Is snacking good for weight loss? When I was young snacking wasn’t the big thing it is these days.
I remember coming in from playing a asking for food because I was starving and Mum would say “Wait for your dinner!”
Have We Always Snacked?
Snacking is actually a relatively new behaviour particularly in adults, which started to take off in a big way in the 80s. Although people may have eaten between meals pre 80s – what they ate was very different to what it is now.
Pre 80s kids had milk mid-morning at school, and maybe an apple between meals. Now it’s sports drinks, fruit juice and a massive range of refined and processed ‘pretend food’ – cakes, biscuits, crisp, sweets..
A vending machine will provide you with a range of crap 24/7.
In 2011 a study was published in the medical journal PLOS Medicine. It was looking at what was going on with adults eating behaviour. Its aim was to find out what was leading to a steady increase in calorie intake.
The number one reason was found to be snacking. You see snacking doesn’t replace meals, it adds to them.
Do Slim People Snack?
Last week I appeared briefly on the Channel 4 documentary The Truth About Slim People.
Two slim people were spied on for a week to glean insight as to how they remain slim with no effort. One of the many behaviours they displayed was that they generally did not snack between meals.
They didn’t need to think about not snacking. The just didn’t do it. Underlying that behaviour of not snacking is a slim mind-set, which they developed more by accident than design. Lucky them.
Where Has Snacking Come From?
In the West we produce more food than we need. People have more money these days to spend on food too. A marketers dream…
Enter the food industry and clever advertising..
Surplus of food is only useful to the food industry IF they can sell it and make money from it. What better way than to create a new eating behaviour that causes people to eat more?
In a relatively short space of time snacking has become normal, but it’s new thing! We didn’t used to do it – back in those times when people were slimmer.
Is Snacking Good For Weight Loss?
In a word – no!
Very occasionally I have a patient who asks what they need to do to put weight on. That actually happens!
One of the things I suggest is to eat 3 meals a day and SNACK IN BETWEEN!
Protect Yourself
The two people in the program didn’t snack in the main as their mind-set isn’t programmed to do so. They are literally protected from the ‘virus’ of snacking.
The way to protect yourself against the constant barrage of persuasion to eat, eat, and eat – is to immunise yourself by developing your own ‘slim mind-set’ which will change your behaviour without needing will power. It’s the only way to live happily in today’s environment where food is available 24/7.
It’s all about the mind-set and you CAN acquire that – learn a bit more here.
Without that built in protection – obesity is the default choice.
Anyone can develop a slim mind-set – I explain how in my book.
Is snacking good for weight loss? Not really, if it’s you habit all you need to do is create a better one!
Have a great week!
