Snacks for TV Time
Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites
What can I eat after dinner that won't blow my weight loss plan?
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Reader Question. Can you recommend a healthy snack for TV time? It's my worst time of day for diet temptation.~ Ellis, Kansas, USA
Answer. Ellis, popcorn seems to be the most popular snack for TV time because it takes a while to eat. Look for the 'Smart Pop' Orville Redenbacker popcorn which is tasty, as well as low in fat and calories.
Be sure to add several good squirts of no calorie refrigerated butter spray to the bag after popping. Their 100 calorie bags aretops for keeping calories under control.
If you have a sweet tooth, add the butter spray, then a couple of packets of no calorie sweetener and a dash or two of cinnamon.
Some other healthy choices for TV snack time that go a long way are frozen grapes, thinly sliced frozen bananas (freeze them an hour before you settle in to watch TV), and pretzels.
Try the honey wheat variety of your favorite brand. They are the absolute best pretzel sticks I've had.
100 Calorie Snacks
If you must have something with sugar inside, opt for the 100-calorie snack packages. These are more expensive than the packages that haven't been separated but they assist in limiting servings to one. Another option is to purchase the regular packages of your favorite cookies and repackage them for snack time when you have a Sweet Tooth that can't be ignored.
Another great sweet option is a dark or milk chocolate Hershey bar - but only consume 1/2 the bar. The milk chocolate will cost you a tab over 100 calories with the dark chocolate bar contains on 90 calories per 1/2 bar.
Opting for the milk chocolate bar with almonds will add a burst of nutritional value in the area of nuts - housed within the healthy Protein Group. Benefits of heart healthy dark chocolate are well-known - so both the almond infused chocolate bar as well as the dark chocolate bar make good options for snacking time when serving is limited to 1/2 a bar.
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Metabolic Rate Slows as Day Progresses Making it Difficult to Burn Off Added Calories
You are wise to find methods for curbing your appetite late in the evening as the body's metabolism slows in preparation for the long night's rest. As the metabolism reverts to a slower pace, calories aren't able to be burned as quickly as they were previously in the day.
The metabolism slows not only in preparation of rest but also because we've performed - or spent the bulk of our energy throughout the day. Now we're home and we're in relaxation mode. As the activity slows, so does the metabolism.
Just enjoying a meal can create a sluggish feeling as the digestive process begins. Think about how you feel in the mid-afternoon after lunch time. If you are like most, you begin to feel sleepy, lacking energy and sluggish. You may grab a cup of coffee or tea to help in waking you up. The larger the meal the more impact that it has on the body, the more sluggish the body will feel.
This feeling isn't as noticeable after the dinner meal because we start to unwind and relax. The slow, sluggishness tone of our body is often recognized as our body telling us that we need to retire and get some sleep. Because the digestive process creates the sluggish feeling - if we manage to get through this timeframe, then at bedtime we may feel wide awake again.
To avoid this situation it's best to embrace that feeling of tiredness rather than combat it with caffeine-based drinks that can only set up a situation for insomnia.
As to TV time, watching a thriller or horror show is more likely to contribute to insomnia and nightmares, so keep that in mind. Perhaps sticking to a love story might be best as you prepare for your night's rest. ~ Sky at Diet Bites
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