Snack More For Fat Loss

WHY SNACKING MORE – Many people cut out snacking to lose weight, but contrary to popular belief, this is not a good idea because it lowers blood sugar leading you to end up over-eating during meals.  Eating at least 6 smaller meals a day avoids over-eating and you will see weight loss almost instantly – especially if you work out at least 3 times a week as well.  However, that doesn’t mean you should snack on just anything.  Cut out processed junk like chips.  That is snacking you want to avoid.  Snacking healthy every hour or two is a huge must for fat loss and long term maintenance to keep your body from going into starvation mode and actually clinging onto fat.

SNACKING RIGHT FUELS YOUR FIRE FOR FAT LOSS – Think of your metabolism like a campfire that you want to continually maintain the burn at a moderate and consistent pace. How do you do this?  You keep adding small logs to the fire every 30 minutes or so.  If you donʼt add in a small log to the fire what happens?  It burns out.  Then if you add too many logs to the fire, it shocks the fire and sometimes does the opposite effect of what you want.  Our digestive system is very similar to the log to fire theory in that if you are not consistently adding a small snack every hour it will begin to shut down.  We want to keep the metabolic rate continually burning by continually adding small snacks to fuel the fire that is our metabolism – or our fat burning machine. The more you evenly add small snacks, the faster your metabolic rate will begin to work in time as it gets used to breaking down these food items in a fast and consistent manner.  When you can understand the way your body works, you can better understand why you want to avoid going long periods of time without eating, as you’ll then literally confuse your body or burnt out its fire.  Keeping it lit with small healthy snacks throughout the day is an easy way to keep it on track.  Don’t let your fire burn out!

WHY HEALTHY SNACKING – Now when I say snack I don’t just mean grab anything.  Choosing the right snacks that will keep you satisfied between meals and help you to not overeat when you sit down for a full meal are critical.  Foods full of fiber and complex carbohydrates create a feeling of fullness that will satisfy you longer than simple carbs or processed junk.  For example, mixed nuts, apples with organic unsalted and unsweetened peanut butter, a banana drizzled with almond or peanut butter, carrots with good quality preservative-free hummus, a healthy homemade Greek yogurt bowl, or even a handful of fresh seasonal berries all make great quality healthy snacks that speed you up naturally during your work day and rev up your metabolism too!  These snacks will keep you satisfied till mealtime and the metabolic fire burning throughout the day.  Plan ahead to save time & money by picking up large quantities of dried bulk ingredients and preparing your own snacks!  Making your own nut and dried fruit mixes incorporates good fats and builds lean muscle.  Check out our website for more healthy tips and recipes!

FAT LOSS SNACK LIST:

-Yogurt bowl (recipe below)
- dried Fruit & Nut Mix (recipe below)
-Seasonal Fruits
-SUMMER FRUITS:
nectarine, peaches & stone fruits, cherries, mixed berries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew

-Sliced Apples with Organic Unsweetened Almond Butter
-Sliced Bananas drizzled with organic unsweetened crunchy peanut butter and agave nectar -Organic String Cheese, handful of unsalted whole almonds
– Carrots, Cucumbers & bell peppers with Hummus
-Hard Boiled Egg with half of yolk removed

My Trail Mix Recipe: (make your own fav mix, use mine as a base recipe 🙂 )

– 1 cup walnuts (crunch up a bit into chunk pieces with your fingers) • 1.5 cup sliced Almonds
• 1/2 cup dried Apricots (sliced or diced)
• 1/3 cup Dried Raisons

– 1/4 cup Dried Organic unsweetened Coconut slivers (pic of nuts bag here)

Homemade Yogurt Bowl Recipe

– 3 heaping tablespoons of plain nonfat Greek yogurt – 1 tsp of vanilla extract

– 1/2 cup of frozen berries (heat them up in a skillet just to thaw) – 1 tbsp of crushed pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Heat the frozen berries over stovetop just to thaw for about 1-2 minutes. Remove before they get warm.

2. Mix the vanilla into the Greek yogurt with a fork.

3. Top with the berries and nuts, lightly crushed. (with your hands)

*TIP: If you take whey protein post workouts, you can also blend in 1 scoop and have this as a pre or post workout snack!

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Melanie is a San Diego native, a lover of outdoor activities, cooking, friends & family, & is an entrepreneur at heart.  As a personal chef and fitness coach, she has been able to combine her two career passions – which has proven to be an exciting journey.  Inspired by a love for cooking & entertaining, Melanie attended the Art Institute of San Diego and in 2006, she became a personal chef.  Ever since been then, she has been preparing nutritious gourmet meals (personal meal deliveries & private party catering) for residents in La Jolla, Carmel Valley and all over North County San Diego.  Melanie is NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) certified and is the founder of Rock Body Food.  Melanie truly loves her job of teaching others how to do what she loves & lives herself!