One of the most common questions I get asked by clients is “what are some healthy options for me to snack on?” Snacks between meals can be very helpful for fat loss, gaining lean muscle and controlling hunger and cravings but not all snacks are created equal. In fact, eating poor quality snack choices and/or too large of a portion can quickly derail your fat loss and muscle gain progress.
Let’s first define poor quality and high quality snack choices.
Poor Quality Snacks:
- Processed food-pretzels, chips, most protein bars, candy bars, processed food etc.
- High Carbohydrate -bagels, cakes, chips and similar junk, snack bars, etc.
- High Glycemic-candy, snack bars, bagels and bread products, cakes, cookies, etc.
- Low Protein- All of the above or even a healthy food such as, a salad or veggies without a protein source.
- Non-nutritious-empty calories-most all packaged and processed snack food. Many smoothie recipes.
High Quality Snacks
- Unprocessed-whole food such as, eggs, meat, jerky, chicken, hummus, etc.
- Quality protein-eggs, meats, poultry, protein powder, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese.
- Low/moderate carbohydrate- fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds
- Low glycemic-protein, veggies, low glycemic fruit, jerky, nuts, seeds, etc.
- Highly nutritious calories-Lean protein, veggies, salads, nuts, seeds, jerky.
For a great list of high quality snack ideas that will help improve your health and help you achieve your goals please click on the link below for a FREE Healthy Snacks Sheet.
One last caveat, it is important to watch the portion size. Snacks are one of the easiest things to inadvertently consume too much of. This can dramatically increase your daily caloric intake and sabotage your progress.
To your health,
Kevin
