Do you know the difference between a meal and a snack? A meal has most of the food groups like fruits, veggies, grains, meat, oil, and maybe sugar and is more filling. How about a snack? What is a snack, really?
A snack dumps unnecessary calories into your body. It’s not that all snacks are bad or that you should completely eliminate them from your day, but do moderate them. Adults nowadays eat about two snacks a day and kids eat three. Three snacks?! Do kids really need three snacks? Imagine that each snack has around 200 calories, because you’re not going to tell me people only eat one 100-calorie pack snacks. 200x2 = 400 cal/day = 42 pounds a year!
THIS is what 5 pounds of fat looks like. Now multiply that by 8.
I snack too, and I don’t always choose the healthiest options. I work at a café so there are freshly baked goods and a wide variety of syrups readily available to me. Sometimes I use the excuse that I am stressed and since I have a long night of studying ahead of me I deserve the peanut-butter chocolate chip cookie. Truth is there are also carrots, celery sticks and hard-boiled eggs at the café that offer a lot less calories and won’t hurt my waistline. We are creatures of habit, so we must train ourselves to snack smarter and snack less. Physical activity does amazing things for you and the benefits are countless. But, don’t eat a pastry after a strenuous workout as a reward because it won’t feel like a reward within a few hours or a few decades when you’re checking in for carotid arterial surgery.
You know what the most refreshing and satisfying treat is to your tired body? Water. It replenishes that which makes up more than 60% of your hard-working body to keep you at your optimal speed and performance. Stick to your always loyal fruits and veggies. Be loyal to them too! Just keep in mind that a snack is meant to curb your appetite, not make your full.
Snacking is not a bad thing; yes if you’re choosing the wrong snacks of course they are going to be pointless calories. Diet is 80% of results when looking to lose weight or be healthy, in fact eating 6 small meals is more beneficial than sitting down and having a heavy meal. Snacks should consist of almonds, a piece of fruit, or a small portion of protein. As far as kids too snacks are important so you can teach them at a young age to eat smaller portions and not indulge and over eat. I believe if you eat clean majority of the time that one chocolate chip/ peanut butter cookie isn’t going to show up on your waistline, especially if you find it important to be active and exercise five days a week.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kassy. I agree that snacking smarter is necessary to keep a healthy weight and promote lighter eating, but I do not agree we should all just snack less. My motto: if you are hungry, eat, if you are not, don't. Its simple and by teaching yourself to snack smarter and eat multiple times a day, that cookie you want every once in a while is perfectly appropriate. I am a huge snacker but I do not do it because I like to eat all the time, I plan my meals and portions so that I will eat every 2-3 hours and keep my metabolism up. I absolutly agree with the idea of snacking smarter though, good job!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think snacks can be both helpful and detrimental to an individuals diet. If the privilege is abused with excessive calorie intake, poor choice and even the unhealthy mindset that could be related to these kinds of snacking decisions, then these behaviors need to be addressed in the most helpful way. It also needs to be mentioned that with the possibility of conventional eating patterns overtaking mealtimes, educating our future clients on the importance of choosing nutrient dense snack foods cannot be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteHere is a very interesting and fun study by an independent non-profit strategic research group, that focuses on The Power of Snacking: The Next Decade of Women’s Changing Nutrition. I hope more research goes into this area, you guys should all check it out;
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120126005298/en/Institute-Future-Study-LUNA%C2%AE-Unwraps-Women%E2%80%99s-Shifting
I eat at least 2 snacks per day. If I don't, I might gnaw off my arm some days. I think that choosing healthy snacks is critical to an overall nutritious diet, but even not-so-healthy snacks are ok in moderation. I think I'm not the average person though, since my average intake WITH snacks is around 1800-2000 max calories. If you choose snacks that are high in nutrient value, but low in things like sodium and fat, such as fresh fruit or vegetables, it's also often low-cal and good for you. Great post for discussion!
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