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Avoiding Temptation: Healthy Snacking

It’s most common to be tempted to cheat on our diets when we get hungry between meals.  Many dieters eliminate between-meal snacks from their diets in an effort to cut calories consumed throughout the day, but this can result in a frustrating 4 o’clock feeling because it’s been a while since lunch but dinner is still a few hours away.  If this sounds like you, you have the right idea but you’re making it harder on yourself than it has to be.  Spreading your calories throughout the day by eating a variety of healthful snacks can help ward off cravings and will keep your metabolism running strong all day.

Eat Every 3 Hours

3 hours is a guideline, not a law, but going for long periods of time without food may actually be detrimental to your diet plan.  This is especially true if you’re on a low calorie diet because your metabolism will be more inclined to slow down during the day because it isn’t getting as much food as it’s used to.  Eating every 3 hours or so will force your metabolism to continue to burn calories throughout the entire day and will provide your body with the steady supply of nutrients you need to perform at your best and avoid temptations.

Try this: Eat a hearty breakfast around 8, lunch at 12, an afternoon snack at about 3:30, dinner around 7 and a high protein snack before bed around 10.

Have Healthy Snacks with You

If you work a 9-5, make sure to pack at least one healthful snack every day and have a back-up stash somewhere in your desk.  Same idea goes if you’re attending school – those vending machine temptations won’t be very forgiving to your waistline or wallet.  It’s also important to have snacks with you on vacations so you have something to hold you over until you find a restaurant with healthy options.  I would recommend always having an emergency stash somewhere in your car so you’re not tempted to hit a lot of fast food joints when you’re on the road.

Choose Balanced Snacks

A balanced snack will have complex carbohydrates (found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables), protein, and fat.

For example, try these healthy options:

Nuts (great for stashing in your car or desk)

Low-fat string cheese with whole wheat crackers

Low-sugar Greek yogurt (add dried fruit and nuts for more flavor)

Peanut butter on whole wheat bread

Apples, grapes, bananas and other fresh fruit

Vegetables (carrots and broccoli travel well)

Dark chocolate with a glass of reduced-fat milk

These and other options that are high in fiber, protein and healthy fats will help you stay full throughout the day and ward off temptations as you pass the local donut shop.  Remember, spreading your calories out throughout the day is always better than eating them all in a few sittings.

Get a Total Body Workout in 15 Minutes

We all know there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything we want to, but if you truly feel like you just don't have enough time to exercise, try to rethink how you exercise. Hitting the gym doesn't always have to be a 2 hour ordeal; in fact sometimes you can stay home (which eliminates commuting time) and get a great workout in as little as 15 minutes! To pull off an effective workout in such a short amount of time, efficiency is important. You'll want to work multiple muscle groups at the same time with compound exercises and you can eliminate time between exercises by performing circuit training.

Compound Exercises

Some exercises are intended to only target a very specific muscle group, while compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups at the same time. Although exercises that target specific muscles can be effective and should be a part of your regular weight lifting routine, when you're strapped for time, rely on compound exercises to get a total body workout quickly.

Push-Ups

The push-up is one of my favorite exercises. It engages basically your entire upper-body: your chest, biceps, triceps, core, and even deltoids. For a standard push-up your arms should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart. To focus on your triceps, move your hands closer together. To really challenge your pectorals, move your hands further apart.

Squats

Squats are able to engage the two largest muscles in your body: your quads and glutes. Working larger muscles requires more energy, which means you'll burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Speed squats or jump squats will really make your heart rate jump, helping you reap some of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise in a short amount of time.

Chin-Ups

A chin-up bar that goes over your door is a fairly inexpensive home gym accessory, but you can also see if a nearby park has chin-up bars or even monkey bars. To target your biceps, grip the bar underhanded. To target your triceps, grip the bar overhanded.

Lunges

Lunges are another great lower body workout that will engage your quads, glutes and inner-thighs. Increase the difficulty by starting in an ordinary lunge position and jumping up and switching legs in the air.

Circuit Training

Circuit training is easiest to explain with an example: 24 jump squats followed immediately by 20 push-ups followed by 24 alternating leg lunges followed up by 10 chin-ups or 20 wide push-ups. Rest for 1 minute and repeat the sequence until you've reached the 15 minute mark.

The squats work your lower body so these muscles need rest before being used again. However, instead of wasting time while resting, you work completely different muscles with the push-ups. Then, while the muscles you work by doing push-ups are resting, you return to working your leg muscles. This intense sequence will get your heart racing just as if you were doing cardiovascular exercise, you'll save time by eliminating down time between exercises, and you can work out at home! Continue to challenge your body by mixing in different compound exercises from time to time and enjoy the benefits of long gym workouts in only a few minutes!

The Importance of Sleep

Did you know that sleep can actually help you lose weight and gain muscle mass?  When your body gets enough sleep, it partially suppresses the hormone ghrelin, which regulates your metabolism and appetite.  However, when you're deprived of sleep, this hormone goes through the roof, taking your appetite with it.

Speaking of hormones, your body releases its largest amount of growth hormone while you're asleep, which is essential for repairing the damage you did to your muscle tissue while you were working out.  If you're not getting enough sleep, your body won't be able to repair its muscles and it will take you longer to gain lean muscle mass.

Aim for between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night.  Your weight loss and muscle building goals will thank you.

Surviving McDonald's and Fast Food Restaurants

I don't think there will ever come a time when nutrition authors will be able to give you the complete go-ahead on fast food chains, but these chains may get a slightly worse reputation than they actually deserve. McDonald's especially has made a recent push towards offering healthier options, so if you're picky and follow these rules, the occasional fast food visit won't throw you off your diet.

No Meals

If you're planning on ordering a burger or sandwich, buy it à la carte. Ordering a medium drink and filling it up with Coke will add 150 junk calories and 40 grams of sugar that will cause your blood sugar to spike and leave you feeling hungry in an hour. The medium fries that come with your meal will add nearly 400 calories, 19 grams of fat, and more than 10% of your daily value of sodium. Trust me, it's not worth it.

Hold the Mayonnaise

Did you know that the mayonnaise at Burger King adds 160 calories to your meal with its whopping 17 grams of fat? That's more calories and fat than the cheese adds! As a general rule, opt for darker colored condiments, like Ketchup and barbecue sauce.

Be Careful of Salads

Salad is not necessarily code for healthy - you have to be picky here too. Does the Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken really sound healthy? It has more than 20 grams of fat and 450 calories, and that's if you don't add any dressing. With numbers like those you might as well go for a big juicy burger! Plus remember what I was saying about choosing dark-colored condiments? That means light-colored salad dressings are probably high in fat. If you're going to get a salad, opt for grilled chicken (McDonald's offers that same Southwest salad with grilled chicken) and dip each bite into a little bit of dressing instead of drenching your entire salad with it - you'll be able to taste the dressing without consuming more than you need.

Order from the Under 400 Calories Menu

The number of calories a meal has is by no means the only factor you should consider when picking what to eat (the medium fries managed to sneak onto this list after all), but this section of the menu is a good place to start searching for selections. You can request a further breakdown of nutritional information, look it up online, or use your best judgment. It's not always easy at a lot of fast food joints, but try to get the highest percentage of your calories from protein or at least choose options that move in that direction. Remember, protein is essential for weight loss and muscle gain, so you should make it a priority even when you're eating out.