Do you snack?

[JAZ]

I've been reading quite a bit about dietary habits lately, and the question of snacking always seems to come up. In no particular order: one book I read mentioned that overall, the French seem to snack much less than Americans. Some "diet" programs recommend planned snacking and some recommend no snacking at all. Americans tend to think of daily eating as three meals, but I don't think that's anywhere near universal, so maybe that's why Americans tend to snack more.

In any case, for myself, I've been following the Weight Watchers program, and while most of the members seem to eat a lot of snacks, I find that three meals with no snacks works best for me. Plus, I've found that if I eat three pretty substantial meals, I don't really want to snack. It was when I used to not eat breakfast or skip lunch that I found myself eating half a bag of Cheetos as a "snack."

But I'm curious about snacking habits. Do you snack? Is it a planned thing, like one or more smaller meals? Or do you have a snack when you're hungry and it happens to be in between meals? Is there a particular time of day you snack? Inquiring minds want to know.

[annabelle]

Like you, Janet, I find that if I eat snacks, I do not eat my proper meals. Indeed, it leads to me later eating another snack rather than a meal. But, I have never been a snacker. I think it is probably the influence of my French extraction mother who discouraged snacking as a weight control method.

[dividend]

I feel best when I have 3 meals and 2 small snacks. At work, I have a snack at 10, and at 3 or 4. My snacks this week are Babybel with a sourdough Wasa cracker, Larabars, or 1/4 cup of homemade trail mix (I make it with a 3:2:1 ratio of various nuts to dried fruit to dark chocolate bits). Other good snacks are 1/2 apple sliced into thin wedges with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, the oat Wasa spread with whole milk ricotta and drizzled with honey, a clementine with 1 oz Spanish almonds, or raw snap peas or rattlesnake beans with 1 oz of Boursin. Protein + fruit or protein + whole grain work well for me. I'm big on portion control though - I'm not guestimating on the serving sizes. I either package it up ahead of time, or, like with the trail mix, keep it in a large container with an appropriately sized scoop.

[kayb]

When I got serious about losing weight a few years ago (and lost 40 pounds in a year, of which I've kept about 35 off), I did the 3 meals, 3 snacks thing, and always made sure the snacks included a good protein source since that controlled my hunger better than anything else. Now, I will occasionally snack, mostly in order to avoid eating too much at a meal, so I keep graham crackers and peanut butter, and some sort of fruit, at work all the time. At home, the snack tends to be cheese and pickles, or veggies and hummus.

For what it's worth, the biggest single eating habit change that helped me lose weight was breakfast. I made myself eat a good one, and it made a huge difference.

[weinoo]

For what it's worth, the biggest single eating habit change that helped me lose weight was breakfast. I made myself eat a good one, and it made a huge difference.

Of course it does. Even though there are those who would argue .

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I have the kind of evil, ripping fast metabolism that demands that I eat three times a day plus snack frequently. So I do - although I'll say that when I need a snack I usually reach for a banana or other piece of fruit, or for a high-protein something like cheese or peanuts/peanut butter. I find I don't need to eat as much in the snack if I do it that way; if I end up eating something ridiculously sugary or carb-y I always feel like I need to eat more and then I want less of my main meals. I also eat on the Ecuadorian rhythm - breakfast like a prince, lunch like a king, dinner like a pauper.

Needless to say, though, with this metabolism weight isn't a problem for me.

[annabelle]

I have the kind of evil, ripping fast metabolism that demands that I eat three times a day plus snack frequently. ... I also eat on the Ecuadorian rhythm - breakfast like a prince, lunch like a king, dinner like a pauper.

Needless to say, though, with this metabolism weight isn't a problem for me.

I was the same way until I turned 50+. I'm still not fat, there is just more of me. I agree with your meal plan, as well. I have eaten that way for ages and it works well.

[pastrygirl]

I snack all the time. It's kind of a problem. Cheese, peas, bits of chocolate, slices of prosciutto, more cheese, fruit, pastry, bread, dried fruit, spoon full of peanut butter, mini cupcakes....

[barolo]

At work I have fruit at around 10:00 am and fruit or a handful of nuts at around 4:00 pm. I eat breakfast at 6:30 and it's a long slog to lunch without something mid-morning. In the late afternoon I have an energy lull so a small snack gets me through to the end of the work day.

On weekends or otherwise when I'm not working I don't usually snack.

[Jan Virtanen]

Snacking constantly keeps your insulin level chronically elevated, which is not so healthy. Very hard to loose fat this way. I like to eat two large meals a day, no need to snack. I dont eat grains anymore, strange as it sounds, they made me more hungry. I rather eat fresh vegetables and some fruit now.

[Cailyn Brown]

Snacking is very much necessary to keep energy levels going and avoid weight gain. for that only few steer clear of foods with lots of simple carbohydrates (sugars) like candy bars or soda is enough. Or else preparing foods that contain complex carbohydrates like whole-grain breads and cereals and combine them with protein-rich snacks such as peanut butter or low-fat yogurt or cheese can also be opted. It's very important to take healthy snacks as it could add to the calories.