You just had furniture delivered to your new house by Black Tie Moving. Now, it’s time to stock up your kitchen. You’re wanting to start eating healthier, and you know that your snacking has gotten a little out of control. Fret not, we are offering 4 ways to cut back on snacking.
Let’s get into it!
1. Mindful Eating
One of the most common reasons that we overeat is due to boredom. It’s all too easy to grab a bag of chips while we sit down and scroll Instagram or turn on the latest Netflix series. Snacking is usually not caused by hunger, but by creating this unhealthy habit. Fret not, though. There are ways to break free from this mindless snacking.
The idea of eating mindfully is that we eat with a purpose, an intention. After all, food is meant to keep us alive, healthy, and strong. It’s not supposed to be a form of entertainment. While snacking sometimes isn’t too detrimental to our health, too much of it can lead to health problems like obesity.
Eating mindfully requires you to pay attention to the food you’re consuming. In turn, you’re much less likely to endlessly munch when you’re feeling bored or overwhelmed.
2. Be Strong at The Grocery Store
If you don’t have the snacks, you can’t eat them. While this is common sense, we often don’t think about this as we do our weekly grocery store haul. Instead, try to stay away from the chips and sweets aisles when you’re grocery shopping.
Refusing to buy snacks will help you in those moments of weakness when you’re wanting to eat a whole package of Oreos. Instead, you’ll have to find something else, a healthier way, to address your desire to snack.
3. Little Reminders
As we know, snacking usually involves little to no thought beforehand. We get an unconscious urge to head to the pantry, without stopping to think why we are doing so. This is where little, tangible reminders can help you to stop snacking as much.
Consider putting up post-it notes on the pantry that remind you that you probably don’t need that snack. You could also put reminders that suggest you drink some water before grabbing that box of crackers. Drinking water has been proven to help curb your desire to snack. You may just be dehydrated and not hungry. Get a full glass of water and see if it helps satiate your wish to snack.
4. Healthy Food Swaps
It’s not necessarily the snacking that proves problematic, but it’s what those snacks are. Usually, we want to eat something salty or sweet. This becomes an issue as these types of food offer little to no nutrients and are usually packed with unnecessary calories.
Making healthy food swaps can help you to snack less. You’re much less likely to crave carrots or cucumber when compared to chips or cookies. If you want something to munch on while you watch TV, try buying some healthier foods like fruits or even popcorn.