3 Reasons To Avoid Snacking

A big part of my approach to a health diet, lies in the choice of more wholesome meals, 2-3 times per day, and less snacking. I have underlined this approach, in more detail, in myHAN (my human appropriate nutrition) Guidelines. 

After years of working with dozens of people, I am convinced that snacking is a hard one to let go off, especially for women. Snacking serves as people's favorite excuse to be distracted and suppress their emotions, when in fact there is something much bigger going on in their deep psyche. 

And despite some fad diet approaches, where it is promoted to snack every 2-3 hours, because that will apparently help you loose weight, I am a strong believer that this is actually back firing on people. Just imagine, you are at work, sitting at your desk all day long and by 5pm you have already had 3 snacks in between your meals. That, technically, makes it a total of 5 meals already. Unfortunately, those snacks are either something like chips or candy, which are pretty much empty calories and don't keep you full or nourished. Or the other very common snack I know of is nuts: which are more nourishing but also super high in fat and very caloric. 

So, what happens to you, in this situation when you find yourself snacking? You are very likely to become completely unconscious and unaware of the actual number of calories you intake, while you are not exerting any energy. At the end of the day, these extra calories, end up getting converted into fat and boom...2-3 months down the road you are at a point of feeling ashamed from your body. And if you have continued this cycle for the next 2-3 years, then you are very likely to find yourself, crying for help.

But I am not here to scare you, just present the reality of what happens to most people, before they come to me. And i don't want it to get too late for you too, but educate you on why you should become aware and try to avoid snacking.

Reason # 1: NO SNACKING
Support your blood sugar levels. Constant snacking, in between meals, can result to imbalance of blood sugar levels. In contract, Intermittent Fasting, which is a part of the myHAN approach, suggest that reducing your eating frequency holds huge potential for long-term blood sugar balance. 


Reason # 2: NO SNACKING
Calorie control. Plain and simple, weight loss is the result of Calories Intake minus Calories Burnt. If you consume more than you burn, on daily basis. then you will keep on gaining weight. And snacking tends to be a big contributor to this cycle. So let go of snacking and focus on nourishing your body with wholesome, nutritious foods that keep you full, satisfied and at your ideal caloric amount.

Reason # 3: NO SNACKING
Restore your digestion. Your gut tissue can never regenerate, while it is constantly digesting food (meaning you are frequently eating). Since it takes about 4 hours for the stomach to empty and another 4 for the food to digest, the more frequently you put food in your body, the more overwhelmed your digestions gets. If your system is overloaded with food, your organs regeneration processes are impaired, because they are constantly secreting digestive juices and breaking down food. FYI, nuts are also one of the most challenging foods to digest. 

Study coauthor and University of Amsterdam researcher Mireille Serlie, MD, PhD says:

"The metabolic machinery to handle nutrients probably functions best when our body is exposed to cycles of fasting and feeding, and less during constant exposure to nutrients."

So, as much as possible, stick with whole foods found in nature and meals that you make at home. Enjoy your important meals, like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nourish your body and avoid snacking, as much as possible.