Who doesn’t love snacks? They taste good, fill the space between meals, and satisfy cravings. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with eating snacks, eating too many of them can add up in the calorie department if you’re not careful. This is a common issue when snacking becomes a habit rather than a need to tide oneself over until dinner. If you’ve caught yourself snacking more than usual, try these tips to slow it down a little.
Chug H20
One way to prevent yourself from continuously snacking is by drinking water—lots and lots of it. By filling up on water, you will feel less compelled to dive into the bag of Doritos that’s calling your name. Plus, the water is going to keep you hydrated, clear up your skin, and flush everything out of your system.
Focus on Something Else
How often do you reach for a bowl of cereal when you’re bored? Or tear through a bag of Cheetos? Most of the time when people snack, it’s because they’re either bored or feel the need to do so when they’re watching a TV show or movie. To keep yourself from snacking, try to focus on something that will keep you busy. This could be writing, reading, playing games, painting, working out, or just about anything else. If your hands can’t grab a snack, you likely won’t.
Brush Your Teeth Earlier
What time do you usually brush your teeth at night? Nine o’clock? Ten? Research—like the kind conducted by Research America—has shown that those who brush their teeth earlier at night are less likely to fall victim to late-night snacking. The idea behind this is that if your teeth are already clean, you won’t want to smear chocolate all over them or get cribs stuck in them. Try brushing your teeth earlier than normal, say seven or eight or right after dinner, to reduce your amount of nighttime snacking.
Spread Out Your Meals
A popular method for reducing the number of snacks you eat is to break up your normal meals throughout the day. Rather than eating your standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you might split up breakfast into two smaller meals, and the same with lunch or dinner. The idea of this is that you will never feel as hungry because you are constantly eating smaller portions, which, in theory, is meant to stop excessive snacking.
Break the Habit
By using these tips and tricks, you can work to break your habit of snacking mindlessly. This will leave you healthier than before, train your willpower, cause you to lose extra weight, and even get more accomplished during the day!