When you’re dieting or trying to eat healthier overall, unhealthy snacking can be one habit difficult to break. You may not even realize how much you snack if you tend to eat while you’re busy working, particularly if you have a desk job.
Despite all your hard work with regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snacking is where you can indulge in a lot more unhealthy foods, which can cancel out what you’ve already achieved.
A lot of people believe that to diet or eat healthily successfully, you have to eradicate all snacks or unhealthy foods completely, but it’s not the case. Snacking can still be done (and enjoyed), as well as treats, as long as you’re doing so more mindfully and planning out a responsible snacking schedule.
Equip Yourself with Healthy Snacks
This may not sound appealing, but there may be many healthy snack options you would actually enjoy eating. If you prepare and plan in advance to take with you, whether to work or out to a social event, then you’ll have no choice but to eat what’s in front of you. This will also reduce the risk of you buying unhealthy snacks impulsively, like from the workplace vending machine.
Good choices for healthy snacks can include:
- Apple slices
- Grapes
- Carrot sticks
- Yogurt and berries
- Mixed nuts
- Dark chocolate (compared to milk or white)
Plan for a Treat Day
Working out every single day of the week or denying yourself strictly every minute of the day may not lead to a successful healthy lifestyle. Cravings will increase, and excessive exercise and a limited diet can also have negative side effects.
It’s always allowed to have a day off from exercise and healthy eating in order to let your mind and body recover. Having a treat day — or ‘cheat’ day — is therefore encouraged. This doesn’t mean you should binge unhealthily for one day of the week, but it does mean you can have a day where you know you can look forward to indulging that little bit more.
If you have healthy meals every day of the week, why not try a takeout on your treat day? Or, if you’re self-disciplined enough to deny yourself sweet treats or chocolate all week, allow yourself to indulge on your treat day. You can make it even more special by investing in gourmet chocolate, like with Dallmann Confections.
This means you’re more likely to keep up with a healthy diet because you know you have allowances you can look forward to.
Portion Out Snacks on a Plate
One bad habit with snacking can be eating an entire bag or packet of something on autopilot, meaning you could eat more than one portion.
If you portion out snacks on a plate, you’re controlling the healthy portion amount to eat so that when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Make Sure Normal Meals are Substantial
If you’re finding yourself constantly hungry and turning to persistent snacking, this could be a sign that your regular meal portions aren’t enough. Be sure to check the right portion and calorie amount for main meals so that you’re more comfortably full and then less likely to want a snack.
