Last week, there was a great article in the Wall Street Journal highlighting how the snack industry has taken over how we eat – “according to a 2013 survey, 48% of Americans skipped meals at least three times a week, and 63% decided what to consume less than an hour before eating.”
So? To Snack or not to snack? Here are the pros and cons of snacking
PRO: Life is busy and you must make it work for you! There are a lot of great snacks out there – find pre-packaged food that is real food – and works for you. There are now pouches of high quality cooked proteins available that you can keep in your fridge ready to go. Vacuum packed cooked lentils that you can make into a quick salad. Yogurt, string cheese, nuts, cut up veggies, fruit, whole grain crackers…have these foods available and ready to go so you can eat on the fly!
CON: READ THE INGREDIENTS – whole, real foods only. You would be amazed at how much junk is in packaged foods. Nuts and nut butters should be made of nuts – no added sugar, salt, oils and chemicals. Kale chips should be made of kale, a little oil and some salt. Dried fruit should be made of fruit only. Yogurt is made of milk. Bars should be made of whole read foods and not chemicals and weird powders. Soups and pre made meals should be made of the vegetables, grains and protein – cut out the junk!
PRO: There is no set research that you must eat 3 meals a day – small, frequent balanced meals throughout the day is what the body usually likes. So smaller than a meal…maybe a snack size…every 3-4 hours. Each time you eat there is a protein, carbohydrate and fat present.Please remember –GRAZING IS DIFFERENT THAN SMALL FREQUENT MINI MEALS. Grazing means you munch on food all day long..similar to a cow grazing on grass. You still want to wait 3-4 hours between eating. Leave the grazing for the cows…that is not exactly the body type most of us are going for.
CON: Often times snack foods are not satiating. You can easily eat 400-600 calories of snack food and still want more. If you eat really bland food all the time, you are likely going to get bored and then overeat on something sugary and fatty – be sure you are eating foods that satiate you physically and mentally. Add spice, eat something crunchy, add textures and get protein and fat in there to fill you up.
PRO: Use snacks to your advantage. If there is one time of day that is always tricky – you are in meetings, sitting in traffic, headed out the door – find the snack that works to set you up for success.
CON: If you do not have a plan, you are likely going to make a bad decision. It is very difficult to expect that the foods you want are always going to be available so for the 63% of you who do not plan more than an hour ahead, I can GUARANTEE if you took just a bit of thought into your day, you would likely improve your nutrition, weight, health and energy.
So what do you think? To snack or not to snack?
Want to chat? Email me and lets discuss how to make nutrition work for you.