3 Crucial Snacking Tips You Shouldn't Ignore Plus a Delicious Snack Recipe!

A big part of eating for fat loss is making sure you're eating the right type of snacks. Unfortunately very few people do it right, resulting in frustrating weight gain or negating all the effort being put into their workouts. Here's three crucial snacking tips to help you reach your fat loss goals. 

​The content of your snacks and small meals is of utmost importance. If you’re eating the wrong thing every 2-3 hours then it’s easy to gain weight quickly, rather than what you want, which is to drop fat and clothes sizes. 

Snacking Tip #1: Watch out for added sugar

​Sugar is the biggest problem when it comes to fattening snacks, and so this needs to be the number one nutrient that you check. Your frequent snacks should contain very little, or zero, added sugars. 

This is a pet peeve that I have: many ‘health’ foods have massive amounts of added sugars, which will destroy your results. Items like protein bars, jerky, dried fruit, green juice, and trail mix often have added sugars and preservatives that you need to watch out for and avoid. 

Your snacks should have little to zero added sugars, and should be a nice blend of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. 

Snacking Tip #2: Check the serving size

​When your snack comes in a package, after you make sure that it isn’t filled with sugar, check the serving size. It’s a popular (and sneaky) technique for food manufacturers to give the nutritional facts for 2 or even 2.5 servings, on an item that you will likely polish off the entire package. 

If the servings are more than just one then you’ll need to do some quick math. Calculate the total calories, sugar, carbs, fat and protein. Make sure that the numbers line up with your target nutrition sums. 

Always be aware of how many servings you are eating in a single sitting. Do the math if you’re eating more than one serving – be honest with yourself! 

Snacking Tip #3: Homemade & made-in-nature are best

​As convenient as packaged health snacks are, you will always see better results by eating whole foods found in nature, or snacks that you’ve made at home with real food ingredients. Even the healthiest packaged protein bar from the store is going to contain preservatives and additives that are completely avoided in homemade foods. 

A handful of raw nuts, a piece of fruit with fresh nut butter, a hard boiled egg, a homemade fitness muffin (recipe below), some chicken breast on veggies or chopped flank steak on a salad are all better options than any packaged snack. 

When possible, stick with whole foods found in nature and snacks and meals that you make at home. 

Are you participating in a consistent, challenging exercise program? If not then contact me today. Let’s get you started on the most effective exercise and fat loss program that you’ll ever try without having to spend hours a day in the gym.

BONUS: recipe!

OK, so I rarely cook but I've tried these and they're a great protein packed snack that will fill you with energy and help you towards your fat loss goals. I would recommend make two batches and snack on them during the week. It’s packaged in a tasty little muffin, which is fun and flavorful, while being filled with superb nutrition. Enjoy two as a single serving! ​ 

Servings: 6 

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com 

Here’s what you need…

• coconut oil spray
• 2 cups liquid egg whites
• 1 cup vanilla protein powder
• 1 cup old fashion oats, divided 
• 1 cup frozen blueberries, divided 
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-tin muffin pan with coconut oil spray.
In a blender combine the egg whites, protein powder, ¾ cup oats, ½ cup blueberries, the lemon zest, sea salt and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.

Pour the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Divide the remaining blueberries evenly between the muffins and drop into the batter. Place a sprinkle of the remaining oats on the top of each muffin.

Pour the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Divide the remaining blueberries evenly between the muffins and drop into the batter. Place a sprinkle of the remaining oats on the top of each muffin.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals 2 muffins: 150 calories, 1g fat, 12g carbohydrate, 290mg sodium, 3g sugar, 3g fiber, and 20g protein. 

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