Losing Weight – Healthy Snacking

It’s probably one of the biggest problems that anyone who’s struggling with their weight and how to lose it suffers from. A lack of healthy snacking! In the last part I mentioned that by removing the crisps, chocolate and other snacks from the place you live will give you a better opportunity to choose something healthier and aid you in your weight-loss. What are the healthier alternatives though?

There’s a very fine line between what constitutes a snack. The definition, for me, is something that temporarily curbs your appetite until the next meal for that day.

I would always ensure I had enough fruit in the house as a healthier alternative. Not only is it healthier, with natural sugars, fruit is so much cheaper, I mean you can buy 5 bananas for the same price as a 30g chocolate bar! I would say an apple, banana, orange etc will curb your hunger for at least half an hour.

Alternatively you may crave something more savoury, like a packet of crisps (definitely my weakness!). I found unsalted cashew nuts very tasty and once I got over the fact that I wasn’t eating crisps, I started to really enjoy the alternatives. Not only did I know they were a healthier substitute, they also tasted great!

When I started to cook properly for myself and started to change the structure of my meals by eating 5-6 smaller meals per day, I often didn’t crave the snacks as much. Often I’d buy a large salad with chicken, sweetcorn, couscous/rice, peppers etc in and anytime I felt hungry I’d head straight to that.

The way to lose weight is to eat until you’re no longer hungry, not until you’re full (or in some cases too full to move!). This is often something you never get taught by family and friends growing up, it’s something you have to either realise or have someone tell you.

Sorry if this post doesn’t seem as upbeat as some of the others. It’s just these lessons are so important and I wish someone would have taken me to the side and clearly explained them instead of having to figure them out for myself. It certainly would have saved me a great deal of time!

Next week we’ll look at being smart at the supermarket and how to make the right choices whilst shopping. Until then, eat clean, recognise and resist temptation!

Adam