We all know that snacks are delicious, but they can also play a key role in helping you achieve your weight loss goals. Often, when people are trying to lose weight, they exclude snacks and try to stick to up to three meals a day. This does reduce food intake but, more often than not, ends up causing you to overeat in the evenings. Since your morning and afternoon snacks are likely to take place while you’re working, it’s important to learn how to make them work for you. Here’s why work snacks for weight loss success is so important.
Why you should snack-prep
Many of us, especially if we have weight management goals, don’t plan to snack. But we need snacks, and that’s why having a game plan is essential to ensuring you meet all your nutrition goals. Most people will begin to feel hungry again 3-5 hours after a meal, and if your next meal doesn’t fall within this time limit, you’ll find yourself ravenous when you do eat. This can lead to overeating at main meal times and can hinder your weight loss goals. Either that, or you’ll end up hunger-buying something snacky on the go which may also not align with your nutrition goals.
When you plan ahead to include 1-2 snacks each day, you can ensure you’re still on track. And remember, just because you have a snack planned out, doesn’t mean you have to eat it if you’re not hungry. Listen to your hunger cues and get snacking, or leave it for the next day if you aren’t hungry.
The benefits of snack prep are that being intentional about what you eat is one of the biggest stepping stones to weight loss success. Snacks can also help you manage your appetite, stick to regular portion sizes and keep your energy levels stable throughout the day. Wouldn’t it be nice to not have those 3 PM sugar cravings and an afternoon slump every day?
What do good work snacks for weight loss look like?
Before you plan your snacks, you need to know what a wholesome snack should like. This will vary depending on your individual nutrition goals, but the key nutrients you need to include will always be the same. Every snack should contain a quality protein source, rainbow fruits or veggies, wholegrain carbohydrate +/- a healthy fat source.
Proteins can include fish, lean meat, chicken, tofu and even legumes! When it comes to colour, vegetable sticks or mixed fruit salad are your best bets for adding as much colour and variety as possible. Your wholegrains will provide extra fibre and energy and could include seeded crackers, wholegrain bread, or rolled oats. Some examples of healthy fats are avocado, a drizzle of olive oil or nuts/nut butters and seeds.
Looking for healthy and wholesome snack ideas? Our founder, Chloe McLeod has all of these delicious options to inspire you. And if you’re looking to work with a dietitian to manage your weight loss journey, book your first appointment with a Verde Nutrition Co dietitian today.