Healthy Snacks To Promote Fat Loss

One of the best unkept secrets today in the fitness industry is the hard won knowledge that eating 5 or 6 small meals over the course of a day is a much better strategy for getting lean and slim than the traditional "3 squares" a day (which for many people, turns into just 2 large meals because they don't eat any breakfast.)

Yes, skipping meals might seem like a logical way to cut calories and lose pounds, but in fact it works the opposite way to what you might expect since it generally leads to deprivation and overindulgence. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the far better strategy is to eat regularly and more frequently (within reason) to achieve your optimal weight.

One of the problems associated with missing a meal is that it can cause your blood sugar levels to decrease. This can predispose us to a pattern of increased eating as the body attempts to correct the dip in blood sugar. For instance, skipping breakfast is proven to cause fatigue, hamper metabolic rate, and increase food cravings elsewhere during the day. The combined effect can contribute to more food intake and, of course, a resultant weight gain.

 If you are already managing healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, but are still struggling to come up with ideas for "mid-meals", or snacks, here are some simple, easy, quick, and healthy ideas:

Apple wedges or banana with 1 tablespoon almond or cashew butter

1 cup cottage cheese mixed with yogurt, berries, and walnuts or pecans

A couple hard boiled eggs with carrot and celery sticks and hummus

A piece of whole grain or sprouted grain toast with nut butter and berries

Fresh sliced pineapple with a handful of macadamia nuts

1 cup cottage cheese with cinnamon, apple slices, and walnuts

Protein shot - serving of whey protein powder with ice and water

Small salad (1 cup) with 1 oz chicken

Peanuts (1 oz) with 1 med orange

½ cup low fat yogurt mixed with ½ cup cottage cheese

1 tablespoon peanut butter with celery or carrot sticks

1 cup milk with 1 serving whey protein powder and ice

Celery with any nut butter

It is important that you plan ahead so that you are able to get into the habit of consistently bringing mid-meals and snacks to work for the day. If you don't plan ahead, and fail to prepare something healthy and balanced for when you are out and about for the day, or when you are at work, you are going to end up choosing something junky that will work against your goal of building a strong, healthy, and lean body.

To get started on your own proper nutritional diet, and get the full theory of the small-portion eating plan, check out ex-bodybuilding champion Carolyn Hansen's product:  Fat Loss For Keeps  and learn how to eat in such a way that weight loss never becomes something you need worry about again.