Healthy snacks

• The key to good eating habits during the day is a nutritious breakfast. Make sure it contains protein, as well as slow-releasing carbohydrates to fill you up. Cereal and porridge are popular options, but they’re low in protein. Top them with fruit, natural yoghurt and nuts and seeds to ramp up the protein and fibre content, it’ll keep you going until lunchtime.
   
• When packing your lunch for work, throw two snacks into your bag of roughly 200 calories each. Your snacks should be well-constructed mini-meals, just like breakfast, lunch and dinner, and contain fibre, protein, carbohydrate and healthy fat. Being prepared will stop you picking at the unhealthy offerings at work.
   
• Banish snacks to your desk drawer, but have a bottle of water in view at all times. Each time you have a snack attack, take a sip of water instead. Switch your caffeine fixes to herbal tea to boost your hydration. Coffee is a diuretic, which means it makes you thirstier, and you could be confusing thirst for hunger.
   
• Birthdays in the office can seem a weekly occurrence. Of course you should allow yourself the odd cheat treat, but make sure there’s a trade-off. If you have a chocolate biscuit (roughly 100 calories), commit to a brisk 15-minute walk at lunchtime.

Healthy snack choices:

Half an avocado – 140 calories. Full of fibre and essential fats.
One apple and 20g almond butter – 175 calories. Almond butter contains magnesium, vitamin E and calcium.
One hard-boiled egg – 70 calories. Contains healthy fats and 6.5g protein.
90g edamame beans –120 calories. 36 per cent protein and high in fibre.
Natural yoghurt with berries/seeds – 185 calories. A sprinkling of seeds contains 35 per cent protein.
Crudités and houmous – 50g low-fat houmous contains 125 calories. Carrots contain 37 calories per 100g.

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