Healthy Snack Ideas

Please welcome guest blogger, A.J. Wilcox from http://www.orangesoda.com

Back in 2008, I found myself preparing for a cruise that my wife’s family was sponsoring. Upon reading about a ropes course that featured a weight limit that I was over, I started a diet. Up to this point, I had been running 2 miles per day, and eating whatever/whenever I wanted to hover around 255 lbs. I decided to diet until my cruise in 3 months, and needed to reach below 230 lbs.

As soon as my diet began, I quickly realized how much I love snacking! It seems as though the second I set goals to avoid something, I immediately begin craving it. (My vice during this time was a tasty, local Chinese food buffet near my home.)

Soon after I had made up my mind to cut out the unneeded calories and start snacking healthily, I started noticing where my priorities were. I love dumping cheese and salt on all my snacks, and I crave sugar like crazy after dinner. I had to deal with these cravings directly.

Dealing with Habits & Cravings
I worried a lot about cheese and salt because I felt like food didn’t taste as good without it. I found out something, though. When my body wasn’t used to massive amounts of cheese or salt anymore, just a tiny amount started to taste really potent. I ended up enjoying salt and cheese more than I did when I dumped them on my snacks.

Just one example is that when I got the hankering for a snack, I would take a romaine lettuce leaf, and put a sprinkle of cheese on it, and eat it, and nothing has ever tasted so cheesy.

Getting Active
We had just gotten a Dish Network package at the time, so it was difficult, but I got up off my butt, and started running, jogging, and cycling. This cut down on my need to snack, because at least for me, needless snacking went hand in hand with the TV.

I ended up running about 7 miles each day, snacking and eating a healthy diet, and got myself down to 220 lbs before the cruise – even better than my original goal.

For a successful diet, I recommend getting your eating habits in line, eating more healthy snacks, and getting active. Getting yourself into healthy habits is the best way to successfully diet. Healthy snacking is a fast way to shave a few hundred calories off your daily intake, and makes a huge difference!