Healthy Snacks
 

I'm sitting her at work snacking on some fruit that was left over from the catered lunch that we had. Earlier I had half of my ham sandwich I brought in, along with some chips. Basically, I'm wondering how I can eat healthier while at work.

I have a desk job (glorified secretary) and I'm really not active in general. I'll be moving in a month to an apartment complex that has a smallish workout room, and I'll get my ass in there regularly. But in the mean time the only thing my ass is doing is sitting.

I'm starting to feel a bit too chunky for my taste, so I want to lose some weight. I realize that having healthier snacks really isn't going to put too much of a dent in my weight loss gains. But every little bit will help. Once I'm moved and such I'll be back here asking for workout tips and healthy meal ideas.

So basically keep in mind that
A) I'm generally lazy
B) I have crappy eating habits
C) I love salty chip type snacks
D) Ummm.. There isn't a D, you get the idea.

Any tips/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks you studly TFP people :)

I have just rediscoved how much I love corrots, and the baby ones are really easy to keep around. At my supermarket they make mini to-go containers of raw veggies, which I also like. But if you want something crunchy and salty I really like rice cakes, which are a bit healthier than chips. Soy nuts are good for that, too.

celery sticks are great; tasty, crispy, and easy to prepare. Plus it takes more calories to digest them then you get from eating them. I also like to keep a couple 1/2 cup servings of cottage cheese and a few boiled eggs (sans yolks) around for snacking on at work.

nuts are awesome, like lightly salted almonds or pistachios. if you're looking to lose weight, try sunflower seeds, they're fun to deal with but you really dont eat very many even if you chew them all day.

-alec

I like trail mix ! Nuts, raisens, and a bit of M&M's.

Include apples in your snack repertoire. They're tasty, (moderately) cheap, portable and, I am told, take about as much energy to digest as they yield. At any rate, I knew a gentleman who went on an expensive dietician-supervised diet program -- successfully -- and they let him eat all the apples he wanted. He still does. Try the varietal apples, like Fuji, Gala, Royal Gala, and Braeburn. They cost more, but they're miles about the cheap mushy Red Delicious for flavor and crispness.

At home, my favorite not-too-sinful snack is a plate of apple slices with a few slices of cheese. Apples and cheese are delicious together.

And -- I always say this -- cut out sugared soft drinks; they're like 150-200 calories per 12 ounces, but they don't fill you up. That's why people drink so many. On the other hand, if you stop drinking them, you probably won't even miss the extra calories. Substitute sparkling water with a small amount of fruit juice, or iced tea with lemon; I like a mix of sparkling mineral water and grapefruit juice, but then I'm weird.

Im a big fan of smoothies. They are a liquid meal and even better you feel bloated afterwards so you feel like you have eaten heaps. They are heaps easy and quick to make too. Put some wheatgerm in it to make it even more filling. So if you have a fridge at work make a smoothie or two and put them in there. Thats my recomendation anyway.

Carrots, celery, apples, cherry tomatoes, whole wheat/whole grain crackers/bread (with, maybe, cheese).....

Some Hunger Tips:
1) Eat/chew Slower, better for digestion (food is broken up more) and also make you feel fuller quicker. :D

2) Drink more water/liquid. The start of thirst or dehydration can be confused with hunger, so try to get more fluids :p

3) Chew gum or maybe something else :eek: The act of chewing may (psychologically) make your body think you're eating so it can suppress your appetite. :p

4) Cooler/ice water or fluids suppress appetite by slowing down your digestive system

5) Generally, try to avoid processed/refined food as much as possible. Food is simplified during the refining process so your body breaks it down quicker and doesn't have to work as hard to digest it all (hence you don't feel as fullfilled, nor burn as much energy processing the food). ANything whole grain, wheat etc, espcially in breads and other foods like that are good :)

ummm, thats about it? :eek:

I snack on, of all things, at least once a day, a cup of Wheaties. They are lightly sweet and really healthy for ya.
Carrots are great, along with other veggies (brocolli, celery)
Fruit- raisins are an easy snack
Nutrition bars

mmm snack ideas.....
any sort of lowfat yogurt I love for a snack
but be creative...any type of fruit or vegetable will do the trick
i've been known to carry about containers of raw broccoli and I just love it
even having a meal which consists of some vegetables and a salad is a great opportunity for a meal
as well, if you really wanna keep off those pounds, eating every 3-4 hours with smaller meals(which you have probably heard before) is always good because it keeps your metabolism constantly working and you feel energised
oh, and plenty of water....not even for plan9's post about how 8 glasses of ice water a day will burn on average about 100 calories, but water is used for every bodily process and as said earlier, thirst can be mistaken for hunger
good luck to ya :p

I was always under the impression this can be bad for you as it tricks your stomach into thinking it is getting food and as a result produces more stomach acids. I guess I should go google it :)

Turkey/Cottage cheese. Protein shake (optimum nutrition makes this chocolate shake that rocks my butt) and some kind of complex carb (wheat bread, oatmeal, etc), been working for me, not everyone likes cottage cheese though.

Suprised no one said pretzels. Check the label, but most all are made from wheat flour and make a good snack. Also hot air popped popcorn. You can get gallon zip lock bags and fill those up one day and then fill up small zip locks during the week for your snack. One cup of popped hot air popcorn is about 30 cals.

Oatmeal, cottage cheese, almonds and 100% shredded wheat are my choices for snacks at work.

-jb

My fav. healthy snack is the banana milkshake, prepared as follows:

Freeze your old-ish bananas (not in the skin, which turns black when frozen)

Put 1 banana in a blender.

Add skim milk (how much varies by how thick you like your shake)

Blend

Eat/drink


Really tasty, pretty damn good for you, and nice on a hot summer day.

(This is not much good for work, of course, but I felt like sharing and didn't think this deserved its own thread.)

Check the caloie intake on nuts, and then keep walking. They are not very good for you. Sunflower seeds are loaded with salt and have tons of calories. They are one of the worst things to snack on.

Try some of the other stuff mentioned in this thread. Low fat (salt) pretzels are usually ok, but a little heavy on carbs if you are inactive. Drink a LOT of water throughout the day and you will find youself less hungry.

cellery stalks with some peanut butter and rasins is great.

They are a good source of EFA's, hence the high cal content. You can skip on the sodium if you get plain nuts from your farmers market. Don't ever say they are not good for you because that's a lie. In moderation they are very healthy and should be included with most diets.

-jb

220 calories for a 2.5 oz bag that takes me about 5 to 6 days to eat down... i dont think thats that bad

Averett - if your close to NJ i need a running partner

Nuts are an amazing health food. As mentioned above, they have a great source of EFAs and protien. Sure, they are high in calories, but you don't need that many to satisfy your hunger, which means you'll eat less in the long run. Nuts are a health food and they have gotten a bad rap from the low-fat crowd.

Try something low on the Glycemic Index, it'll keep you feeling fuller longer and you won't have the urge to snack as opposed to eating foods that are high on the GI.

Peanuts are a great example. Apples, vegetables, etc..

http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/gifoodlist.html

[edit]
Additional Info: Foods low on the GI help to increase HSL, which aids your body using stored fat for energy. Foods high on the GI will cause your insulin levels to spike, which causes something called LPL (creation of fat), and that actually takes fatty acids from your blood and stores them in fat cells. The more LPL takes place, the more you feel the urge to eat sugars, etc.. (which leads to a nasty cycle)

Try not snacking... I'm not being glib here. I find that if I eat breakfast and a good lunch I have no need to snack.