Is Snacking Good For Slimming?

What Is Snacking?

A catch all term for the things you reach out for between your 3 (or 4) main meals of the day - breakfast, lunch and dinner/supper.

Snacks can be anything from carrots, cheese and biscuits, jammy dodgers through to sushi or a cup-a-soup! It can also mean chocolate bars and crisps and other unhealthy processed foods. In fairness, this is usually what people associate with the word 'snack'.

Are Snacks Bad?

If you eat between meals, sensible snacking can really boost your efforts to lose weight as it's a great idea to consume small amounts of low calorie content foods such as yogurts and fruit which can stave off hunger and ensure you can last until your next meal without compromising your diet plan.

Snacking can also prove to be disastrous though. If you consume foods such as high calorie containing chocolate bars, then you'll not only reduce your need to eat but also ruin your diet plan.

Eating Regularly Throughout The Day

Eating a small amount of food regularly throughout the day is recommended by such diet plans as the Slim Fast plan which endorses the metabolic benefits associated with snacking between meals.

Slim Fast suggest that eating up to six times each day can prevent binge eating and allow you to increase your metabolism which can help you to burn calories and lose weight more efficiently.

It is more advisable to eat smaller meals and have snacks in between as opposed to eating merely three large meals per day.

What To Snack On?

Consuming healthy foods in between meals such as grain-based snacks can help you to maintain energy levels throughout the day. This can assist you with ensuring that you don't begin eating the wrong types of food to stave off hunger.

Crisps, chocolate, burgers and sweets are all extremely bad for your diet and they don't provide you with the nutrients you require. This will result in you remaining unfulfilled and you'll still hunger for foods that will provide you with the vitamins and minerals you need.

Why Do We Want To Snack?

There are various reasons that persuade you to snack throughout the day. Whether you're working, driving in your car or partaking in your favourite sports, you might want to have a quick bite to eat for a fast energy boost, to relieve boredom or just because you feel a little peckish from time to time.

Try to eat low fat yogurts and nutritional snack bars that can provide you with some nutrients and not just sugar, calories and fat. Soup is always an excellent idea as it represents a low calorie alternative to general snack foods and can help to alleviate hunger and make you feel full.