5 Healthy Snacks for Weight Loss (+5 Reasons to Have Them)

Unwanted weight gain and food cravings are synonymous terms that often cause both excitement and worry to obese (or overweight) people. When we compulsively eat our favorite foods in unmoderated amounts at irregular times, it may affect our metabolism. Here are five of the healthiest snacks that you can buy and eat to achieve faster weight loss.

Food cravings may not always be bad, but it’s their excess and timing that can cause a lot of issues. We all experience cravings at some time or another in a week, and it holds for even the more fitness-minded professionals too. These desires overtake our rational thoughts and make us want to eat foods that are not good for us- and this is why so many healthcare experts always advise you against them.

While it is near impossible to stay perfectly true to one’s fitness goals, minimizing episodes of binge or untimely eating does help. Healthy snacks sit right in between your (untimely) hunger and desire to eat something that may disrupt your fitness habits. The good thing is that they are available in both sweet and salty varieties.

What Causes (Untimely) Food Cravings?

More often than not, cravings can be a way that your body is telling you something. Maybe you lack a particular nutrient or there is an imbalance of certain hormones and your craving is your body’s way of telling you about it. The best thing you can do is to honor it by getting to the root cause of them and finding out how you can fill that scarcity.

Here are some reasons that you should consider before you start shutting yourself out of well-intended energy input. Who knows, you might need some iron and calcium when you feel like having some Greek yogurt or protein milkshake?

You need an energy boost

If you are craving something sweet, your body could be in a dire need of a quick energy fix. You could be feeling tired, dehydrated, under stress, or just feeling blue for no reason. All these cause a dip in our blood sugar levels and to make up for it, we tend to eat something sweeter.

You should eat meals that are low in Glycemic Load or Glycemic Index. The best way to do it is to go for healthy snacks made of whole grains, vegetables, and beans are great choices.

Tip: You should also go for high fiber foods and some fatty foods to help your body absorb the sweeter foods that you are eating.

Maintaining Balance

The human body always tries to maintain a state of equilibrium and balance concerning energy intake and expenditure. However, we sometimes will make food choices that upset this balance and your body then tries to compensate for this by sparking a craving for food that can balance this out.

Alcohol is one of the worst things one could have and its effect only increases the consumption of sugary foods. We would recommend going in for whole grains, fish, sea vegetables, beans, root vegetables, and winter squash. It is better to stay away from very sweet or salty foods to stay sober.

Nutrient Deficiency

If you are craving something crunchy, you can try apples, rice cakes, plain popcorn, nuts, and roasted seeds. To reduce your untimely desire to eat just about anything, have some fresh fruits, or some baked vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes.

The desire to eat something salty can be reduced by eating olives, pickles, and pickled vegetables, tabouli, hummus, or edamame with sea salt. Healthy creamy cravings can be satisfied by eating avocados, rice pudding, coconut milk, or even a pudding made with silken tofu or mashed banana.

Hormonal imbalance

It is common for women to experience unique cravings at the times they are going through menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause. This is caused by fluctuating testosterone and estrogen levels and could be difficult to control.

Preventing hormone disruption and imbalance by getting plenty of sleep, eating a wholesome diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, and doing regular exercise can keep your untimely eating habits and cravings in check.

Did you know? It is important to talk it over with a healthcare expert online. You won’t need to go out to meet your doctor nor would you need to make any appointments. It’s all available on-demand.

Dehydration

Cravings can also be caused by dehydration. Our body often misinterprets the sensation of thirst and translates that into hunger. Next time when you feel like eating anything just for the sake of it, you should drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes and see if you are still hungry.

PS: One may experience the same effect due to boredom and a lack of direction in life. It is important to consult a mental therapist virtually to address the psychological issue that is affecting you mentally.

Why Healthy Snacks Are Good for Weight Loss?

This one is a no-brainer.

We may often feel short of energy at certain times of the day, no matter how disciplined our diet is. This could be due to several reasons like an abrupt change in our schedule, an illness, or even a desire to eat something that we just so much like. The trouble starts when we eat something obsessively and attract several negative results for our fitness standards. It all becomes worse when we make it a habit.

Binging or indulging in high-calorie foods once in a while is usually okay. But it is still better to eat only healthy snacks for those early evening or late-night hunger pangs so the fitness goals are not adversely affected.

Benefits of eating healthy snacks:

• They manage our untimely hunger better

• • They boost the nutrient content in our body

• They give us instant energy, especially after workouts

• There is no guilt associated with them, even if they taste sweet

• They help us recover from any fatigue

• They help in weight loss and improve metabolism

• They taste great!

5 of the Best Healthy Filling Foods for Fitness Professionals and Weight Loss Aspirants

If you’ve been thinking that starvation is the secret to being in top shape, you should think again. The perfect diet, at least according to us, does not involve deprivation or misery. We encourage our readers to be food enthusiasts who look forward to their next meals.

