The most important rule of a healthy and balanced diet is to eat 3 main meals and 3 snacks. So why are snacks a must for weight loss diets? Since our aim is to prevent getting hungry quickly by keeping blood sugar balanced and to prevent excessive food consumption at the next meal... Snacks, which we consider indispensable not only in slimming diets but also in diabetic nutrition programs, will accelerate weight loss as they will cause an increase in our metabolic rate. When we think of snacks, we usually think of snack-style products. Consuming foods with high fat and sugar content in the form of snacks during snacks will disrupt the balance of the diet and often results in weight gain. Again, sugary foods cause hunger quickly due to the sudden increase and subsequent decrease in blood sugar. For this reason, one thing to consider when consuming snacks is to acquire the habit of reading labels... The energy content of a snack should not exceed 100-200 calories. If ready-made products are preferred, the choice should be made by taking into account the nutritional values on the label.
In a healthy and balanced diet, meal times should be regular and a nutritional pattern should be established so that no more than 2-3 hours between meals. The last snack of the day should be 2 hours before going to bed, and the night snack should not be neglected in order not to decrease the resistance of our body, which remains hungry until the morning of the next day, and to maintain blood sugar balance. Choosing foods with high fiber content in snacks provides a feeling of fullness for a longer time because it delays the emptying speed of the stomach. At the same time, fibrous foods are also extremely important for the digestive system. Fruits and vegetables, whole grain products, and roasted chickpeas are some of the foods high in fiber. The portion sizes of the foods we consume in snacks, as in main meals, are important. Since the excess carbohydrates we consume are converted into fat and stored in our body, we should be careful about the amount of food we eat. Especially when we make a choice from the protein group such as milk and yoghurt along with fruit during snacks, our blood sugar will be lower as the glycemic index of our meal will decrease. It will remain in balance for a long time and our satiety period will be longer. It is also necessary to choose low-fat or fat-free milk and yoghurt groups. Care should be taken not to consume larger amounts of light products because they have lower energy than others.
To talk about snack options; 3-4 dried fruits with 2 walnuts or 5-6 hazelnuts, 1 glass of low-fat milk with 1 portion of fresh fruit, 1 bowl of low-fat yoghurt with 2-3 breadsticks, 1 thin slice of whole grain bread with 1 slice of low-fat white Cheese, a handful of chickpea-raisin mixture, home-made fruit yoghurt, 2-3 diet biscuits along with a glass of ayran, low-fat cheese with whole wheat toast and 1 cup of unsweetened green tea are some of the snack alternatives we can choose. 1 portion of milk dessert or 1 portion of non-cream fruit desserts, 1 glass of milk and 2 small pieces of dark chocolate can be preferred instead of a snack, provided that it is 1-2 times a week at most.
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