Chips, Cookies, Carrots?
Today we share from our friends at Guy Demarle, France for their BLOG on Snacking. Chips here, a cookie there… whether in the office or at home, it’s hard to resist snacking! Especially in case of cravings, we rarely turn to carrot sticks but rather to fatty and sweet products supposed to give us a natural feeling of well-being. But if it temporarily offers us pleasure, this bad habit tends to make us gain weight! How can this be remedied? Discover all the attitudes to adopt to free yourself from snacking finally.
Eating Well During Meals
No secret, avoiding snacking starts with eating well during meals. Whether at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, normal eat-in quantities and not like a bird! The goal is to stall until the next meal and not be hungry 1 hour after leaving the table. The ideal way to last all day without snacking is to eat at fixed times to offer a regular rhythm to the body, especially not to skip meals and to consume foods consistent with proteins, starchy foods, fruits, and vegetables …
Eating Slowly and Mindfully
Do you have the unfortunate tendency to take your meals in quick in front of the TV or with your nose glued to your mobile phone? What if you take the time to feed yourself by paying attention to what you eat? Eating gently and listening to feelings of hunger not only allows you to connect with your taste buds but also to recognize when you are full. As a result, we enjoy the meal, and we eat less to the extent that we give our body the necessary time (20 minutes minimum) to feel satiety. Enough to reduce uncontrolled food impulses!
Analyze Your Cravings
Speaking of food drives, are you able to recognize them? Distinguishing a real hunger from a simple need to eat may seem difficult at first glance… unless you ask yourself the right questions! You should know that our indoor weather dramatically influences the way we eat. Stress, fatigue, depression, and boredom are often at the origin of snacking, which acts as emotional comfort. Before throwing yourself on cheese or chocolate bars, analyze your feelings and tackle the source of your discomfort. Meditate and breathe, inflating the belly well. The cravings related to your emotions will magically disappear!
Indulge in Healthy Snacks
There is no question of frustrating you in case of real hunger between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. Give yourself a healthy snack that won’t cause insulin to spike at the moment and starve you a few hours later. A handful of almonds, seeds, plain yogurt, fresh fruit, seeds, a few vegetable sticks to dip in a bit of hummus… So many nutritional solutions that will allow you not to crack on any sweet product.
Limit All Products That Are Too Sweet/Too Salty
If you are looking to snack less, the best thing is to ban all sweet products from your cupboards! Cookies, sodas, sweets, chocolates… Avoid buying it and you will be sure not to consume it 😉 Because sugar calls sugar and the more your blood sugar rises when they are ingested, the more likely you are to be sensitive to a drop in energy, inevitably causing cravings for snacking! The same goes for salty products, which are just as bad for your health as they promote high blood pressure.
Drinking, Drinking, And Drinking
Exit sugary or alcoholic beverages; it is here to drink water. Everything is allowed in the form of teas, herbal teas, soups, or detox waters! Drinking will hydrate you and reduce your urge to snack.
Keeping The Mind Busy
When you have a busy mind, you don’t think about snacking! Play sports, draw, tinker, call friends, play with your children, read, garden, meditate… In short, take care of yourself and forget all of your old habits of bad snacking habits.
Jessie
Guy Demarle
