Snacking is totally something that can help you with weight loss. Having a bite to eat every three to four hours (as registered dietitians recommend ) will leave you feeling clearheaded, satisfied, and more likely to make smart food choices. But as helpful as snacking can be for weight loss, its also easy to overdo, and little mistakes you might not even realize youre making could be getting in the way of your goals.
If you want to use snacking to help you lose weight, its first important to acknowledge that weight loss is different for everyone. If you have a history of disordered eating, you may want to talk to your doctor before switching up any of your eating habits, even if its just the way you snack.
Keep in mind, too, that your eating habits arent the only thing that may affect how you lose weight. Exercise, stress levels, sleep habits , and health issues can make the process vastly different from person to person; reach your goals in a way thats healthy for you.
If you do want to use snacking to help you stay on track with your weight loss goals, these are the seven most common sneaky mistakes to be on the lookout for.
Too much of any food is a bad thing, even if its healthy, Lindsey Pine, M.S., R.D., owner ofTasty Balance Nutrition, tells SELF. Foods like nuts, jerky, seeds, cheese, and dried fruit are all considered healthy snacks , but if you eat too many of them, the calories, sodium, and sugars are going to stack up just as they would with an unhealthy snack.
But its not just those high-calorie healthy snacks you should be careful with. Pine explains that its possible to overdo anything, even a low-calorie vegetable like broccoli. If youre eating many cups of broccoli and youre not used to that much fiber, you could actually end up constipated, she says.
Instead of freely eating any of these kinds of snacks, try portioning them out during Sunday-night meal prep to meet your daily calorie budget. That way, when you grab one of your snack packs, you know youre eating just the right amount.
Many snack products also have a health halo surrounding them, Pine explains. What she means is that often, certain products seem healthier than others because theyre labeled organic or gluten-free. But just because a food has one of these healthy-seeming labels doesnt mean youre free to eat as much of it as you like. In many cases, these foods have just as much added sugar, calories, and sodium as nonorganic or similarly unlabeled foods. Basically, whichever snack youre reaching for, organic or not, remember to enjoy it in moderation.
If you find yourself consistently overdoing those healthier snacks, you may want to reconsider how you put your food together. Eating something thats high in protein and nothing elselike, say, a piece of jerky or string cheesewont satisfy you as much as a well-rounded bite that also contains fiber and complex carbs. Together, those three nutrients keep you satiated, focused, and energized, so try to reach for snacks that contain that balance. For example, Pine likes to pair a piece of jerky with something like a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts, like a healthier charcuterie platter.
Pine explains that some people snack out of habit rather than hunger. Some people get it into their minds that they need to have a snack at a particular time because thats part of a good diet plan, she says, but if youre not hungry, dont force a snack down.
On the other hand, if you do get hungry before your designated snack time, eat right then. Dont wait until youre absolutely starving to have some food, otherwise you might end up eating more than you intended.
When youre reaching freely into a bag of nuts, its harder to keep track of how many youve eaten, and, according to a 2005 study from Cornell University , the larger the snacking vessel, the more youll be inclined to eat. If this is an issue for you, Pine suggests a simple fix: Portion out your grub before you dig in. Even consider making a bunch of desk-friendly preportioned snack packs during your weekly meal prep sesh .
Generally you want to make sure youre fueled for a workout, either with the help of a pre- or postworkout snack . These snacks will give you the energy you need to make it through your workout, and the nutrients you need to fully recover afterward. You just want to be careful that youre not making them too big.
Most dietitians recommend eating something in the 100- to 250-calorie range, especially for lower intensity workouts, but, again, this will vary depending on your level of hunger. Eat what feels right to your body.
Its not just the calories that you should consider with postworkout snacks. The combo of nutrients will change with each different workout, too. Before or after cardio , youll want to eat a higher ratio of carbs to protein, because carbs give you energy and help restore the glycogen stores youve used up. Before or after strength training , youll want to reach for something higher in protein than carbs, because protein helps repair your muscles.
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7 Snacking Mistakes That Might Be Getting in the Way of Your Weight Loss Goals - SELF
