With the beautiful weather starting to peek through the winter blues, it is the best time to get the metabolism speeding up. People are seen walking more and with the growing desire to be active, you will need to refuel.
There are many benefits to selecting healthy snacks. It will be both nutritionally and financially beneficial for you if you follow the following suggestions when snacking.
1. Make it Yourself Most snacks are very simple to make, and much cheaper if you create them yourself. Purchasing ready-made snack foods will hurt you more than in just your pocketbook. The food will have salt and other preservatives in it to make them have a longer shelf life.
This creates food that is low in vital nutrients, and high in sugar or sodium. Protein bars are loved by many, but pre-packaged ones are not always healthy.
2. Think Balanced
When you are creating your snack, you want to keep balance in mind. A balanced snack will have a protein, a carb and some fat to keep you satiated. A perfect example of an ideal snack would be a piece of fruit and a stick of cheese.
3. Helps Maintain Weight
It is a fact that when someone is too hungry, they will over eat at mealtimes. Healthy snacks are the perfect way to prevent this. When you are overly hungry, to tend to eat quickly and your body has not had the chance to tell you that you are full and need to stop. Over eating, happens in the blink of an eye and can leave you feeling awful for hours afterwards.
In addition, to have the best metabolism, you need to consume the ideal amount of calories each day. Your body requires a certain number of calories to function daily, and if it does not get those calories, it will hold onto resources to make sure it can function.
4. Stress is Bad
I am sure you have heard that everywhere. Stress is not healthy for you. It causes you to be fatigued, unable to concentrate, and create a buildup of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol increases the fat build up in your body. It is also, what keeps you craving unhealthy junk food and sweets.
5. Allow More Occasionally
Women complain about being hungry during their "time of the month." This is not a figment of the imagination. Women burn more calories during that week because progesterone is released. When you burn calories, you crave calories. Allow yourself to eat a little more during that week without punishing yourself. Just keep it healthy!
6. Do Not Forget the Calcium
Women need their calcium because bone loss occurs a lot sooner for them. Let us go back to that ideal snack of a piece of fruit and a stick of cheese. You are getting the sweet that you crave with the fruit, but then you are getting the protein and calcium you need in the block of cheese. It is important that you get calcium in your diet, and cheese is a tasty way to do that.
7. Do Not Forget the Water
Water is your lifeline. It is also very easy to mistake hunger for thirst. When you are thirsty, it is possible that you will begin to feel exhausted, as well as hungry. Drinking soda will add to your fatigue. You fill your body up with sugars and then you crash only a few hours later.
If you are looking for a grab and go snack, protein bars that you make at home are ideal. 
