[ Mmm, I do love me some hand cake. Having a healthy snacks list available for emergency situations can save you from ruining your day.]

Keep reading to have your healthy snacks list ready when your hunger strikes…

Self control and determination can make or break your success at weight loss. A lot of times, your amount of self control is determined by the situation you are in.

You can take control of your situation by not allowing temptations to enter your house. In other words, it wouldn’t be smart to load your cupboards with bonbons and cheetos.

Admittance to the Healthy Snacks List

In order to be admitted to the healthy snacks list, these foods need to meet certain requirements. They have to be healthy but also satisfying.

It is important to keep your snacks under 200 calories. This way it stays a snack, not another meal. Also, you want to look at where those calories come from. You don’t want 200 calories of fat. Your healthy snacks list should be comprised of foods that will give you some nutrition to keep going.

Good things to have in your snacks are protein, vitamins, fiber, and all natural ingredients.

You also want to look at the satisfaction factor. Will this snack keep you satisfied until your next meal? Or will you be grabbing for something else in 10 minutes?

Keeping those things in mind, we have come up with a diverse and delicious healthy snacks list to get you started. It is just the tip of the iceberg but hopefully it will get your creative juices flowing and give you an understanding on what makes your snack worthy of being on the healthy snacks list.

TFLA’s Healthy Snacks List

• Jicama with lime juice
• part skim cheese stick wrapped in 1 slice of fat free turkey breast
• 1/4 cup hummus with red pepper
• 1 oz of almonds
• celery or carrots in ranch
• frozen banana dipped in yogurt
• handful of dried fruits
• our delicious strawberry smoothie recipe
• a mini bag of popcorn
• 1 hard boiled egg
• a dill pickle
• dried peas
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese with halved cherry tomatoes
• wholegrain waffle with 1 oz nutella
• vegetable spring roll with 1 oz peanut sauce
• a fruit of your choice
• 1/4 cup of salsa with 10 whole grain tortilla chips
• 1 oz of the darkest chocolate you can find
• 1 Tbsp of guacamole (recipe on our avocado nutrition facts post) with 1 quesadilla made of 1 corn tortilla and 1 slice of part skim mozzarella

Crackers Worthy of the Healthy Snacks List

Crackers are a very popular snack food but you have to be careful of which crackers you choose. Most are full of sodium and fat, and some are wolves in sheep’s clothing, making you think they are healthy when they really aren’t.

Here are those that made the cut: (1 oz of each)

• Nabisco Whole Wheat Triscuits
• Ak Mak’s Whole Wheat Sesame Crackers
• Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers
• Finn Crisp Rye
• San J’s Black Sesame Rice Crackers

Cookies Worthy of the Healthy Snacks List

As you can guess, there aren’t many cookies out there made from natural ingredients and aren’t loaded with sugar, but we searched the cookie aisle to find you a choice for your healthy snacks list:

• South Beach Living PB Cookies
• 100% Whole Grain Fig Newton
• Kashi TLC Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies
• HoneyPot Ginger Cookie Mix by SimplyOrganic
• Any flavor Almondina Cookies

Don’t forget that with every snack you consume, eat it with a nice tall glass of ice cold water or unsweetened ice tea. Many times when we think we are hungry, we are just thirsty. Drinking lots of pure liquids will keep you from getting out of control and snacking only from the healthy snacks list.

To learn more about how the right foods can help you lose weight, look at our review of the Fat Burning Furnace.

Many of you may be skeptical in believing that fact. Just to prove to you that I wasn’t lying through my teeth, I want to supply you with even more 5 minute abdominal exercises that will help you to achieve a firmer, flatter stomach.

[You don't need to get all mean and green to get a six pack like the Hulk. Follow a fat burning diet and great full body and core exercises for simple success!]

To get these amazingly effective abdominal exercises to lose belly fat, read on…

When you take a step back from getting mad about that pooch you can’t get rid of in the abdominal area, you just might finally get rid of it.

What do I mean by that?

Well, it is very true that you cannot will your stomach flat. Just toning your waist and belly may be your only goal but you need to understand that you won’t be able to just get rid of your belly fat. You need to slim down all over.

Let’s put it this way…

How do you burn fat? By using more calories than you consume, right? Can you say, “okay body, today we will be using the calories in my stomach during this run.”

