What do I snack on?
A lot of publications tell people that snacking is "the thing" to do. This may be true, but only if you are eating the right foods! What are you snacking on? Below is a sample of choices you can make to help maintain your blood sugar levels so that if they drop you're not looking for the quickest high-fat, high-sugar food product that is near you. These selections will have quantities listed after them in parentheses:
Apple (1)
Banana (1)
Trail mix (with nuts & dried fruit) (handful)
Yogurt (1 cup)
Grapes ( handful)
Kiwi (3)
Orange (1)
Grapefruit (1)
Yogurt and fruit ( 1 cup with 1 fruit)
Power bars (1)
Granola bars (1)
Cheese (1oz)
Chips (20 pieces)
Cookies ( 2-3 small )
Juice ( 8-12 oz)
This is just a sample. Snacking mostly takes place between meals and aids the body in regulating blood sugar. The lower the sugar in the blood, the more likely it is that you will experience hunger pangs. Please remember that the body prefers carbohydrates and fats for fuel. Protein is for body regeneration. In order to reach your current fitness and weight loss goals, however, please concentrate on carbohydrate rather than fat consumption. The more complex and bounded they are to protein, the better your body will respond to the foods. An example would be brown rice with teryakyi tofu. The protein can fish, meat or poultry.
Foods where the ratio of fats and sugars are higher than protein should be avoided. Examples dessert, fast food joints. Of course, as we get more fit, sometimes consuming high-density, high-calorie foods can aid you in your workouts and muscle growth; but until we get to that level, however, abstaining is best.
When should I snack?
Snacking is a great practice because it means that you are constantly stabilizing and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, which keeps you energized and increases your metabolic rate. The best way to achieve these results is by setting some sort of personal guidelines or "snacking schedule". It's no secret that metabolisms vary from person to person; some need to eat every 4 hours, some do best snacking every 2 hours! It all depends on your genetics, muscle mass, activity level, and overall biological makeup. The trick is finding out what works best for you based on your body's reactions to food (or lack of such), and setting up a routine based off of these observations. For example, if you eat every two hours, do you feel sluggish and weighed down from the food? If you wait 4 hours do you become so ravenous that you eat everything in sight? Does your body do better digesting several larger meals, or do you feel better when you have small portions more frequently? If you consider all these factors, you should be able to figure out--or at least try out--an eating schedule that will benefit your lifestyle. Of course, maintaining a regular sleep schedule also helps you maintain such a routine. If you keep stable hours, you can determine "set times" to eat, as well as maintain healthy leptin and grehlin secretion levels (these appetite suppressing/inducing hormones are triggered by the amount of sleep you get), which makes it easier to stick to your eating routine.
So what are the keys to snacking right? Set a routine, get adequate sleep, and personalize your eating in a way that works best for you. Your body will tell you what to do.
Stay healthy and happy, folks!
Dr. P
NEXT LEVEL
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