If you just take a stroll through your local town centre on a day during the week, you will notice how many cafe’s, restaurants, and food selling shops there are. More interestingly, you will also probably notice how many people are eating on the run: munching their way through crisps, sweets, and chocolates whilst waiting for a bus, or walking around the shops. Snacking really has become a part of our everyday lives. In fact, having a healthy snack at the right time of day can provide a much needed boost of energy, maybe mid-morning or mid-afternoon, when we most need it but when it is too early to eat a full lunch or dinner.
However, if you are overweight, it may be that your type of snacking is part of the issue and could do with some tweaking. Take the fun quiz below to find out what type of snacker you are and then read the “transformational tips” to help you create a healthy snacking habit!
Take a look at the snack scenarios below and tick all that you do regularly:
A) I regularly skip breakfast and then find myself grabbing whatever I can find a bit later in the day.
B) When I dish up the kids tea, I often have a little taster myself
C) In the evenings, whilst watching television, I often eat a packet of crisps or some chocolate
A) I often go for long periods of time without eating and then up feeling dizzy or wobbly and need something immediately to eat
B) If someone offers me a sweet I’ll have one
C) During the day I will fancy chocolate or something savoury like crisps or salted nuts
A)I don’t tend to have regular times that I eat in the day
B)At the end of a meal, if anyone has left anything, I may pick at what’s on the plate
C) If I’m not hungry I will still eat a piece of cake
A)I don’t tend to plan ahead regarding food, meals or shopping
B)When walking around the supermarket, if there is a sample to be had, I’ll take what’s on offer
C) After my dinner,even though I am full up, I often fancy something else to eat
So let’s find out what type of snacker you are and how to tweak your snacking habits to help you lose weight more easily!
If you ticked:
Mostly A’s – You are an Invisible Snacker!
You tend to pick at and eat things which you are not even really aware of eating. That piece of toast your husband left, a few sweets from the kids, the odd biscuit left on a plate after the team meeting or that sample of cheese on the deli in the supermarket. You may either be not fully aware of how these add up during a day or you may be thinking that these bits tend to be small so don’t count! However, all these little snacks add up and do make a difference to your weight. Your first step to changing this is to become more aware of what you are actually putting in your mouth throughout the day. Make a note and see how many snacks you have eaten during the week in this way. Keep a food diary as this will help you see exactly what you are eating and when.
Mostly B’s – You are a Survival Snacker!
You tend to skip meals, be a bit chaotic in your eating strategy, don’t have regular times for eating and go for long periods without food. This leaves your blood sugar levels at an all time low and you starving hungry! In this state, you will just grab whatever you can to boost your sugar levels, get rid of that muzzy feeling in your head, and to stop yourself feeling faint and dizzy. This is an emergency form of eating as your body is crying out for food, so you have to find something quick and easy and usually this will result in unhealthy choices for convenience. You need to start changing this habit by eating regularly and planning ahead. In this way you will create more of an undulating flow in your blood sugar levels and so you won’t end up in that desperate state. Start with having breakfast every day. This kick starts your day and gets your metabolism moving, increases the blood sugar level after an over-night fast. Eating breakfast will increase your ability to concentrate and will set you up to continue your day in the right frame of mind.
Mostly C’s – You are a Unhealthy Snacker!
You snack not because you are hungry but because you are bored, lonely, to change your focus or because you can! It is a habit for you and you tend to choose comforting, unhealthy snacks which give you a quick fix of feeling good, but then tend to leave you feeling dissatisfied afterwards. You need to change this by planning ahead. Ensuring that you carry healthy snack options with you so that when you need to change pace, or feel like a snack you are boosting your energy and feelings with something healthy that won’t harm your waistline. Prepare some crudities and take them to work with you, get some low fat yoghurts in the fridge, snack on fruit – do your research and find healthier options that you will enjoy. Also it is worth looking at your snacking habit to learn different ways to manage your boredom, loneliness, need to change the pace, so that you are not constantly resorting to food.
Now if any of the above resonates with you, or you feel that snacking is definitely part of your weight problem and you are not enjoying looking at the end results, then you may want to consider signing up for my low cost on-line coaching programme called “How to Eat Chocolate & Still Lose Weight!” One of the seven coaching modules in this programme, covers the whole area of snacking and how to transform your snacking habits so that you can lose weight and achieve the body you desire. If you would like more information about this self-study weight management programme then contact me via the contact form, stating “How to Eat Chocolate & Still Lose Weight.