No, that just doesn’t happen. But you can say, “okay, today I will be eating right, and I will get in a good fat burning exercise along with a quick abdominal exercise to help tighten my core.”

Speaking of not wide enough, wouldn't you be worried as a passenger on this vessel?

Physical appearance is not the best number one goal for your weight loss. It is just too narrow of an idea. We all want to look good but when we are trying to lose weight just for the sake of appearance, we don’t have a wide enough area of improvement to make it a success.

When you decide, I will lose weight and get physically fit because I want to feel good and be healthy for years to come, you will lose that belly, I guarantee, but you won’t be spending the bulk of your time focusing on that area of your body, you will be toning and sliming the whole body. To do that, you need to use your whole body which is the quickest and most effective way to lose your stomach fat, anyway.

Do you get what I’m trying to say here? I hope so.

Now what you’ve all been waiting for…

5 minute Abdominal Exercises

1. 2 sets of 10 on each side- medicine ball circle woodchops

Grab a 5-10lb medicine ball in the palms of your hands with your arms extended. Make a wide circle to one side and chop down to the alternate side of the body.

2. 2 sets of 20 Penguins

Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet planted on the floor. Lift your shoulders off the floor and grab the inside of one heel with the arm on that side and alternate sides to complete each set.

3. 2 sets of 30 Belly Busters

Get into plank position. Then lift your butt up high into the air and bring it back down, keeping your back and your legs straight. Use the strength in your abdominals to bring your butt up and down without allowing your back to curve.

Another of my posts talked about how important a good abs diet is in creating a flat and sexy midsection.

I want to reiterate: You can’t lose your stomach bulge without a caloric deficit!

For a great diet plan to follow to get a great looking stomach check out our review of the Diet Solution Program.

Between making A) fat much easier to keep off and B) the noticeable increase in mentality acuity after a couple weeks, I’ve almost completely convinced myself on life with dramatically less alcohol.

I am now on another no booze challenge of 60 days, and this is simply to test my own willpower and resolve, and if there are any other noticeable changes.

Now that I am used to the whole “No, thanks I’m not drinking” line, I am able to have more fun with it. At a birthday party at my friend’s condo this past Saturday, everyone was raising their glasses for a photo and I decided to pick up and raise a Palmolive container instead.

[I remember cheap pitcher nights in university. Unfortunately pillow-top mountain was replaced with sprawl- across-the-bathroom-floor valley!]

The important thing is to not be the Debbie Downer of every social engagement like a lot of non-drinkers are.

All in all, what I have learned more than anything else during this challenge is that drinking is almost laughably not worth it.

That’s a lesson I wish someone would have beat into me during my early and mid-20s. It may have saved me six dozen hangovers and more than a few conversations that started with, “I did WHAT last night?!?”

But aside from vomiting in the neighbors garden, let’s remember why we’re here…FAT LOSS!!!

So follow me along this path:

Alcohol consumption + Compromised sleep quality = WEIGHT GAIN

How Alcohol Keeps You From a Healthy Sleep

It may be fun and games while getting drunk with your friends at a cottage, a BBQ, or a night out on the town, but even a few glasses or your favorite cocktail can seriously affect your sleep.

Many people believe because of alcohol’s sedative properties that it helps us sleep better, but though you may fall asleep quickly, your sleep quality is what suffers tremendously.

Studies show that a moderate dose of alcohol consumed as much as 6 hours before bedtime can increase wakefulness during the second half of sleep. By the time this effect occurs, the dose of alcohol consumed earlier has already been eliminated from the body, suggesting a relatively long-lasting change in the body’s mechanisms of sleep regulation. Full article can be found here.

This shows that your glass of wine before bed may very well be during your eight hours of “rest” into the equivalent of five hours.

How Sleep Affects Your Waistline?

Researchers from The University of Bristol in the UK conducted a study of 1,000 people, and the findings were that participants who slept less the eight hours a night were more likely to be heavier.

The study, conducted by Dr. Shahrad Taheri found that people that habitually sleep for five hours had 15% more Ghrelin, which increases feelings of hunger, and about 15% less Leptin which is an appetite suppresser. This is probably why I gained 10 pounds in Vegas; thanks a lot 6am Bellagio Buffet!

Dr. Taheri says,

“These differences are likely to increase appetite and, in societies where food is readily available, this may contribute to obesity.”

