To snack, or not to snack?
 

Question. And really just out of curiosity. Snacks or no snacks throughout the day?

Currently I eat three meals and two snacks but I always wonder, is it really important to snack? I mean eating is what got me to where I am now... But I hear the same spiel over and over, boost your metabolism, stop you from being hungry, etc etc

Being hungry is not my problem. It never has been. My issue is willpower so that is essentially what I am working on conquering.

Is it more important or beneficial to have three nutritionally dense / good for you meals every day?

What have you been successful with??

There's no reason to snack nor have multiple small meals throughout the day and realistically/scientifically it's better for your body (insulin/blood sugars) to fast intermittently.

I can't remember if I can post links here or not (so many forums LOL) but google intermittent fasting and you'll find a ton of info.

I think it depends on the person. Personally, I don't often snack. I'm generally not hungry between meals. I'm down almost 30 lbs from my restart in October, so I've been pretty successful without snacks. But I don't credit not snacking. If I wanted snacks, I'd have them. And do, whenever I feel like it.

I know thin people who eat 5-6 smaller meals a day, not because they 'should,' but because that's when they get hungry. I also know thin people who only eat 3 meals a day. It really varies a lot.

Do what works for you. I don't think it's important to snack or not snack in general. If you often get hungry between meals, I would build in some snacks. If not, I'd just put those calories toward your meals (or omit them if they're not needed). As long as the snacks aren't adding additional unneeded calories, you should be fine either way.

I only snack if I am starting to get hungry between meals, and only because I know that if I am too hungry leading up to a meal that I am much more likely to overeat at that meal.

Even so, I am very careful about what I snack on. 99% of the time it is some sort of vegetable or fruit (apples, berries, carrot sticks, leftover cooked vegetables from the night before, etc). Very rarely, I will treat myself to some home popped popcorn (no butter, just the tiniest bit of coconut oil to pop it and then some sort of seasoning like cumin or garlic powder for flavor).

What she said^^^^^

I only snack once or twice a week because dinner is going to be late or my snack is a skinny margarita :) I was never too much of a snacker until married DH #2 and he led me down that dark path..... Lol! Without snacking I've been able to lose an average of a pound a week. If I'm on the fence about a snack, I drink a can of seltzer water first, then decide.

I'm a snacker. I get too grouchy if I let myself get too hungry.

I used to buy into the hype of eating 5 small meals a day. What a quack it turned out to be (for me!). Eating that many times a day just made me think about food all the freakin day long! When I started IE and got in touch with my natural hunger signals I found out that my body really only needs 2 solid meals and sometimes a small snack per day. Truly! It is so nice to go 5-6 hrs without feeling hungry or thinking about food. But everyone is different, my mother who is thin and has been an intuitive eater all her life eats snacks all day long from morning till night and never has a large meal - large plates scare her even lol. You just can't go wrong with IE and IF.

I find that I do much better with just meals. I occasionally have a snack at night (usually it's dinner), but in general snacking just makes me eat more and I'm not necessarily hungry. If I'm hungry I'd prefer to have something a little more like a meal, like a cup of soup or something. 100-200 calories, but not really "a snack."

I'm a snacker, and am trying to reduce the amount of snacks I consume.

I find it very difficult! I snack when I'm bored, and while work keeps me busy, it doesn't keep me stimulated enough that I don't want a snack. So I end up eating a small bag of chips and then a little packet of nuts and then... and the list goes on.

I personally do snack and lost all my weight snacking. What I found worked best for me is that my regular meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) was usually small meals (although dinner was usually the largest but not always) and then I had room for the snacks. What helped was to plan out my day so I knew how much snacks I could eat and then to track everything I ate as I ate it. I actually dual tracked (and still do) calories and Weight Watchers points. So, planning in advance helped me to know how much I could eat and then tracking helped me stay on track.

Do what works for you. People used to say how eating breakfast was basically a rule for weight loss. Now recent studies are debunking that. I personally don't snack much because I prefer to eat bigger meals, but if you enjoy your snacks, go for it!

Hi LELi & commenters! This is a very interesting question & discussion. I agree that it is very individual.

For me: Assuming the same caloric intake for snack vs no snack, I feel more satisfied eating 3 meals without snacking. Smaller meals with snacks--which is what I actually do---leave me always longing for a little more. But with just 3 meals I think I am afraid that I'll be hungry in between. :dizzy: What a mind game it can be!!!

