Hi all! Happy Tuesday!
We’re switching up our normal posting cadence to share a special update with Coach Lisa’s 100 Day Challenge! As of today, we’ve officially hit the 5 week mark! Go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back if you’ve been following this challenge! In the case that you’re not familiar with this info, you can catch up with THIS BLOG POST. Because we’ve hit the one month mark, we thought it would be fun to provide a quick glimpse into the next few weeks of the challenge as well as some helpful organizational advice!
This week’s theme is “Healthy Kitchen Organize”
Take time this week to go through your pantry, fridge and freezer – check expiry dates, sort your spices, decide if you have things that need to be donated or given away to help you be more successful. Also, read our previous pantry organization blog posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.
In that same vein, we’re featuring some advice from Coach Stefanie to help you “snack smarter”!
We all know the struggle of having all kinds of delicious foods at home. With many of us still working from home, having snacks on hand can be great and detrimental at the same time. So here are some of my favorite tips to avoid overeating:
Portion Control
I love getting value bags but, unfortunately, that also tempts me to grab the whole family sized bag and take it with me wherever I go. To counteract this, one thing I try to do after coming home from the store is creating my own snack bags. I use small Ziplock bags (you can reuse them so it is not quite as bad for the environment) and portion out the food in the large container into portions. Once done, I stick the individual bags back into the large bag so I know what it is. That way, I won’t be tempted to grab the whole bag and keep eating. Instead, I will grab a pre-portioned amount and still get the savings of the big bag!
Snack breaks to enjoy your food
One of my biggest issues is having snacks around all the time and munching on them without thinking. So instead, I schedule dedicated snack breaks where my sole focus is on eating and enjoying my food instead of just putting food in my mouth without acknowledging it. I used to do this a lot in front of the TV. Now, I grab my pre-portioned bags and sit with just my food- no distractions. This also helps me tune into myself and think about why I am snacking. Is it to fuel my body or because I am bored and don’t have anything better to do with my hands?
Better options
Of course, this blog post wouldn’t be complete without talking about better alternatives. I sort my snacks into 2 categories: BITE friendly and healthy. It’s perfect if the snack fits both categories but sometimes it will only fit one and that’s okay too. A handful of nuts for example are a very healthy but not necessarily BITE friendly snack. On the other hand, a bag of popcorn is very BITE friendly but often not very nutritious or healthy. Both have a place in my diet. When I am getting ready for a snack, I ask myself why I am snacking: for fun or for fuel. If I need fuel during a busy workday, I will opt for the healthy nuts. But if I just feel like munching on something, then I will opt for the BITE friendly popcorn. Some other BITE friendly alternatives include pretzel crisps, yogurt, homemade popsicles or even low BITE store bought popsicles.
Add fruits and veggies
Fruits and veggies are a great snack by themselves and sometimes that is all I eat or need. But it is easy to overdo especially fruits if you don’t measure and track them. So I often try to use fruits and veggies to bulk up my snack but not make them the only thing I eat. If they do end up being the only thing, then I will make sure to portion them out and stick to one portion to avoid overeating.
Who’s till going strong in Coach Lisa’s 100 Day Challenge?? Comment below!
