Snacking can actually help you lose weight and maintain weight loss. That’s because by eating a planned between-meal nosh, you’re less likely to overeat at your meals. 

The trick, however, is to not overdo the snacks. Here are some guidelines for weight loss snacks:

• Women should strive for two snacks per day.
• If you get very little exercise and are over 50, limit yourself to 200 calories of snacks per day.
• If you are very active and younger, you can have two 200-calorie snacks per day.
• If you find that you are having more than a three pound a week weight loss, choose from the higher-calorie snacks or add additional snacks to your daily menus until you maintain or lose at a rate of no more than two pounds per week.

  100-Calorie Snacks

• 1/4 c 1% cottage cheese and 1 c sliced strawberries
• 1 hard-boiled egg dipped in 1 Tbsp light ranch dressing
• 1/2 c fat-free ice cream or frozen yogurt
• 28 pistachios
• 10 almonds or cashews
• 1 large stalk celery stuffed with 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 oz turkey breast
• 1 oz mozzarella string cheese and 4 green olives
• 1 c light yogurt
• 1/2 oz baked tortilla chips with 2 Tbsp salsa
• 1 fat-free chocolate pudding cup
• 1/2 whole wheat bagel (4″ diameter), toasted, with 1 Tbsp sugar-free jam
• 1/2 c steamed soybeans (edamame)
• 1 hard-boiled egg with 1/2 slice toasted wheat bread
• 1 c chicken noodle soup with 2 saltine crackers
• 1 small (4″) whole wheat pita with 1 Tbsp hummus
• 1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 oz sliced turkey breast and mustard
• 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese with 1 c cherry tomatoes
• 2 fig bars
• 20 animal crackers
• 1 c berries mixed with 2 Tbsp plain, nonfat yogurt
• 3 to 4 c microwave air-popped popcorn (see package for calories per cup)

 Get other slimming snack and meal ideas. Order your copy of the Flat Belly Diet.

Keeping off the pounds you worked hard to lose may not be as difficult as you’d expect, particularly if you follow six weight loss strategies.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that roughly 20% of overweight people who lose at least 10% of their initial body weight are able to maintain the loss for at least a year.

“There is a general perception that almost no one succeeds in long-term maintenance of weight loss,” notes the study, led by Rena Wing. “However, research has shown that 20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss.”

The investigators looked at the weight loss strategies of more than 4,000 members of the National Weight Control Registry in the United States, who lost an average of 33 kilograms and maintained the loss for more than five years.

Among the successful bulge battlers, there were six common approaches to weight loss maintenance:

• engaging in high levels of physical activity
• eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet
• eating breakfast regularly
• monitoring their own weight
• maintaining a consistent eating pattern
• not “falling off the wagon”

Be physically active
Both men and women reported that being active helped them maintain their weight loss, with men burning off 3,293 calories a week through physical activity and women trimming 2,545 calories. Popular activities cited included walking, cycling, weightlifting, and aerobics.

Eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet
Weight loss winners said they consumed an average of 1,381 calories per day and only a quarter of those calories came from fat. Moreover, they went out for meals less than three times per week and less than one of those meals was at a fast food restaurant.

Breakfast every day
Starting off the day with breakfast has been shown to boost your metabolism, helping you avoid the temptation of eating late in the day and consuming more calories. More than 75% of the registry members reported eating breakfast every day.

Keep tabs on your weight
Nearly half of the registry members who successfully shed pounds said they weighed themselves regularly. Regular trips to the scale helped to keep tabs on any weight fluctuations and indicate the need to correct them.

Eat well on weekdays and weekends
Most of the participants reported eating the same way, both during the week and on weekends. However, nearly four in ten were stricter at adhering to their diet during the week. The researchers concluded those who were more consistent about eating patterns had better success at maintaining their weight loss.

Don’t be deterred by gaining an extra pound or two
It was common for the participants to gain an extra pound or two along the way. But those who ensured those pounds didn’t add up quickly were the best at keeping the weight off.

