Snacks - The Good, The Average and The BAD

[Phantom Gossiper]

Well the doctor told me my latest blood test results weren't very good and i have to change my diet, so thought i'd ask what are some snacks or foods in general that people should straight out avoid, some that are ok and foods and snacks that are good..

Do people have any particular favourite snacks or recipes as well?

[Q.]

Don't 'snack'.

[The Sleeping Giant]

Easy when you are on appetite suppressants

[kickinit]

Easy when you are on appetite suppressants

its also easy when your not, you simply don't buy snacks

[Psyber]

If you must snack a raw carrot is fairly filling without being harmful, or celery if you can stand the taste.

[The Sleeping Giant]

Sounds delicious.

[Q.]

Boiled egg white goes down a treat

[RustyCage]

Boiled egg white goes down a treat

A genuine question here, are egg yolks really that bad?

[Q.]

Boiled egg white goes down a treat

A genuine question here, are egg yolks really that bad?

No, it's where all the nutrients are. The egg white is just pure protein.

[dedja]

Fruit, carrots, almonds and small tubs of low fat yoghurt ... basically anything natural , fresh and largely unprocessed should do the trick.

[kickinit]

Fruit, carrots, almonds and small tubs of low fat yoghurt ... basically anything natural , fresh and largely unprocessed should do the trick.

you still have to keep an eye on low fat yoghurt as it can contain a heap of sugar. That actually goes for anything that says "low in fat". Fruit is another one you don't want t be eating too much of some fruits due to the high sugar levels.

[whufc]

Rather than snacking with food I have been having hi protein low carb shakes in between meals.

Definatly not as a meal replacement but rather than a packet of chips, biscuits etc etc a protein shake does the trick

[Johno6]

Fruit, carrots, almonds and small tubs of low fat yoghurt ... basically anything natural , fresh and largely unprocessed should do the trick.

you still have to keep an eye on low fat yoghurt as it can contain a heap of sugar. That actually goes for anything that says "low in fat". Fruit is another one you don't want t be eating too much of some fruits due to the high sugar levels.

yep agree,

a lot of stuff that says low in fat is high in sugar.
so its still shit for u

[Phantom Gossiper]

Okay so I can appreciate and understand that snacking is bad mmmkkay.. but its tough when you have a large appetite and are used to eating a lot to suddenly just cut back to eating 6 small portioned meals a day.

WHUFC - I might give your idea a crack!

[Q.]

Problem with eating six small meals a day is that you are more likely to over eat in total for the day.

[Phantom Gossiper]

Problem with eating six small meals a day is that you are more likely to over eat in total for the day.

So eat less than that you think? That makes life even harder for me! FFS!

[kickinit]

Problem with eating six small meals a day is that you are more likely to over eat in total for the day.

So eat less than that you think? That makes life even harder for me! FFS!

snacking isn't actually bad, you can even snack on the "unhealthy" stuff as well. The problem is the amount you eat, while you think it's ok to snack on something healthy too much can actually be bad. If you eat only "healthy meals" but your over your maintenance level of calories by 1000 your still going to put on weight. What you really need to do is work out your maintenance calories and how much your eating a day.

If your having trouble reducing your meal size try drinking a glass of water before each meal. When your hungry drink a glass of water before you eat anything. Put your meals on a smaller plate or bowl. Cut your meal into smaller pieces. And plan your meals ahead and try to eat them at the same time everyday. These will all make it easier to cut down on meal sizes.

[cennals05]

If you’re always hungry it could be you’re eating too much sugar. Your body doesn't recognise fructose, so the hormone leptin that tells you when you’re full is not activated when you eat it.

Don’t be scared to eat full fat products like milk and yoghurt. They are much better for you than the low fat versions. Low fat is just code for added sugar. Sugar is hidden in everything. There are 4.2g of sugar in a teaspoon so check the nutritional information and steer clear of anything that has over this amount in 100g, also if sugar or HFCS is in the first 4 ingredients then leave it on the shelf.

In an ideal world you don’t really want to eat anything that comes in a packet and has more than one ingredient. I know that this is not possible for most people though.

Try to take a whole approach to your eating. Don’t eat to lose weight, eat to be healthy. This is why only counting calories shouldn’t be your only approach. I could eat a big Mac meal every day and be under my calorie requirement and stay thin. Doesn’t mean I’m healthy. The quality of the calorie is just as important as the number. If you’re staying under your calorie count and still eating crap eventually your body is going to want to binge as it’s not getting the nutrients it needs.

There are the beginnings of a real change in what scientists, dieticians and doctors think is making us fat (except from those being paid by the big food companies). The evidence is mounting that saturated fat is not the villain and that sugar and vegetable oils are.

[whufc]

Problem with eating six small meals a day is that you are more likely to over eat in total for the day.