Does anyone else get super hungry AFTER breakfast? If I avoid carbs, it's manageable, but if I eat a breakfast with anything besides protein, like, say a piece of fruit or toast, I feel hungry all day no matter how much I eat--bottomless pit of hunger. :?:

Today I had a protein breakfast at ~6a, was starving & ate a protein bar at 8a, and did not have any hunger the rest of the day until dinnertime. Maybe my body wants to do IF!

Like you said, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to that. That's exactly the type of thing we explore in IE. It's learning how to listen to your body because yes, some bodies need to eat more times during the day while other bodies need to eat once a day. It's about getting in touch with your body's needs. Understanding this can save a person years and years of trying diets that don't work.

Yep, that's why I eat high protein breakfasts without sugar or simple carbs. What's funnier is that on weekends I have zero hunger until about 4pm, but during the week I've trained myself to eat breakfast and lunch because I'm afraid I may get hungry!

I used to snack and eat mini-meals and had a tough time with it. I was always thinking about what I was going to eat next and was constantly hungry.

Then I switched to eating larger, balanced meals with no snacking and became a happy person.

I don't eat until I'm stuffed, but satisfied. My meals keeps me full so I don't need to snack in between meals.

Definitely not to snack!

snack thinking of calories
 

I snack sometimes. When I was very successful losing weight and the model I have just returned to I gave myself 500 am calories, 500 pm calories, 500 dinner calories. So if I filled the calorie limit i had to wait. Also tried to make the snacks healthy not empty calories. I know I felt better when I followed this model so I am looking to that model to lose again.

I used to snack a lot, believing that I absolutely needed it to control my blood sugar. Since getting on a food plan that keeps my blood sugar stable, I no longer need to snack. Do I get hungry between meals? Sometimes. But I know now that snacking is not necessary. I can sit with hunger now, something I had never been able to do in all my meal-snack-meal-snack-snack-snack-meal life!

snack

Snack. In fact I'd prefer to only snack all day rather than have 3 "proper" meals.

I often need to snack in the afternoon. I'm self-employed and mostly, I tutor groups of kids or teach Business English. Tutoring the kids demands a lot of concentration and if I don't have a snack at all, I get so hungry my stomach starts getting quite loud which I find embarassing. Bus I have snacked more than I should have in the past, and the wrong things. Depending on the day and on how exhausting the lessons are, I might have a low-calorie cereal bar, a banana or an apple or 1/2 sandwich with peanut butter and jam. The latter I really need on Fridays because I have a very difficult boy in my group who completely exhausts me and I really notice how the lesson with him drains me.

I agree with the previous posts that say it depends on the person. I personally prefer snacking. I like to have a small snack between breakfast and lunch and another between lunch and dinner. I keeps me from overeating at meal times!

I recently decided to stop snacking. I bought into the idea that you should plan regular snacks to avoid getting too hungry forever! I had a "healthy" snack drawer at work and snacked more than I should have out of boredom, or just because they were there. Since stopping the snacks, I've found I enjoy larger meals and I don't get as hungry between meals, so I don't need the snacks.

I'm not opposed to snacking and I'll do it still if I know I'm going to have a late dinner, for example. And for people who can keep snacking under control I think it can be great. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people!

I try not to snack. But we all have emergencies. Then I go for a healthy snack. Nuts are king. Especially unsalted almonds, walnuts and the like.

Loads of calories but don't make you fat. Freaky eh?

Or seafood. I might reach for a can of smoked oysters or cockles from time to time to.

But I don't snack for the sake of it. Only if I am hungry and can't make it through to the next meal. Typically late nights might do that to me as I skip dinner.

My preferred solution: don't have a late night.

I've had success with 2-3 full meals, as well as 3 square meals with 1 or 2 snacks in between. So, I'd say whatever works best for the individual, at that point in their life. It works now, but you may need to switch it up. Likewise if you change it, you might find yourself going back to it :-)

this is my gosh darned with sprinkles on top question every single day. to snack or not to snack. to eat or not to eat. to eat that or to eat salad? each time when I am dieting it seems that it all starts fine, but a few days later and I can't resist anymore... dieting seems the MOST HARD thing in my life, EVER!

snack, its better to have many (about5-7) mini meals the three big ones..

Ugh, snacking is my weakness. Even if I create room for snacking in my diet, a lot of times I'll be tempted to just have "a little bit more."

I'm one of those people who can be fine without eating but once I start eating, I don't want to stop. No off switch. But I keep some low calorie things on hand to snack on just in case--cucumbers, lightly sauteed cabbage, jicama sticks, etc.