Do you sometimes take a bite of snacks here and there not because you’re hungry but as a way to feel good and relieve your stress? It was manageable when you started, but now it’s getting out of hand.
You’re not alone, snacking has become an integral part of the way most people eat. As a matter of fact, research has shown that over 90% of Americans eat snacks at some point during the week, and a large part of them take snacks every day. People who eat for comfort don’t always go for healthy foods, they go for junk foods and sweets. It is soothing and comforting to order pizza and ice cream when you’re feeling down or after a stressful day.
Before you say that you stay away from soda and other junk foods, certain experts have said that snacking is equally harmful to your health and can lead to weight gain. You’re eating to make yourself feel better and while that might help temporarily, it doesn’t solve the problem. If anything, it makes you feel worse afterward because you wouldn’t be happy with yourself when you add weight. Learn how you can stop snacking and eating emotionally.
1. Consume More Protein and Fiber With Every Meal
During your regular meals, ensure that you have a good quantity of protein and fiber there. They are an important part of your diet that can make you feel full; this is something you need if you must stop snacking. Don’t give any room for your brain to think your stomach isn’t full.
When you eat a carbohydrate-dominated diet that has less protein and fiber, the outcome is usually a spike and dip in your blood sugar. This ultimately leads to you feeling hungry sooner than expected. You can also use hunger control pills to reduce the rate at which you get hungry. Here are some proteins and fibers you can add to daily meal: lean meat, eggs, fish, tofu, nuts, whole grains, seeds, fruits, and vegetables
2. Plan When and What You Eat
You need to create an eating plan for yourself that specifies when and what you want to eat. If you must snack, prepare your snacks, so you have just moderate portions, and the temptation to snack more would reduce. When meals and snacks are planned in advance, it becomes less likely for you to eat excessively plus you’d have something to look forward to each time.
You could use a calendar for planning or food diary apps to help you keep a record of how much you’ve been eating. It’s easy to think you’re not really snacking when there’s no track of it. A food diary or tracker would also help you analyze patterns in your snacking and help you identify periods when you eat more, whether it’s when you’re sad or stressed. This would be able to help you monitor your snacking habit and make well-thought-out decisions about what you eat.
3. Rather Than Chewing, Drink
The temptation to eat something even when we’re not hungry is always high, but rather than keeping your mouth full most of the time, drink something instead. Drink a glass of water, diet soda, coffee, or natural tea.
Most people have lost the ability to pay attention to their body signals, as such, they can easily confuse thirst with hunger. The next time you feel like eating something even after you’ve had a meal, drink a full glass of water. This method alongside weight loss supplements for women can be applied if you’re actively trying to get back in shape. It is much more satisfying and a great way to stop snacking without a sweat.
4. Sleep Properly
The human body finds it difficult to regulate the hormones that are responsible for feeling hungry or full when you don’t get enough sleep. This can make it much harder to resist eating snacks.
The late-night snack you experience once in a while may increase your snack cravings. A 2008 study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people who went to sleep late and got only 4 hours of sleep felt really hungrier the next day. Even though you have to work late, it is recommended that you get between 7-9 hours of sleep every day to ensure that your body’s hunger signal isn’t distorted.
5. Exclude Them From Your Shopping List
Next time you’re going shopping, exclude the snacks and habitual foods you’re used to buying from your shopping list. You would be forced to eat what you have at hand.
Better still, if you wouldn’t be able to part with your snacks, buy them in small quantities and high quality instead.
6. Replace Junks With Healthy Foods
Just as the subheading rightly says, replace your snacks with healthier foods. It’s in a bid to reorganize how your brain processes this. Since these snacks are fast and convenient comfort foods to eat or prepare, it is necessary to circumvent them.
If you’re a fan of salty foods, go for cherry tomatoes, radishes, pickles, surimi, small raw carrots, raw cauliflower, and cucumber. While they might not be as tasty as your favorite snacks, your stomach will certainly feel the impact. Do you prefer sweet things? Have a basket of fruit around you at all times. Even though it is high in calories, it contains fiber, vitamins, and the like which is great for your body.
7. Identify Eating Triggers
This has been talked about briefly earlier on, and it is an important step in your effort to put a stop to emotional eating. It has to do with you identifying what things or emotions trigger those cravings.
Are there certain situations, locations, or moods that make you want to seek comfort in food? Most times, emotional eating is connected to negative emotions and can also be linked with positive feelings like when you’re rewarding yourself for reaching a milestone, celebrating your birthday, anniversary, or happy event.
There is nothing wrong with eating snacks occasionally. It becomes a problem, however, if you discover you can’t keep your hands off them in between meals. In that case, you should begin to take the necessary steps to stop emotional eating.