So eat less than that you think? That makes life even harder for me! FFS!

snacking isn't actually bad, you can even snack on the "unhealthy" stuff as well. The problem is the amount you eat, while you think it's ok to snack on something healthy too much can actually be bad. If you eat only "healthy meals" but your over your maintenance level of calories by 1000 your still going to put on weight. What you really need to do is work out your maintenance calories and how much your eating a day.

If your having trouble reducing your meal size try drinking a glass of water before each meal. When your hungry drink a glass of water before you eat anything. Put your meals on a smaller plate or bowl. Cut your meal into smaller pieces. And plan your meals ahead and try to eat them at the same time everyday. These will all make it easier to cut down on meal sizes.

Yep your 120% correct.

That's where I have found the protein shakes as a handy snack as I find them quiet filling and it has helped reduce my portion size, plus I was a huge iced coffee fan and it has helped ease that craving.

Please, please, please, please, please don't take this as an attack on your post but me personally (work in a facility that has a health club, not a personal trainer though but does a lot of membership sales, tours etc as part of my role, was 30kg heavier and have now dropped 16% of my body fat and a lot of that is thanks to kickinits advice on lifting, now uses a gym 4 days a week religiously)

I find that a lot of personal trainers, health club professionals, nutritionists etc etc overwhelm people with to much information and make things far to confusing for the 'average person'. Part of the problem is the amount of information that is out there now, with ridiculous shows like biggest loser, websites etc im sure if I went looking on the net now I could info that suggests fruit is bad for you and eating chocolate is beneficial.

I found this to be the case with calorie counting and finding out maintenance levels. Going on different websites, apps or people and you will find a billion and 1 different answers. Calorie counting I found as well was also very hit and miss especially when making your own food, unless your going to weigh every piece you put in it.

I think the most effective lifestyle changes, diets whatever you want to call them are the simplest.

Eat 3 main meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and then stick to 2 snack meals between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. Start by changing to everything low fat (yes they can be full of sugar but generally they are better than the full bodied version) skim milk instead of full cream, wholemeal bread instead of white, pepsi max instead of pepsi, limit use of butter (you wont notice any difference not having butter on a ham and salad sandwich), cut down on sugar in coffee, drink low carb beers rather than full beers over a whole year that's a shit load of calories less than your usual eating etc

I prefer lifting as the best form of calorie burning but if you cant get to a gym aim for twenty minutes of exercise a day and make sure you push yourself even if that means just going for a brisk walk.

And most importantly MAINTAIN and do so CONSISTENTLY.

I lost my first 20 kilos over two years without stepping foot in a gym (I could have lost it quicker no doubt but what I have done is create a maintable lifestyle for me) by purely eating smarter and doing abit of extra exercise. It has now become standard for me and the sight of a whopper or big mac makes me feel ill in the stomach.

Its only in the last 9 months that I have started to take the gym serious and get real in depth with nutrition to the point of working out how much protein, carbs, fats percentage I need per meal.

Start simple and make it a lifestyle change rather than a quick diet. Once you start to get results you will be hooked and never look back.

sorry for the long post just bored at home and got on a roll.

[kickinit]

If you’re always hungry it could be you’re eating too much sugar. Your body doesn't recognise fructose, so the hormone leptin that tells you when you’re full is not activated when you eat it.

Don’t be scared to eat full fat products like milk and yoghurt. They are much better for you than the low fat versions. Low fat is just code for added sugar. Sugar is hidden in everything. There are 4.2g of sugar in a teaspoon so check the nutritional information and steer clear of anything that has over this amount in 100g, also if sugar or HFCS is in the first 4 ingredients then leave it on the shelf.

In an ideal world you don’t really want to eat anything that comes in a packet and has more than one ingredient. I know that this is not possible for most people though.

Try to take a whole approach to your eating. Don’t eat to lose weight, eat to be healthy. This is why only counting calories shouldn’t be your only approach. I could eat a big Mac meal every day and be under my calorie requirement and stay thin. Doesn’t mean I’m healthy. The quality of the calorie is just as important as the number. If you’re staying under your calorie count and still eating crap eventually your body is going to want to binge as it’s not getting the nutrients it needs.

There are the beginnings of a real change in what scientists, dieticians and doctors think is making us fat (except from those being paid by the big food companies). The evidence is mounting that saturated fat is not the villain and that sugar and vegetable oils are.

Eating 1000 quality calories over your maint level is still going to cause you to put on weight. The only difference between a quality carb and sugar is the amount of time it takes the body to convert it into glucose for the body to use. The science behind calorie surplus and deficit has been around for many years and has never been challenge, for the simple fact that it's correct and can't be challenge. What we are seeing a change in is how different food groups react with each other and the cause they have on the body.

The problem about weight loss and diet is that a lot stay away from the term fat loss. Shows like biggest loser don't measure body fat % which really at the end of the day is the only way to determine how healthy you are. The BMI is the biggest load of garbage going around. You can still be slim but have a high body fat % and on the other hand you can be big and have a low body fat %. The only way to drop fat and keep muscle mass (you'll always lose muscle mass when losing weight) is to count macro's and add a good multi vitamin.