Are you struggling to avoid snacking at home? With more time spent between the same four walls and fewer distractions, this can be a major obstacle for a number of people. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, make healthier choices or just want to have a more structured diet, it can be tough to know the best course of action. But don’t worry, we have some tips to help you reduce or avoid snacking:
Eat proper meals
It doesn’t matter what you do in a day, everybody has a minimum number of calories that they need in a day. If you’re reducing or avoiding snacking, you need to make sure that you can still get enough calories in your daily diet in order to stay satisfied and healthy. If you don’t do this, then you will be running at a calorie deficit. This might be a necessary goal for you but if not, it can impact your recovery, mood and energy levels so you need to make sure your meals are substantial.
Plan your meals ahead and aim to achieve the right balance of nutrition for someone of your age, weight and height. Remember to factor in how much activity you’ll be doing in a day too. People working in a warehouse will need more calories in a day than people sitting at a desk. Additionally, if you’re training more you’ll want to increase the amount of protein you’re getting to ensure you’re all set for recovery. A good alternative for a healthy snack when you are hungry would be a protein shake, such as one from BeVego. This way you get a sweet kick but in a way that fulfils all your protein needs.
Drink plenty of water
This is a bit of a cliche health tip, but that’s only because it’s so good! Sometimes when you feel the urge to snack come on, it’s actually your body telling you that you need a little bit of water. Our bodies are not always very good at telling us when we’re thirsty which is why mild dehydration is so common. Next time you feel peckish, try drinking a glass of water and waiting for fifteen minutes. If you’re still hungry then please do fuel yourself.
If water isn’t your favourite, try making a cup of tea or coffee. The presence of the warm liquid in your body can be really satisfying at any time of the year and help hydrate you. Using this trick, you can give your body what it needs and avoid snacking until the next mealtime.
Replace sweets with alternatives
This is a really life-changing piece of advice, and it’s so simple too! You’ll likely find that when you have the urge to eat a sweet or chocolate, you really just want something with a sweeter flavour. It can be hard to remember when the cravings hit, but if you can try something else.
You can replace the cake with a piece of fruit or another healthy-but-sweet alternative. We’d actually recommend giving yoghurt a try. It’s fully customisable and a great sweet alternative that can be really healthy for you, especially if you’re looking to improve your gut health. The BeVego chocolate hazelnut flavour is a great way to get rid of the sweet cravings but get that chocolate taste in your day!
Distract yourself
When you’re getting hungry, the sensations you feel are your body’s response to a set of hormones in your system. While those hormones can be released when your stomach is particularly empty, they can also be released when your brain expects food, for example, your 4pm chocolate bar. Like when you need water, these feelings don’t always mean you’re actually in need of food, it might just be habit that sparks the desire to snack. Whenever you’re genuinely hungry, make sure you eat something but if you think you’re actually just bored or used to eating at a particular time you should be able to keep going about your day.
If you ignore the craving by distracting yourself, then you can push past those hormones. They will be carried away by your bloodstream and processed by your kidneys – when they’re gone, the craving will be gone too.
Don’t have snacks in the house
While this advice might seem a bit brutal, it’s worth considering if you know there are certain foods that you would really struggle to leave in the cupboard. For example, we know that we really struggle with having cookies in the cupboard it’s very easy to return to the packet and get another at any time.
Removing that problem snack from our kitchen means that we’d have to go to the shop to fulfil our craving. This higher activation energy will likely make you swat cravings away as quickly as they appear or remove them entirely. You won’t want food if it’s particularly tough to get hold of and you might realise you only wanted it because it was there.
There are plenty of other ways you can reduce the amount of snacking you do or avoid snacking all together, and so many healthy swaps you can make the most of. If you have your own tips, share them in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get the latest updates and health advice directly to your inbox.
If you’d like to find out more about BeVego and how you can save as a member, visit AF Connect Online and explore their member benefit.
