Category Archives: Weight Management

Tips for Eating Out on a Diet

Dining Out Guide for the Health Conscious Eater

Here’s food for thought! Did you know the average restaurant meal has over 1,000 calories? That’s enough to blow any healthy eating plan. Fortunately, by following a few simple guidelines, you can dine out without having to sacrifice good taste and nutrition.728x90 Sign Up For Webinar

Tips for Eating Out on a Diet

  1. Avoid ordering an appetizer. It’s a little known fact that some appetizers have more calories and fat than the main course. Plus, many appetizers are fried and served with heavy sauces which will add to your intake of saturated fat as well as trans-fats and calories. It’s not a healthy way to start your meal.
  2. Say “yes” to salad. This is one of the best tips for eating out on a diet. Salad is a healthy eater’s best friend. Not only will it fill you up so you’ll consume fewer calories overall, but it will also give you a hefty dose of antioxidants which are heart healthy. Be sure to ask your waitress to hold the croutons and cheese which will further reduce your caloric load. Also, choose your dressing wisely. Avoid cream based dressings and go for the vinegar based ones. You also have the option of using vinegar and olive oil which is heart healthy.
  3. Make the right entree selection. Go for broiled and grilled rather than fried. Not only will you save calories and fat grams, you’ll also avoid trans-fats which are so prevalent in fried foods. Instead, consider asking for a doubles order of vegetables with your entree. Very few Americans are getting the 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables recommended for optimal health. Plus, by avoiding the starch, you’ll be reducing your caloric and carbohydrate load. Also, stick to tomato based sauces rather than cream based and you’ll enjoy a considerable calorie savings. And one of the best tips for eating out on a diet: Lastly, ask for the sauce to be served in a separate dish on the side so you can control the amount you eat.
  4. Think about what you’re drinking with your meal. By not ordering an alcoholic beverage, you’ve saved yourself a considerable number of calories. Try sipping iced tea sweetened with a non-caloric sweetener, a diet soft drink, or water with lemon. You’ll be glad you did when you consider the calorie savings.
  5. Indulge your sweet tooth wisely. Many of the chain restaurants now offer a low fat or low carbohydrate dessert selection such as a low carb cheesecake. These are wise choices for the health conscious eater and still allow you to end the meal on a sweet note. If a healthy dessert option isn’t available, try a cup of coffee with skim milk to help satiate your desire for something sweet. Another good tips for eating out on a diet.
  6. Learn to control your portions. Many restaurants are serving larger quantities of food than in the past. If this is the case, put aside a portion of your entree at the beginning of the meal to take home with you. If you remove it from your plate before you start eating, you’ll be less tempted to overindulge.

By following these steps, you can make your dining experiences not only healthy, but enjoyable. Your heart will thank you! Just remember these tips for eating out on a diet.

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Best Diet for Weight Loss

Losing weight is becoming a common goal with many individuals. And this task is becoming difficult and complex with all the conflicting information out there. In this article, you will find logically sound and effective tips you can follow to find the diet that will give you the maximum benefits and effectiveness.

Best Diet for Weight Loss728x90 Quite Possibly The Last

  1. Find a program that provides realistic goals.

Avoid diets that promise weight loss overnight. Diets that promise such unrealistic promise are not designed to lose weight. Diets take time to work. Select a diet based on your food preferences. Like sweet food? Opt for a diet that is high on carbohydrate intake. Allow your body to transit to the new diet easily by selecting the food that you like. By doing so, you can be on a diet and still enjoy it.

  1. Research the credentials of your chosen diet.

The best diet for weight loss is the one that is created by an experienced doctor, health practitioner, or physician. These people spent years studying how the body works and what’s good for it. Before you choose a diet, make sure that you try to find out where the diet rooted from, who created it, and how many people have already benefited from it. The more background you get from the diet, the better.

  1. Plan it out.

Don’t go ahead with a diet without planning at least a week ahead. Dieting is all about taking the right types of food in the right amount. If you can’t prepare your meals the proper way, you’ll end up not following your diet at all. Here’s a suggestion – before you start out on your new diet, rid your refrigerator of anything that your diet plan asks you to avoid. If you can’t do this, even the world’s best diet for weight loss won’t work for you.

  1. Strictly adhere to the diet plan.

There’s no sense in looking for the best diet for weight loss only to forget about it after two to three days. Again, diet takes time to work. Following it is definitely hard. So prepare yourself mentally and physically. And make sure you are up to the challenge. Don’t worry. The results may be too grand than could you have expected.

