Diet Does Not Mean Hungry: Why You Shouldn’t Give up Your Snacks

When you mention the word diet, the first thing that comes to mind is usually sacrifice. You start to think about all the snacks and foods that you’ll have to do without so that you can stick to your diet. The truth is, healthy snacks are an important part of dieting success. Choosing the right foods for snacks will keep you from feeling hungry and help you avoid overdoing it at meal times.

Why Healthy Snacking Is Good for You

Snacking is not bad for you unless you choose snacks with empty calories and high sugar, fat, or sodium content. Eating regular snacks of healthier foods is a good way to avoid hunger and pack in some of the extra nutrients your body needs. If you just grit your teeth and try to push through the mid-afternoon hunger, you are far more likely to overeat when it’s finally time for that evening meal. Your body can only process a certain amount of food at one time. Eating smaller meals more frequently will keep your stomach full and you will take in fewer calories overall.

Healthy Snack Foods

If you’re going to snack healthily, you’ll need to make a plan so that the good snacks are easy to find when you’re ready for a treat. Healthy snacks can include far more than celery or apples. The more creative you are, the less you’ll feel like you’re on a diet. Stock your fridge and pantry with your favorite flavors of low fat cheese and yogurt for starters. Mixed nuts, berries, and seasonal fruits and vegetables are also good choices. Whole grain crackers or bread are good snack options, as well. Many of the snacks that are good for you also happen to be high in energy density, which means they fill you up faster without costing you as many calories.

Food Density Relates to Feeling Full

High density foods pack more energy into fewer calories. These powerful snacks keep you feeling full for longer than lighter fare because they take more time for the body to process. You’ll never feel deprived while you’re dieting because you’ll be able to stay full without taking in as many calories. The idea of using food density as part of your diet plan is that you can eat a larger quantity of high density foods without eating very many calories. You can eat these foods until you feel full, and you’ll continue to feel full for hours because the foods will remain in your digestive system longer.

Plenty of High Density Snacks to Choose From

Good snack choices include fresh fruits and vegetables and moderate portions of whole grains or dairy products. Nuts and pasta are extremely high density foods, but they are also high in fat content. Since high fat foods can lead to other health problems, like cardiovascular disease, it is a good idea to eat a wide range of snacks from the high density list rather than choose the same snacks over and over again.

Varying your snacks will also help break up the monotony of a diet so that you don’t feel like you’re suffering while you try to eat more healthily. Stop by LowFatDietPlan.org for more low fat diet tips.

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