10 Most Popular FAQs from our Self Magazine Facebook Q&A

We've been hosting the Self Magazine Facebook page every Thursday from 1-2 ET and have been having such a good time answering all of the fantastic, thoughtful questions.  We'll be hosting every Thursday through the end of May and hope to see you all there.  In the meantime, we thought we'd compile some of the most common questions (and our answers).  The first five are below...and for the full list of all ten, visit www.self.com.

1. Q: Any great ideas for a healthy breakfast on the run?

A: Breakfast wraps/burritos/sandwiches are always really portable (Just wrap in foil and head out the door!). The ricotta-apple wrap on the Drop10 plan can be wrapped in foil and taken to-go. A peanut butter and sliced fruit sandwich on whole grain bread is also portable. You can even make a yogurt-fruit-whole grain cereal parfait in a to-go coffee mug to take along with you in the morning. Slicing up a hardboiled egg with a slice of cheese, tomato, and hummus on a whole wheat English muffin makes a fast and travel-friendly egg sandwich. And, when you're really in a rush, grabbing a piece of fruit, 1/4 cup nuts, and a small skim latte works.

2. Q: I find myself really hungry from about 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm. I try high protein snacks like string cheese or hard boiled eggs, and I drink a lot of water, but nothing helps. Which in return causes me to overeat. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Afternoon hunger can be a tricky thing because it's something also related to boredom or being ready to take a break from work! So, first make sure you check in with yourself about what you need. If your stomach is growling, then you need a snack (and I'll give some suggestions in a sec)! But, if you're not really hungry, but just feeling unsatisfied, take a 5 minute walk, call a friend, or make a cup of tea and see if you can clear your head and refresh for the rest of the afternoon. If you're hungry, opt for a snack that combines healthy carbs, protein, and/or healthy fat and fiber. This will keep you feeling more satisfied for longer! The Drop10 snacks are a great place to start -- they all have this ideal balance of nutrients to keep you going strong. Also, make sure you're not eating too little at lunch and also make sure you're not eating too little for your snack. Aim for around 450 calories at lunch and 150 at your snack. If you like string cheese, pair it with a large apple. Eat your hard boiled egg with 2 tablespoons hummus and a handful of baby carrots. 

3. Q: I usually work out at 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning. What are your suggestions for fuel before and after? 

A: When you work out in the morning you have a few options. Depending on the time that you wake up, you could have a Drop10 breakfast, then do your workout. If that's too much/you don't have enough time in between to digest (about an hour) then you should try splitting your regular breakfast into two parts. Eat something that has fueling carbohydrates prior to working out (like a piece of whole grain toast with a small smear of peanut butter, a piece of fruit, or a whole wheat EM. Or you could simply split your breakfast in half, eating half before and half after. This would work well for something like the honeyed ricotta and apple wrap on the Drop10 plan (which is easy to split in half).

4. Q: I cannot eat nuts, soy, or dairy.  Any suggestions??

A: For nuts, you can substitute seeds like sunflower seeds (or sunflower butter), pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, or other healthy fats like avocado. For soy, as a sub for edamame, you can try other beans like white beans, black beans, kidney beans, etc. As a milk/dairy substitute, try hemp milk, grain milk, coconut milk, or rice milk. In place of cow’s milk yogurt, you can sub plain coconut yogurt. We love So Delicious plain coconut yogurt!  Since those milk options tend to have less protein than soy and cow’s milk, be sure to include other protein-rich options in your meals (i.e. Don't skimp on lean chicken, fish, eggs, etc.)

5. Q: I unfortunately have always been a picky eater. I just can't stomach most things - which unfortunately is most of the Drop 10 menu. However, I LOVE eggs and chicken. Can you eat too much of either of those? What about grapes?

A: The healthiest diet is the one with variety -- so eating the same foods over and over isn't ideal, because you miss out on nutrients in other foods (and get a lot of the same nutrients from the foods you are eating). Think of your meals/snacks (and the ones on the Drop10 plan) as combinations of different food groups: healthy carbs (potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, winter squash, beans, whole grains like quinoa, oats, wheat berries, etc.); fruit; veggies; dairy/calcium fortified dairy alternatives; healthy fats (nuts, seeds, oils, nut butters, avocado); and protein (meat, fish, chicken, eggs, beans, edamame, cottage cheese, tofu, tempeh, etc.). If there's something that you don't like, choose a food that you do enjoy from the same group. That way your diet is still balanced, and has variety, but you're eating the foods that you love!

Click here to hop on over to the Self Magazine page to get the full list of all ten FAQs!