Planning to snack, is planning for success
Including healthy snacks in your daily routine can assist with appetite regulation, maintaining energy levels and preventiing the well-known 3pm slump.
One of the first things people do when trying to lose weight is to cut out meals and/or snacks. For many individuals, including high protein, high fibre snacks between meals may lead to better outcomes for weight management through improvements in appetite regulation and portion control. Including a balanced snack between meals also provides an opportunity to meet your daily nutrient requirements and can assist with maintaining energy levels throughout the day.
Check out our previous blog for strategies to prevent the 3pm slump, because today we are chatting through our top tips for building a healthy, balanced snack that satisfies your afternoon cravings to get you out of the 3pm slump.
Building a balanced snack:
When building a snack which is going to keep you feeling full, satisfied, and energised until the next meal, there are 3 main components to consider:
- Protein plays an important role in satiety, energy levels and optimising muscle mass when appropriately distributed throughout the day. Some great sources of protein to add to your snacks include: high protein yoghurt (such as Chobani fit or YoPro), mixed nuts, nut-based muesli bars, hummus, roasted chickpeas or fava beans, cheese such as ricotta or cottage cheese, or ready-made protein smoothies.
- Fibre helps to keep your gut-bugs happy and plays a role in keeping you feeling full and satisfied. A great way to include some fibre in your snacks is by aiming to add some colour to the plate with fresh fruit and vegetables. Not only are they packed full of fibre, but they also contain a high volume of water, assisting with both hydration and calorie-control.
- Low GI carbohydrates are our slow-release carbohydrates, providing a long-acting energy source to get you through to the next meal or snack. Some examples include wholegrain crackers, popcorn and legumes.
Note: If you have a weight loss goal, or you are sedentary throughout the day, you do need to be mindful of carbohydrate portion sizes. We recommend bulking out your snacks with protein and fibre, and adding a small portion of carbohydrates if you wish.
Some of our favourite balanced snacks include:
- High protein yoghurt + a piece of fresh fruit
- Handful nuts + a piece of fresh fruit
- Hummus + pre-chopped veggie sticks
- Vita wheats with ricotta + fresh fruit
- Vita wheats with cottage cheese + tomato + cucumber
If you want to further understand how best to optimise your metabolic health, managing your weight and/or improving your quality of life look further into our metabolic health program. It provides an accurate assessment of your metabolism, your ability to burn fat vs carbohydrates at rest and the composition of your body weight, including skeletal muscle mass and body fat. Utilising this information, your health coach will devise a plan which is unique to you and your personal circumstances.
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