When trying to lose weight, people are often a little scared of including a snack or two in their day. Surely extra calories means less weight loss and possible weight gain?
The truth is that regular snacking is a great way to increase your chances of losing weight healthily, and keeping it off.
Research has found that eating something small between meals keeps your metabolism ticking over as well as stabilising blood sugar levels and preventing you from over indulging at your next meal/later in the day when you’re ravenously hungry.
This isn’t to say that you can chow down on whatever you like at morning or afternoon tea time. Making a healthy choice means that you’ll enjoy the benefits mentioned, while snacking on sweets, biscuits or high sugar bars will have the opposite effect.
So what should you choose? Generally, low GI foods that come in between 100-200 calories per serve are your best bet as they’ll fill you up without breaking the calorie budget. Wholegrains, protein and calcium are also great features to look for when choosing a hunger busting snack.
Having a couple of different options on hand also means that you’ll have some choice when your tummy starts rumbling. Sticking to a single snack option can be very limiting and as our bodies crave variety and different tastes on a daily basis, can often mean that you end up searching out something less than healthy to satisfy your hunger pangs.
Here are our top picks for healthy (and delicious) snacks for health and weight loss. Each contains some form of beneficial carbs, protein, fibre and other essential vitamins and minerals, or a combination of all of the above.
The healthiest snacks under 200 calories
- 100g Jalna Natural Greek Yoghurt – 128 calories
- Medium sized green apple, sliced, with 1 tbsp peanut butter – 175 calories
- Handful of almonds (approx. 23 nuts) – 164 calories
- 3 multigrain corn thins with 1 tbsp almond butter – 160 calories
- 1 cup of carrot sticks with 1/3 cup of hummous – 200 calories
- 1/2 cup edamame beans – 120 calories
- 2 Ryvita Rye crackers with 1 slice of cheddar cheese – 150 calories
- 1 cup air popped popcorn (oil free) – 31 calories
- 1 cup of blueberries – 85 calories
- 1 hard boiled egg – 80 calories
If you are ready to lose weight then the Lose Baby Weight plans offer a healthy and safe exercise and diet routine.
And don’t forget to check out our current promotions and discounts page to see what specials we have on this week on our Healthy Mummy product range
