Should You Avoid Eating Snacks If You Want To Lose Weight?

Do You Avoid Eating Snacks?

You’re trying to lose weight. You’re working very hard. You’re exercising, watching what you eat, drinking more water and less sugar-filled coffee and sweet tea. You feel really good about what you’re doing, and you are seeing weight loss.

Now you’re thinking that you should avoid eating snacks to take your weight loss efforts to a whole new level.

But you may want to reconsider. Contrary to popular belief, snacking in between meals doesn’t automatically sabotage your diet. In fact, if done right, snacking can work to help you drop more pounds.

Should You Avoid Eating Snacks Altogether?

Having a snack in between meals will fill up your stomach consequently causing you to eat smaller amounts during mealtimes. As a result, you reach the end of the day having consumed fewer calories than you would have without snacking.

However, you should be very careful to not overdo it with the snacking, as that can easily ruin a good diet plan. Snacking is one of the times when many people consume a large number of empty calories. For example, a bag of chips and a diet soda aren’t a healthy snack and they’re not an effective way to lose weight.

But that’s what happens when we get hungry. We tend to reach for the most convenient foods available – and convenient foods are often junk foods. The easy way to avoid making this mistake is to plan your snacks. Always have healthy snacks with you. That way, if you get hungry, you have something readily available to turn to that won’t add on pounds.

Free Report: 15 Foods To Eat Before & After Your Workouts

Don’t Avoid Eating Snacks

When you eat frequently your metabolism is constantly engaged. This is a good thing. If you only eat 3 large meals and skip your snacks, your metabolism is only engaged fully 3 times during the day. Add 2 or 3 snacks to 3 meals and you have your carb-crushing, calorie-crunching, fat-burning metabolism fully engaged 5 or 6 times a day. You just have to eat the right things at snack time.

Simple snacks include things like Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, a fruit and veggie smoothie, nuts and dried fruit, veggie chips, and even homemade energy bars. If making your own snacks just isn’t your thing, check out energy bars made from fruit and nuts. Lara Bars, for example, are sweetened with dates and made from all natural ingredients. This type of bar is a quick, easy, and tasty snack that will keep hunger at bay.

Watch Out for Sugar-Filled Drinks

Skipping snacks can mean you will reach for a drink instead. The problem is if you need an energy boost, the crunchy, munchy food snack you avoid might be replaced by an energy drink or soda. Sugar is the number one culprit behind weight gain, so don’t replace your food snacks with sugar-filled beverages.

Eating Frequently, 5 or 6 Times A Day

Snack time isn’t bad. It’s what people traditionally think of as snacks which can ruin your health. Snacks don’t necessarily have to mean processed treats, pastries, cake, donuts, energy drinks, chips and cookies, candies and sodas full of chemical nasties like high fructose corn syrup.

Remember, snack time isn’t evil. The foods that people associate with snack time are the reason why your weight loss isn’t where you want it to be. Instead of processed foods, traditional snack foods and fast foods, reach for a handful of walnuts or almonds. Eat a small salad packed with your favorite fresh vegetables and fruits. Avoid eating snacks that contain refined sugar and instead eat vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts at snack time. That way, you’ll keep your weight loss efforts on track.

Skipping Snacks Might Make You Eat More During Meals

if you skip snacks, you may be ravenously hungry when you eat your main meals. This could lead to consuming too many calories and carbohydrates, which could wreck your weight loss plans. A smart move would be having a light snack such as a serving of non-fat yoghurt or a handful of strawberries 3 hours after or before a meal.

The Best Foods To Eat Before & After Exercise

Many people fall into the trap of exercising for food. They might eat a piece of cake and then run an extra mile to make up for it. The problem is that the extra mile isn’t probably going to burn off that piece of cake and it’s a bad habit to get into. Exercise because exercise is good for you, and eat that piece of cake on your cheat day.

Some foods play an important role as a source of energy for your body. When you exercise, your body needs a certain kind of nutrition at each stage of an workout.  Download this free report to discover 15 Foods To Eat Before & After Exercise and why those types of foods are best at both ends of an exercise session.