The researchers write that the “National Weight Control Registry members provide evidence that long-term weight loss maintenance is possible and help identify the specific approaches associated with long-term success.”

Guest Post

Does this scenario sound familiar: You had a bad day at work, got into an argument with your partner over the phone, and then got stuck in traffic on the way home? And now that you’re finally home, you can hardly wait to put on your sweats and dig into that carton of double chocolate chip ice cream or that bag of chips in your cupboard?

Or how about this one: You’re sitting at home with nothing particular to do, and so you go rooting around your kitchen cupboards, just to see what’s there. Before you know it, you find yourself sitting at the kitchen table with an empty bag of cookies in front of you.

Quick! Before you take that bite, have you thought about why you are eating? There are a whole host of reasons aside from hunger that prompt people to eat – boredom, sadness, nervousness, anxiety, stress, even happiness. But if you look at what these things all have in common, it’s that they are emotions, and not signals of your body’s need for nourishment.

While we are programmed to eat as a result of feeling hungry, many people also feel an urge to eat certain foods when they experience certain emotions, or when they find themselves in certain settings. Often, the foods of choice in these cases are “forbidden foods” – the same fat- and calorie-laden foods you try to resist while on a diet.

The first step to overcoming so-called emotional eating is to learn the difference between emotional and physical hunger cues.

Here are some clues that can help you tell the difference:

• Are you craving something specific? If you really are hungry, you’ll likely find a host of foods to be satisfying. But if it’s a craving, only specific foods will fill the void.
• Does the craving pass? Hunger doesn’t go away until you’ve had something to eat, while cravings sometimes (but not always) pass.
• How hungry are you really? It may seem obvious, but next time you are tempted to chow down, stop and rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10. By forcing yourself to think about how hungry you actually are, you can learn to identify instances where you are eating for reasons other than hunger.
• When was the last time you ate? If it’s been hours, you may truly be hungry. But if you just finished dinner, it may be a case of emotional eating.

Keeping a food journal and jotting down your mood every time you eat can help you learn to identify situations where you’re eating for emotional reasons and not because you’re hungry.

But now that you’ve learned to identify your emotional eating triggers, what can you do when you’re faced with a situation that makes you want to eat for all the wrong reasons?

• Exercise. OK, working out may be the last thing you want to do, but exercise can be a 2-front attack against emotional eating: firstly, exercise has been shown to have positive effects on stress and depression. Secondly, if you’ve just had a tough workout, you may be less likely to want to undo that hard work with a fattening treat.
• Indulge, but in moderation. Sometimes, nothing else but a piece of chocolate or another treat will do. Instead of suffering through the craving or eating a bunch of different healthy snacks that just don’t do the trick, treat yourself – but savour a small portion rather than pigging out.
• Make a list of feel-good alternatives. If you often turn to food to bring yourself up when you’re down, make a list of pick-me-ups that aren’t related to food. Some suggestions: calling a friend, getting a manicure, or reading a magazine.
• Wait it out. Sometimes cravings pass. Hunger won’t. So if you’re tempted, wait 20 minutes and see if you’re still in the mood to indulge.

Excerpted from The Lean Belly Prescription (Rodale) by Travis Stork, M.D., and Peter Moore, editor of Men’s Health, with permisssion.

Find out the best times to exercise and eat to maximize weight loss results. You’ll boost metabolism, burn calories, and torch belly fat for 24 hours with these healthy eating tips and workout advice.

7:15 AM

Have two scrambled eggs and a slice of Canadian bacon. A 2009 Purdue University study found that a high-protein breakfast makes people feel fuller throughout the day, so they’re less likely to overeat.

7:45 AM

Hit the gym, and lower weights slowly. Taking 3 seconds to lower weights during full-body resistance training can rev your metabolism for up to 3 days, according to a Wayne State University study. (Study participants used a challenging weight for 5 sets of 6 repetitions for each exercise.)

9:00 AM

Drink some milk. A diet with plenty of calcium-rich dairy can enhance weight loss, according to a 2007 study of overweight people.

