Yes! Healthy snacking is important to tide you over from one meal to the next. To feel fuller longer, try to incorporate at least a fiber and/or a protein in your snack...

Try 2 tbsp of organic hummus and a 1/2 cup fresh, organic red bell peppers. This sweet and crunchy treat has both fiber and protein in it to the trick in keeping you satisfied between meals. Have a sweet tooth?! Try 1/2 cup of organic 2% plain greek yogurt topped with 1/4 cup low sugar granola, 1/4 cup organic blueberries, and top with a tbsp of walnuts. This healthy option will help satisfy your sweet cravings without all the sugar. It's also a great combination of protein, carbs, and slow digesting, healthy fat.

Healthy fruit, veggie, fat and protein snack alternatives (vs. high fat, high sugar snacks) give you the much-needed macro and micro nutrients. You are not only full, but fed too. Healthy snacks will maintain a steady blood sugar, which means no sugar highs or lows. Those spikes cause a large increase in blood insulin levels, which cause fat metabolism to stop and fat storage to start. Nobody wants that.

-Coach C

Sound familiar? It's not just you...nutrition can be a hard thing to change. However, getting your nutrition dialed in will lead to better results from working out.

The most important step is to become conscious of what you are eating. I like to use MyFitnessPal, but if you don't want to use an app, just write it down on paper. Leave your journal/notepad in your kitchen, or in your work bag, and jot down what you ate throughout the day or at the end of each day. Bring it in to me and ask me to hold you accountable.

Did you know there are four levels of nutrition? Your goal is to move from the level you are at to the next level. Try to determine what habit you have that is holding you back the most. Is it skipping breakfast, not drinking enough water, having wine with dinner every night, or too many splurges?

The Four Levels of Nutrition:

Nutritional Free-styling - You eat whatever you want, whenever you want.
Proper Food Choices - varying compliance - You try to eat the right stuff, but don't do it consistently.
Proper Food Choices - 90% compliance - You eat the right stuff and rarely slip-up (splurges limited to 1-2 times a week).
Calorie/Portion Control - You have fine tuned your diet for a specific goal or purpose; you stay on your plan most of the time and take the number of calories into account.

If you are still struggling with your nutrition, stop the madness and talk to me! Summer is practically here...you want to look and feel your best, PLUS you want to be able to enjoy yourself and your food without feeling guilty or sabotaging your long term goals!

For those who need just a little push, I'll be posting a meal plan in a few weeks to get you back on track nutritionally. Remember, I do nutrition consults, which are personal, specific, and confidential to help you meet your goals!

-Coach C

Is there such a thing as healthy snacking?

Help...I'm having trouble with my nutrition!