Simple Snacking Tips: Decision Making for a Better Body

One of the many challenges for dieters is snacking. I’ve noticed that snacking was a main contributor to my weight gain due to the lack of calorie control. I snacked excessively and many times without control. I found that controlling the consumption and selection of my snacks has played a significant role in my weight loss goals. In order to achieve success, one needs to take control of the quantity and quality of the snacks consumed. Here are some tips on how to make better snacking decisions.

Simple Snack Packs

Everyone knows that calorie control is essential to any weight loss program. Certain snacks are loaded with calories and fats. Knowing that I was unable to eliminate my favorite sweet snacks from my diet, I decided to lower the quantities of the snacks that I consumed. I began to divide each favorite sweet snack into moderate portions. My favorite tool was using small plastic food bags. I would divide up the snacks into small portions that I would use daily. Only one bag regardless of how I felt would be used daily. The effects were immediate and dramatic. I noticed that by restricting myself to smaller quantities, I spent less money on snack items and enjoyed them more. I began with a gradual decrease in quantity. Since I was capable of eating a box of cookies daily, I divided that box into a week’s worth of portions. I then divided each new box into smaller portions. I also put all the bagged snacks into a plastic container that had an air tight seal lock. This added measure forced me to open the container for that one snack bag daily. I noticed that by taking the time to bag the snacks it helped increase my awareness of what I was consuming.

The second successful snacking tip is controlling the quality. While I was bagging the snacks, I became more aware of what I was eating. This motivated me to make some healthier snack choices. I began by adding some better quality snacks like dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Then I found myself replacing some old favorites for new lower calorie snack alternatives. By making these changes, I noticed a significant increase in my energy levels and craved less of the empty calorie snacks. 

The third snacking tip is to record your snacking using a food journal. Below is a link to a free food tracking tool. I simply used a small notebook to record the time and selection of my daily snacks. This helped me increase my snack craving awareness by identifing any patterns that were associated with my cravings. 

So that’s it in a nutshell. The steps that I took above were not too difficult and helped me use snacking to my advantage. I feel and look better simply by making better snacking decisions.

Food Tracking Tool