Snacking, this helps me

shaycat

Sure 1/4 cup has 110 calories, but one wont hurt right? Things I do this with, I calculate how many calories is in one and repeat that number when I go to reach for just one.

I am forever taking bites or pieces of my kids snacks.

How do you keep from snacking to much?

Aureilie

Snacking purposely in a way that fits into your daily goals and is healthy is not just fine but encouraged and keeps your metabolism up. Schedule in your own snacks so when you want to grab some of your kids' cookies you can have your planned apple instead. If you still find yourself grabbing a cracker here or a chip there, log it. Stay accountable. Even if the chip is "only" 10 calories force yourself to look it up on MFP, calculate what one is and log it. Doing that has helps me say no to coworkers offering me a piece of candy or my fiance asking if I want a bite, it's not worth my having to log it.

douglasmobbs

That extra 100 calories per day is 10 lb weight difference a year. Thinking about that helps me decide if I want a snack or not.

sheepysaccount

I plan in my snacks. I can have whatever I want as long as it's under 150 calories or so. That means chinese rice crackers, apple cut in smallish pieces so they look more and last longer, mini cheeses...try to make the snack, take it to were you are and spend at least 30 minutes on it Your brain will think that if you eat for a longer perios of time you have eaten more than you actually have. It's a neat trick

jmatthews75

See this as a sign and start early by offering your children a healthier snack. Good eating is learned, it doesn't happen overnight. Get rid of the crap food for them, and you can't snack on it.

jjarrettc

I have the same challenge. My wife and son can eat anything they want and not gain a pound. They keep lots of high calorie food around, like cookies and chocolate. I just keep thinking about my goal of losing weight and and feeling good about it. This keeps me motivated to stay off the junk food. I normally eat fruit for snacks and try to leave "calorie room" for snacks.

John

BrianSharpe

That extra 100 calories per day is 10 lb weight difference a year. Thinking about that helps me decide if I want a snack or not.

Good point! It's surprising how big the cumulative effect of small changes can be. A lot of people don't realize that, assuming your diet is reasonably balanced to start with, you don't need to make radical changes - it just requires a bit of discipline and patience.