One of the biggest struggles in college aside from not failing exams, knowing what sleep is, and having a social life is to maintain your weight. Freshman year, I gained 18 lbs and it could have been a lot more if i didn't go to the gym 4 times a week. It wasn't just the all you can eat cafeteria food that got to me, but it was the snacking. Snacking occurs so much throughout the typical day and serves many purposes, whether its to get through boring classes, help you study, or just gives you something to do when you're bored. With that being said, it is a sneaky and dangerous way to add on the pounds very quickly. Over the last year or so, I've been looking at more healthy ways to satisfy my cravings and achieve healthy satiety (being full with the right food), and it has resulted in me being able to maintain a healthy weight while snacking about the same amount I did in my freshman year. Here is my guide on what and what not to snack on, as well as some good habits to form when snacking!
Good things to snack on
Beef jerky: We all get meat cravings throughout the day, and beef jerky is a really effective way to satisfy it. Not only is it low calorie (about 80 calories per serving) and low fat (5g), but it is also a good source of protein (~7grams), which will help you feel full.
Banana - A banana is only around 100 calories depending on size, and the combination of natural sugar and carbohydrates will help hold you over until you eat a full meal. Also, it is a perfect snack to eat before a workout, as the potassium in bananas will help spark action potentials in your muscles, giving your body an energy boost during your workout.
Apple - A perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth, an apple is a good source of Vitamin C and fiber, which is an important component in making you full. Also, the high sugar content of the apple will keep you awake without crashing (something we all need) since it is natural sugar. It is an inexpensive, convenient snack that is perfect to eat on the go.
Nuts - When you see the nutrition facts, you might freak out since it's pretty high in calories and fat. However, the fat in nuts is healthy fat - monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. These two fats lower your bad cholesterol, contribute to overall heart health, and are a great contributor to healthy satiety. Other benefits of eating nuts are that it contains a good amount of fiber, and no added fat is used in making them.
Whole grain crackers - Whole grains keep you full because of the fiber content, and these crackers satisfy salty snack craving. An example of this would be Wheat Thins or Triscuits, and they also offer a variety of flavors to make you happy. A really solid tip is to dip it in hummus; hummus provides healthy carbs, protein, no cholesterol or saturated fat, and is made with omega 3 rich olive oil, which contributes to a healthy heart and makes your snack more delicious and interesting.
Popcorn - Popcorn gets a bad rep because most people think of popcorn as that greasy mess that you get in the theater or that you pull out of a microwave bag. But, popcorn is actually a whole grain snack. Don't go for the microwave kind loaded with fake butter and saturated fat; If you have access to a kitchen, pop your own in a mixture of olive oil and butter. If not, even buying a bag of popcorn is a better alternative than a lot the snacks available. When buying a bag, look for popcorn popped in olive/vegetable oil and/or lower sodium.
Commonly eaten snacks to avoid
Chips - This is probably the most obvious one to stay away from: They are high in calories and fat, don't fill you up, and have an addictive quality because of the salt and oil, which will cause you to overindulge on useless, empty calories. Even be careful of whole grain chips; Although they are healthier than regular potato chips, they're still deep fried. The term whole grain may also trick you into eating more than you should since you think you're putting good food into your body (this also applies to eating baked chips).
Granola bar - People usually always associate granola with nutritious, but granola bars are often high in sugar, laced with corn syrup, and sometimes have added empty calories such as chocolate chips in them. There are some healthy granola bars out there, but you want to watch out for the granola bars such as Chewy bars and Nutri-grain fruit bars. Just make sure you check the nutrition facts to make sure you know what you're doing - look for a granola bar with high fiber, natural sugar, and nuts.
Candy Bar, Pastry, Dessert item - (pop tarts, doughnut, snickers) This is pretty self explanatory: high sugar, fat, white flour, and empty calories. These snacks will provide no energy and will bog you down, the opposite of what you need.
Non-whole grain crackers - These crackers (cheez-it, for example), although healthier than chips since they are baked, are made with white flour and can often have fairly high sodium levels. The fact that they are made with white flour will cause you to eat more to become full, and you will be eating a lot of unhealthy carbs that will turn into fat.
Regular yogurt - Another misconceived health food, regular yogurt is loaded with sugar and is high in calories for such a small amount of food (26 g of sugar and 170 calories for the standard size of Yoplait yogurt - to compare, a can of pop has 33 g of sugar). Yogurt is a great snack if you get greek yogurt, which has more protein, typically less sugar, and more probiotics that contribute to a healthier digestive system. Make sure you get yogurt with real fruit in it - regular strawberry yogurt, for example, may have a couple tiny pieces of strawberry but the rest of it is flavorings and syrup.
Helpful Tips
Portion control - This is probably the biggest factor contributing to unhealthy eating. Even when eating healthy snacks, if you can't stop yourself, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble. Pour out a decent sized portion onto a napkin and then put the snack far away from you so you aren't tempted to eat more. Similarly, put a portion into a sandwich bag if you are on the go - don't bring the whole bag of snacks with you!
Drink plenty of water - Drinking a lot of water will help fill you up really quick and prevent you from eating more than you should. I always carry a water bottle with me in case I get hungry and it has stopped me from eating a lot of unnecessary food on many occasions.
Don't eat late at night - For college students, this is almost impossible since we stay up super late to study and hangout with friends. But, our body's digestion system slows down later in the day, and we don't have any time to burn off the calories, so fat will accumulate real quick. Ideally, I would recommend to stop eating by 9pm, so make sure you fill up enough during your main meals so you aren't tempted to snack super late.
Sources:
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-yoplait-original-strawberry-i132719
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nuts/HB00085
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/snacks/5332/2
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