A lot of times, it’s not so much the regular meals we eat that are a problem, but the snacks.
Lately, I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit as far as unhealthy and excess snacking — especially late at night.
I’m gonna be completely honest here … two nights ago, I was relaxing in my comfy beanbag chair, watching stupid comedy re-runs on TV, and I ate some yogurt-covered pretzels (bunch of sugar) and then some barbecue-flavored kettle chips.
So good and so bad.
And so unnecessary.
Was I really THAT hungry?
Hell, no, I wasn’t. Mostly, I was bored and that stuff was in the pantry and it sounded good and so I ate it.
Guess what?
I was up two pounds from the day before at the morning weigh-in. Sure, it was mostly all fluid retention from all the sodium but still …
Eating between meals, also known as snacking, is fine, but there are much better things to enjoy besides sweets and chips.
One way to avoid temptation is to not have the stuff in the house. If I hadn’t had those yogurt-covered pretzels and chips in the pantry, I wouldn’t have gotten up and gone to the store to buy some that night. If I was really hungry, I might even have had one of the apples that are in the ol’ fruit bowl in the kitchen.
Another thing … skipping meals to cut calories is not always a great idea, and can lead to overdoing it later in the day. Don’t let yourself get too hungry.
When you feel like having a snack, ask yourself if you are really hungry, or are you maybe actually thirsty? It can be easy to get the two mixed up. You think you’re hungry, but your body is actually asking for a drink. Try drinking a glass of water or bottle of water, then wait 10 minutes. See if you’re still hungry after that.
If you are, leave those yogurt-covered pretzels and barbecue-flavored chips in the pantry and eat something healthy. Here are some ideas:
Apple slices with almond butter or peanut butter.
Celery sticks with peanut butter.
Slice of avocado toast.
Have a banana. Slice one up and add some strawberries.
Handful of dates or grapes.
Applesauce (add some cinnamon for extra flavor).
Cantaloupe slices.
Cashews or almonds.
Make a smoothie: blend some ice cubes, a little water, banana, some honey, scoop of protein powder (make it thick, like ice cream).
Just a few ideas.
Happy snacking!
