How to Quit Mindless Snacking

You’re sitting at your work desk, responding to emails and checking off the day’s to-do list, when all of the sudden it’s 3 o’clock and you’ve mindlessly made your way through half a bag of trail mix and you’re not entirely sure where the M&M concoction even came from. Mindless snacking hits the best of us at the worst moments.

And while snacking can absolutely be part of a healthy diet, mindless snacking can easily get off track and leave you feeling bloated and guilty.

Mindless snacking: why do you do it and what you can do about it.

Believe it or not, 3 pm is the witching hour for a lot of people. There are a number of emotional, mental and physiological reasons for those mindless, afternoon dives into the vending machine or popcorn bowl.

Your blood sugar is low

By the time 3 pm rolls around, you are a couple of hours past lunch and at least a few hours out from dinner. You’re craving a snack, typically a sugary-starchy snack, because your blood sugar took a fall after lunch, and your body needs a pick me up.

What to do about it

Make lunch count for the long run. Build a lunch that is balanced as well as delicious. Make sure that you are combining proteins with energy-dense fats and high-fiber carbohydrates. Fiber slows digestion down, so the energy you consume at lunch will last longer.

Don’t be scared to eat a hearty lunch! I know that if you are trying to lose wait your first instinct is to grab a green salad with a small piece of chicken on it, but that won’t keep you full. Add a scoop of whole grains to that, along with some avocado and seeds. The balance of nutrient-dense and low GI nutrients will fill you up and keep you from throwing your good intentions to the wind at 3 pm.

Here are some more tips about keeping it healthy <<

You’re thirsty

Thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger. If you were hard pressed, could you describe the difference in feelings of hunger as opposed to feelings of thirst? Most of us don’t pay enough attention to our body’s cues to know!

What to do about it

Drink more water. Staying hydrated will help you stay full, aid digestion and metabolism, and help you consume fewer mindless calories throughout the day!

Plus, there’s always that added benefit of the thousand extra steps you’ll take to the bathroom every day!

Take a second to tally up how much water you typically drink during the day.

You might realize how surprisingly little you actually consume!

You should be drinking 80 ounces of water a day, at a minimum.

If you’re trying to lose weight, you should be drinking more.

For example, here’s how I do it:

• Fill 42 ounce Hydroflask with ice water as soon as I wake up
• 16 ounces of lemon water BEFORE coffee (lemon helps to balance pH levels and detox in the a.m.)
• 42 ounces of water by lunch time
• 8-16 ounces during/post workout
• 24-30 ounces of water by dinner time
• 8 ounces of tea after dinner

You’re bored

When 3 o’clock rolls around, check in with yourself — when was the last time you spoke to an actual human? Most of us stare at the computer screen, answering emails, making phone calls and working on projects for hours before we realize that we’re not focusing anymore.

That’s not necessarily because you’ve run out of fuel. Likely it’s because your mind needs a damn break!

What to do about it

Instead of sending an email to your co-worker down the hall, get up and walk to them. Ask a friend for a 10-minute phone chat around two so that you can preemptively shake off the boredom before it becomes overwhelming later in the afternoon. Set a timer to go off every hour or two and take a 5 minute break to do something non-work related.

You haven’t eaten enough

Skipping meals and skimping on calories often feels like the right thing to do when you are trying to reduce calorie intake, but most people end up making those calories up later anyways (ahem, snackers anonymous).

Eating regularly, every 3-4 hours for example, keeps your blood sugar levels (read: energy level), stable. You won’t feel those highs and lows when you are feeding your body consistently.

Skipping meals starves your body of energy. By the time you’re feeling that overwhelming sens of hunger, it’s too late to rely on your will power to make smart food choices.

Which is why we often crave sweet, carby foods like donuts and candy at 3 pm, when we need a quick hit of energy to make it through the work day.

What to do about it

Keep a regular eating schedule. Check in with yourself every 3-4 hours. You don’t necessarily have to eat a full on meal, but make sure that you are aware of your hunger. Try to eat before you’re past the point of making smart choices or over-stuffing yourself.

You didn’t sleep well last night

A lack of sleep creates the same “gimme sugar” cravings that skipping meals does. Your body wants energy. It needs it to function! And when you only get a few hours of sleep, you’re going to feel the need for energy later in the day.

Further, lack of sleep causes fluctuations in your hunger hormones and mood — making it more likely that you’ll give in to those cravings.

What to do about it

When possible, shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep at night. Create a nightly ritual that is relaxing and cues your body to start getting ready to sleep.

Try it:

• a bath with lavendar and epsom salts
• turn your phone off at 8-9 pm
• hot chamomile tea
• meditation or gentle yoga

Snacks aren’t all bad. In fact, healthy snacks through out the day can 100% be a key factor in losing weight and reaching your fitness goals. But you have to be smart about it and a starving/bored/thirsty brain isn’t the best decision maker. If you’re ready to leave the guilt and cravings of mindless snacking behind, try some of the strategies above — let me know what works for you!

And if you are going to snack, arm yourself with some healthy options so that you don’t have to rely on will power when hunger strikes!