It feels like the clock has stopped ticking. You feel like you are stuck a desert. Every second feels like eternity and when you can resist no more, you go for it.
No, we are not describing some kind of torture here, but just the emotions at times between meals when you are at your hungriest worst. No matter what you eat as a meal, hardly an hour thereafter, you are ready to binge. But since you know that you tend to eat whatever you can get your hands on and since most of it is unhealthy, (vada pav, potato chips, farsan, chocolates) you resist. But most of the times, the tantalizing taste of these treats get the better of you, and you end up eating them.
There is always a guilt involved with snacking but the reality is snacking between meals can be healthy if you choose the right food. Even dieticians recommend eating several times in the day to keep up the metabolism as well as to keep the energy levels up all day.
Here is more about it:
Why to snack?
Khyati Rupani, Dietician, former chief dietician, Lilavati Hospital, says, “Snacking can be very healthy in between meals since there are gaps of more than 5 hours between each meal which can be very bad for your health. A better solution will be eating smaller meals every 3 hours.”
Keeps you Energetic: You are fresh in the morning and the noon but towards the end of the day, you feel tired and lethargic. The reason is, all our activities require energy and we are burning energy even when we are resting or sleeping. So a few hours after eating when energy imbibed from the meal is used up, our body requires us to refuel it. Thus proper snacking ensures that you feel energetic and healthy even at the end of the day.
Blood Sugar levels in control: When we eat, the food, especially the carbohydrates in it, are converted into energy. Long gaps between meals results inspikes of high and low in blood sugar level. This has a negative impact on our body, converting energy into fat and causing insulin resistance. The simple solution to this is eating frequently and eating healthy so the levels stay balanced.
Aids Weight Loss: When you eat frequently, your appetite is under control and you don’t overeat at meals. Your metabolism or the ability to burn calories also remains active, burning more calories and aiding weight loss.
Source of Nutrition: What we eat during meals may not suffice to meet all our nutritional needs. Even though carbohydrates, proteins, fats may be provided during meals, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids or good fats can only be available to you through healthy snacks like fruits, dry fruits and dairy products.
How to snack?
Just snacking is not the key to eating healthy, what you eat as snacks actually decides whether it is healthy for you or not.
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Plan it: One way of preventing binging on high calorie and high fat options is by planning your snacks. Plan your four o’clock tiffin to be something healthy like a whole grain sandwich, an energy bar or popcorn or homemade healthy dish like oats in milk, dalia or upma
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Count them in too: A healthy snack can provide you on an average 100- 200 calories which is alright on the calorie scale but needs to be counted in the backdrop of your overall diet. If your overall diet is high on calories, it could lead to weight gain.
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High Protein, High in Fiber: Your snacks should contain more of proteins and fiber and less of simple carbohydrates that cause a high in blood sugar level followed by a slump. Complex carbohydrates are also recommended
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Fill in the gaps: We all know that when we are too hungry, we tend to eat more than we should. That is the reason you should opt for a snack so that you don’t become ravenous. So time your snacks so that you eat frequently after small gaps in time.
Let’s discuss some of the snacks options:
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Carrots- Eating a single carrot a day fulfills the dietary requirement for vitamin A. Carrot will also contain magnesium, vitamin C, B complex and potassium. Carry a carrot to work and snack on it instead of the energy bar.
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Apples- Snack on an apple, which is crunchy, high in fiber, vitamins and anti oxidants and according to reports, helps you stay awake. So isn’t Apple a better way to stay awake than innumerable number of coffees at work?
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Yogurt- Generally we try to eat yogurt at the end of the meals when we have already eaten too many things. Yogurt is a good source of protein, calcium and can be eaten as a snack by itself.
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Eggs- Eggs are rich in protein, minerals and are loaded with vitamins. Eating a boiled egg as a snack fills you upand keeps you high in energy as well as provides you with plenty of nutrition at the same time.
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Milk- Milk as a nutritious drink does not need any introduction. Try to choose a low fat or skimmed milk option to cut down on fats.
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Protein drinks- Protein shakes can be taken as separate snacks, the high protein intake makesyou feel full for long and because these shakes are easy to carry and prepare, can be handy when travelling or at work.
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Selected Dry fruits- Though dry fruits are generally known to be good for you providing good fats along with vitamins and minerals, some dry fruits will be very high in calories than others. Choose those that aren’t too sweet - dry fruits like almonds or nuts like cashews, flax seeds and pumpkin seeds
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Pop corn- The non salted versions of Pop corn are high in fiber. This makes you feel full for long. Pop corns are also high in anti-oxidants that are good for you.
Tips for healthy snacking:
- A snack should keep you full for at least 3 hours and if your snack doesn’t, you need to change your option of a snack.
- Low fat doesn’t necessarily mean low in calories.
- Processed foods as snacks aren’t much good since they contain trans fat meaning unsaturated fat, added preservatives and salt which are not good for health.
- Remember, while snacking quantity isn’t everything, a handful of dry fruits are enough for a snack so is a glass of milk. Look for nutrition and not quantity.
So now you know that snacking isn’t bad only if you snack smart!
