Suggestions on snacking food?

Christie0428

You can really have anything as long as you measure and count the calories, that being said, it is really important to know which foods trigger you to want more. For me processed, sugary, salty foods things like rice cakes, cracker and special K bars are empty and just leave me wanting something else. This is especially true for things that contain msg - google "hungry for change" if you want to no more - MGS is in most processed foods and can be masked under 20 different names including "natural flavors". I found this especially true for me regarding msg! The protocal for making lab rats fat is to give them msg - it sends messages to your brain that you are hungry and makes you eat more. They used to put it in military rations to make solders more hungry so they'd eat the rations because they tasted bad. MSG - Evil stuff in my opinion and I think it should be banned from food! At any rate - avoid it like the plague, that alone will help you eat less.

There is definitely merit to those that said focus on meals rather than snacking, especially if it is more smaller meals.

When I first started dieting 10 years ago and lost 128lbs (which I have unfortunately gained back) I used to set a time frames that were like "no eating periods", so if I'd eat a small meal and find myself wanting something else right away, i'd set a time limit for myself like 2-3 hours and I wouldn't eat anything other than water for say 3 hours. It was hard at first and really caused me to examine why I was looking for something to eat ( boredom, procrastination, stress, emotional relief, comfort) and then I would consciously make a decision to do something other than eat during that time frame... actually it made me much more productive at work because I would actively look at what I had on my desk as a distraction from food. ... rather than turning to food as a distraction form a particularly hard project. When I was at home I would knit or crochett to keep my hands busy because snacking is more a habit than about eating for hunger. Also look for something else to do like go for a walk or play with your kids (if you have them).

...actually writing this was extremely helpful to me too because it caused me to think about a solution that has worked for me that I have yet to implement as of my re-start 2 weeks ago - so thank you for posing the question! :-)

Its amazing how you can know something and yet have it not be in your conscious mind and you don't practice it.
At any rate, good luck and stick with it!

Firefox7275

Hi everybody!

I'm starting tomorrow on tracking my calories. Just curious on what I could snack on throughout the day, that's low in calories as I eat like a horse. As a women who's 456.4 lbs, I want to loose a good amount of weight and at a reasonable pace. I honestly just need suggestions on what to snack on, as I tend to much on crisp (potato chips) and chocolate. I'm going to cut out the chocolate BUT I crave for something that's crunchy.

Thanks to people who reply and much love!

Sarah

Your basal metabolic rate alone is over 2500 calories, so you should be able to eat like a horse no problem providing you eat healthy whole foods. Spread your 3000 calories or whatever you have over four to six meals/ snacks and there is no reason to go low calorie. Consume at least nine servings of low sugar fruits and non starchy vegetables a day but go up to twelve if you wish - this will eat up relatively few of your calorie allowance, a few hundred cals, yet 700g to a kilo of food which FOUR to SIX family size bags of crisps.

Many raw veggies are crunchy or you can make your own vegetable crisps with carrots kale or beetroot. Our (UK) healthy eating guidelines are for at least five servings of fruit and veg in the full rainbow of colours, but the research actually supports far more and so most western countries advocate between seven and ten servings.

Nuts and seeds are also great for satiety, supplying protein, fibre and healthy fats. Eat them with generous servings of other foods like reduced fat dairy, low sugar fruits or non starchy vegetables so you can maintain portion control. Ground flaxseed or chia seeds are particularly high in fibre and swell in the body to fill you up more as well as being very nutritious. For carbs at mealtimes have far more beans and lentils (pulses) and avoid or limit processed wheat, potatoes corn and white rice; pulses are good sources of fibre, low in fat and low on the glycaemic index so fill you up, digest slowly and help keep your blood sugar stable. Be sure to eat protein and a little healthy fats at every meal and snack never eat a carb heavy or carb only meal.

Lastly focus on taking much smaller mouthfuls, chew your food extra thoroughly, take bites less often so that meals and snacks take much longer to eat.

JaErb183

I snack on peanuts, celery with either peanut butter or low fat cream cheese, Atkins bars (they are pretty good and most have chocolate and peanuts!) I chew LOTS of gum as well... plus when I get the urge to eat I down a glass of cold water (it does wonders!) hope this helps!! :-)

Bikini_by_30

Definitely Air-popped popcorn is my fave, and Crispy minis - butter popcorn. The 100 calorie snack packs are good too because they're already portioned out for you. :bigsmile:

rahlpn

I like Quakes, 90 calorie granola bars, Baked Lays in th eindividual bags and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.

Christie0428

Many raw veggies are crunchy or you can make your own vegetable crisps with carrots kale or beetroot.

...

Lastly focus on taking much smaller mouthfuls, chew your food extra thoroughly, take bites less often so that meals and snacks take much longer to eat.

...yes, you can make quite good kale chips by cutting kale leaves (with the ribs removed) in to bite sized pieces and spreading them out on a cookie sheet. spray the pan and the kale pieces with olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt and bake at 275 for 20 minutes or so... watch them because they can burn easily - you want to catch them while they are still green but crunchy, once they are brown - they are ruined! if they are still wet, they need more time. they are super yummy and VERY low calorie... definitely fill the crunchy/salty bill. If you think you don't like kale - try them before you dismiss the idea. I've converted many people to be kale lovers who had never eaten kale before or thought they didn't like it.

good tip on smaller bites! thank you