Surviving Summer

joellenvde

So I lost 40 lbs last year and have kind of been stuck there for a while. I want to lose another 15 to get to where my doctor and I agreed was my ideal weight. Summer is so hard for me with lots of camping and cookouts etc. I do try to do a lot of walking/hiking in the summer to buy myself back some calories. Can you suggest some healthy snacks and beverages to keep me going in the right direction?? I'm not a picky eater which should help! 🤪

23iswhen

Hard to answer because in my opinion snackers are not really hungry but bored, stressed, eating socially just 'cause others are doing it or reacting to some other stimuli. First off try to pay attention to whether you're really hungry or not.

Secondly, the rule of 'don't drink your calories' is something that's save me from over indulging on unnecessarily calories.

I don't snack throughout the day but I do like to fill up on crunchy raw vegetables with my meals e.g. radish, celery, baby carrots and broccoli. Anytime I mention this I get asked "with dressing?" and no is my answer.

Another little tip is that if you still snack on candy, chips, cookies, energy bars, sugary drinks and try to incorporate veggies in your daily routine you'll be miserable as vegetables taste like dirt after eating any of that other delicious stuff. Your best best is to just make a clean switch. Again all of this is just personal experience and opinion. I hope it helps.

kinetixtrainer2

Keeping it simple and to the point of your question, I’d suggest beef jerky and fresh berries. Calorie free water flavors and a calorie free energy drink (on occasion) also help me get between my meals while I’m leaning up.

SeaShellHunter

Sugarbee apples, & bananas. Almonds.
I like these Bigelow Botanicals Cold Water infusion tea bags. To drop those in my water bottle or big water jug. Atkins peanut butter protein cookies are kinda good. And these are kinda good. I found them at the vitamin store. https://www.eatlegendary.com/collections/pastries The blueberry and strawberry flavor I found tasted good. I also like quest protein chips.

cwolfman13

I do a lot of camping and cookouts during the summer as well. I don't really eat any differently camping than I do at home. When we have cookouts, I don't graze on the food that's out...maybe some stuff from the veggie tray, but otherwise I take my little plate and get whatever pre-meal food I'm going to snack on and that's pretty much it and otherwise just have my burger and whatever else for dinner. I'm not much of a "graze" type of snacker. I tend to have an afternoon snack most days anyway, but it's a planned thing. When we're camping we usually are out hiking or something during what would normally be lunch so our mid afternoon snack/lunch is usually a camping charcuterie board.

For beverages, anything that's basically zero calorie. As an alcohol alternative, I use Ritual NA Spirits. I'm partial to the Gin Alternative with a zero sugar tonic and lime and the Rum Alternative with a diet ginger beer. These are no calories and actually taste good unlike their boozy counterparts. I've found some NA beers that I enjoy as well if I'm in that kind of mood. Otherwise, it's pretty much water for me or diet sodas.