Monday, January 9, 2012

Tips to Stop Snacking.

I'm a sucker for free things, especially free Kindle Downloads.

Recently I downloaded this book on the kindle (for free) called "Lose Weight Without Dieting" by David Nordmark. (its still free if you want to download it too)

Its a pretty easy read, and the concepts are pretty common (nothing wild and crazy). I do like the book and would recommend it.

The authors main concepts are to not diet, but to change your eating habits, and offers simple suggestions and tips on how to do that.

My favorite part of the book that I would like to share would be his chapter on Snacking.

Snacking is where a lot of us (including me) overly increase our caloric intake. And we mainly snack because we are bored.

A few good ways to control you habits on snacking:
(I don't remember all the points, but these are the ones that stuck with me, because I try to practice them as much as I can. And since they stuck with me, I hope they will stick with you)

1 - Have a designated area for eating, for example the dining table. If you were to eat anything even a snack, you have to eat it at the dining table. That way, you have to make an extra effort to leave your desk or couch to grab a snack and then eat it all at the dining table.. and for some of us (like me) who are too lazy to even get off the couch, we will then skip that snacking encounter.

2- When you feel like snacking - drink a glass a water. Usually this will curb your desire to consume "something".

3- Still have the urge? Wait 7 minutes. Now you can Eat your snack, but you will Have to wait 7 minutes, and during that time you need to do something productive (NOT Watching TV). Examples would be cleaning the bathroom, sorting the laundry, sorting the mail, take a walk, take the dishes out of the washer, etc. The reason is usually you will get distracted with what you are doing, that after 7 minutes, you will forget that you even wanted your snack in the first place.

4- Now 7 minutes have passed, you sorted your mail, did the laundry, took a walk, and you still want your snack? Go and eat it. It means your body really is hungry and it wants food, and you are not just eating because you are bored.

These tips are to mainly stop the habit of snacking because we are bored.

Happy Un-Snacking! :)



6 comments:

  1. i love that wait 7 minutes and do something productive !!! some how i will look at the snack as a reward and feel i desesrve it.

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  2. So a mini fridge near the couch is a bad thing?

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  3. hehe you may need to move the mini fridge next to the dining table. hehe :)

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  4. I am such a terrbile snacker, I have no willpower. I think the tip about drinking a glass of water is a really good one. I'll try these tips as soon as I've polished off all our leftover Xmas goodies!

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  5. @ Liz, I totally know what you mean. when I have a bag of snacks, I wont stop til its all consumed. lol.

    from xmas, I have a lb of See's candy sitting at my dining table. at least its not at my work desk where I had it before and I was eating like 4 pieces a sitting. I think I have about 5-6 pieces left.. I try to only eat 1 a day. Keeping the box out of sight really helps keep the mind off it... those candies are so tasty but at almost 200 calories a piece they're dangerous to the waistline. haha

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