It's Not You, It's Me. 4 Ways To Snack Successfully.
It’s not you, it’s me…
Snacking has gained a bad rep. More often than not, snaking has been labeled as the culprit to all our weight gain and diet dilemmas. However, truth be told, snacking is not the problem. In fact, a healthy and balanced diet calls for adequate mid-morning slash afternoon delights. The problem is snacking wrong. Here are 4 simple rules to follow to ensure you keep the midday snacks sans the side of guilt and waistline expanding.
1. Know why you are snacking. Snacking is not a way to pass time. A snack is intended to keep you feeling full for 2-3 hours so that come mealtime you are not overeating and placing stress on the digestive system. The first step in snacking correctly is recognizing your hunger cravings versus your boredom cravings. Before reaching for a snack consider whether you are truly hungry or whether you perhaps just need a 5-minute walk around the office to relieve some stress. Perhaps hunger is not the issue and you are simply thirsty...
2. Set yourself up for success, not failure. Prepare healthy snacks, not only because they are better for you but also because they serve their intended purpose of keeping those hunger cravings under control. Opting for nutrient empty foods will set you up to fail as sugar filled snacks and processed carbohydrates will lead to a rapid glucose spike in your body. Opt for complex carbohydrates which will offer a slow release of glucose, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. Ensure you also always have protein rich foods like nuts and dairy on hand instead of a cooky jar at your workplace.
3. Focus on numbers and not size. A snack in not intended to have the same calorie count as a meal. In order to keep your daily calorie intake at the desired level, ensure your snacks contain between 100-200 calories maximum and ensure you are limiting your intake to two snacks a day. This means knowing that the coffee you reached for doesn't come with a side of biscuit because guess what... the coffee is the snack. Unless you opt for a short black, the average coffee will fill your quota before you have even added that biscuit on the side.
4. Become a mindful eater. With a hectic work and social life of the agenda, snacking can become routine without being given much thought. Ensure you take time out to snack properly. Take that 5-minute break to really taste the food and get in touch with your cravings. If you eat too quickly, your stomach won't have time to send signals to the brain that you are no longer feeling peckish. This is the number 1 reason that small snack turns into a full blown meal.
Photo courtesy of eats.coolmumpicks.com