Even if you’re saying, “But I’m not obese” this may still explain why you can’t seem to lose that last 15-20 pounds, or even why you’ve recently gained 15-20 pounds.

What The 30-Day Challenge Has Done For Me?

Thankfully the TFLA Challenge has brought me back to the man I was at the age of 18. Back then, I was always the designated driver with a bottle of water in my hand, and yet still the guy on the dance floor having the time of his life.  Perhaps I am fortunate to not have to tap a Heineken keg to have an amazing night out, but at least now I have learned to embrace that and be stronger when it comes to following the herd.

This doesn’t by any means suggest doing away with alcohol forever, but it does mean that I’ve re-calibrated my priorities so my drinks are much more limited and at more appropriate times. The way I feel now, almost through another 30 days without alcohol, is better than I’ve felt in a very long time.

Not only do I encourage you try it out, but I flat out challenge everyone reading this to look away from the crowd for a moment and step up to the plate.

As Mark Twain once said:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”

As I’ve said before and I will continue to say, fat loss is a battle between you and the rest of the world. Everywhere you turn there is an easier way to get fatter and lazier. All I can hope is that this site becomes your personal online cheering section and support group. To walk into a bar and know you are one of vast minority that aren’t drinking is very empowering, and that feeling extends far past your drink order!

Originally, the goal of this challenge was to experiment with my body to witness what, if any, affect the absence of even the limited amount of alcohol that I do consume would have on my overall health.

However, this challenge quickly evolved into a battle of wills and the ultimate social experiment before I could say, “I’ll have a virgin Pina Colada please“.

[Sure sheep are cute, and love to party, but it's best to climb out of the pen and think for yourself]

I never realized what a central role “drinks” play in our everyday social environment. When I posted the idea for my challenge here, I received a message from a couple of people undergoing the same challenge.

A Facebook friend said when she read my initial post she believed she was the last person to ever use alcohol as a social crutch, yet during her own 30 day challenge she found herself avoiding all social situations that involved drinking (aka most of them). She said she’d rather “avoid temptation then to suffer through it“.

As I contemplated her message I wondered:

“Are many of us really so eager for group approval that something as “everyday” as alcohol has such an enormous impact on how we function socially?”

Unfortunately, it appears the answer is an inebriated and slurred “yes”!

The benefits vs. the suffering

Perhaps it’s just me and my already eerily low amount of social inhibitions that makes sober such an easy task, but I found the “suffering”, as she mentioned, faded very quickly and the benefits I gained were far and away worth the forgoing of a couple (or several) useless drinks while out with friends or co-workers.

But this was not immediately apparent.

During my first two weeks I found zero difference in overall health. My workouts were normal, my energy levels hadn’t changed and I didn’t notice any difference in my cognitive abilities.

But week 3, right on the dot, is when something changed.

I awoke in the morning, and the “fog” was noticeably clearer and I became fully alert much faster.

My short term memory was noticeably better, my conversations were smoother and I was never stuck searching for a word or a phrase. All pistons were firing. At this point, purely on a physiological level I was convinced, you booze you lose!

Drinking and the effects on relationships

But the question still remained:

How would this impact my social relationships?

It seems in any personal health initiative this is the most difficult task; being confident enough to live a healthy lifetime in the midst of an entire planet seemingly working against you.

Example 1: Try being a male going out to a steak house and ordering fish or chicken.

Example 2: Try being a male and ordering only a salad at any restaurant.

If you’re doing this for the first time, unless you’re already friends with a progressive group of men or only friends with women, be prepared to be labeled “as less of a man” quicker than Ryan Seacrest.

The more challenges of this nature I put myself through I’ve noticed it doesn’t just take the proper mindset to live healthier, but it also takes some personal strength and conviction to make the right choices no matter who may be watching.

Personally, I’m not typically one to lie or dodge questions, so when I’d say, “I’m not drinking tonight” the reactions were always entertaining.

The news would evoke immediate questions to justify my actions:

“Are you driving? You must be driving. Are you on a detox? One of those juice things right, ya, those are tough.”

“30 Days? NO booze? Are you kidding me? In the middle of the summer? Why didn’t you do this in February? You’re an idiot.”

“Have a drink. No seriously, have a drink. Don’t be gay.”

