Healthier Ways to Satisfy Your Hunger

One of the most annoying (and embarrassing) things we endure in life is a loud grumbling stomach in a nice, quiet environment. Everyone knows it’s you, so it doesn’t do any good to try to hide it. Your stomach is going to mumble and grumble no matter where you are or what you’re doing if it’s hungry.

What do you usually reach for when your stomach starts to growl? More than likely it’s one of the quick choices that everyone makes - you grab for the bag of chips, the candy bar or even those jelly filled donuts. These items will fill your stomach but they’ll also fill your thighs, abdomen and stomach with fat!

Rest assured, these aren’t the only foods that can satisfy your hunger. There are healthier choices out there that will fill up your stomach but not make you gain a few extra pounds. Here are some options you can try reaching for instead:

1.) Instead of the bag of potato chips, how about trying a bag of dried fruit? Fruit is good for you. Dried fruit is something that you can take with you in your car and keep in your purse and it won’t spoil right away.

2.) Candy bars are nice ways to take a bite out of your hunger, but it’s full of calories. If you’re on a limited caloric intake each day, a candy bar will eat up most of those allotted calories, leaving you with little left for the rest of the day. Instead of biting a candy bar, how about trying some of those low-fat, low-calorie granola bars? You’ll satisfy your hunger, stick to your diet and give your body some needed nutrients as well.

3.) Almost everyone likes a good chocolate chip cookie (or 2 or 3 or possibly more) when they’re hungry. Again, they taste good, but they can pack on the calories. Instead of those tasty cookies, how about going for rice cakes or low-fat, sugar-free cookies to squash your hunger?

4.) What about those jelly-filled donuts or other popular pastries? They’re good for taste (and a quick sugar high) but not good for your waistline. Maybe you can consider some sugar free Fig Newton’s instead. They don’t have as much fat as the pastries and they can satisfy your fruit craving that you may be suffering from when you reach for the jelly-filled donuts.

There are many more options out there to reach for the next time your stomach is grumbling and causing all eyes to be on you. Take healthy snacks along with you so that you can stay satisfied at any time of day.

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Common Diet Myths Revealed

You may have wanted to start a diet many times in the past, only to shy away from it because of some of the things you’ve heard or the self-doubt you have to succeed. There are many myths about dieting, and hopefully, we’ll dispel them today!

The number one myth people fall prey to is that you can lose weight fast by eliminating as many calories as possible from your diet or by starving yourself. This is an extremely unhealthy way to go about it because your body goes into starvation mode, shutting down as much weight loss as possible. Some people only want to lose weight fast because they have an outfit they want to fit into for a special occasion coming up next week. Don’t wait until the last minute to start a diet.

Another myth we face in our quest for a slimmer waistline is the one that tells us to only eat a certain type of food all day, every day. Grapefruit, pepper-laden water, and even hot dog diet fads have resulted in many binges over the years. Following dangerous fad diets means your body’s not getting the necessary nutrients it needs to fight off illnesses and stay healthy.

You may have also heard that you can never stray from your diet. If you do, you’ll need to exercise for hours to make up for it. This isn’t true. It’s okay to have that fudge brownie once in awhile. You only need to adjust your calorie intake for the day. There’s really no need to exercise for hours just to compensate for one little treat.

One myth you may hear is the one that says you can’t eat before you go to bed, because you’ll get fat in your sleep. This one isn’t true because a diet only means that you’re eating healthy and watching your caloric intake for the day. Having a light snack before bed isn’t going to make a big difference unless it’s a 7-course meal or a full gallon of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.

How about the one that says you can’t eat anything between meals? It’s better that you do eat snacks. Eat smaller meals throughout the day to keep your hunger satisfied. By eliminating snacks between meals, you’re only going to make yourself hungrier at meal times, which cause you to eat a lot more than you really need just to satisfy your hunger.

There’s another myth that says you shouldn’t consume any dairy products at all because they’re too fattening. Dairy contains nutrients your body needs, so you should have some dairy – n fact, some studies suggest those who consume, have better weight loss success! Just make sure you limit your amounts and go for the low-fat versions.

Try not to fall victim to the myriad of diet myths circulating the ‘net. A healthy balance of proper eating (most of the time) and exercise can work wonders for your diet success!