The Word on Weightloss

Do you feel like you want to eat all the time? Do you feel like you’re constantly fighting off the need to munch on something crunchy or salty or sweet (or all three!?)? Do you feel like there’s nothing you can do to satisfy this desire but chow down on a bag of chips or a candy bar?

An important concept with dieting is to understand your eating triggers: what makes you eat? Getting in touch with your body's signals to eat and perhaps the unconscious "emotional eating" habits you may have are important in understanding how to start healthy eating habits.

Sometimes you are legitimately hungry. Other times, you may feel hungry but you've eaten plenty and have had enough liquids...but you may be stressed or happy or bored. Assess why you feel like eating because uncontrolled eating and snacking means that you’re compromising your weight loss program and goals that you’ve been working so hard to meet. Don’t let desire ruin your goals.

So here’s the deal. When you have the urge to eat when you don’t need to, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Are you really hungry?
2. What are you hungry for?
3. Have you had enough water to drink lately?
4. Assess what you’re doing at the moment you’re hungry. Are you bored or anxious?
5. Once you decide to eat something, analyze how you feel after each bite. Are you still that hungry?

By asking yourself you’re slowing down the process. You’re thinking before you act, and hopefully considering the realistic answer. Most of us do not know what a hunger pang feels like because we’re typically so quick to act (or react!). Nor do we know what the sensation of being full feels like as we have a tendency to over eat and are more familiar with the feeling of having eaten too much. Get in touch with yourself and attempt to experience a true hunger pang and listen to your body to define fullness. That’s the best way to really understand your feelings and how to accommodate them.

So what if you’re legitimately hungry, you’ve had enough water and your last meal was only an hour ago? Here are 20 snack ideas to choose from. They’re all a variety of low calorie treats that you can eat and not feel guilty about; remember to write it down in your food journal!

• 1 small soft pretzel (50 calories)
• 1/4 cup hummus, 3 carrot sticks (80 calories)
• 1 Light Swiss Original wedge, 3 pieces (85 calories) 
• 1 bag Baked Cheetos 100 Calorie Mini Bites (100 calories)
• 1 cup unshelled edamame (120 calories)
• 50 Vegetable Chips (130 calories)
• One 1-oz package of almonds (130 calories)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds in shell (143 calories)
• 2 pieces (30 grams) prosciutto, 4 dried figs (154 calories)
• 1 mini bag of 94% Fat Free Kettle Korn (100 calories)
• 1 package Fruit Crisps (50 calories)
• 1 packet Mocha cookies (90 calories)
• 1 Jelly Belly 100-calorie pack (100 calories)
• One 100-calorie pack Graham Cookies (100 calories)
• One 100-calorie Balance Bar (100 calories)
• 1 Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino bar (120 calories)
• 1/2 banana with 1 tbsp peanut butter (130 calories)
• 2 tbsp Peanut Butter, 4 stalks celery (124 calories)
• 1/4 cup of raisins (130 calories)
• 1 cup Greek Total 2% fat yogurt, 2 tsp honey (173 calories)