Weight loss snacks: what to eat so you stay full and within your calories

Can you snack while losing weight, and how many calories should a snack be?

Yes, as long as the snack is counted in your daily calories. Whether you lose weight depends on your total energy for the day, not on how many times you eat. A good snack is small, around 100–150 kcal, and stops you from arriving at your next meal so hungry that you overeat.

A snack really helps in situations like these:

• There is a long gap between meals, for example lunch at noon and dinner at 8 pm
• You get very hungry on the way home and tend to stop for fried food or sweets
• You exercise in the evening and feel you have no energy on an empty stomach

If your main meals keep you full, you do not need to snack at all. To find your own daily calorie and protein numbers, try our TDEE calculator (the page is in Thai).

Savory weight loss snacks: which are low in calories and filling?

Savory snacks that keep you full usually contain protein or fiber. You can find the ones below at markets and convenience stores, or make them at home. All numbers are calculated from the per-100 g data in USDA FoodData Central.

Nuts are good for you but very dense in energy. 100 g of almonds has about 579 kcal according to USDA, and in the Thai Food Exchange Lists just 10 peanuts count as about 45 kcal. Portion them into a small bowl instead of eating from a big bag.

Another option is a small, high-protein main dish for days when you are truly hungry in the afternoon or get home late. For example, these CleanFit dishes show their numbers on every meal.

Which sweet snacks can replace desserts when you are losing weight?

If you want something sweet, start with fresh fruit. In the Thai Food Exchange Lists, 1 serving of fruit has about 60 kcal, so 1–2 servings still fit a snack budget easily. Thailand makes this easy, because cut fruit is sold almost everywhere.

If you want protein as well, try unsweetened dairy or soy:

• Plain Greek yogurt, 100 g: about 61 kcal and 10.3 g protein (USDA). Add some cut fruit for sweetness
• Unsweetened soy milk, 1 glass (240 ml): about 80 kcal, based on USDA data of 33 kcal per 100 g
• Low-fat milk, 1 glass (240 ml): about 120 kcal, or about 90 kcal for skim milk, according to the Thai Food Exchange Lists

How do you snack without going over your daily calories?

Count snacks as part of your daily energy budget. Set the budget first, then decide how to spend it.

1. Find your daily calorie target first with the TDEE calculator
2. Set aside about 100–250 kcal a day for snacks, split into 1–2 snacks
3. Put your snack in a bowl or on a plate before you eat. Do not eat from the packet
4. Check whether the label shows numbers per serving or per pack
5. Count drinks too. Iced coffee, Thai milk tea and soft drinks are snacks as well
6. Before you reach for something, ask yourself whether you are really hungry or just bored or stressed

This is only an example. Women should not eat less than 1,200 kcal a day, and men not less than 1,500 kcal. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes or kidney disease, or take regular medication, talk to a doctor or dietitian before cutting calories or raising your protein a lot.

Which snacks stop you from losing weight?

The usual culprits are foods that are high in energy but not filling. You stay hungry after eating them, and they often go uncounted because they feel like nibbles.

• Sweet drinks such as Thai milk tea, iced coffee and soft drinks
• Bakery items and desserts such as cakes, doughnuts and Thai sweets made with coconut milk
• Fried snacks from a bag that you eat until the bag is empty
• Snacks labeled “healthy” that contain a lot of sugar or honey
• Nuts and dried fruit eaten by the handful

Thailand's Department of Health recommends a 6:6:1 rule: per day, no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar, 6 teaspoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. One sweet drink can use up most of your sugar for the day. In Thai, ask for wan noi (less sweet) or mai wan (not sweet).

You can still find good snacks at convenience stores if you know how to read the label. See healthy food at 7-Eleven for how to choose.

Always hungry between meals? How to fix your main meals

If you need a snack almost every hour, the problem is usually that your main meals have too little protein and too few vegetables, not the snacks. Fix your main meals first.

• Give every meal a clear source of protein, such as chicken, fish, eggs or tofu. See how much you need in protein for weight loss
• Fill about half your plate with vegetables. They help you feel full without adding much energy
• Do not cut rice so far that you end up filling the gap with sweets in the afternoon

For the bigger picture of what to eat across the whole day, read weight loss food: what to eat.

If you do not have time to cook high-protein meals, CleanFit has 38 dishes. Every meal shows its calories and protein, from 70 to 330 kcal, and each is a main dish without rice. They are frozen in vacuum-sealed pouches and keep for 120 days in the freezer, so on hungry days you have something ready instead of snacks. Every dish is made with no cooking oil, no MSG, no added sugar and no preservatives, is Thai FDA approved, and has lab-tested nutrition.