There you have it! You now know the best diet for weight loss, so use it to your advantage!

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Walk 10,000 Steps to Improve Health and Fitness

It’s a fact, America is becoming obese at an alarming rate and the rest of the world is following Walk 10,000 Steps to Improve Health and Fitnessclose behind. We are eating more (and more of the wrong stuff) and exercising less or getting no exercise at all. Our health is in steep decline and doctor and hospital visits are at all time highs. Just a brisk 30-minute walk a day can begin to turn that around.

You name it, we have it, and it’s getting worse. Heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, out of control blood sugar levels, diabetes, obesity, and more. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends getting at least 20-30 minutes of moderate activity each day and many of us are falling far short of even that.

Walk 10,000 Steps to Improve Health and Fitness

Studies show the average person takes about 3000 to 5000 steps a day, and some even much less. Let’s face it, we just do not get the exercise our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago and we tend to eat more refined foods. For some of us, most of steps we take are from the easy chair in front of the TV to the fridge so we can fill up on snacks. For others, like me, we sit at a computer all day as part of our jobs.728x90 A Healthier Life Program

Many fitness experts recommend we walk 10,000 steps a day to maintain our weight and overall good health. 10,000 steps are approximately 5 miles, give or take depending on the length of your stride. You will need to purchase and wear a pedometer to count how many steps you take each day. Follow the directions that usually come with the pedometer. Do this for a week or two and you will get a good average step count. Your goal is to reach 10,000 or more steps each day. There is nothing magical about 10,000, but it will put you in the right ballpark.

As a general rule, a person will burn about 100 calories walking a mile, depending on age, size, and fitness level. The heavier you are, the more calories you will burn.

Become creative on ways to increase your steps. At work, go for walks at lunchtime. Go for walks with your spouse or children. Walk the dog. Walk to the store instead of driving, or park at the far end of the parking lot. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. For me, I take brisk 2-mile walks around the neighborhood twice a day everyday (aerobic walking). Just do whatever works best for you, but do it! You will need good walking shoes and socks to prevent injury when walking for exercise (like aerobic walking).

Go to your favorite search engine and type in “10,000 steps” to learn more about this life saving, life changing program. The information is abundant.

Want to learn more about how I was able to lose 40 lbs? I have been walking as well. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/1rLhW2c

Water and Weight Loss Benefits

Did you know that not drinking enough water might be why you’re on that dreaded weight loss Water and Weight Loss Benefitsplateau even though you’re maintaining your diet’ Research suggests that a lot of Americans unknowingly suffer from mild, chronic dehydration, and that might be you they’re talking about! I hope you read this article because it explains and makes sense the importance of water and the surprise impact to dieters.

Water and Weight Loss Benefits

Water is an essential ingredient for your weight loss. Water is required for a whole range of the body’s biochemical processes, so lets look at what water does specially for dieters:

Your body needs to metabolize stored fat into energy – so much so, that your body’s metabolism can be slowed by even mild levels of dehydration. And the slower your metabolism, the slower your weight loss (and you become tired), until eventually your weight loss just grinds to a halt! You now have just hit the dreaded diet plateau.728x90 Quite Possibly The Last

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. What good news! In the hypothalamus, a region in your brain that controls appetites and cravings, the control centers for hunger and thirst are situated next to each other, and there tends to be some overlap. This has both advantages and disadvantages for the dieter. On the flip side, it means that chronic mild dehydration can confuse these mechanisms, leading to feelings of hunger, rather than thirst. But on a positive note, it means you can use water to reduce your appetite. For example, in one University of Washington study, drinking a glass of water reduced nighttime hunger cravings for most of the dieters studied. I have also found this to be true.

Water is an essential to the processes that enables your muscles to contract. So water helps maintain muscle tone. Better muscle tone means a better looking body, and isn’t that what dieting and weight loss is about?

There’s help for that sagging skin. Water also helps to prevent the sagging skin that often follows weight loss – water plumps the skin cells, giving the skin a younger and healthier look.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lots of waste to get rid of because of all that fat. So enough water is essential to your health while dieting.

Water also helps with constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from within, particularly from the colon. This leads to constipation. But normal bowel function almost always returns with adequate water intake.

