How to Save Snack Calories
If You Love Snacking and Want to Lose Weight, Always Choose This
Whether you're packing an afternoon snack or hitting up the appetizers at a party, Paula Norris, a dietitian known as movingdietitian on Instagram, posted these comparison photos to remind you to skip the crackers and opt for fresh veggies instead.
Here are her three reasons:
- You can eat more for fewer calories. Paula says, "This is especially important for people like me - I have a BIG appetite and find I have to eat quite a lot to get full." Look how many more veggies you can eat compared to crackers!
- "Crackers are nutritionally poor. They don't give you much except for salt and carbs," she says. Veggies, on the other hand, are "nutrition bombs," offering macronutrients and antioxidants to boost your energy and immune system.
- Two words: filling fibre. Paula says this is necessary "for satiety, gut health and comfort, energy levels and mood amongst other things," like preventing belly bloat caused by constipation.
Whether you're trying to lose weight or just eat healthy, think of snack time as an opportunity to fill the holes in your diet that you're missing with meals alone. Most people don't get enough veggies and get way too many processed carbs, so this is a great swap!
Make this choice easier by meal-prepping carrot and celery sticks, sliced peppers and cucumbers, and broccoli and cauliflower florets. Keep stacked veggie containers at eye level in the fridge so they're as easily accessible as a box of crackers, inspiring you to grab them.
