Thursday, April 26, 2012

Snacking

Today I did really well with  my eating. I've been pretty good all week, but today I was really mindful of what I ate. I did especially well with my snacking.

I used to think of snacks as "treats". Candy, chips, junk food items. Now I treat snacks as something filling and healthy, about 100-200 calories, with the purpose of keeping my blood sugar normal. It also is to help me fend off hunger. When I don't eat every few hours I feel really sick. And I eat a lot more at my next meal.

Most of the time my snacks are fruit. Apples, bananas, oranges... they are portable and filling.

Today I had to stop at the grocery store after work, It was already 7 and I hadn't had dinner yet. On the way home I was really hungry. I had "splurged" and bought Goldfish crackers. I haven't had them in a long time and I love them!

Now, this is the kind of snack that I could eat the whole bag in one sitting! But, instead I looked at the serving size. 55 fishies for 140 calories, And that was all I was going to have.

So I counted them. Instead of shoving a whole handful in my mouth I ate one or two at a time and counted them. When I got to 10 crackers eaten I thought, you're about 1/5 of the way through your serving. At halfway I thought, wow that lasted a lot longer than I thought. I get to eat that same amount again. I enojyed the control I had, and I enjoyed the food much more!

Now, I think of this as more of an indulgent snack. A serving of goldfish probably won't keep me as full as fruits or vegetables, but I think it's okay sometimes.

Another thing I've learned about snacking is to expand my view.

I like these snacks:
Soup!- 140 calories I don't like all Progresso Light Soups. In fact, I think several have a bad aftertaste. But I love this one! Chicken Vegetable Rotini. Only 140 calories per CAN. It's a great light meal to compensate for heavy meals, or have a cup or two as a snack! Very filling.
Half a sandwich- about 150 calories depending on how you make it.
Cheese Quesadilla -150 calories. I buy delicious tortillas that are only 50 calories, add an oz. of cheese (100 calories) and have a great snack! It's also great with bell peppers.
Laughing Cow Original Swiss wedge with whole grain Ritz crackers. 130 calories. A serving of crackers is not filling enough to tie me over to my next meal. But eating it with the cheese is perfect. 7 crackers is 100 calories and the cheese wedge is 30.

1 comment:

  1. Awesome idea for snacks! Another idea on the goldfish crackers is to get the multigrain ones. They really don't taste much different, and they are a little better for you. BTW- I have started (today) trying to eat better, due to your inspiration. Love ya! :)

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