Generally speaking, mild dehydration can cause a number of health problems, in addition to your diet plateau. The symptoms of mild dehydration can include:

– Headaches; that light headed feeling as dehydration interferes with normal body processes, including waste disposal.
– Fatigue, as the body’s metabolism is slowed – mild dehydration is usually the most common cause of daytime fatigue.
– Hunger; cravings due to weakening of the thirst mechanism
– Fluid retention as your body tries to hold on to the water it already has
– Constipation, as the body works to conserve its internal water sources

Not a pretty picture but once you get your water in balance, you reach the “breakthrough point”, a concept pioneered by Dr. Peter Lindner, a California obesity expert. He says, “Once you’ve reached the breakthrough point, fluid retention eases, the liver and endocrine system start to function more effectively, you will start to regain your natural thirst and your hunger cravings will be significantly reduced. And so the end result of reaching and sustaining the breakthrough point in your water balance is that your body is able to metabolize fat more effectively.”

How much water should you drink daily to be healthy’ First, a couple of basic principles:

1) The simplest way to tell if you are drinking enough water is check the color of your urine: It should be clear or a very pale yellow in color. (but note that some supplements and medications may also affect your urine color).

2) Get in to the habit of drinking regular and adequate amounts of water. Never wait to drink until you’re thirsty, because if you’re feeling thirsty, dehydration has already set in!

Having said that, an adequate water intake for a sedentary but normal-weight adult during cool weather, is generally recognized as 8 x 8 oz glasses. You will need more water in hot weather, when you lose more water through sweat. You also need to drink more water when you exercise. Athletes attempt to enhance their performance by maintaining an optimal fluid balance while exercising, estimated to require 6 to 12 oz of fluid at 15 to 20 minute intervals. Even if you’re not concerned about your athletic performance, you should consume a similar amount of water when exercising, in order to maintain adequate hydration.

Here’s another important thing to remember; if you’re overweight, you’ll need an extra glass of water for each 25 pounds overweight, because the extra weight creates extra metabolic demand.

How can you drink so much water’ Weight loss experts secrets say drink 3 glasses of water with every meal. That’s 3 glasses with breakfast, 3 with lunch, and 3 with dinner. Plus, of course, additional regular water between meals when you’re exercising or when its hot. That sure makes it doable, doesn’t it?

So if you’re dieting, stalled on a weight loss plateau, or suffering some of the classic symptoms of dehydration, do, above everything else, be sure that you have an adequate water intake. It could be the missing ingredient in your diet regime and as easy to fix as drinking 3 glasses of water with each meal.

Remember that water is a natural appetitie suppressant. Use it to your advantage. If you’re out shopping, take a bottle of water with you. If you feel like a late night snack, either go to bed or drink a glass of water. If you want a change, add a little bit of lemon juice into a glass of water. I find, instantly, my desire to eat is gone. Give it a try.

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7 Calorie Burning Tips

These are just a few habits you can embrace to start revving your metabolism right away. You may have heard stories about people who have lost dozens of pounds simply switching to diet soda or walking a few minutes each day. These are all small habits that contribute to a big difference and increase your metabolism over time. You will make weight loss quicker and easier by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories.

7 Calorie Burning Tips

1) Move More

Sedentary people burn about one-third less calories per day. By simply taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn in one day. 7 Calorie Burning TipsSmall movements will add up over time to lots of calories. The trick is to keep moving throughout your day. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning extra calories:

Tap your feet
Swing your legs
Stand up and stretch
Move your head from side to side
Change position
Wriggle and fidget
Pace up and down
Use the restroom upstairs
Park in the furthest corner of the parking lot
Stand up when you’re on the phone and step from side to side
Clench and release your muscles

2) Eat Little and Often

Evidence suggests that eating small meals every 2-4 hours will keep your metabolism burning faster than larger, less frequent meals. When you eat small amounts often your body is constantly working to digest and absorb food which requires energy.

3) Eat Fat

If you want feel good and keep the fat off you need to first put it in. Fat not only tastes good our bodies need it to work efficiently. By consuming several servings of ‘healthy’ fats every day you will actually increase your calorie burning potential. Try incorporating fats like Flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, olive oil, avocados, salmon, albacore tuna, nuts and seeds into your diet daily.

4) Drink Cold Water

Evidence shows that your body might expend more calories trying to raise cold water to the temperature of your body then hot beverages. And overall being well hydrated will help your body’s metabolic processes burn quicker.

