by Lisa Putnam

Created on: May 25, 2010

Many dieters believe that the first rule of dieting is no snacking.  This is probably one of the number one reasons why most diets usually end with a binge.  Eating snacks throughout the day is actually healthy for the body and helps a dieter stay on track.

Snack vs. Snacking
There is a big difference between snacking and scheduled snacks.  Snacking is uncontrolled eating throughout the day.  If you graze on anything and everything you feel the urge to eat than obviously you will gain weight or at least maintain the weight you are at.  Eating snacks, on the other hand, is about controlled and scheduled times during the day when you eat a small amount of calories to keep the body feeling healthy and strong.  

Blood Sugar Levels
Snacking helps the body regulate blood sugar levels.  A person does not need to be diabetic to worry about their sugar.  Almost everyone has felt that mid afternoon slump between lunch and dinner.  When your blood sugar becomes low than the body becomes sluggish and hungry and soon you are reaching for that cookie or feeling very deprived.  Planning to have a snack between meals that are more than four hours apart is smart dieting to even out blood sugar and control cravings.

Creating a Schedule
Most people who are following a diet tend to plan out their meals.  Snack should be planned out as well.  Aim for a lot protein and carbohydrates between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner.  Protein is needed for adequate muscle growth and maintenance so that you lose fat instead of muscle.  Carbohydrates give energy, something everyone needs to keep them going during the day.   If you eat an early dinner and go to bed later plan for a snack that has a lot of protein, a lot of good quality fat, and low in carbohydrates.  The higher amount of fat will help you to sleep during the night and the lack of carbohydrates will not keep you up with excess energy.  This may sound complicated but it really isn’t.  A small protein bar and an apple is not only filling, but also high in protein and carbohydrates.  A handful of almonds is high in fat and proteins but low in carbs.  

Keep Calories In Check
Always remember your daily caloric needs and eat about 300 or 400 calories under it when trying to weight.  Adding snacks into your diet may mean cutting back on your three main meals but snacks should stay around 200 to 300 calories each.  If you do not know your daily calorie needs do a quick online search for a daily calorie needs calculator or go to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator. htm .

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