This is my favorite, because somehow gay people are now also being associated with boycotts on alcohol? Apparently, living a healthy lifestyle is such a vile and inconceivable concept that it approaches lunacy.

I had never realized the massive herd mentality that drinking alcohol created. I found it especially interesting that even those that tried to limit their consumption were constantly being pressured by other drinkers to “top-up” or drink more as if trying to justify their own inebriation by breaking the will of their peers.

Finding the strength and support

This seems to be how many diets fail, because of a lack of will power to be your own person, especially without the right support group in place.

So any of you out there trying to lose weight for the first time, or get back into shape, the most important way to look at it, is you vs. The World.

During any health based challenge, it is important to stick with the people that will support your goals. I don’t mean people that live as you live, just merely peers that accept your decision and will stand behind you.

My friends for example, have been ideal. Never once resorting to anything more than a one-liner dig, that I would likely have thrown their way myself. Other than that, my Sober Sally challenge has been a non-issue.

It is also important to realize anyone playing devil’s advocate and naysayer simply aren’t strong enough to it themselves (or even stand by and support you).

In Part 2, I will be discussing how alcohol can seriously affect your waistline, and I’m not even talking about calories. Even just a few drinks can seriously disrupt your sleep, your overall health, AND your weight loss goals!

How many people have calories on their mind?

Do any of them count calories?

I’m gonna go out on the proverbial limb here and say probably none of them.

Harsh? Maybe. But I too was once a frequent visitor of the common food courts eating fattening foods and feeling my clothes getting tighter by the fry. So chalk this up to experience.

After several failed attempts at losing weight, I finally took some responsibility and found an unlikely weapon against fat-> The PENCIL!

[I used to yawn or skip right over any talk about goal setting. But after giving it a go in my fat loss journey, I'm using it everywhere now!]

Keeping a Food Journal

In the beginning, I tried keeping a food journal but it never lasted more than a few days at a time. It was time consuming and an inconvenient exercise to calculate all of those calories ingested over the course of a day. In the end, calories were either forgotten or grossly under-estimated.

The Missing Ingredient

I had pretty much given up on keeping a food journal for fat loss until I read Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle about proper goal setting.

There is a ton of material (good, bad, and down right awful) in pretty much every corner of your local book store but the reason I found Venuto’s more compelling was the emphasis of a 90-day goal.

He explains the importance of the three-month goal as being the perfect time frame for a short-term goal, especially fat loss. Whereas a long term goal doesn’t carry the same sense of urgency. A one-year goal? Forget it. It’s too far off and procrastination would kick in closer to the deadline.

So with my new short and long-term goals established and written clearly in my food journal (usually at the top of my ledger paper), I’ve never looked back at my former unfit self.

This one change may seem insignificant to most, but I really think it was the key to my success and now I try to incorporate it into almost every aspect of my life.

Modern Day Food Journaling

Today, you can find countless tools on the web to make food journaling much easier. Websites that track your caloric intake, suggest exercise movements for creating a caloric deficit, and charting your progress in “real-time” definitely provides an added level of motivation and excitement apart from your clothes feeling snug or checking yourself out in a mirror.

So if you dreaded the nightly calculator punching and recording your totals, this is absolutely for you. One particular online fat loss journal that seems to be getting a lot of press these days is FitDay. From everyone I’ve talked who uses it, they have nothing but good things to say, especially it being free (except the premium version which doesn’t seem to be very different). 

I admittedly haven’t tried FitDay or any of the other online tools yet. Call it pride or a resistance to change but doing it manually with pencil and paper is how I learned.

Do I Count Calories Today?

The short answer is no.

But without it, I’d severely lack the nutritional knowledge and bench marks to live the healthy life I do now.  For someone who had zero knowledge of nutrition, calorie counting served its purpose for me and now I am able to practice other strategies like portion control and responsible eating.

Though I have found much more enjoyment in exercise in recent years, diet is still the essential piece of the fat loss puzzle. As much as I really have tried to get around it, it’s impossible to out exercise a terrible diet.

Calorie counting allows you to take control of your life by providing you with the information you need to make more informed decisions about your health BUT without taking the time to write down your goals (short and long-term), your fat loss efforts may end up insignificant and disappointing.

The benefits of calorie counting are important to understand. More importantly, I believe proper goal setting is what will carry you through the ups and downs of your fat loss journey. Look up our review of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto to appreciate this important step towards a better you.