One can find all kinds of information out there about snacking. There are a lot of different views on the practice. I have been through several phases in my life when it comes to snacking. I’ve grazed all day, had a structured diet for exercise where I had 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, and over time I’ve gotten to the point where I am at now. Snacking isn’t a huge part of my day anymore.
I think snacking has its purpose – it fulfills hunger between meals and keeps the body fueled throughout the day. For me, however, snacking often led to a lot of processed foods. I would make healthy choices, but there were usually crackers, a granola bar or a snack mix involved. I found that I felt I was doing the healthy thing fueling my body, but it was often adding unnecessary calories.
Recently the US Agricultural Research Service found that teens who snacked came closer to meeting recommended food group servings, but also took in excess sugar and fat. I think I fell into that category too.
Now I just treat snacking differently. I might snack, but I only do it when I’m truly hungry. Being involved in fitness I often followed the mini-meal/between meal snack regimen to keep my energy up. This works for some people. But I’ve moved to a place in my life and health where I just can’t see eating if you are not hungry.
Despite having healthy intentions, snacking to fuel when I wasn’t hungry was teaching me to eat when I didn’t feel hunger. I don’t like doing that anymore.
I definitely still have snacks throughout the day. When I put in a hard workout my stomach is always growling between meals. At these times I remember to steer clear of a box. Fruit and nuts have become my snack of choice and often I need about two bites to actually satisfy hunger. It is just another step in my journey to eat real food and to eat it mindfully.
Are you a snacker? How do you feel about the practice of snacking?
Photo by Kevin Rosseel, www.morguefile.com
I take advantage of snacking when I can, since I often do not have an appetite and need to make sure that I consume adequate fuel.
I like to think of it as mini meals rather than snacking 😉 I’m not sure if how/what I eat is healthy- but here is how it usually goes:
Breakfast- Apple- 1/2 with PB, 1/2 without, coffee- 6 am
Apple or apple sauce (I am apple crazy haha)- 9 am
Lunch- 11 am- usually mixed vegis (large portion) sometimes with a rice type product or some kind of vegi soup with a yogurt
Snack- 3:30 pm- sometimes I go overboard here…but I try to keep it to a bread type product- home made granola bars usually topped with a hint of PB or pretzels or more yogurt with granola
Dinner- full dinner (you’ve seen my posts ;)- meat or bean, vegis, fruit, starch
Sometimes I will have a little something something after dinner- usually small
That was probably wayyyy more than you ever wanted to know 😉
I enjoyed this post because I tend to not be a snacker and always wondered if that meant my meals were too big 🙂 That said, my brain doesn’t work well when my stomach is growling, so sometimes I snack, often on peanut butter.
I know that snacking when you’re hungry is the right way to eat, but it’s really my downfall. I do better when I don’t snack – because once I start, it can be hard to stop!
VeggieGirl – A good example of when snacking is a positive thing for sure.
Erica – So glad you shared. You’ve got a really healthy thing going on there.
laura – PB is often my snack of choice too. Just a little spoonful and it does the trick. I love it!
cathy – I have that problem too. I have a hard time finding a balance between listening to hunger and eating because it is there.