Scenario. You're driving in a car  pulled over at a rest stop and feeling very hungry. It's been 6 hours since you've eaten breakfast but you have dinner plans in 3 hours and shouldn't spoil your meal. You walk inside the corner store, blood sugar dropping steadily, and look around at all the tempting treats. You think to yourself, man that would taste really good right now but I'm watching my weight. Are those calories really worth it?

After looking through the isle of chips and chocolate you stumble among your favorites of each. You anticipate the taste of the first bite, so delicious and satasfying. But something stops you and pushes you off in the opposite direction productless.

You end up two isles over amongst the rice cakes and pick up the BBQ flavor.  Without thinking you immediately turn the bag over and start reading. Fat 2 grams, calories 80, fibre 2 grams. Ok stop, you have a winner. You've found the healthy choice. Then off to the check-out you go. Here are some unhealthy choices to avoid.

Avoid These 5 Snacks

1. Snack Cakes- just read the ingredients list. Snack cakes are full of fat, sugar and preservatives. Averages between 200-500 calories. Contain little to no fibre.

2. Chocolate Bars- the worst ones to eat have nuts : snickers, peanut butter cups. Avoid king size bars, boxes and large boxes.

3. Potato Chips- are full of fat and salt. A small bag of flavored chips contains over 1500 mg sodium and 20 grams fat.

4. Soft Drinks- destroy health in many ways. Most varieties contain caffeine, refined sugar, artificial sugar, carbonated water and tartaric acid which robs calcium from our bones. Those with a family history of diabetes, obesity or osteoporosis should not drink pop.

5. Pre-made sub sandwiches- have a shelf life of up to a month, yuck. Contain white bread, cheese, mayo and processed meats, full of fat and calories and no fibre. Questionable food safety practices.

The next time you visit the convince store look for fresh fruit or , milk or yogurt (check the date). Fat free snacks like jelly beans and skittles are simply straight sugar and will not help your weight loss. You can often find whole grain crackers, rice cakes and low fat granola bars.

Make a conscious decision prior to entering the store to make a sensible dietary choice. Have a game plan and stick to it! After all traveling is not an excuse to eat what you want. But perhaps your birthday is ( ha-ha).

This blog post is dedicated to all those who will be traveling this upcoming Easter weekend.