HEALTH
Eat Right
TUESDAY Q-DAY: Snack Healthy
If I’m going to have a snack, does it matter if I’m eating 200 calories of potato chips or 200 calories of something healthy, like an apple with peanut butter?
To answer your crunchy Q, we turned to nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM. “For weight purposes, a calorie is a calorie,” she shares. But we all know that being healthy is more than just the number on the scale. “A more healthful snack might actually satisfy and not fuel cravings for more food,” Heidi spills. Ya know how when you eat a handful of chips you...want another few crispy bites almost instantly? That’s what she’s talkin’ about.
“Having said that, most of us can allow for 'discretionary calories' each day from foods that are less than stellar nutrient powerhouses,” she says. Basically, she means that every day we’re all gonna eat something that’s not totally nutritious—and that’s totally normal. Especially if gobbling a couple chips now means you won’t down a whole bag later AND that you’ll get back to nutritious noshes by dinner. “By choosing a portion-controlled bag of chips (200 calories) as your discretionary calories for the day, and if that satisfies your desire for crunch and salt, you may have made a great selection for yourself. Only you know how much those chips call your name.”
Thanks, Heidi!
To answer your crunchy Q, we turned to nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM. “For weight purposes, a calorie is a calorie,” she shares. But we all know that being healthy is more than just the number on the scale. “A more healthful snack might actually satisfy and not fuel cravings for more food,” Heidi spills. Ya know how when you eat a handful of chips you...want another few crispy bites almost instantly? That’s what she’s talkin’ about.
“Having said that, most of us can allow for 'discretionary calories' each day from foods that are less than stellar nutrient powerhouses,” she says. Basically, she means that every day we’re all gonna eat something that’s not totally nutritious—and that’s totally normal. Especially if gobbling a couple chips now means you won’t down a whole bag later AND that you’ll get back to nutritious noshes by dinner. “By choosing a portion-controlled bag of chips (200 calories) as your discretionary calories for the day, and if that satisfies your desire for crunch and salt, you may have made a great selection for yourself. Only you know how much those chips call your name.”
Thanks, Heidi!