Snacking When You're Trying To Lose Weight & Working Out

Hi Anita,

I just thought that I'd add my two cents worth, that there are some low calorie and low fat recipes already listed on the website incase you haven't seen them.

There are a myriad of different websites you can visit for some great recipes to help you lose weight. I found this PDF with information on healthy and thrifty meals which might interest you.

What about this one - Grilled Fish With Corn & Leek

As Kim said in the entry before this, there is no such thing as a fat burning recipe. Go to MyPyramid and get a good idea of the plan you need to set for yourself. If you use the MyPyramid tracker it will help you get a plan going for yourself.

Let us know how you are doing and keep at it.

Jenny.

Question

I work nights,and i was wondering what is the best way to snack so that i do not hit the vending machines?I normaly make my own trail mix,is that ok?Also i try to go work out between 7-7:30 on my days off and do hard cardo at home on the days i work.So am i to work out 3times a day or whenever. Help

Ronica

Answer

Hello Ronica,

The best thing to do is to eat three balanced meals per day with three planned snacks in between. Keep in mind that snacks shouldn't be thought of as extras but as part of your overall daily calories and nutritional intake. They are an important part of a healthy diet.

You just have to figure out with your schedule what your planned eating times will be. It is all about planning ahead. You need to bring with you to work whatever it is you will need for meals or snacks that will be consumed at work. If you are prepared then you won't need to hit the vending machines. If you don't have a refrigerator at work you may want to invest in a small cooler with a cold pack that you can bring to work with you.

Snack ideas might include fresh fruit and/or dried fruit, fresh veggies, low fat yogurt, low fat cheese and crackers, nuts, trail mix (that is fine), pretzels, peanut butter on whole wheat bread, whole grain cereal, hard boiled egg, granola bars, etc?

Hope this will help you out!

Kim Tessmer, RD LD

Hi Ronica,

Jenny here, as far as working out times go, if you are working out three times a day, I would be concerned that you are not giving your body adequate time for recovery, especially if you are doing hard cardio sessions.

Think about your training goals and your training experience. If your goal is to decrease your fat levels while increasing your muscle mass, and you have greater than a years training experience, hard cardio can both increase your cardiovascular fitness while also burning fat, but doing hard cardio three times per day may mean that you are overtraining. If you do not have much training experience, I would not recommend hard cardio sessions to begin with.

If you've been exercising regularly for less than six months, try exercising every second day and try exercising at a rate where you are mildly out of breath for 20 minutes or more. If you're more experienced, then harder cardio sessions may be more appropriate. When you feel that your body has adapted, you might add another training day in, but don't put in two hard training sessions one after the other.

I hope that this helps.

Jenny.

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