Did a fitness workout for 1 hour and felt good. Fun! Happy I woke up for 6:30am class! http://t.co/PhtIZj94
253 days ago
Did a fitness workout for 1 hour and felt great. Took my friend Christie's class last night. I was supposed to sub f... http://t.co/gVmNsZPg
254 days ago
Guest Post: The Truth About 100 Calorie Snack Packs
Posted Aug 19 2010 11:11am
Are you trying to slim down and shed a few extra pounds by munching on, what you think are, healthy snacks throughout the day? Are you keeping your metabolism regulated and consuming the appropriate number of meals and snacks throughout the day, but hitting up the vending machine due to lack of time and picking out what seems the best choice, those itty bitty one hundred calorie snack packs of cookies or crackers? Have you ever wondered how this factors into our diet and whether or not they’re worth it? Will they help keep you filled up without adding onto the inches you are trying to lose?
Dieters rejoiced when these tiny one hundred calorie snack packs hit the market. Not only were they still able to enjoy their favorite snacks, but they could now do so without having to test their will power and limit their portion size. The snack packs come pre-portioned and guarantees consumers only a pre-counted one hundred calorie intake. While these snack packs might seem helpful in this way, allowing dieters to enjoy and indulge in the snacks we most love to eat without the added stress and drudgery of having to portion the food out themselves, think again. Because of the smaller portion size and labeled calorie count, most people often consume twice as much than usual without thinking, defeating the true purpose of limiting the portion size.
And because these snack packs are just shrunken down versions of the food we should not really be eating anyway, they tend to be empty calories. Instead of functioning as true and healthy filler, keeping us going throughout the day and in between meals, they leave us still hungry and still wanting more. They have no nutritional value and inevitably lead to further snacking. Small handfuls of fruit, nuts, trail mix, fiber bars, or other food items falling along these lines can contain the same amount of calories and fats, but because they have higher levels of hunger controlling nutrients like fiber and protein, they tend to stave off hunger much longer than the lauded one hundred calorie snack pack.
Compared to their predecessors, the larger portioned cousins to the smaller sized snack packs, the price of the convenience of pre-packaged calorie counting is much higher. A typical box of six snack packs can range from three to four dollars; however, this is comparable to a larger bag of chips or box of cookies or crackers. And because the larger portions take longer to consume entirely and replace, they last longer which equals out to less money spent. A six count box of snack packs may only last a couple of days before they need to be replaced, and that money can add up. And because they are so small and still leave you hungry, they’re easier to eat without thinking about how much you have eaten. Whereas it is easier to keep track of how much you have consumed when it comes to the larger portions of the same snack foods.
Dana Livingston is a writer for a culinary school website where you can browse schools and the latest trends in the culinary arena.
Are you trying to slim down and shed a few extra pounds by munching on, what you think are, healthy snacks throughout the day? Are you keeping your metabolism regulated and consuming the appropriate number of meals and snacks throughout the day, but hitting up the vending machine due to lack of time and picking out what seems the best choice, those itty bitty one hundred calorie snack packs of cookies or crackers? Have you ever wondered how this factors into our diet and whether or not they’re worth it? Will they help keep you filled up without adding onto the inches you are trying to lose?
Dieters rejoiced when these tiny one hundred calorie snack packs hit the market. Not only were they still able to enjoy their favorite snacks, but they could now do so without having to test their will power and limit their portion size. The snack packs come pre-portioned and guarantees consumers only a pre-counted one hundred calorie intake. While these snack packs might seem helpful in this way, allowing dieters to enjoy and indulge in the snacks we most love to eat without the added stress and drudgery of having to portion the food out themselves, think again. Because of the smaller portion size and labeled calorie count, most people often consume twice as much than usual without thinking, defeating the true purpose of limiting the portion size.
And because these snack packs are just shrunken down versions of the food we should not really be eating anyway, they tend to be empty calories. Instead of functioning as true and healthy filler, keeping us going throughout the day and in between meals, they leave us still hungry and still wanting more. They have no nutritional value and inevitably lead to further snacking. Small handfuls of fruit, nuts, trail mix, fiber bars, or other food items falling along these lines can contain the same amount of calories and fats, but because they have higher levels of hunger controlling nutrients like fiber and protein, they tend to stave off hunger much longer than the lauded one hundred calorie snack pack.
Compared to their predecessors, the larger portioned cousins to the smaller sized snack packs, the price of the convenience of pre-packaged calorie counting is much higher. A typical box of six snack packs can range from three to four dollars; however, this is comparable to a larger bag of chips or box of cookies or crackers. And because the larger portions take longer to consume entirely and replace, they last longer which equals out to less money spent. A six count box of snack packs may only last a couple of days before they need to be replaced, and that money can add up. And because they are so small and still leave you hungry, they’re easier to eat without thinking about how much you have eaten. Whereas it is easier to keep track of how much you have consumed when it comes to the larger portions of the same snack foods.
Dana Livingston is a writer for a culinary school website where you can browse schools and the latest trends in the culinary arena.