The world is not all that bad too. While the supermarkets are flooded with all kinds of unhealthy foods, they also have healthy alternatives. You can have these healthy and filling foods (“healthy snacks”) to keep you satiated for longer, thus helping in a faster weight loss experience.

Here are some of the more nutritious and filling foods that you could buy today. They are all full of fiber and protein, but they have very few unhealthy calories:

Whole Grains

Always go for whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice. These options are highly filling and the fiber helps balance your blood sugar levels. These healthy homemade snacks like oatmeal or baked grains are excellent breakfast choices.

Unlike traditional sugar-laden cereals, they stabilize your blood sugar and help you stay away from unhealthy foods. You can top the effect by adding some warm milk to your oatmeal or by having chicken with your brown rice.

Black Rice

Not a lot of people know about black rice but it does pack a nutritional punch with an amazing amount of calories. Half a cup of cooked black rice will give you 90 calories as against 108 calories found in brown rice. The former is also packed with loads of antioxidants and fiber and has an insignificant amount of carbohydrates as compared to plain rice.

Tip: Instead of having it as the main course, you may add it to your salads, wraps, and side dishes.

Beans

Legumes are excellent filling foods as they give you a hefty dose of fiber and protein. Research shows that they may even help prevent many diseases, apart from keeping weight off your waistline. Beans consist of complex carbs, a myriad of antioxidants, fiber, and other vital nutrients.

Our favorites are chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, black-eyed pea, edamame, black beans, and fava beans. All these options work great in salads, stews, and wraps- or even for just munching while watching your favorite game of the super bowl!

Also read: Foods That Help You Burn Fat And Flab Quickly

Potatoes

Potatoes are packed with nutrients and carbohydrates. According to one study, boiled potatoes rank with whole-wheat bread and brown rice as the best budget-filling foods. They can be best eaten after baking or boiling, though frying them is not advisable.

PS: Sweet potatoes are great too!

Eggs

A study found that people who ate eggs for breakfast had fewer calories throughout the day compared to those who had a bagel. Eggs are a complete protein source, which means they contain all nine essential amino acids that your body cannot produce.

These amino acids stimulate the release of hormones that help suppress your appetite and keep you satiated for long periods. You can also add it to other homemade foods, if relevant. It is best to eat them either boiled or fried, or raw with boiled milk for the best results.

Also read: Seeing Is Believing: Here's How a Live Video Conferencing Software Can Help You Get More Clients

Healthy Homemade Snacks for the Evening and Late-Night Cravings

There is a huge difference between satiating your evening or late-night energy requirements and indulging in compulsive eating. We have different activity levels and at times, we do find the need to eat something that replenishes our energy reserves faster without compromising on taste.

People with a sweet tooth would go with something sugary while those having a preference for salty or spicy foods would go for something tangy. We are offering a list of delicious foods that you could buy easily as per your taste to include in your evening or late-night eating options.

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Salty:

• Cheese crackers

• Popcorn

• Baked potato or carrot chips

• Macadamia nuts

• Baked mixed vegetables

• avocadoes

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• Roasted cinnamon and honey pear chips

• Chocolates

• Oatmeal with honey

• Yogurt with fruits

• Cookies

• Dry fruits

All these snacks can be prepared easily at home and can be eaten as evening or late night energy foods. Just be sure to make the Dry fruits m an option for your untimely munching pangs instead of making them an alternative to your regular diet. Compulsive eating habits would only make you obese and ill.

How to suppress appetite naturally without eating food?

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We can agree that the habit of munching at all times is a health hazard and should be addressed before it turns into a Compulsive Eating Disorder. One smart way to do it is to suppress one’s appetite without eating food and rather divert one's attention to other energy-intensive tasks.

This factor is especially important for those suffering from chronic anxiety, acute depression, or other mental ailments. Such people often resort to eating sweet or sugary foods and might end up courting ailments related to blood sugar or blood pressure- and it becomes worse with heredity.

Here are some smart ways that you can abstain yourself from compulsive or untimely or binge eating:

• Practice Yoga or mindfulness

• Drink six liters of water every day

• Stay relaxed and tension-free

• Have some dark chocolate, bananas, or lemon water

• Drink some green tea instead of milk tea and coffee

• Increase your fiber and protein intake

• Sleep for six to eight hours every day

• Do not stay up late

• Look at yourself in the mirror (works best if you are overweight)

• Do some physical activity like gardening or cleaning the house

• Practice intermittent fasting

• Stay positive

Consult a Dietitian Today if Your Food Cravings Are Interfering With Your Daily Life!

A healthy and linear weight loss experience depends on a combination of several factors. These include proper sleep patterns, staying away from stress, fitness levels, drinking enough water, etc. But nothing is more important than consulting a professional nutritionist and sticking to her personalized diet plan.

She may also help you with a list of things you should and should not eat, as per your current health and Body Mass Index (BMI), besides medications taken and allergies (if any). You can also count on several other factors like weight loss and a balanced metabolism rate without compromising your taste.