Often between meals throughout the day, we find ourselves snacking frequently in order to stave off the feeling of hunger. But in many cases, snacking can become a big problem nutritionally. If it gets out of control and you overindulge, next thing you know, you have already eaten two or three times the normal snacking size, which could affect weight gain.
Here are some ways to become a better – and smarter – snacker.
1. Use a bigger fork. According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, the size of your utensils could have an impact on how much you eat. In the study, those who ate with bigger utensils ate less food and left more food on their plates.
2. Think of your workout as a fun activity, not work. The key to a positive and successful task is to think of it as being fun instead of work. The time will fly by, and you will actually want do it instead of dreading to do it!
3. Don’t eat while watching the latest superhero flick. Don’t eat while watching an action-packed show or movie. The action on the screen could distract you from realizing how much you’re eating.
4. Eat from a smaller bowl. A 2006 study in the FASEB Journal showed that the size of the bowl will have an affect on how much you serve yourself. So if you want to eat less, eat from a smaller bowl rather than a large bowl.
5. Get some sleep. A good night’s sleep boosts your body’s immune system and other various functions, but a study conducted at Columbia University found that getting less sleep could lead to an increase in the amount of calories consumed.
6. Don’t be a creature of habit. Don’t develop a habit like always eating popcorn at the movies because it can transfer to you eating popcorn whenever it’s available.
7. Hide the junk food. When you’re trying to avoid the junk food, it’s best to hide it or have none at all. We all know junk food is bad for you because of the many negative side effects. The best solution is to get rid of all the junk food in the house so you’re not tempted to fall into the trap of this unhealthy habit.
8. Eat with your left hand if you’re a righty (and vice-versa). A recent study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that switching to eat with your non-dominant hand could help you eat less.
9. Keep fruit in plain sight in your kitchen. The foods we see in front of us are usually the foods we reach for when we’re hungry. One way to choose healthy snacks is to keep fruit in plain sight, so you are more likely to eat it. Eating fruit is an excellent snack alternative to the typical chips and cookies. Fruit provides many nutrients that are essential to our body, and it satisfies our natural sugar cravings!
10. Start with a small snack portion. This should be a given. You want to have a snack portion small enough to hold you over until your next meal, but not so big of a portion that you become too full to eat your meal.
11. Don’t mistake snacks for meals. This tends to happen a lot, especially for people who are always on the go. You spend all day snacking instead of taking the time to eat a full meal. Our bodies need those full meals in order to meet the daily nutrient requirements, which you won’t get by snacking all day.
Information gathered from Huffington Post
