Eat More to Lose More (snack ideas included)
Eat More to Lose More!
Raise your metabolism and burn MORE calories just by eating more. Really? Yes, it’s true, let me explain. When we skip meals or go without food for a long period of time, our metabolism slows to conserve energy. And if our body starts to lose weight too quickly for a few days, it goes into a survival mode to fight being threatened by starvation. Not good, because you’ll be putting on the pound’s the next time you decide to eat! It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.
The most important meal of the day, say it with me, Breakfast. There’s a reason why you’ve heard it before and yet, most of us get out of the house without even going in the kitchen. Let’s break the word down to understand its importance. Break the Fast….breakfast sends the message to your body that it’s time to get up and get that metabolism moving. Getting it going from the start of the day, gives your body more energy, more hours of burning fat and calories, and it will prevent you from over snacking and over eating at lunch (which will cause you to gain weight). When we eat too much at one time, it’s hard for our bodies to process all of the calories. I’m sure we’ve all had those moments after eating that feast where we have to lay down or unbutton our pants just to make room for all the food we just ate!!! When we do this, those extra calories pass through our digestive system with only the easily absorbed and less desirable parts actually getting absorbed into our body, usually as fat. Boo. When we’re “starving” that’s usually when we make our WORST snack and meal decisions. So eat breakfast, and snack on healthy things more often in between meals (on the hour or every 2-3 hours is great) and your body will have more time to digest to get the nutrition it needs and burn off the sugars and fats that it doesn’t need.
Our bodies enjoy consistency, especially when you’re trying to reach a weight goal. It’s also important to realize that good weight loss or gain is ONLY good when it’s not done too fast. Eating frequently (and consistently doing so) prevents hunger pangs (or feeling “starving”) to avoid the splurges that follow. By increasing the amount of times you snack (eating healthy snacks, follow my snacks guide below) a day, you have to reduce the size of your meals to compensate for the additional calories in the snacks for that day. Although, this won’t be hard to do because you won’t feel like you need the super-sized meal when you’ve had 3-4 snacks already before lunch.
A great way to help cut down the meal sizes and still feel full and not stuffed, is to watch what snacks your eating. Remember that unhealthy snacks will cause you to gain weight. The bag of Pringles chips or the apple juice won’t cut it if you’re trying to lose weight, and become healthy. Sugars will only cause you to crash and you’ll be hungry 10 minutes later…not good. If you really want to satisfy your hunger, try these snacks in between meals:
Non-fat Frozen Yogurt
Non-fat plain yogurt
Almonds (no salt added, palm full, not handful) - 15 almonds = 105 calories
1 Whole wheat toast or bagel with Jelly
Carrots (20 baby carrots = about 100 calories)
Dried Fruit
Turkey Jerky
Fresh Fruit (1 cup)
Apple
Cottage Cheese, low fat, 4 oz = 90 calories
Cheese stick or Mini Babybel individual cheese packs
Popcorn, individual pack, no butter
2 crisp bread slices spread with Avocado and lemon
Protein shake (like Muscle Milk Light)
Steamed spinach
13 Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean Tortilla Chips with 2 Tbsp. Salsa - 88 calories, 1.3 g fat
Apple Sauce (find 50 calorie packs)
Milk, nonfat, 1 cup = 80 to 90 calories
Turkey and Cheese roll ups
Peanut Butter and Celery sticks ( 1 large celery stalk = 10 calories)
Raisons
Banana (1 small = 90 calories)
Grapes (1 cup = about 100 calories)
Mango (1 cup = 107 calories)
Grapefruit, Pink or Red (1/2 of grapefruit = 52 calories)
Rice Cakes (one serving)
Cuties (mini orange) - (small orange = 70 calories)
Fruit and Nut Mix (try Emeralds ‘Breakfast on the Go Berry mix’)
You can also try the 100 calorie packs, but be careful when choosing just the cookies and chocolate covered snack packs. They will leave you hungry for more and drain you of energy if they are high in sugar.
Tip: Eat a variety of foods in moderation.