What do folks eat for snacks

(Jane Reed) #21

I have to shake my head at some of these posts. While he’s getting good advice, if that’s what he wanted, he’d have asked for it.

In answer to your question, OP, I make seed crackers and spread them thickly with butter.

(Bob M) #23

The best idea is really not to snack. Snacks are bad and unnecessary. I haven’t eaten at all today, and it’s 4:04 pm. No snacks necessary.

Granted, when I started about 7 years ago, I thought you had to eat 5+ “meals” a day and would snack because, well, I thought I had to. That was “healthy”.

But since starting intermittent and longer-term fasting (longest 5.5 days), I realized snacks are bad.

Even what I put above really isn’t a “snack”; instead, it’s an extension of dinner, for me anyway.

So, if you HAVE to snack because you can’t make it between meals, we’ve provided what we eat. If possible, you want to make it so that you don’t snack.

#24

OK. So a lot of people here are anti-snack. Good. Fine. Glad that works for you.

Personally, I LOVE to snack. It might not be the best choice but being able to snack makes my chances of sticking to any given eating program a lot better.

My favorite snacks:

UTZ’s pork rinds with butter or sour cream (always trying to get in that extra fat)
Macadamia nuts with some walnuts and pecans
Melted Manchego cheese (microwave) with a handful of rocket on top.
Jarlsberg cheese “crackers”. Take about 1/2 ounce slice of Jarlsberg cheese and put it on the glass tray of your microwave (clean), put the microwave on high for 45 seconds. Once the cheese is starting to brown and no longer looks runny (might take 1.5 minutes on the first one), use a spatula to put in onto a plate and let it cool. Add salt if you like. Viola! You have a delicious cracker!

I try to stay away from veggies as snacks because they are higher in carbs and I always keep my total carbs under 15 grams, but I do like some rocket or spring mix on my melted cheese.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #25

It’s not that people don’t enjoy snacks, it’s that a ketogenic diet works by lowering insulin, and one of the best ways to keep insulin as low as possible for as much of the day as possible is to limit the amount of time spent eating. That’s why a ketogenic diet is an ad libitum diet, not a calorie-restricted diet. If we are eating enough at mealtime, we can go many hours between meals before getting hungry again. Many people find themselves so satisfied on this way of eating that they really only want one or two meals a day.

For me, this is the biggest change from my carb-burning days, when I would fill my belly to the bursting point (and I mean that literally, not figuratively) and still be hungry for more. I still do snack from time to time, because I am accustomed to using food to deal with feelings, but I’m working on that. At least today, I can have a small portion of pork rinds, or pepperoni, and stop. In the old days, I’d eat a whole pack of Doritos in about ten minutes and then need to start on the next bag.

#26

This is definitely true. I practice IF as well. I usually wake up around 6 am, but I do not eat my first meal until between noon and 2 pm. I also try to not eat after 8 pm. This means that all of my food is consumed within 6 hours or so. My first meal is large. I usually take in at least 1/2 to 2/3 of my total calories and macros in my first meal, and I try to really focus in on the fat at this meal. My biggest challenge can be not eating enough fat in my first meal (I aim for 70% fat), and then running a fat deficit by the time I get to my second meal. My second and final meal is much smaller and usually more protein than fat. After my first meal I am full for several hours, but then I like to snack and finally eat my second meal. As you mentioned, my snacks are much smaller in size (although quite high in fat and calories). If I don’t snack, then I feel deprived and like I am “on a diet”. Since I eat very little in the way of carbs, I’m sure my insulin is fine, even with the snacking. It works for me so far. I fully anticipate that this will change over time. It may come to a point when snacking doesn’t interest me much, but it may not. We’ll see.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #27

You may know this, but I’ll remind any newbies reading this thread that macro percentages are always calculated off of total calories (for historical reasons), so equal amounts of protein and fat by weight are 31% protein and 69% fat by caloric content. (Protein contains roughly 4 (k)cal/g, whereas fats average around 9 (k)cal/g.)

#28

I use an app to calculate my macros, so I don’t have to think about it. Thanks!

(Jack Bennett) #29

Just tried this as part of lunch today. :+1:

10/10 would make again :grinning:

(linda) #30

Hi George!!
Moon Cheese! Flavors are in cheddar, gouda, garlic etc. It’s available at Target and Whole Foods. It’s basically baked cheese that is crunchy and good. Keto Bites are amazing.
Keto Connect is a site on youtube that posts lots of information on the ketogentic lifestyle and routinely evaluated snack foods. They’re are a lot of businesses that are jumping on the band wagon and they evaluate them or taste, macros, price etc.
Sometimes having a treat is a good thing!

#31

Sometimes we can’t eat enough at mealtimes though it only happens to me in extreme circumstances.
But I typically get hungry again in every 3 hours in my eating window, my diet doesn’t matter at all.
And OMAD is way easier for me on higher-carb than on keto though using lots of sweets or not satiating fats help something in the latter case… It’s good I am not obsessed with OMAD as those options aren’t really good. TMAD is just fine. And if I need 3+ meals, so be it. I don’t starve and sometimes I just can’t eat much at once.

I have no problem with snacking in general… I just don’t need that myself. Or just super tiny ones. I am an opportunist sometimes and doesn’t like to resist wild fruit. My body is fine with it, it feels nice, so I get a big (mental?) plus for no noticeable minus. It’s a good deal in my books.

(Katie) #32

A medium- or hard-boiled egg

(UsedToBeT2D) #33

Snack if it makes you feel better. Don’t snack and you may get better.
Avocado
Pork rinds
Hard cooked eggs
Bacon
Fat bombs
Cheese
Any Keto food that you would eat at a meal.
Avoid:
All processes foods
Everything with added sugar
Fruit
Potato chips
Granola bars
You get the idea.

#34

There is DEFINITELY a correlation between how much I eat at my 2 meals per day and snacking. If I eat a large portion of meat (not eggs, not cheese, not turkey, not chicken) plus a good wallop of fat at lunch (my first meal of the day), I’m less likely to snack. However, I will say that I usually eat my first meal of the day around 1 or 2 and I usually eat supper around 5:30-6:30, so that’s not a lot of time in between meals. I have to do it that way, though, if I’m going to stop eating by 8 pm for my IF. The heavier my meal, the less likely I’ll snack.

(UsedToBeT2D) #35

Hunger is not necessarily a bad thing, if you know you can EAT at your next mealtime. Eventually your body will learn. A bit of salt under my tongue helps the hunger pass.

(Clint) #36

I’m not yet at the “no snacking” stage of my journey, so I will usually have pork rinds dipped in bleu cheese dressing. Or almonds. Maybe a hard boiled egg. That said, I am usually too full after a meal to even think about snacking.

(Gail Salik) #37

This helps enormously! Thanks!

(Tim Cee) #38

I try to brainwash myself. “Snacking is for addicts who are not in recovery: I am in recovery so I don’t need a snack.” “Sugar is a narcotic.” I am a little more blunt with myself. If I am truly hungry, I try to make a proper meal and count it as my OMAD. That’s just me. I learned from dr Cywes’ YouTube that eating between meals is a psychological crutch and that it’s better to learn to mini-rest in a non-food way. I drink water, black coffee, and I do a recreational activity or listen to a good song.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #39

So true . . . and so hard to bear in mind! :+1:

(Tim Cee) #40

But I don’t mean it for others as a dis to others who snack. I am an addict who wants to maintain a path to recovery. That’s what I tell myself.

(Traci Simpson) #41

If you’re snacking, you should eat more at your main meals. You should be able to not eat until you are ACTUALLY hungry.