VEGETABLE SNACKS FOR WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS

Yummy, low calorie and diet-wise snack suggestions also included in this Diet Article

What do you generally eat at snack time? A candy bar? A large regular soda? Hot buttered popcorn? A breakfast tart? A donut or pastry? A bag of potato chips? These foods tend to be popular snacks and often contain more calories than entire meals.

Simply put, if Dieter Dan enjoys 1 giant candy bar and a large soda for snack time, he has just guzzled about 500 calories worth of candy and about 500 calories worth of soda - about 1,000 calories and actually more calories than a healthy meal.

If Dan's caloric intake for his height, age and body frame size equals 2,000 calories per day then he has just consumed half of his caloric requirements. Equally concerning is that candy and soda contain little-to-nothing nutritional value. Let's hope that his candyzilla bar contained some nuts because he would have received some nutritional benefits.

On that note if you're finding those bathroom scales reading higher than normal OR more than you desire them to read, the naughty culprit might not be in the form of meal time, rather snack time. If in doubt you can easily determine if over-snacking or making unwise snack choices is derailing your healthy diet and contributing to unwanted weight gain and yes, pure-d fat. It's a heartbreaker but if not attacked with vigor, that fat can turn into a full-blown heart attack - and who wants that?

Therefore, for the next seven days (one week) try experimenting with snack time. Rather than focusing on common goodies to curb appetite, let's try something very different: vegetables. And yes, I know that everyone doesn't adore vegetables and just about everyone has a vegetable that they don't like, so if you can't stand any type of vegetables you can certainly opt for fresh fruit.

The thing about vegetables is that all but a few are super-low in caloric content and fat grams. These babies are considered 'super foods' with 'super nutritional powers'. Some have been touted so rigorously that we might believe they have the power to move mountains - but of course that only applies if the village has all consumed pots and pots of broccoli.

So what vegetables make great snacks? Baby carrots and celery sticks are at the top of the list because they transport so easily. Simply wash, shake off the excess water and place into a zip-type bag. They should stay relatively fresh until snack time. These aren't the only healthy finger foods in the Vegetable Group. Radishes, cherry tomatoes and button-type mushrooms are also fun to eat and are absolutely delicious.

You can also prepare a salad mixture but don't recommend eating whole lettuce leaves in one sweep. If the boss walks by your office or desk amid snack time he might assume he's hired a giant bunny rather than a real-life human. And the last thing you need to add to your Diet Woes is a gun-ho Elmer Fudd-like person, right?

To add a burst of flavor to your snack vegetables enjoy with a little light or reduced fat salad dressing. You can also add just a tab of healthy peanut butter to the celery.

After one week has passed then hop on your weight scales and see how you did. If you lost weight and you were careful not to add more food to your regular diet amid your experiment, that might tell you that snack time is creating weight gain. If so, start to think about healthier snacks to add to your daily diet.

Other than vegetables all of the following make excellent low calorie snack options: fresh fruit, beef or turkey jerky, rice cakes, popcorn cakes, hot-air popped corn, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, serving of skim milk, serving of low fat yogurt, serving of low fat cottage cheese, a wedge of low fat cheese, a 100 calorie cereal bar or a boiled egg.

Changing Your Meal Schedule | Overweight & Still Beautiful | What You Don't Miss About Eating | Over 50 Articles to Diet Motivate You

Weight Loss Plan | Site Map | Diet Bites | Site Disclaimer