SNACKING as a SUPERPOWER

Snacks have the ability curb cravings, fill nutritional gaps, pump us with energy, increase our metabolisms, stabilize our blood sugar levels and put us in a great mood! They help fuel our workouts, re-fuel us afterwards, prepare us for a great sleep... All of these benefits help our bodies operate at their most efficient level, and to shed excess body fat and support lean muscle.

So, it's worth learning how to snack right!
(Bear in mind, different things work for different individuals - most of my posts will apply to the general public, however personal trainers' jobs are to cater to individual needs and schedules.)

Snack should be about 150-250 calories, and they are used to bridge your meals (most people should be eating every 2-3 hours). This keeps your insulin levels released steadily, and wards off hunger, cravings, and blood sugar highs and lows. Remember that when insulin levels are jumping all over the place, the body stores more fat (and energy levels really suffer).

Another important thing to remember about snacks is to make sure each is balanced. You want a snack that offers all three of the macronutrients: protein, carbs and fats. Vegetables and fruit are some of the best quality carbs, and snacks are a great way to add in more of these vitamin/nutrient rich foods to deliver vitality.

BALANCED SNACKS:
An apple (red delicious is best) and 12-15 raw almonds
A banana and 7 walnuts
1 cup of raw broccoli and 1 oz. of lowfat cheese
1 cup of carrots and 2 tbsp of hummus
Tuna roll-ups (3-4 tbsp of tuna salad rolled in romaine leaves)
Small bowl of cereal (an entry on the best cereals is in the future...) with nonfat or 1% milk
An orange and a hard boiled egg
Half a sandwich (lots of veg, whole grain bread)
A latte and a piece of biscotti (this would be one to fight a craving!)
2 ryvita crackers with almond butter

Some of these foods you can keep on you all the time (like apples and almonds) so that you're never stuck starving anywhere, resorting to poor and energy-zapping choices.

Your days are about to get a lot better....