How many times this past week have you eaten on the run?  How many times have to reached for what's quick and easy, be it at your desk, your car, your pantry.  If your like most you usually reach for the easiest thing to grab and what's around.

Yet one of the easiest ways to throw your weight loss efforts off track is by snacking, well snacking on the wrong things that is. I can't stress enough how easy it is to pile on additional unwanted calories by snacking on the wrong things. People are shocked when they actually see the number of additional calories they have taken in by casually snacking. This really can hurt your weight loss efforts.

And unfortunately, it's mostly the "bad stuff" that falls into the quick and easy category when it comes to snacks and what most people grab to munch on. Things like chips, cheese crackers, candy bars, bite sized candies, etc. Ya know, all those things that fit into your desk drawer, your car console, right there in your pantry.

So, as people are always, always asking me for things they are "allowed" to snack on, here are some things that you can start getting in the habit of munching on: (and yes some of these may require you to take 3-5 minutes out of your day to prepare ahead of time, and maybe store in a container for when your ready, but c'mon it's better then continually putting on more weight!)

* Celery sticks with natural peanut butter (try the Smucker's natural you will be surprised how good it is)

* Whole wheat crackers and low-fat string cheese

* Cottage cheese

* Apples, bananas, grapes (any fruit will work)

* Healthy fiber rich granola or cereal

* Chicken or turkey slices (as these are great cold)

* Yogurt (try Greek style yogurt too, it's great of you have not already had it)

* Broccoli or any other veggies

* Nuts (try to stick to a handful or two)

* Hardboiled eggs (high in protein)

* Rice cakes (add some natural peanut butter to get some additional protein)

Take-Away Advice:  Be Careful here though!  The one deadly and bad habit most have with snacking is over-doing it.  This is easy to do while you are doing household chores, playing with your kids or working at your desk. You get per-occupied with other things, and don't pay attention to how much you are eating and that's when you take in way to many calories.

Remember, snacking is just to hold ya over until your next meal so do your best to really pay attention to this and you'll find that you're keeping your calories to a more respectable level. More importantly, you wont be sabotaging your weight loss.