There are very few people who are satisfied with their weight. Most of us would like to take off a few pounds. Most of us get hungry, too.
One theory of losing a few pounds is to eat a small amount more often. In other words, instead of 3 big meals a day, eat 6 or 7 tiny meals a day. In fact, you may not even call them meals since typically the meals are one or two foods. You could actually call them snacks. The theory behind this grazing, as many people call it, is to keep the digestion and metabolism going all day. This enables you to use the fat in your body instead of the protein to fuel your body. You will also never go hungry with the grazing idea since you are eating, although very small amounts, more often.
In essence, we are snacking our way through the day. The traditional idea of snacking is eating some sugar laden empty calorie food. That is not the case here. You will be snacking, but you will be snacking on very good, high nutrient, beneficial foods. You are going to be eating foods that add energy to your body not just calories.
1. Apples are a great food. Try slicing up the apple and eating it that way. If you add some peanut butter on the slices, it will add some extra flavor to your apple. Don’t go too far on the peanut butter, however. Just add a nice small dab on the apple slices.
2. Fruits are a good choice. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, melons, and cantaloupes will help with your sugar cravings. Studies have shown that blueberries are an excellent food to combat the free radicals that cause our bodies harm. These fruits have sugar, but the sugar is one that the body can metabolize into a natural form. The high fructose and highly processed sugars in most snack foods are an unnatural food and do not give our bodies any benefits.
3. Soy chips would be a good substitute for potato or corn chips. They are rather tasty and they help satisfy the need for a food that is crunchy. We seem to need crunchy foods in our diet to make us satisfied. The protein found in soy is much better for your body that the carbohydrates found in potato or corn chips.
4. Yogurt is a very healthy food. You must be careful here as you do not want the kind that has the fruit on the bottom. The fruit is loaded with sugar and negates the positive benefits of yogurt. Go with plain yogurt and check to see that it has the natural bacteria sometimes referred to as “live cultures.” If you must have your yogurt sweet, put some natural honey in it.
5. The fifth and final healthy snack is cheese. There are many kinds of cheese and some that are low fat. Goat cheese is known to be low in fat. Read the labels to find lower fat, good tasting cheese. You can easily cut up your cheese into small cubes and snack on them as needed. Again the protein in cheese is better than the carbohydrates of most snacks.
The plan is to graze your way through the day and avoid being hungry. When you’re hungry, it is very tempting to stop at a fast food place and order a hamburger and French fries. When you’re not hungry, you can easily drive by and avoid the fatty burgers and fries.
