Snack smarter

What you need to do

You can snack. The rule is that every snack this week contains protein or fiber. Crackers alone do not qualify. Crackers with cheese do. Chips do not. A handful of nuts does.

Options that work

• A cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese: 20 to 25 g protein
• Two hard-boiled eggs: 13 g
• An apple with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter: 7 g protein, 5 g fiber
• A handful of almonds (1 oz): 6 g protein, 3.5 g fiber
• Beef jerky or a cheese stick: 7 to 10 g
• Edamame (1 cup): 17 g protein, 8 g fiber
• A protein shake, on the days a snack is really a missed meal

Part of the fundamental Real food most of the time.

Why this works

Protein and fiber are the two things that make food filling; protein is the most satiating of the three nutrients [43]. In a controlled unit, people offered ultra-processed food ate about 500 calories a day more than on matched real food, and snacks were a big part of it [55]. When protein in the diet drops, people eat more overall, mostly by snacking, which is the protein-leverage effect [42].

Sources

43. Halton and Hu 2004, J Am Coll Nutr. Protein is the most filling of the three macronutrients and costs the most energy to digest, though the calorie effect is small; fullness is the bigger lever.
55. Hall 2019, Cell Metab. Living in a research unit, people offered ultra-processed meals ate about 500 calories a day more than on matched minimally processed meals, and gained weight instead of losing it.
42. Weigle 2005, Am J Clin Nutr. Raising protein from 15% to 30% of calories, with people eating as much as they liked, cut intake by 441 calories a day and lost 4.9 kg in 12 weeks.

The fridge version

One line, seven boxes. Print it and put it where you eat.

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