3 Ways that Snacking can Help you Lose Weight

Often when trying to lose weight, many of us think to cut out snacking from our diet. It seems like a practical way to get your metabolism on a steady schedule and reduce the fatty and unnecessary calories from your diet. However, smart snacking on the right kinds of foods can actually help you lose weight.

Simple yet healthy quick fixes can actually balance your diet and avoid over intake at meals. When we skip out on snacking, we become hungrier before meals and in turn tend to overeat. Here are three tips to create a snacking regimen that will satisfy your hunger while aiding you in your weight loss.

Planning Out Snacks to Stay on Track

For dieting to be successful, it’s always important to stick to a schedule. Incorporate snacking into your diet plan daily. This allows you to calculate calories and other nutritional intakes better. Additionally, snacking can boost your metabolism as your body is breaking down foods more often. Just as long as the food is in correct proportion and healthy, adding snacking to a diet plan can help you lose weight faster.

Try to Eat Every 3 to 4 Hours

Blood sugar levels start to drop once you’ve passed the four-hour mark since your last meal or snack. To avoid this, make sure you’re eating every three to four hours to keep your body on a more efficient digestive schedule. It’s also important to wait at least 30 minutes after your last meal before falling asleep to allow for proper digestion.

Avoid Low-Fat, “Light” Items and Packaged Foods

Besides the poor effects these items have on your weight, packaged foods and low-fat snacks contain dangerous chemicals that can cause other health problems, like heart disease and cancer. These foods are usually loaded with sugars, and ‘light’ items contain added sodium to compensate for the lack of flavor. Stick to snacks that are good for you, like fresh fruit or almonds. Aside from snacking, try to cut out packaged foods from your diet in general. Look for natural meats and grains to add to your daily food intake.

With dieting, it’s important to keep note of what you’re putting into your body. Log all meals and snacks daily, and be sure you’re sticking to your calorie and fat counts for the day. For more information on dieting and effective weight loss techniques, call our office today.

Author

Dr. Charles Goldsmith Dr. Charles Goldsmith started his career as an OB/GYN over 30 years ago. He ran a successful practice but noticed his clients consistently requesting assistance with weight loss. After countless hours of research and studying the numerous aspects of weight loss, Dr. Goldsmith determined that weight loss is very complex and needed to be supervised by a physician.