5) Exercise With Weights

Training with weights boosts your metabolism in a number of ways. By lifting weights you will build muscle tissue. And muscle tissue is metabolically active, so it requires calories even when at rest and so it helps to increase fat-burning enzymes in your body.
6) Spice up

Eating hot spices might speed up your metabolism. Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help boost metabolism and keep blood sugar levels in check. Can’t stand the thought of cinnamon in your morning cup of coffee? Spice up with cayenne, crushed red pepper or wasabi.

7) Eat More Protein

Protein requires a more complex chemical breakdown by your body in order to be digested and used as fuel. For example, 100 calories of protein may take up to 30 calories to process. Protein also takes longer to digest and helps to stabilize blood sugar for longer periods of time and this can help you to not overeat later in the day. Eat a portion of protein at every meal and as part of your snacks and you will increase the total number of calories you burn each day.

Click here to check out the weight loss program that helped me lose 40 lbs.

A Nutritious Diet while Traveling

Once you have made the firm decision to change your eating habits, you will find many little tests along the way. Places we visit in the form of travel, Restaurants, Parties, friend’s places, A Nutritious Diet while Travelingwork situations and also our biggest enemy, Time. These situations can present challenges to our resolve in maintaining good Nutrition in our diet and while we have covered a few points in our previous articles, we will now look at what I consider a major test, Travel!

Sticking to a nutritious diet while traveling can be one of the more difficult things to do. However, if you learn how to make smart choices, a healthy diet is really not that difficult. It’s probably not the best time in which to start a healthy diet, but if you are currently making healthy choices in your foods already, modifying your diet slightly to accommodate travel, is not as difficult as it first may seem.

A Nutritious Diet while Traveling

If you are traveling by airplane, your diet may have to include airplane food, which can often be of poor nutritional value, depending on the selection. When you book your flight, ask about your food options, ask if a vegetarian dish is available? Vegetarian dishes are sometimes more nutritional in this case, but it really depends on what they may be serving. If you can, eat a larger meal before your flight, so that you don’t have to eat the entire meal that is served, to feel full.

When driving or taking a bus, you may be tempted to stop at fast food restaurants and eat the meals found there. Avoid this whenever possible! If you’re on vacation, you may wish to splurge a tiny bit, but having fast food more than once during a week can really be bad for your health. If you must, choose the healthiest options available, like chicken breasts and diet soda.

Also, remember that you can take your own meals when traveling. Carrying a loaf of whole-wheat bread or pita wraps, some lean lunchmeat, and low-fat cheese in a cooler is a great way to avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol junk food meals. These are much better choices and you’ll save a lot of money as well. Call ahead to ask if there will be a refrigerator in your hotel room.

Lastly, make smart choices when you eat out. If you choose salads or pasta get the dressing on the side and ask about low-carb options. In fact, many places print these dieting options directly in the menu for the health-conscious people. Control your portions by ordering lunch menu sizes or splitting the meal in have and getting a doggie bag, and you’ll be well on your way to healthy eating, even away from home.

Yes, eating healthy foods when you travel can be a challenge. However, your health is worth it. Eating meals high in nutrition will also assist in fighting illnesses that you are likely to encounter when traveling and you will find yourself more alert so that you can enjoy your trip.

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7 Top Foods to Include in Your Kid’s Diet

Have you ever wondered what foods should I feed my Kid to promote health and weight management?

7 Top Foods to Include in your Kid’s Diet

Here is a list of the top 7 healthiest foods to feed your kid and why it’s so healthy:7 Top Foods to Include in Your Kid’s Diet

1. Oatmeal: A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oatmeal offers plenty of carbohydrate for quick energy and high fiber. Add berries and honey to make it a delicious perfect food for those fast-paced school day mornings!

2. Yogurt: Kick your child’s dairy consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk, and the cultures (check the label to make sure they’re in there!) are very beneficial to good colon health. Watch it on the sugar content though. A great idea is to buy plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit!

3. Broccoli: it is one of the best vegetables for anyone, especially growing kids. It has loads of calcium, potassium, beta-carotene and a wide variety of the B vitamins. If your child is not a fan of plain vegetables include broccoli in a casserole or put a little shredded cheese on top to add flavor.

