Is it Delectable?
If your snack is delectable, it could be trouble..
One of the most common types of foods or snacks I see causing weight gain among our clients is delectable foods.
These are foods that are often packaged under the umbrella of health but aren’t really healthy.
They’re also often processed and high calorie.
These foods may come in the form of a packaged bar or a whipped up drink that doesn’t seem too high in calories.
We think we can get away with them because they’re “pretty healthy or not that bad” but are they?
The reality is that they’re more like “healthy dessert” which is…still dessert. It’s really tough to get our taste buds really excited without putting certain things in our foods that make us crave them. Manufacturers are very aware of this and they know how to sneak these foods by us.
Here are a few to delectable snacks to watch out for
Delectable Foods to Avoid
-Protein Bars
-Granola bars
-Crackers
-Energy balls or protein bites (that’s our main picture for this article)
-Flavored Yogurts
-Certain energy drinks and fusion sports drinks like Gatorade and protein drinks
-Flavored, whipped, topped or large coffee and cream drinks
These foods also have another sneaky issue with them. Not only are they high calorie, they’re small. And small isn’t good for weight loss.
Your brain has a keen awareness of the size of the foods it’s eating. If it sees something small go in, it figures it probably wasn’t a ton of calories. Manufacturers on the other hand want you to eat lots of their foods so they tend not to make them big and bulky and low in calories because that wouldn’t entice you to eat more of them.
Add the fact that these foods also contain sugar and fat together which is music to our taste buds and you have a very dangerous delectable food.
Delectable Food Danger Checklist
- Is it small?
- Does it have Fat and Possible Sugar substitutes in it?
- Is it processed?
- Would it qualify as 100% whole grain?
- Can you eat like 50 of them in the blink of an eye??
Your snacks should pass all of these test questions, not just some of them.
Next time you’re at the grocery store and you spot a healthy bit sized treat, think about better food options.
Better Snack Ideas
-Oranges, Apples, Pears
-Berries
-Low fat cottage cheese
-Greek Yogurt
-Walnuts
-Brown Rice Cakes (add some almond butter if you wish)
-A few slices of Turkey or Chicken
-Salmon Bites/ Salmon Nuggets
-Canned Flavored Tuna (they have many flavors)
Better Snacking Ideas
1. Eat Real Food!
Try to make your snacks natural. get them from real foods. Don’t get sucked in by advertisers who are trying to feed you heavy calorie, dense processed foods.
2. Work On Consistency
Imagine if you fed your car like you feed your body. A snack here, a meal there, a bunch of alcohol today and nothing the next day. It’s tough to figure out how things are going when there isn’t really a pattern in place. The Canadian Food Guide can help you with this. One of of it’s simplest proponents is consistent eating.
3. Have a Treat When It’s Worth It
If you’re going to have a treat, don’t waste it on a snack during the day. Most people don’t mind eating healthy snacks. That being said, some of us need a bit of a treat at the end of the day. If your snacks are healthy and from natural sources, you’ll be able to get away with a small treat at the end of the day.
On the other hand, if you’re using up calories on rich and delectable snacks throughout the day, there’s no room for a small genuine treat later on.
Cheers,
FS Studios
