High-satiety snacks – the best and the worst

What are the best and the worst snacks for weight loss, metabolic health, and body composition?

There are many common mistakes, and knowing about them is great!

You'll also find some really good news. There are many truly great snack options.

Overview

The low end

At the bottom of the pack, we find salted nuts like cashews (4), mac nuts (14) and chocolate. Even 70% chocolate only scores a 7.

This should not be surprising. These foods are very low in protein and very high in energy density, and they are highly rewarding and almost addictive.

It should be noted that some foods score even lower, like milk chocolate, donuts and cake. These are in the low single digits.

A Snickers bar, for example, may be effective at quickly eliminating hunger ("you're not you when you're hungry"). But it's mostly sugar and fat, and it scores a zero (0). You'll eat 220 calories of sugar and fat and get almost no nutrition or protein, so you'll soon be hungry again. Not a great choice.

The middle

At the low end of the middle section, we find many cheeses, like cheddar cheese (35). Some caution may be recommended.

Closer to the center, we find common fruits, like apples (46). This is low in protein, but it also has a very low energy density and a whole lot of fiber to make up for it.

Protein bars are controversial, as they are highly processed and contain artificial sweeteners. However, they often pack a lot of protein and lots of added fiber, and due to their much lower sugar content, their energy density is also lower.

While these bars vary quite a bit from brand to brand, an average higher-quality protein bar scores around 50. For specific brands, you can check them in our Hava app (easy) or on our website (not as good search yet): 
Satiety calculator

Other strong contenders include beef jerky (59), especially sugar-free brands that can score even higher, a boiled egg (60), baby carrots (64), or low-fat cheese sticks (64).

Canned sardines (66) and dry-roasted edamame (68) also score well.

The top end

Looking to truly get leaner and stronger at the same time? Consider snacking on deli meat (74), like ham, roast beef, turkey, or chicken.

There is one meat option that scores even higher; check out our full deli meat guide.

A true cheat code is nonfat Greek yogurt at 89 (!). It scores so high that you may want to add some berries or chopped fruit for fun; the score will likely stay at 70+ anyway.

At the very top? A protein shake, just protein powder and water, scores 90.

More

Check the satiety of any food – and learn how it's calculated.

For much more support and fun photo tracking and analysis try our satiety app. Get your free trial.