How to Reduce Snacking

With our lives getting busier and busier, it’s not surprising that many people choose snacks for their daily diet. You can stop by a fast food store, convenience store, sidewalk stall, coffee shop or grocery store to easily and quickly purchase a ready-to-eat meal. However, research says a diet high in processed snacks increases the risk of weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure, among other health risks. ^{[1] X Research Sources}^{[2] X Trusted Source National Health Service (UK) Go to the Source} With just a little bit of preparation and planning time, you can cut down on snacking to switch to a healthy diet.

Table of Contents

Beat the cravings for snacks

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Keep a food diary . Recording what you eat for a few days can give you a better idea of why you should choose snacks over healthy meals. ^{[3] X Trusted Source American Heart Association Go to Source} Write down when, what, and why you eat. Give your reasons for choosing snacks in your daily meals:

Do you visit a fast food restaurant because it’s convenient?
Did you choose to buy lunch at a sidewalk restaurant because you didn’t have time to prepare a healthy meal?
You don’t have much time after a long working day so you can only prepare a frozen dinner?

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Make a list of your favorite snacks. If you can identify your favorite snacks, this will help you reduce them in your diet. When you know what you crave, you’ll be better able to control your cravings and plan for a healthy change.

Eliminate those favorite foods gradually. When you don’t have those foods at home, you’ll have less cravings. ^{[4] X Research Source} So keep only a few items that you enjoy and stock up on healthy options.
In addition, you should also reduce the storage of junk food at work.

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Control emotions and stress. Often you will crave snacks when you are sad, tired, frustrated, angry, or stressed. It’s a normal reaction when you crave something after a moment of anger or stress. Dealing with emotions or stress without food can also improve your health and help you cut down on snacking.

Journaling helps you know what moods make you crave food. ^{[5] X Research Sources} To find out, ask yourself: Are you bored? What happens to make you crave snacks? Was it a stressful day for you? Do you snack out of habit or to socialize?
If you feel that pampering yourself with food helps keep your emotions in check, a little junk food won’t be a problem. However, you should write down the reason for craving that dish to learn from it next time.
In addition, find other activities that help you relax, become calm, or calm your emotions. Try reading a book or magazine, going out for a walk, listening to your favorite songs, or playing a game.

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Change the habit. Usually we eat out of habit. You go to the street vendors in the middle of work to find something to help you become more awake or you leave work late at night and stop by the fast food restaurant to buy snacks. Changing these habits will help you improve your eating habits. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

When do you usually snack? Is there anything else you can do instead? For example, if you want to relax during work hours in the afternoon, instead of going to the street vendors, go for a walk.

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Healthy change. If your favorite snack isn’t healthy, find a better alternative to curb cravings.

For example, if you crave sweets, have yogurt with fruit, 30g of dark chocolate, or unsweetened pudding.
If you’re craving something salty, eat raw vegetables with hummus, hard-boiled eggs with a pinch of salt, or a sprig of celery with peanut butter.

Plan and prepare healthy meals

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Plan meals. If you want to control your diet and reduce the amount of junk food you eat each day, create a plan to help you design a new (junk-free) diet. ^{[7] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Plan meals for the whole week. Includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Ideally, meals should fill you up so you don’t have to eat more. However, do not eat 3 large meals but eat 6 small meals throughout the day.
Come up with a practical meal plan. Cooking at home every day can be a bit difficult. However, sometimes you can also eat out, eat somewhere convenient or prepared food.
Also, plan your meals and cook them in advance. For example, you are usually busy in the evening so you will want the evening to be ready as soon as you get home.
Prepare your weekend meals in advance and put them in the freezer. That way, you’ll have food on hand when you need it or ready to put in the slow cooker.

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Go to the market or supermarket often. The best way to cut down on snacking is to stock up on healthy foods and cut down on processed foods. When you have fewer junk foods at home, you’re less likely to indulge in them. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

The market is where you can choose fresh seasonal produce and grow it in the garden.
When going to the supermarket, focus on fresh, unprocessed foods such as flowers, vegetables, seafood, meats, dairy foods and eggs.
You should not go near the counter with many favorite snacks such as bim bim. Head to the counter that sells healthy, processed foods like canned beans and vegetables, canned tuna, nuts and whole grains.
Avoid shopping when hungry. At times like these, everything seems appealing to you. Food that we usually avoid when hungry will be difficult to resist.
Make a shopping list and bring it with you when you go to the store. Avoid changing what is already written on the list.

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Prepare and cook healthy meals. Cooking at home allows you to control what you eat. In addition, you can also control the amount of fat, sugar or salt added to the dish.

You should also include a variety of foods from multiple groups to ensure a balanced diet. Every day, you should try to eat foods from each group such as: grains, protein, vegetables and dairy products. This will help you reach your nutritional goals. ^{[9] X Trusted Source National Health Service (UK) Go to Source}
Check out books, cooking magazines, or websites to find new recipes that work for you and energize or delight you with home cooking.
If your meal plan includes a few meals that require eating out, prepare those meals for the weekend or in your spare time. If you plan on preparing food for a week, store it in the refrigerator. If you want to prepare large amounts of food or want to keep it for longer than a week, divide the food into servings in a freezer box and put it in the freezer to use when needed.

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Prepare healthy snacks. Having a healthy snack ready can help you forget about street stalls and other junk food. ^{[10] X Research Source} Bring snacks to work and stock up on some healthy snacks at home.

To make snacks more satisfying, add foods that are low in protein, high in fiber, and some healthy fats. ^{[11] X Research Source} Examples: Greek yogurt with fruit and seeds; peanut butter and a few pieces of apple; homemade protein packs with nuts, cheese and dried fruit; or hummus with wholemeal crackers and raw carrots.
If possible, store healthy snacks in the company fridge or desk. You can keep: a few packets of nuts, an easy-to-eat fruit like an apple, a few packets of whole-wheat crackers, a few packets of peanut butter, or a high-protein nutrition bar. If you have a fridge, you can bring a few bars of cheese, yogurt, or hummus.

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Make smart choices at restaurants. A lot of times you’re forced to eat out or buy something prepared when you’re busy. While it’s okay to indulge yourself with snacks every now and then, choose healthy options if you’re going to eat out often.

Many restaurants, especially reputable chains, offer nutritional information about the food that you can find online.
Junk or processed foods are often high in calories, high in fat and salt. ^{[12] X Trusted Source National Health Service (UK) Go to the source} Avoid these foods and choose fruits, vegetables and low-fat protein.
If you go to a fast food restaurant, order a salad (with sauces removed), a grilled chicken sandwich or chicken balls, soup or fruit, and a yogurt parfait.
If you go to a convenience store, choose low-fat cheese, fruit, protein bars, or hard-boiled eggs.
You should not choose fried foods, cakes or dishes with a lot of sugar.

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Eat your favorite foods in control. Regular eating habits will include favorite snacks. Completely eliminating those dishes is unnecessary and impractical for you. Refrain from eating your favorite foods in small portions.

You need to set limits of control for yourself. It could be having dessert twice a week or going out with friends once a week. Choose foods that are healthy and suitable for you.
Note that pampering yourself repeatedly with food becomes a habit. If you pamper yourself many times a week, it will lead to weight gain.
Avoid the habit of overeating. Reducing snacking is a great way to improve overall health. However, you don’t necessarily have to reduce your entire favorite food. The habit of overeating will cause you to overeat. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Advice

Plan to gradually change your eating habits if you find it difficult to get started. You will start with small changes. Cut down on unhealthy choices and replace them with better ones. Take a week to get acquainted and incorporate other options. Continue this process until you have completely changed.
Don’t let dissatisfaction make you surrender. Give yourself time to get used to healthy eating habits if it’s more difficult than expected. A slow start is still better than nothing. Remember to always try.
It’s okay to snack once in a while, just be in control.

Warning

Always see your doctor for advice before starting any new diet.

Steps

Beat the cravings for snacks

Plan and prepare healthy meals

Advice

Warning

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