Is there anything wrong with snacking?
This whole area can be confusing! There is information out there that says, “yes, go on, never get hungry” and advocates snacking to keep hunger at bay…and then others that say eat a proper meal and you don’t really need snacks.
What Works For You
Really you need to find what works for you. But one thing is certain with snacks they can tend to knock any portion control for six and when that happens its easy to creep the weight on.
Here at RISE Fitness, we love our outdoor bootcamps and our effort-smashing monthly challenges but we do recognise that what you are eating really does matter IF you have a body weight goal in mind. Our nutrition plans are curated by your RISE coach and delivered via the RISE app. It is important to think about your eating in both content and habits. There’s an old saying:
You can’t outrun a bad diet
Said everyone, all the time…
What does that tell you? It means that you need to apply some thought to your eating and look upon it as forever changes not a short-term fix.
Mindfulness
This is actually very helpful when it comes to food. There is such a lot of psychology behind eating, and it helps to recognise that. Many people eat out of habit, not out of hunger. This is something you can start with, think to yourself “Do I really want to eat this?” and if I do, is the time now?
It’s OK to eat so called naughty food, although here at RISE we would say a home-made cake with cream is not really naughty, it’s just plain nice. A more processed cake bought in the shops is the naughty choice. Start with thinking about the amount of processing that goes into any food you are snacking on and try and reduce the amount of processed snacks that you eat and replace with fresh, whole or homebaked. This will help re-train your palate away from the addictive, processed taste and towards enjoying better flavoured food.
Palate training is a thing, you can actually start to look forward to eating a juicy organge as much if not more than a chocolate eclaire. Trust us we know!
What do the French Do
Speaking of eclaires (see what we did there…) part of the French style of eating, apart from the well-known consumption of higher fat foods and wine, is that there is a low incidence of snacking. In Mirielle Guiliano’s famous book, French Women Don’t Get Fat she attributed this to:
- Smaller portion sizes: – she advocates the 50% rule, i.e. asking for half of whatever food one is offered, “la moitié, s’il vous plaît” in French
- Savouring food to increase the feeling of satisfaction, choosing a small amount of high quality food rather than larger amounts of low quality food
- Eating 3 meals a day and not snacking
- Taking in plenty of liquid such as water, herbal tea and soup
- Sitting down and eating mindfully (no multitasking and eating while standing up, watching TV, or reading)
- Emphasizing freshness, variety, balance, and, above all, pleasure
They look like a really good set of guidelines, don’t they? There is a lot to be said for eating a decent meal instead of trying to skimp and opening up that biscuit tin later. Basically this adds up to thinking about what you eat and why and making sure its really what you want and will make you feel good. If your hand is on the chocolate Hobnobs then sure have some but be really sure that you want them and you will feel better in yourself after eating them.
Why not come down and see us if there is a location near you and start a journey that really will change the way you think about health and fitness.
#fitness #healthysnacks
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
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