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Low Calorie Snack Ideas
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5 Great Low-Calorie Snack Ideas
Most lifters want to gain muscle, but eventually, they want to get lean, too. When it’s time to turn down the calories, boredom and hunger are always the enemy, but good low-calorie snacks can help get you over the diet hump.
To help in your quest, here are 5 great low-calorie snack ideas that will keep you satisfied while you lose.
Greek Yogurt
Non-fat greek yogurt weighs in at about 100 calories per cup, but provides nearly 20 grams of muscle-saving protein. Add in a few almonds to slow digestion, and you’re STILL under 200 calories, with a bit of fiber and more protein thrown into the mix.
Apple and Peanut Butter
Apples are high in fiber and chock full of vitamins and minerals — they keep the doctor away, as you may have heard. A medium apple also has only about 100 calories, and they take effort to eat, which means you’ll have time for your hunger receptors to “turn off,” which may not be the case with softer fruits like bananas and strawberries. Throw in a tablespoon of peanut butter for some fat and protein, and you’re still around 200 calories for your snack.
Celery and Cottage Cheese
Like apples, celery require plenty of chomping and can help satisfy your hunger, while cottage cheese gives you a healthy dose of slow-digesting casein (milk protein). Opt for the low-fat variety, and you can eat a whole cup with several stalks of celery for under 200 calories.
Beans and Rice
Beans and rice are a classic example of eating food combinations to get complete proteins. While each of these foods contains incomplete proteins — ones that miss out on some of the eight essential amino acids — together, they cover all your bases. A half-cup each of canned pinto beans and cooked brown rice will leave you at about 200 calories, with around 10 grams of protein and loads of fiber.
Mozzarella and Sunflower Seeds
Cheese and nuts or seeds go together well as a snack because they both contain protein and satiating fat, and, if you choose sunflower seeds in the shell, they’re going to require some effort to eat, too. One ounce of cheese plus another ounce of in-the-shell sunflower seeds will give you about 10 grams of protein and 150 calories.
Build Your Own
These are just examples of the types of snacks that can help you in your fat-loss efforts. The purpose of snacking is to keep you from getting ravenously hungry, and your goal should be to combine protein, fats, and fiber into low-calorie goodies that keep you on your path to fat loss.
Use these five snacks as examples, and you should be able to concoct a variety of healthy, satisfying treats.