I’m trying to work on creating better habits. There’s one long-standing habit, in particular, that I’ve wanted to tackle for a long time and now might be the time to finally conquer it.
The area I’d like to improve in the coming days is my issue with mindless snacking. I’m pretty sure my habit developed shortly after I left my job and started working from home. With 24-hour access to my fridge and snack cart, it was easy to get into the habit of grazing on snack foods all day. As time went on I put on a few pounds but I didn’t fret. I simply tried to assess the situation by tracking my calories.
After a few weeks of consistent tracking, I was shocked at how many calories worth of snacks I was eating per day.
Shocked!
Once I realized what I was doing, I started to put the pieces together. I wasn’t consuming those extra calories out of hunger, per se, I was doing it out of boredom. Whenever I went grocery shopping on the weekends, I made sure to buy a bunch of goodies to restock my snack bar. Anytime I had a craving, I was only a couple of steps away from enjoying a little treat.
When my calorie tracker revealed the truth, I switched things up by reducing my snacking drastically. Wouldn’t you know it, suddenly my weight would dip by a couple of pounds. I wasn’t starving myself, I simply would eat bigger meals instead of engaging in constant, mindless snacking.
Let’s talk about all the ways we can benefit by reducing or eliminating snacking.
Increased Antioxidants
I’ll admit it…when it comes to snacking, I’m eating mostly processed junk food. I love chips, crackers, and anything salty. Then there are times when I prefer something sweet and indulgent. Most likely, whatever I’m munching on is satisfying all of my cravings without giving any nutritional value. I wrote an article long ago about how a personal trainer recommended that her clients drink green tea as a snack. At first, I was appalled that a cup of tea could even be thought of in the same category as its yummy alternatives.
But, after doing some digging, it turned out that green tea could help with suppressing appetite thanks to its wonderful chemical compounds. More importantly, green tea is chock full of antioxidants that help make us healthier at the cellular level. This is probably why avid green tea drinkers are said to experience longer lives. They’re drinking an anti-aging beverage every single day. The snacks I enjoyed contributed to free radicals, this "snack" can help combat them.
Blood Sugar Stabilization
Another benefit I want to experience by limiting unnecessary snacking is improving my blood glucose levels. I noticed a pattern…the more snacks I consumed, the more snacks craved. It was like being on a never ending roller coaster. But once I limited my access to snacks, I noticed that my body didn’t crave them as much. My body was no longer addicted to the constant blood sugar spikes that were fueled by my constant grazing.
Once upon a time, I read that, in French culture snacking wasn’t really a thing. People ate a meal time…and that was pretty much it. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I tried to follow that advice and noticed that, as time went on, my in-between meal cravings started to diminish. My body no longer craved the sugar highs. Instead, it started to become more “fat adapted.” Meaning that my body became more efficient at utilizing fuel from my stored fat (and glycogen) versus constantly relying on my snacking for a quick pick-me-up.
Being fat adapted is an ideal state for me because it allows me to work throughout the day without constantly having to stop and rummage through the fridge for random snacks. Once meal time arrives, I can be present and fully enjoy the experience, unlike the times when I scarf down a snack mindless while working.
#nosnacking Saves Money
This pandemic caused massive shifts in our financial system. Not only are gas prices out of control, but we’re also probably going to experience even higher food costs and possibly even food shortages. In the past, I would indiscriminately add a bunch of snacks to my shopping cart without a care in the world. Going forward, I’m doing things differently. I’m slashing my snack budget and reallocating those funds towards actual food purchases. Food that provides real nutritional value. Prepackaged snacks are probably the most expensive foods due to their cost per serving. A bought a small bunch of bananas the other day. The total cost for the bananas was $1.00. It has 4 bananas so I paid about a quarter each. Where else can I get a snack that only costs a quarter?
Overall, I really want to lower cravings and reduce inflammation. I also want to increase my levels of hydration by drinking more water to avoid false hunger cravings. Overall, I want to eat to satisfy hunger, not out of boredom or as a coping mechanism when I’m anxious. I’m not creating a rule that I’ll never snack again but I want t swap out the packaged stuff for fruits, veggies, and even green juices.
I've been living a snack-free lifestyle for a few days now. One of the most immediate benefits I noticed is how much more I appreciate meal time. Food tastes better and the experience of eating a proper meal is more enjoyable.
Looking forward to all the benefits to come.
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