How's your relationship with snacking?

If you're like a lot of people, you might spend some time sitting in front of the television in the evenings. For many, this idle time leads to snacking. Head to the cupboard, find a bag or box of something, bring it to the couch with a drink and away we go, right? There you go, adding a few hundred calories to your day after you spent the whole day eating healthy foods. It happens to me as well, and once you get started, it's hard to stop. It's just a few small chips (crackers, cookies, whatever) what's the harm? In my case, that type of food is the addicting kind, where the more I eat, the more I eat. Which leads us all to wonder if we should snack at all.

I tend to avoid snacking, for just this reason. I have my diet planned out pretty well with my meals so I am getting the right number of calories from healthy foods. Once I open up a bag of anything, there goes all that planning, and I wonder why I can't lose any weight. Well, I used to wonder until I realized what I was doing. Whether it's some small pieces of chocolate after dinner, or cookies later on, I can keep eating "just because".

What to do if you like those snack foods and can't seem to do without them? Plan it as part of your nutrition for the day. Put a small amount of your dessert or snack in a baggie and then make sure you only eat that, and not go back for more. In the beginning it may take a lot of willpower, but after a week or two, it will become habit and you'll be able to fit your sweets into your diet without going overboard. If you're really hungry after that and not eating for something to do, make sure you have some fruits or Greek yogurt on hand to take care of those hunger pains.