Fitness Friday: Snacks for Fuel

It's a miracle, but I'm being good and doing a Friday Fitness two weeks in a row! Today I'm going to go over my personal "go-to" snack choices to keep my energy up, and to allow me to workout. Obviously snacking without caution will not help you achieve your goals, but if done correctly, it might be a good option for you. In the end it's still calories in vs. calories out.

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Why snack? Snacking is helpful to keep you energized to meet your fitness goals. If you have too few calories, as I'm sure many of you have heard, you'll go into "starvation mode". Also It's hard to run a 5k or lift weights when you haven't eaten in a few hours. You need calories to help rebuild your body as well.

Of course the snacks shouldn't be extremely high in calories. Usually something between 150-200 depending on your caloric needs should be sufficient. Per some of my personal trainer friends, a good pre-workout meal is something higher in sugar/carbs, while post-workout you want protein along with the sugar. Best post-workout snack is actually something like chocolate milk!

With those high points covered, here are my personal favorites:

Greek Yogurt
High protein to keep you fuller longer. Also if you get flavored/fruit kinds you have your extra carbs. That and it tastes great! I personally like a thicker texture, and the brands I have pictured at the beginning of the post are some of the ones I enjoy. However, my personal favorite is the Fage with Mango Guanabana.

Hummus
I love finding this hummus/pretzel combo in the store. But be aware, if you eat the entire package, it's high in calories! A good alternative is to eat hummus with veggies (baby carrots, celery, etc).

String Cheese
Good source of protein, and depending on the choice of cheese, can be lower in calories. It's easy to carry around as well. Added bonus: prevent future osteoporosis with something high in calcium (obviously the yogurt mentioned earlier will aid in this aspect as well).

Oatmeal
Good old-fashioned carbs, especially if you add extra fruit, it can make a good pre-workout snack.

Bottom Line: eat things that make sense to you, but just be mindful of how it may help or hurt your goals.