Snacking!

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fisher9150
fisher9150 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've only been using myfitnesspal regularly for a few days now. My goal is to lose 1lb a week. I wondered why I hadn't been losing any before - I'm not a huge fan of breakfast, and I thought I ate moderately at lunch and dinner.

And, as you can probably guess by my blog title, I was absolutely right! But I figured out, what's been killing me is not three square meals, but the snacking I do between them. Just today, counting my snacking calories (and still staying under my goal, woo) I ate 355 calories in just snacks - and mostly unhealthy ones! That's more than my breakfast.

This is probably not earth shattering news for many of you, but becoming aware of my habits has been a big step in my journey, and I'm just beginning.

So I guess my goal now would be not to snack less, but to snack healthier. What are all your experiences with this sort of thing? Your plans? I'd love to hear them all!

Replies

  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
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    I snack all day, it helps me stick to my goals :).

    After breakfast, I have a Kashi or Special K bar and a second coffee around 10am. I have usually 3 snacks with lunch (a baggie of fruit, a cheese stick, a 0% greek yogurt, or maybe a turkey pepperette, 100cal bag of SnapPea Crisps, 4 Oreo thins...). Then I have dinner, and a snack before bed. Currently obsessed with Chapmans Premium Collection ice cream novelties as dessert.
  • ParkingPeddler
    ParkingPeddler Posts: 71 Member
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    I find I have to eat 3 meals a day, with a light...seriously LIGHT snack in the evening. I tend to binge eat in the evenings, so snacking outside of my meal plan is a slippery slope for me. So I will consume about 1000 calories throughout the day and then maybe have popcorn (no butter), or an orange/apple in the evening with a tea.

    During the day, I am busy and distracted...but the moment I sit down and watch tv or relax, I want to snack....it's a battle.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    Prelogging and preparing my snacks has helped me. Currently I have a bunch of snack bags filled with 20g of raisins that I take with me to work. They help get me through the morning and afternoon. Along with coffee of course lol.
  • melissafawnw
    melissafawnw Posts: 67 Member
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    I had the same problem when I first logged, with my snacks coming out to more calories than a typical meal! I have to snack with how busy I've been, or I get a headache waiting too long between meals. The key for me is to pre-log snacks so I limit it to 200-250 of my 1250 calories. I've been snacking on (weighed portions of): apples, cuties, pistachios, skinny pop popcorn, sweet peppers, carrots, and Greek yogurt bars for dessert.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    You don't need to snack less, just choose healthier options.
  • hassankarimi82
    hassankarimi82 Posts: 153 Member
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    helenrosec0 wrote: »
    You don't need to snack less, just choose healthier options.

    Yes!!
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I'm all for healthier options. They are likely to keep you more full than something high carb. Some days I snack a lot, some days not at all. The REAL key is just to stay under that calorie goal, day after day after day, regardless of how you distribute the calories over the course of the day.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    I eat 5-6 meals daily, smaller of course.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    When I was snacking all the time, I realized that I wasn't eating enough at my meals. If I have satisfying meals at around 500/calories each, I can get by without snacking for the most part - I might have a few pieces of dried fruit if I have a long stretch until dinner. I personally find that I am much more physically and emotionally satisfied with higher calorie meals and no or one small snack. I definitely understand the 5-6 small meals a day, and for some people, it works. I personally never feel full on that plan, and I am eating and then logging so frequently that I just think about food all day. But everyone is different!
  • Canuckgirl77
    Canuckgirl77 Posts: 123 Member
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    I can't do snacks at all, just 3 proper meals and maybe an extra tea or coffee between. If I have snacks I go WAY over my calories and now that I've stopped doing it, I realize I was unconsciously snacking. I'm not actually hungry so why am I eating??
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
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    My favorite snacks are popcorn, hummus/pita, Fiber One Bar, milk/cereal, strawberries.

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