SNACKS!!!

SNACKS!!! The second, third and fourth most important meals of the day. One thing I've learned about weight loss and nutrition is to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. This keeps my metabolism going all day and prevents my body from going into "starvation mode". We've already discussed breakfast as the most important meal, but snacks are close second. Snack times for me are usually mid-morning (10am), mid-afternoon (3pm) and late evening (9pm).

Some of my favorites include: (I try to keep snacks between 200-250 calories)

• an apple with either 20 raw almonds or 1TB Naturally More Peanut Butter (pictured)
• 2TB of hummus with cucumber slices and carrots or with 5 Ak-Mak crackers (pictured)
• 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein (pictured), blended with 1 cup frozen berries of any kind and 1 cup skim milk
• Think Thin protein bars (mudslide and creamy peanut butter are my favorites)
• 2 rice cakes with 1TB natural peanut butter
• 4oz Low-fat cottage cheese with a piece of fruit

• 1/2 cup fat-free greek yogurt with 1 shredded wheat biscuit and 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 scoop whey protein with 6oz of water (if I'm in hardcore mode)

You might be thinking, "how am I going to eat all of this food when I am not at home all day long." My response is: YOU HAVE TO PLAN AHEAD!!! You can purchase a small cooler almost anywhere. Before I go to bed at night, I pack all of my snacks in the cooler for the next day. For me, this is usually only 2 snacks, because I am home for the late evening one. We will be going into a lot more detail about packing food next week. For now, I hope you will try some of my snack ideas. Please let me know if you have any good snacks of your own that I should try!