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Snacks: How they fit into your weight-loss plan
Well-planned, healthy snacks can complement your weight-loss plan. Here are creative and healthy ways to satisfy your hunger.
By Mayo Clinic staffYour stomach is growling, but lunch is hours away. You could indulge yourself with a snack, but you think it's best to avoid treats altogether and wait for lunch. Not so, if weight loss is your goal.
Though you may feel guilty about snacking, snacks aren't necessarily bad. In fact, mini meals several times a day can help manage hunger and reduce bingeing. Eating a healthy snack of low-fat crackers or fruit may stop you from taking second or third helpings at your next meal, dramatically cutting the calories you consume. Also, healthy meals often lose out to busy schedules. A grab-and-go snack could be the difference between some nourishment and none at all.
The key to incorporating snacks into your weight-loss plan is to plan them with variety, moderation and balance in mind.
Choose healthy snacks
Select foods that satisfy your hunger, supply your body with energy and provide important nutrients. Here are some of your best snack picks:
- Whole grains. Whole-grain snacks are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates, which give you energy with staying power. Look for items such as low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels and whole-grain crispbreads.
- Fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables provides a feeling of fullness with no fat and only a small number of calories. They also provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.
- Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds provide protein, so you will feel fuller longer. They can be high in fat, but it's mostly monounsaturated, a healthy kind of fat. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, however, so don't eat them in large quantities.
- Low-fat dairy products. Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein, plus many other vitamins and minerals. Dairy products can be high in fat, so choose the low-fat versions. Some yogurts have extra added sugar, so look for low-calorie or "light" varieties.
Though snacks can contribute to a healthy diet, they can also be a source of excess calories if not eaten in moderation. For example, a single serving of almonds (about 23 kernels, or a handful) contains 163 calories. But if you eat a cup of almonds, the calorie count jumps to 800-plus calories.
So what are your best choices? Here are several suggestions:
| Weight-loss snacks | |
|---|---|
| Approximate number of calories | Food |
| 10 calories | 1 large stalk of celery |
| 25-30 calories | 1 cup raw vegetables 6 medium baby carrots |
| 60 calories | 2 cups air-popped or light popcorn 1 cup of cantaloupe or grapes 1 small can of vegetable juice |
| 100 calories | 1 cup sliced bananas and fresh raspberries 2 domino-sized slices low-fat Colby or cheddar cheese 1 fat-free chocolate pudding cup |
| 150 calories | 1/2 cup frozen, low-fat yogurt topped with 1/2 cup blueberries 1 cup sliced apples with 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter 4 rye crispbread crackers |
| 200 calories | 1/4 cup dry roasted soy nuts (calories vary by brand) 1/3 cup granola 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese topped with 1/2 cup sliced fresh peaches |
Source: Department of Agriculture — Nutrient Data Laboratory, 2007
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