Are we Snacking Unnecessarily?

Do you find yourself sometimes snacking when you’re not really hungry?

We probably all do that from time to time.

For example, we might reach for a snack because we’re sad, tired, lonely, worried, annoyed or frustrated. The snack then becomes a form of ‘compensation’.

Or we might have a snack at a social event just because that’s what’s expected of us or because everybody else is snacking and we don’t want to be the odd ones out.

Can we watch a football/baseball/soccer game for the fun of the game, without snacking?

Can we go to the movie theater and NOT buy a snack or a soda?

“What??? Movie night without snacks? Are you crazy?” - No I’m certainly not. But I do think that a movie night should be about the movie, and not necessarily about shoving food (or beer or juice) into ourselves which our body did not really ask for.

Of course, if you’re really hungry, that’s a whole different story, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about unnecessary -and often mindless- snacking.

Mid-morning snack, mid-afternoon snack, late-night snack, Sunday morning’s activity snack, a beer or a soft drink in front of the TV, youth club gathering with snacks, having friends over with snacks, kids’ playdate with….. … … Go on, take a wild guess….. Yes! You’ve got it! – a snack!

I’m not even talking about whether the snack is a healthy one -and let’s hope it is. I’m talking about the concept of non-stop eating. (You’ll notice I consider juices, beers, and soft drinks as snacks .)

What bugs me about it, is that we don’t give our body a break. We oblige it to absorb food even when it’s clearly not asking to be fed.

As I’m not a nutritionist I have no idea how constant snacking affects our digestive system, our sugar and insulin levels, weight gain, and satiety signals.

I’ve noticed when I snack a lot, I lose the ability to detect the signal to stop eating. Needless to say, the snacks take away from my real meals, resulting in small meals, shortly after which I’m hungry again, and the ‘grazing’ continues - if I may use the expression.

This is not to suggest that snacking is bad, but that snacking when-not-hungry might not be ideal.

I do think–and that’s just an opinion- that we need to listen to our body and respect it. We need to feed it when it’s hungry and not force food on it when it’s not. My thoughts.

With that, I will take the opportunity to wish you a wonderful weekend,

Didi
Wise Choice Market

Image:
https://goo.gl/images/ACruJA
http://cliparts101.com/free_clipart/51665/Yellow_Ball_Eating

Disclaimer:
This article represents its author’s opinion, and is not a medical, nutritional, or professional advice.