10:00 AM

Grab a protein-rich snack, like half a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with Swiss cheese. In a Georgia State University study, athletes who ate three 250-calorie snacks a day were more likely to lose body fat and have more energy than those who didn’t.

11:00 AM

Walk briskly around the office/neighborhood/mall during your break. A recent Mayo Clinic study found that lean people walk an average of 3 ½ miles more per day than obese people do.

1:00 PM

For lunch, eat a spinach salad with grilled halibut and sliced almonds. All contain magnesium, a metabolism-friendly mineral.

2:00 PM

If your work meeting is with just one or two people, walk the halls as you talk.

4:00 PM

Down a glass of iced green tea. According to a study in the Journal of Nutrition, the catechins in green tea decrease body fat.

5:00 PM

Have a handful of wasabi peas or some other fiery snack. According to a 2006 study review, spicy foods help burn fat and calories.

7:00 PM

Take a short walk before dinner.

7:30 PM

Eat dinner. If you ate lightly today, don’t worry about having a heavier meal now: “It doesn’t matter when you fuel up; it’s how many gallons you put in the tank,” says Gary Foster, Ph.D., director of Temple University’s Center for Obesity Research and Education.

9:30 PM

Grab a good book or magazine, turn on some tunes, and relax. Stress jacks up your level of cortisol, a chemical that boosts abdominal fat.

10:30 PM

Draw your shades so the sun won’t rouse you early. According to a 2008 review, losing sleep affects the hormones that turn your appetite on and off, making you feel hungrier.

Find more ways to shed unwanted pounds in The Lean Belly Prescription .

Hello, I am one of the pregnant friends of the GGS gals.  Currently, I am about 5 months pregnant with my 2nd child.  I was thrilled to be asked to try some maternity wear for the active pregnant woman, as I know far too well, maternity wear can be down right UGLY!

Ever since I was pregnant with my first child, I have come to appreciate the beauty of a stylish workout wear for a pregnant body.  I live in North Vancouver, which is actually in the mountains.  You cannot live here without being super active and an adventurous person and if you do, you are CRAZY.  There are so many trails for running, biking, skiing, walking, just about anything goes.  I knew I was not going to let my pregnancy slow me down.  (Until of course, the Doc told me so, which was in month 9 of my first pregnancy).  So Mountain Mama’s and me, where meant to be together.  I love their stuff – super cute and very affordable.  It is still cold here, even though we are expecting an early Spring so the pieces that were sent to GGS HQ are still perfect for our current weather.   

The outfit:

Fairview Maternity Fleece Wrap Jacket in tarragon with a lovely over-sized hoodie.  You cannot help but be warm and cozy in this jacket.  

The Fairview features ultra-cozy Polartec® Thermal Pro® in a wrap design as versatile as it is stylish. Tie at the sternum for full coverage at full term, or tie at the sides for a snug, post-pregnancy fit. Pull up the lined hood, and the shawl collar fastens at the throat to keep the cold at bay. Polartec® Thermal Pro® fabric is their most technically advanced fleece, with a plush face and high-tech weave that yields the best warmth-to-weight available – so you stay cozy warm without the bulk.

Juneau Maternity Fleece Pants – these pants are so lovely and warm that I cannot wait to take them up the slopes to do some snow shoeing.  They even have a drawstring at the bottom for easy tucking and no snow allowing.

The go-to drawstring-cuff pant for cold winter outings, the Juneau is just as great for hiking on crisp days, lounging, or catching up with friends at the café. This smooth-faced fleece provides all the coziness you expect from Polartec®, but with a sleek, non-pilling face. The versatile design goes from loose-legged yoga-style pant to classic sweats with just a tug on the cuff toggle. Gusseted inseam eliminates thigh chafing and sits comfortably below the belly. A zippered back pocket holds essentials.

Love love love.  What can I say?  I think I might just be able to rock this look without being pregnant!

Reviews on Girlgetstrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly. No compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.