Healthy snacks for weight loss. What to choose for the 4pm slump
A healthy snack for weight loss provides about 150 to 200kcal, includes protein or fibre, and is only worth having if your next meal is more than 4 hours away. A plain yoghurt with fruit, a small handful of almonds, a boiled egg. It is not compulsory. It is there so you do not arrive at dinner starving.
A club coach looks at your situation with you and gives you the best advice.
Book your free assessmentIn this article
Snacks for weight loss, in 3 cases only
To lose weight, the total for the day counts, not the number of times you eat. The NHS page on understanding calories gives around 2,000kcal a day for an average woman and 2,500kcal for an average man. A snack earns its place in 3 cases. Your next meal is more than 4 or 5 hours away, the hunger is real, or dinner usually starts with a rush on the bread. Then it costs less than a meal that gets out of hand.
Good snacks, 150 to 200kcal
- A plain yoghurt with an apple or a handful of berries.
- A 150g pot of plain skyr or Greek-style yoghurt, rich in protein.
- About 20 almonds, roughly 150kcal, with a large glass of water.
- A boiled egg with carrot, cucumber or pepper sticks.
- 2 oatcakes with a thin spread of cottage cheese.
Watch out for a pastry from the coffee shop, which often passes 300kcal, and for many cereal bars, which can be as sugary as a biscuit. Fruit juice and fizzy drinks bring sugar without filling you up. The NHS Eatwell Guide suggests limiting juice and smoothies to 150ml a day in total. For drinks, see our guide to how much water to drink.
When to have a snack
For most people, around 4pm or 5pm, between a lunch at 12:30pm and a dinner at 8pm. In the morning, only if breakfast was very early or very light. If hunger comes back after dinner, it is the meal that needs reviewing. Our ideas for what to eat in the evening can help.
Hunger or craving
Real hunger builds slowly. A craving comes on suddenly and targets a specific food, often something sweet, after tiredness, boredom or stress. Would an apple not tempt you? Then it is probably not hunger. Drink a glass of water, wait 15 minutes, then decide.
To begin, prepare your snack in the morning and take it to work for 2 weeks. You will soon see which snack keeps you going best.
At the club in Witney
At Witney Nutrition Club, members have breakfast at the club in the morning, before work. Your first assessment is free and looks at your whole day, snacks included.
This article does not replace advice from your GP or another health professional.
Your weight loss curve
Enter your profile and the curve redraws straight away.
At the median pace, it would take about 11 weeks to lose 8 kg. At the gentlest pace, about 4 months.
The benchmark most often given for lasting weight loss is 500 g to 1 kg a week. That is the ideal zone of the chart. Above 1 kg a week on a regular basis, the body draws on its muscles as much as on its fat. That is the hatched zone.
An indicative projection. Every journey is personal and results vary from person to person. The calculation runs on your device, nothing is saved or sent. Over 65, talk to your doctor first.
How this curve is calculated
The top edge of the zone matches 500 g a week, the gentlest pace. The bottom edge matches 1 kg a week, the risk threshold.
The first weeks go faster, mostly water, then the pace slows. After 40, the median curve slows gradually, because metabolism slows. For the same effort, a man usually loses weight a little faster than a woman.
The journey curve adds plateaus of a few days and small regains, as in real life. It does not predict your own journey.
This advice is general. It does not replace medical advice.
Further reading
For day to day support, see the healthy eating programme.