Mid pandemic there are bigger issues than snacking or a bit of extra weight, and a few weeks in a caloric surplus is not the end of the world. However, if excess snacking is something you’d like to crack down on, read on...
With restrictions in place there’s a lot less to do and places to go - but a light snack is never far away.
With limited daily movement and activities, it can be harder to get motivated to do a home workout or go out for a walk/run/cycle to burn off these innocent snacks, and the calories may be starting to build instead of burn.
As such, here are a few quick tricks to help fight off a shnack attack.
Make It Inconvenient
The easier it is to grab a snack, the easier it is to cave and say “ah why not”. So, make it inconvenient - tuck them behind other things on a hard to reach shelf, hide them away somewhere awkward. Weighing up the options, we might find we can’t be bothered hunting down a snack and go do something else. The ultimate form of this is not buying any at all, so we have to make a trip out to the store to get something - which is currently super inconvenient.
We can also make sure the healthier options are easier to reach, making it easier to grab the fruits over the bar of chocolate.
Swap in Protein
Protein is awesome for the healthy function and repair of our body, and we can’t store it like we do excess carbs/fat (it can be converted and stored as energy, but it’s a slightly more complicated/less efficient process). Protein also takes longer to digest than carbs/fats, so it will help make us feel fuller for longer. By swapping sugary or fatty snacks for high protein ones, we can feel fuller and potentially not store as much excess energy (as the protein gets used elsewhere).
For more info on why protein is awesome and how to use it to lose weight, check out this blog post:
Why You Should Eat More Protein to Lose Weight (click link to open in new window)
Distract, But Don’t Eat While Distracted
A lot of the time we might be snacking because we’re bored, so we just need to find something to do that replaces grabbing something to eat. This can be anything that requires your focused attention or takes up a good few minutes of time to complete - by which time the boredom may have passed and the motivation to grab a snack along with it.
The caveat to this is minimising distractions when eating - studies suggest we tend to eat more when watching TV or a film, losing track of how full we feel as we’re focused on the distraction and eating to fill the time (with extra servings or snacks).
Drink More Water
By drinking more water, we can trick the stomach into feeling fuller, and suppress our hunger somewhat. This isn’t a good option for skipping meals or trying to avoid eating for a long period of time, but it can be enough to suppress the urge to snack for a lil while.
Eat When Hungry
As part of a routine, the majority of us will eat 3 meals a day. While routine is good, it does put us at risk of eating just because it’s time to, instead of because we are hungry (actually need to take in food). By eating when we are hungry (or just having smaller portion sizes instead of eating extra to not waste any food), we’ll be able to avoid snacking to tide us over until the next big meal. By focusing more on what our body is telling us we’ll also be better able to tell when we’re satiated or hungry for a meal, instead of just bored or eating for an emotional reason - or needing to eat vs wanting to.