4. Protein: One size does not fit all when it comes to protein. The fact is that growing kids need protein to keep growing. How you’re going to give it to them can vary widely, according to your preferences. Good choices include legumes, beans (combined with a grain to make a complete protein), soy products like tofu, eggs or lean meat, fish or poultry.

5. Whole Grains: The best nutrition is found in whole grains. Brown rice and whole wheat bread are a quantum leap over their white counterparts and offer necessary fiber, minerals and vitamins. Choose grain products with the words “whole”, “unbleached” and “intact” or “ground”.

6. Nut Butters: Peanut butter and other nut butters are great fast and easy foods for kids. Kids need fat (it’s a good fat if it doesn’t have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein. Try spreading almond or sunflower seed butter on crackers, toast or celery sticks for a quick and nutritious snack.

7. Fresh Fruit: My personal choice would be cantaloupe in the melon department. Vitamin C, beta-carotene, bits and pieces of B vitamins and trace minerals and calcium fill every juicy bite. Any in season fresh fruit is sure to be packed with healthy goodness!

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Eating Out Wisely

People I know love eating out at different cafes and restaurants. They love trying out new places almost as much as they love returning to their old favorite spots. They love trying new menu Eating Out Wiselyitems and discovering new ways to eat the foods they enjoy the most. Eating out can be both a wonderful and very dangerous thing.

In America we are blessed to have restaurants dotting the streets of many streets in towns and cities of all sizes. We are rarely at a loss for places to eat out. One of the greatest things about eating out is that it saves time that many busy people do not have to waste. After spending long hours at our workplaces, few people have the time or energy to return home and cook a gourmet meal. Eating out seems to be a great solution at the end of a long, tiring day.

Eating Out Wisely

Eating out can also be great because we can try a wide variety of foods and drinks that we don’t have the ability to make ourselves. No one loves eating the same basic foods over and over again, so eating out can be a good way to give our tastebuds something new.

However, if we are not careful, eating out can also be dangerous for a couple of big reasons. First, we must use caution in eating out for the sake of our health. Most restaurants and cafes offer huge portions of items that are unhealthy to eat and drink. Eating out often means filling up on appetizers, a main course, a few high calorie beverages, and a dessert to finish off the evening. Think about how many calories you can consume during a meal like this. I am not, of course, saying that we should never enjoy eating out. I am, however, saying that we need to be careful, for our health’s sake, about eating out too frequently. We must be careful to watch our choices when we are eating out. Choose healthier items or commit to only eating half of the meal you choose. There are ways of eating out healthily, it just takes conscience effort.

Another huge reason to be careful about eating out too often is your pocketbook and budget. It is no secret that eating out costs more, on average, that cooking meals in your own home. It is easy to accumulate large bills, especially at nicer places. So be careful that you stick to a budget when you make plans for eating out.

Beware. Eating out can be one of the greatest pleasures or one of the most dangerous things. Enjoy it, but do it with caution.

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Speed Up Your Weight Loss With Herbs And Spices

I wonder how much it is generally known that the benefits of using herbs and spices can speed up your weight loss efforts, by quite a considerable amount actually.Speed Up Your Weight Loss With Herbs And Spices

We all know that herbs and spices are used with cooking to varying degrees, and of course the primary reason for doing so is to make food much more tasty and interesting.

I suspect however that you might be surprised at the considerable health benefits that can also be gained by using them. In saying this I am referring to those everyday items that can be found in
most larders, and not necessarily those exotic and probably not so well known varieties.

I happened to discover the many benefits of herbs and spices and the fact that they can be most beneficial to a weight loss program, when I was doing extremely detailed research for my latest book.

Speed Up Your Weight Loss With Herbs And Spices

The results of that research were so extensive, that it could be the basis in itself for a complete publication, and much more detailed therefore, than I could possibly include in this short article.

However I have been able to include a fair amount of information below about various herbs and spices which are known to particularly help to speed up weight loss, and that is also in addition to their excellent overall health benefits by the way.

You should find that you will be able to purchase these herbs from any good Herbalist supplier.

Garcinia: (Garcinia cambogia) is a herb which is sold primarily for enhancing weight loss and boosting the amount of lean muscle. This is also known as hila or brindell berry. One of the major benfits of Garcinia is that it acts as an appetite suppressant and stops the body from storing fat.

Pysillium: (Plantago spp.) This cheeky little herb has quite a few health benefits. Physillium is known to help lower cholesterol, and another major benefit is that it also helps to
prevent constipation. If you use it as part of your weight loss program, it can help you to eat less calories and yet still feel really full.

