Is there such thing as a healthy snack?

We have all heard that we need to boost our metabolism by eating many small meals throughout the day.  Because we all know that a faster metabolism burns more calories!  However, there has been some research on the subject of snacking and metabolism and it doesn’t seem to be panning out.

In many other countries throughout the world, 2-3 solid meals are all they eat.  And being that we have the biggest waist lines, perhaps we should take heed.  Now Im not saying that 3 solid meals are the way to go for everyone.  We are all different and the best dietary protocol is the one you’ll stick to.  And if it’s too stressful to stick with 3 meals, then have your snacks to increase diet compliance and effectiveness.

However, snacking is a multibillion-dollar industry where food companies push a huge array of snack foods loaded with salt, sugar and fat. Even worse are the gluten-free snacks, 100-calorie sugary packs, and nutrient-added cookies and protein bars, people are eating thinking they are snacking healthy.  The quality of the snacks is so bad; it only adds to the problem.

So where is all that frequent eating getting us that we were told to do?  Unfortunately, our total calorie consumption has increased with all this snacking and that has added to our waist line.  But there is something else to consider when frequently snacking.  Every time we eat, our body pumps out insulin.  The insulin is used to put the sugar into our cells and then the left over goes to the liver to be processed as triglycerides (fat).  Insulin is a fat storage hormone.  When we continually consume food and our insulin is being released throughout the day, we can tend to put on more weight.

Bottom line is that we can be smart “snackers” if we must snack.  We need to be aware however, that snacking doesn’t always decrease our next meal size increasing our total calorie consumption for the day.

So what are some smart snacks?

* If you must snack, use that snack to increase your fruits and veggies for the day.  We can all use an extra boost to get our fruits and veggie serving somewhere between 9-13 servings a day.

* Include a healthy fat or protein in that snack to give you more satisfaction.  Example: carrots and hummus or cherry tomatoes with pistachios.

*  Put the serving on a plate or in a bag and put the rest away.  We tend to eat way more than we think if we don’t portion it out first.

*  Be sure you are hydrated as even slight dehydration can give the illusion of being hungry.

Here is a link for some suggestions for some healthy snacks.  And if you are curious about how to increase your metabolism, here are some tips for that.

*Pump Iron – Body composition is a huge factor affecting your metabolism.

*Get more sleep – The worse our sleep, the heavier we weigh.

*Drink more water – Making sure you are drinking water and not sugary drinks.

*Quality meals – Your meals should consist of healthy fiber, fat and protein at each sitting.

If you find you are having trouble with snacking too much or you just can’t loose any weight, contact me at devi@simplywholebydevi.com.