Snacking

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When I get home from school........I snack....a lot. bad habit, hard to break.

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  • Pl2874
    Pl2874 Posts: 6
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    I was the same way !!! so bad but I stopped. Now I eat dinner when i get home and if I get hungry later, i have some 100 calorie popcorn, or hummis, or skinny cow ice cream !!! Yum its so good and low calorie. Hope this helps...
  • Nimbkar
    Nimbkar Posts: 67 Member
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    Breaking any habit requires you to recogize the triggers and have an action plan.
    eg : Move out of the kitchen area with your snack. so you dont continue to eat just because you have accessible food.
    Eat the snack and drink 16 oz of water before you step into your house.
  • Microfiber_wechange
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    I'm snacking right now on edamame beans :smile:
  • ChasingSweatandTears
    ChasingSweatandTears Posts: 504 Member
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    You can snack as long as it's healthy! And I agree about drinking water!
    I snack often, I eat every three hours actually. I've ramped up my workouts and I'm continuously hungry now it seems!
    I just had a snack of 10 almonds, 1 golden delicious apple and 3 dried apricots. And a big tall glass of water. Igot lots of nutrients in, it satisfied my sweet tooth and I'm full!
    Snacking has to follow two rules:
    1) Eat only if you're truly hungry and not for any emotional reason
    2) Choose wisely, meaning REAL, unprocessed, nutrient dense food. By doing this, you are satisfied with a smaller portion size and you aren't setting yourself up for cravings later.
    Follow those two rules and you can snack wisely and it will actually help you to lose weight :)
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    When I get home from school........I snack....a lot. bad habit, hard to break.

    Snacking is good. Snacking is healthy. Snacking helps balance your blood sugar levels and helps you eat more reasonable meals.

    But snacking is utterly dependent on WHAT you are snacking on, and how much of it.

    First, you said "school". I don't know your age, and won't ask because it's none of my beeswax, but the dietary balance of this site is largely for adults who have stopped growing. Having said that, an approximate half-carb, 1/3-protein, remainder-fat diet is what the site strives for and it's probably a reasonable balance if you're at least high school. If you're trying to lose weight (or avoid gaining it) seeing your doctor for a more tailored plan might be a better idea, but it's a start.

    Younger folk with all that growing left to do tend to need to eat more food, and more often. Again, see a nutritionist or doctor who can come up with an age-appropriate plan for you, but if you're hungry when you get home from school, and you have healthy foods available, and they fit into a reasonable caloric intake for you, then why make yourself hungry and miserable?

    Log your snacks on your food log along with everything else, and if you are within your allotment for calories, and they are reasonably balanced, then don't be afraid to SNACK!!! Eat when you're HUNGRY, not later - because later you'll just want to eat more.

    If you find yourself eating junk foods just to fill the void, then you need to stop that. If you're still living with parents, ask them (politely) to not have those foods available. Pick a healthy snack and ask them to get some of that for you to munch. Be honest with what you are eating, at least to yourself, and try to satisfy hunger with good, solid, food. Not white sugary garbage that isn't really helping you.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I just had a snack of 10 almonds, 1 golden delicious apple and 3 dried apricots. And a big tall glass of water. Igot lots of nutrients in, it satisfied my sweet tooth and I'm full!

    That's an excellent example of a good snack.

    - The apple and apricots brings your blood sugars up immediately and satisfies immediate hunger. You feel satisfied immediately after the snack. They also contain some fiber that will help you feel full.
    - The nuts provide fats and partial proteins, which helps dampen the drop from the "sugar high" the apple and apricots started. They give the snack some "staying power".

    It's amazing how full you can feel on such a small snack, too. But only if you're planned it right - fruit sugars for immediate satisfaction and some complex carbs or proteins and fat for the longer haul.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    Eat the snack and drink 16 oz of water before you step into your house.

    I find that my body frequently confuses hunger and thirst (especially if I've eaten anything salty - hence the origin of the myth that "if you eat Chinese food, you're hungry an hour later" - actually you are suffering from acute thirst and early-stage dehydration due to all the sodium in the MSG!).

    If I'm hungry and I don't feel like I should be (just ate something recently, etc), I'll quite often down a glass of water and wait ten minutes. If I'm STILL hungry, then it was really hunger and I have a small snack.

    In this case, with a school-age person getting home hungry, if they are in middle- or high school, he/she probably really is hungry. Schools do away with "snack time" long before young growing bodies really NEED a snack mid-afternoon.

    But water is ALWAYS a good idea! So a glass of water should go with every snack.
  • dorioreo
    dorioreo Posts: 123
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    Thanks people!!!!
  • jamiesadler
    jamiesadler Posts: 634 Member
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    as long as you are snaking on good stuff its not a bad habit. If you are hungry EAT! I snack on nuts or cheese or celery with peanut butter.
  • Roxy522
    Roxy522 Posts: 1
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    Almost 2 years ago I had finally gotten to a "size" I liked, weighed between 150 & 155 lbs, which was down about 45 lbs from my all-time depressing high...and then I fell off my biked, which in addition to my injuries, messed up my mind. They still haven't figured out why I fell, but I think it was a combination of hormonal/allergies/inner ear. I was fearful of getting back on the bike. Started walking/running again. Found out I had kidney stones because of the horrible hip pain I was experiencing (but of course the doctors don't believe that hip pain can come from stones...LOL). So more time ensued with no real activity.

    Long story short... I'm back at the biking and walking, carving out as much time as I can for them, which most days is a walk and a ride.

    I've learned: *I* have to grab MY life by the horns and live it. Only me. Only *I* am in control of my choices, good or bad. Choosing the good things makes me feel.....powerful...and I like it.

    Rox.
  • smbyrd13
    smbyrd13 Posts: 52 Member
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    As a teacher, I get home from school and am so hungry! I've found that having a 100 cal snack in my car on the way home and then chewing gum helps me not to snack. We eat dinner pretty early (around 5 or 5:30) so I usually have about an hour after I get home until we eat dinner.
  • vertica
    vertica Posts: 1 Member
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    This afternoon, I snacked on low fat cottage cheese and about 6 raw almonds! I took about 1/4th cup of cottage chesse, and add fresh veggies (tomatos, celery, spinach, cucumbers) and abit of pepper and salt. I was full by the time I finished it :smile: !
  • randall774
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    I always keep a stash of pickled onions or guerkins in the cupboard for times when i get the nibbles.

    next to nothing in them and keeps the edge off.