How to Pick an Afternoon Snack
Lots of folks claim that the easiest way to lose weight is to eat small meals supplemented by little snacks throughout the day. If that plan doesn't lead to eating fewer calories in general, then I'm a bit skeptical of its weight-loss benefits, but it does have a major perk that the three-meal-a-day plan doesn't: you don't stuff yourself at lunch, so you're not groggy in the afternoon.
Over at Dumb Little Man, Garrett Whelan has compiled a list of tasty snacks he suggests for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. More importantly, he also lists the four criteria you should use in selecting your snack:
It must have a low Glycemic Index. The higher the GI, the quicker your blood glucose levels will rise. If your blood sugar gets too high, your body releases insulin to bring it down. This makes you tired and hungry again right after you just ate. Lower carbs, more fat and fiber (to slow absorption) will mean snacks with a lower GI.The last one is the most interesting to me, because I tend to keep munching for far too long just because the food's nearby while I'm typing. Whelan suggests eating really spicy food (like the peanuts above) to curtail the grazing.
It must be filling. Ever take a pill in the morning and as soon as you turn around you can't remember if you took it or not? You don't want a snack like that.It must be interesting to your mouth. Your mouth likes contrasts: sweet and sour. crunchy and chewy. We want a snack that uses this.
Ideally our snack is self-regulating. That means that we won't eat too much of it. This one is tougher, and we won't always find something that has this quality. In those cases we have to practice the dreaded art of self control.