Make Friends With Snacks

Are you struggling to lose weight? Can't stick to your diet? Is one of your rules "No eating between meals?" Well toss that one right out the window! Snacks can be a nourishing contribution to your diet, as well as a great pick-me-up in the afternoon. The key, as you may have guessed, is choosing the right snacks.

Here are a few rules to follow to keep your snacks smart and healthy and prevent them from sabotaging your diet:

1. Plan snacks ahead of time. Know that you have one coming up can really help get you past a dessert craving or walk past a candy dish. Keep smart snacks in your desk at work or even in your handbag so their available whenever the hungries start to overwhelm you. I'm a big fan of granola-type bars like those pictured above. Look for those providing less than 150 calories, and containing some vitamins and fiber. Also try to compare labels and choose the lowest fat grams per serving. If you have the storage facilities, other healthy snacks are fresh fruits (canned fruits work, too), yogurt (again, look for those under 150 calories per serving), or a bowl of cereal.

2. Have that conversation with your inner child. When you hear that two-year-old having a tantrum in your head, screaming "I want a candy bar now", take a minute to address her instead of just trying to push her away with a loud 'NO'... after all, think about how that's worked for you in the past. Go ahead, even though it sounds silly, and ask her, "what is it you're looking for right now?". Chances are that part of you is stressed, or bored, or anxious, or--yes--maybe even hungry. If you're hungry, it's time for a healthy snack! If you're looking for something else, food won't really help. Consider taking a break from your desk, a quick walk, a drink of water, or emailing a friend to vent. Give yourself ten minutes to wait and see if the child settles down. Even if this works one or two times, you're getting some positive results!

3. Start living with healthy habits. Get a mantra to help you dedicate your behaviors to what really is important in your life. Whatever is meaningful to you (like, "I am nourishing my body and treating it right so it will treat me right when I'm older", or "garbage in, garbage out", or even "my body is my temple") write it down and post it everywhere until it becomes imbedded in your brain so it is a belief you don't even question! Challenge your inner child when she starts whining and convince yourself to avoid the vending machine: How much satisfaction will you get from that candy bar? Most people answer "about two minutes"--as long as it takes to eat it! How long will you be feeling good about skipping the candy bar? As soon as the craving passes you'll be patting yourself on the back for at least the rest of the day! And the results will be showing on you for the rest of your life, every time you choose the better option.

Decide what's really important to you, and if it's living healthy, that includes eating healthy! Make up your mind to develop new habits and eat right every day, every hour. (And if you mess up one hour, don't beat yourself up about it! Just get back on track the very next minute and don't wait until Monday!)
Now go out and buy some healthy snacks so you can start living right tomorrow, and throwing away your fat clothes in a few weeks!

If snacks are sabotaging YOUR diet, download my e-book "Smart Snacks", and learn how to start snacking healthier and see weight loss results right away! Find this book and others for under $10 at http://www.mycoachlaurie.com/products.html

Gourmet Low Fat Snacking

Have you been looking for a great snack that won't break your calorie bank?

Here's one, but it might break your piggy bank!!

A while back I told you about the pineapple jerky that was just fabulous, nutritious, and fat free. Now the makers of the best variety of jerky have a new release: sasquatch jerky. As you can see, it's quite expensive and available only in limited quantities, so act fast if you want to be among the few to try it! Once they run out they aren't likely to get any more.

Please post your comments here if you can afford this rare, luxury food item to let us know how it tastes!

Help for the Hungry

What time of day does it hit you? "I'm hungry! And it's not time to eat."
Sometimes you are really hearing your stomach growl, and other times you might be stressed or bored. Nevertheless, the part of your brain screaming, "FEED ME!" is bound and determined to win over the sensible side of you, whispering, "it's not really time to eat right now, though".

So what can you do? Be prepared! Have lots of healthy options where you can access them easily. Do not eat the first thing you think of (candy bar, potato chips 'since there's a vending machine just down the hall') or the first thing that comes along (cake someone hands you during an office party, cinnabons and cookies that smell good and seem like a good idea 'as long as you are in the mall anyway'). If you don't have access to fresh fruit or vegetables or a 90 calorie yogurt (and you should definitely have these with you if you are near a refrigerator) here are some items that will keep just about anywhere, and keep away the hunger.

1. I have a few boxes of 100 Calorie snacks in the trunk of my car. Not just so I can eat them on the road, but so if I'm running off somewhere where I know I'll be stuck for a while (on a train, in a waiting room, in the airport) I can grab the box right out of my car on the way, even if I hadn't planned far enough ahead to buy a box at the grocery store. The hostess mini muffins are great, as are animal crackers, wheat thins, and nutter butter cookies. Some of the 100 calorie treats are handfuls of what amount to chocolate candy--not enough to tide you over for more than 10 minutes after you finish the bag. Look for items that have more content in the bag, either by weight or by volume. You want a dense hundred calories.

2. Another favorite to keep in your car or office are granola-type bars. Here's my favorite, but they also have varieties with different nuts, or without nuts. They are great to take on hikes and bike rides too, as they are light, but filling. Most have under 150 calories.
Quaker makes good-tasting bars, too. Nutrigrain bars are great if you like a more cookie-tasting snack as opposed to salty and crunchy. My new favorites are Newtons Fruit Crisps--only 100 Calories for the 2 bars in the bag, and they come in mixed berry or cinnamon apple-- yum!

3. In the evening if you get the munchies while watching TV, you can easily consume hundreds of calories over the time it takes to watch a sitcom, let alone an entire movie. That's just a frightening thought. Make those calories last by eating popcorn. Not the kind with butter and not the entire big bag. Several brands make 100 calorie microwave bags now so we can do the right thing!

Find packaged items you like: in addition to the above suggestions, they can be the packages of four or six peanut butter cheese crackers or cheese-on-wheat crackers; energy bars; or small portions of dried fruit and nuts. Stick to those that have less than 150 or 200 calories if you are watching your weight, and only have one serving per day. Don't give in to the temptation of visiting the snack cart for a candy bar that will cost you over 200 calories and give you little in the way of nutrition. Don't break down and drive through a fast food window where you could gulp down a thousand calories because you didn't have anything healthier available. Be prepared and eat something your body, and your mind, will thank you for later!