What the nut?

cclala

Like many, I have always looked at a handful of raw nuts as the perfect energy jolt, tastebud satisfier, and healthy snack. All this time I've been blindly eating a few handfuls a day and feeling good about the payoff.

Well, I just added a 70 gram serving (just under one cup) of almonds to my daily food list and it was almost 600 calories! Woah!!

How are nuts as popular as they are as a weight loss and maintenance tool? It's going to take me 3 days worth of working out to burn that off!

What am I missing here? I ate about two small handfuls, didn't seem too gluttonous to me.....

amycal

Nuts are full of nutrients and healthy fats, but they are high cal so it is a good idea to not eat too many at once. I chop them finely to add to salads which makes them stretch a little further. They should be more filling than empty calories too.

kelika71

lol I hear ya! Dang things!! Low carb, but calorie loaded in such a small serving. Talk about packing a punch!!

BriannaSkye

Ive never actually looked at the calories in nuts, good thing as I used to eat them by the bag but 6 months ago became allergic to them....ahh I guess some good came out of it for me, no nuts mean calories not dissapearing by the hundreds!

cardbucfan

You said it-"blindly"! Now you know, you can plan for them. I count out a certain number of raw, natural almonds and eat those as a snack. Or pistachios, you can eat more of those! These are the calorie dense foods that people talk about to those folks who have a tough time eating 1200 calories. For the record, that would NOT be me!

Mindful_Trent

I buy my nuts in bulk but pre-portion them into my own 100 calorie snack packs. It's super easy and doesn't take long - maybe 5 minutes to do enough for a week or two. I've learned that 0.18g is about 100 calories of almonds... about a small handful.

I HAVE to pre-portion them, because like you said, it's so easy to eat a whole cup's worth. I try to plan out my meals/snacks every day, and include a small serving of nuts as a regular, healthy part of my overall diet. One thing - I find that if I eat them slowly, they're much more filling than if I just gulp down handfuls at once. (This applies to almost everything!)

Nightdust

Nuts are full of protein and the healthy fats that help post work out. I would save it for the days you work out really hard or do like more than just one type of activity.

sanura

nuts are a great source of healthy fat, protein, and minerals, I prefer to make them part of a meal instead of a snack.

carl1738

I usually have some almonds or unsalted peanuts as my nightly snack. I just make sure that I've budgeted my calories for them!

cclala

Thanks everyone, these are great tips. I guess it's time to reintegrate them in a non overkill way. Hope I don't go into withdrawl!:-)

taletreader

I used to eat nuts in that automatic, uncontrolled way that I am working on eliminating from my behaviour and that affects us in front of the TV, the computer, when spending hours at a desk... The great thing about them, now that I eat 1 handful (20 g - I have small hands) at most as a snack, is how you can feel even this small quantity satisfying you.

Today, I just had a late morning snack (well, 12:30) of a small pot of yogurt and 10 almonds, and can delay lunch for another hour easily.