Your 11 Favorite Healthy Snacks Are Actually Making You More Hungry

Jun 26, 2018

The whole point of eating something is to curb cravings and to satisfy your gut until the next appropriate time to munch. Most opt for healthy treats, but doing so often results in an even more insatiable appetite. Just when you think you're doing the right thing, you're not and that is pretty discouraging.

Rather than mowing down on these healthy snacks, consider something else because these treats are actually making you more hungry: 

"It's not ice cream, though!" is usually what you declare to yourself before enjoying this frozen delight full of probiotics, but all good things have something bad in them, like sugar and empty calories. The high carb content of this snack will spike your blood sugar and make you hungrier a short time after eating it. 

Healthy folks understand that fish is the best lean protein of all, so there's no denying the sushi craze has not been ill-conceived. However, their petite stature can force people to keep eating the bite-size chunks in a strive for fullness. Full of calories, it is easy to overdo it with this meal, though. 

Tears of joy were shed when studies revealed that a glass of wine a day is actually healthy as it provides the body with a fair dose of antioxidants. Like all good things, though, people go overboard and doing so with alcohol leads to even more poor decisions, including poor eating habits. The more you drink, the more inclined you are to delve into some nachos rather than a salad. 

Like smoothies and yogurt bowls, salad can grow unhealthy quickly. Yes, always eat your leafy greens, but jazz them up in a way that will satisfy your hunger for hours. Incorporate lean proteins, like chicken or fish, in with your salad as well as fresh produce, like tomatoes. Avoid mayonnaise-based dressings and opt for healthy fats, including olive oil and avocado. 

When you plan a meal, especially for a special occasion, it's going to be decadent. Appetizers with dressings for dipping, pasta drenched in red or white sauce, and meats marinaded in the finest dressings. The truth is, though, too many tastes at a meal force you to eat more as it keeps your palate interested, despite your stomach growing kind of full. Sauces can add more unnecessary calories, too, so keep it limited to one per meal if at all. 

Fear not; no one is going to tell you that smoothies are bad. However, your body does not respond to them in a way that declares it full. Rather than drinking your leafy greens and almond milk through a straw, pour the mixture into a bowl and throw some nuts on it. The delayed consumption process will fill you up better as it allows your body to register the meal. Mind over matter, but not in this case. 

When you are avoiding potato chips and cookies, pretzels seems like the best alternative, right? They're low in fat, which is the only thing that makes you fat, right? Wrong! Your body not only needs fat to function properly, but pretzels are high in carbohydrates and are made almost entirely out of refined white flour, making them a better once-in-a-while treat than a daily health benefit. 

While you do need a serving of fruit each day (the food pyramid says so), it is important to not overdo it. One banana or apple is totally fine, but sitting down to a whole fruit salad is just as bad as chewing on some candy. High in both fructose and glucose, the spike in your blood sugar will pack on the pounds but not suppress the appetite. 

Okay, you might be getting fed up at this point with being told your favorite snacks are on the no list but bear with us a bit longer. Yogurt is great for you; it's full of protein, healthy fat, and probiotics that promote digestion and boost immunity. However, it lacks in texture and can turn unhealthy when you add your favorite fruits to it. To make the snack a meal, add chopped nuts to it and don't opt for zero fat yogurt but low fat for ample, filling goodness. 

Remember the whole grain bread craze a few years back? The one that leads everyone to believe that they could munch on bread throughout the day as long as it was brown? Yeah, that was a bad trend and continues to stump people daily. Bread is bread--simple as that. The high carbohydrate content of any bread elevates blood sugar and only gives the body a small dose of fuel, leading to hunger almost instantly after consuming it. 

The alarm has gone off, you're ready for the day and excited to sit down to a healthy, quick bowl of cold cereal. While certain cereals are, in fact, healthy, they do not do the job of keeping you full for longer. Low in water content, even shredded wheat won't do the trick in keeping you full until lunch, so you are unfortunately better off without a crisp bowl of cereal in the AM.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!

So, if you've stopped living in denial about your favorite healthy treats, why not clue your friends and family in, too?