re craving be it sweet, crunchy, salty, creamy or spicy.

Dive in, be creative and enjoy your snack attack!

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  • Karen Ferguson

    Yes it's possible to lose weight while not giving up snacks.

  • Rachel Hignett

    Whole-food protein and nutrients snacks can be integral to weight loss

  • Gavin Mellor

    Eating nuts in moderation helps to lose weight

  • Kathy Anthony

    Plain Greek yogurt and berries make a delicious, nutrient-dense snack.

  • Danny Weston

    Apples and peanut butter taste fantastic together.

  • Jules Mckechnie

    Healthy snacks don't need to be complicated. Just a single piece of fruit can be incredibly satisfying.

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Ellie Savoy

Health Expert

Ellie Savoy is a Board Certified Holistic Health Coach and the author of the #1 international best selling book “Stop Dieting Start Living: 5 Foundations for Your Health to Permanently Lose Weight Without Dieting Starvation or Suffering in Silence”. She is also the founder of the Stop Dieting Start Living Weight Loss System. Her commonsense and step by step approach has literally transformed the way people look at their body, health and life. She spent over two decades under a great deal of stress. She lost sight of the importance of her health time and time again; gaining weight and yo-yo dieting to take care of it, skipping meals during the day, eating too late at night, and letting work dictate how all of her time was spent. Many people need a trigger for change in life and the first trigger for her was her mother’s passing in 2008. Then just 21 months later her father passed away. Not only was this a ton of grief to process, but it started her on a deeper exploration of what is really important in this life. The saying “you can’t take it with you when you die” really hit home. She had been living with so much stress striving for more and more losing sight of herself and her health. The final trigger was in 2011 when she was diagnosed with two uterine fibroids. The four options she was given were actually not options for her! Three involved surgery and the other one was to do nothing. This scared her into understanding what she needed to do to naturally heal her body and permanently end the yo-yo dieting dilemma. This was when she really embraced making healthy permanent lifestyle changes. Since then she has been enjoying living a diet free and healthy life, without aches and pains, medications and a bunch of rules! She hasn’t looked back since. Ellie’s approach is not just for yo-yo dieters or those wanting to lose weight – it’s for everyone who is concerned about what their future looks like and wants to take control of their health. She has helped women with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid imbalance, irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and a host of other symptoms. Ellie helps you to show up in your own life, stop making excuses, shift your mindset, have a plan and connect with the passion in your belly to live your best life. It’s a lot of fun!

   
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