To snack or not to snack?
 

Hi all
I was wondering if you guys face the same problem I do: I am not able to control my snacking. Like I will pack my 10-15 nuts to take to office, but would eat them as soon as I get there even though I am not hungry! So have stopped snacking and am actually fine with it. Couldnt control the laughing cow cheese either. Its just too yummy. ;)
Then, I was reading about this "french people dont get fat" diet on some website and there they had this experiment with a french girl trying an american diet with all the snacks and all. She was describing how all the snacks (french people apparently dont snack) meant she was not hungry at all at any time and found it difficult to eat dinner. The way she described it, that never feeling hungry meant she didnt look forward to and enjoy her meal as much as she used, to really hit home with me. I started thinking about when I was last hungry. And I couldnt remember! And then I started thinking about when I was a kid and my meals were structured in 3 meals a day and cooked by mom, how much I would look forward to and enjoy meals. Just the smell of them!
You see I have really embraced the whole thing of "its better to eat 6 small meals a day than 3 large" I though if 6 is better than 3 then 9 is better than 6! So I would continually snack throughout the day. Basically eat whatever I have on hand. And obviously way more than I should even though it was decently healthy stuff.
So the last week I have cut out the snacks and I am actually feeling fine. Its nice to be hungry (such a new sensation)!. Portion control is off course a concern but I dont find I have really increased my portions and as long as I eat a lot of veggies I am still satisfied. And from today will no longer eat in front of TV and start enjoying my meals more.
I know snacking is emphasized a lot in most diets and SB as well. I just feel I need more structure in my diet as too much freedom spells disaster for me (I become very creative!). Its just easier for me to control my snacks if I dont have any!
What do you chicks think?

Love

I think everyone has to find her/his own path. I don't snack because I could get out of control. A glass of milk is what I have sometimes if I am hungry between meals.

I think, personally, that it is important to eat when you are hungry, not because it is 10:00 and your pop-up reminder says to eat a snack. If you get too hungry, you will be more likely to eat anything and everything in sight rather than make healthy eating choices and eating reasonable quantities. Everyone has different dietary needs, and you need to find what is going to work for you. If you find that you can't control the snacking and that trying to eat a snack between meals is sabotaging your weight loss efforts rather than helping them, and if you aren't getting too hungry between meals, then I'd say skip the snacks - maybe use them as a pre-meal appetizer for lunch and dinner, plus an OP dessert.

Good luck!

Indiagal, you need to do what works for you...and your argument is very persuasive! :) The reason for snacking is that if you go very long between your eating times, your blood sugar can get very low. When this happens, your body craves a fast rise to normal (sugar, simple/bad carbs) and you often overeat in your need to raise your blood sugar. As Dr. A says in the book, it's a lot easier to stave off a blood sugar drop than to deal with one after it happens. That's the reason for eating every three hours...to keep your blood sugar from dropping.

That said, if your blood sugar doesn't drop (or drop enough that you find yourself thinking "Must eat sugar/carbs now, and lots of them!!!", then you probably can eschew snacks. :) Just make sure you are getting in your 4 cups of veggies nevertheless, okay?

Great post!

See, I'm totally opposite. If I snack, I do ok. But if I get hungry? LOOK OUT. What diet? :jeno: it is! And the whole thing, too! I can't let my stomach growl otherwise I get desperate for food. But if I'm not terribly hungry, I still enjoy my meals, I just don't eat as much as I normally would.

It's so funny because I make a tiny little thing for dinner and go "Uh, I feel like I should be eating something else/more" but just because I was "trained" to eat more doesn't necessarily mean that I need more to eat. That's something that's hard for me to get used to, especially around my TOM because my body just wants to ingest food and never stop!

Whatever works for you, do it! :D

Some days I feel like I really need to snack..other days I forget that it is even time to eat...wierd huh? :?: