Cooking Light Photo
I recently came across an article that discussed the increased trend of "snacking". Many restaurants are coming out with snacking menus for the public to choose from. I find this interesting and want to propose the question: Which is better, snacking throughout the day or eating 3 "normal size" meals. Here are my thoughts on the subject:
Many people defend snacking because they say:
- it increases the metabolism
- decrease chances for binge eating
- eat a variety of foods
- learn to enjoy smaller meals
All of the reasons above sound good if you are actually snacking on healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, whole grains and lean protein). Also if what you are consuming provides a balanced diet and is within a healthy calorie and fat range I see no issue with snacking verses eating set meals. However, I would warn people against snacking if you tend to be an overeater. Snacking can prevent overeating at the next meal however, replacing 5 small meals for 3 normal meals increases your chances of overeating greatly. Snacking may work for some people, but I find I tend to eat excessively (especially at night).
Here are my recommendations for controlling your appetite.
- Be active and increase physical activity
- Weight train to build lean muscle
- Sleep 7-8 hours a night (lower or higher has shown to increase appetite)
- Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains
- Weight train to build lean muscle
- Sleep 7-8 hours a night (lower or higher has shown to increase appetite)
- Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains
At the end of the day (snackers or meal eaters), what counts is what you put in your body and how much. Calories in needs to equal calories out for weight maintenance. For weight loss: calories in should be less than calories out.
Hopefully this information will help you to be an informed snacker and give you some food for thought!
Check out this article in Cooking Light which inspired this post.
Photo: a little house by the big woods blog
I love this photo: Inspiring and thoughtful!
What are your thoughts on this subject?
Happy Eating!
Little Chef-titian
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