This is because of the amount of fiber that it contains.

I mentioned earlier that it does help in preventing constipation, but in order to achieve this you should make sure that you drink plenty of water.

Siberian Gingsing: (Eleutherococcus senticosus) If you are going to start regular exercise as part of your health and weight loss routine, which is normally to be highly recommended, then this is a really useful herb.

It can help your body adapt to the stress of unaccustomed changes, and it will help to make you feel less tired even when you are doing simple exercises like walking for example.

So in turn therefore you are more likely to stick to your exercise routine.

Little Known Secrets In Your Larder

Cayenne: (also known as Capsicum, hot pepper, chilli pepper, tabasco pepper). The majority of us have cayenne in our larders, and it is very commonly used in many food dishes. Cayenne can be found in many forms such as ground spices, teas, and would you believe it, topical creams.

It is well known for its antitoxidant action, and greatly helps with osteoathritis and rhumatoid athritis, shingles, and diabetic neuropathy.

A note of caution however: Cayenne may act with anticoagulant drugs so be sure to consult with your doctor. Excessive use may also irritate the intestinal tract.

Manufactured topical capsacin creams can cause a burning sensation, so test first on a small area of the skin, remembering to wash hands thoroughly after applying the cream. This will avoid it spreading to the eyes nose or other sensitive areas.

Fennel: is native to the Mediterranean and is widely utilized throughout the world. You will find it in teas, capsules, tinctures and lozenges. Fennel can be used to help with bloating, flatulence, mild digestive spasms, catarrh, and coughs. It also has antimicrobal, antispadmodic, and anti inflammatory properties.

A note of caution here: Fennel can sometimes cause rare allergic skin and respiratory tract reactions. Fennel is also a potential source of synthetic oestrogens and should be avoided if you are pregnant.

Garlic: you can buy this fresh, or the one you will most probably have in your larder will be dried. The downside of garlic is the odour which it leaves on your breath, but chewing some
parsley after eating will soon sort out that problem.

Garlic is also known to help stimulate the immune system,and to help in fighting cancer. Well documented health benefits include lowering cholesterol, fighting infections, and reducing blood
pressure.

Again a note of caution: garlic may also interact with anticoaglant drugs, so do be sure to check with your doctor if in any doubt. Rare cases of allergic reactions are known, and some people might possibly experience heartburn or even flatulence.

These are just a few of the herbs you can use in cooking, but do remember that there are many many more, and the benefits in using them frequently can be quite remarkable.

You will realize of course that when using them as part of any dish to use them sparingly, as to add too much would just spoil the meal.

As with everything in life one should try and strike a balance, after all you know what they say “all things in moderation”.

PS: I know this works for me. And it makes it easier to lose weight. Here is my weight loss story.

Tips for Smarter Snacking

Are you a between-meal eater? Many of us are, but that doesn’t mean you have to visit the Tips for Smarter Snackingvending machine all day. There are smarter ways to snack throughout the day where you can lower your calories and still fill the hunger gap.

Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, author of the American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, goes over some common snacking times and makes a few smart suggestions on what healthier items we can replace those “filler” foods with.

Tips for Smarter Snacking

When you need a wake-up or need a quick energy jolt: Eat a small breakfast of carbs and protein (cereal, egg, milk) or have an AM snack of proteins like peanuts or cottage cheese.

Before leaving the office for a meeting: A quick piece of fruit or chunk of cheese is good if you don’t know when lunch is coming.

Before working out: You might want pump up with a piece of fruit and a big glass of water.

After school or work: A small sandwich and a glass of milk will work, otherwise, people eat all the way until dinner, a cookie, a cracker, a soda, and are never satisfied. If you are cutting calories have some cut-up veggies or a rice cake with peanut butter or cheese.

When out with friends: Try splitting a dessert or snack when you go for dessert or grab a bite with your buddies.

Before partying: A cracker and cheese or little carrots are a good choice to take the edge off. Drink an equal amount of water after every drink when you can.

Before bed: Milk contains tryptophan, which makes some people sleepy, and chai tea can be soothing.

Snacking not only helps ease those nasty hunger pains, but it relaxes and softens stress. Snacking should not be used to escape boredom. Find the smart snacks that fit both your individual needs and the occasion at hand.

PS: What is the best snacking food I have found? Click here to find out.