Evolving Away From Snacking

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

These two things made all the difference.

There has been advice floating around that we need to eat every 2-3 hours to "keep our metabolism up."  I used to do that - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner.  I spent most of my adulthood being so afraid of getting hungry that I always had a snack handy - just in case.  I was over 50 before I figured out that I would not "die" if I got hungry. Along with many of you, I somehow got the message that we should eat in advance of hunger in order to avoid experiencing it.  Now we understand that eating all day long can be problematic for many of us.  It taxes our digestive system, negatively impacts blood sugar, and may contribute to weight gain.   

I no longer have the blood sugar swings and hangry moments that I used to have.  Instead of eating in a way to solve these problems (which I thought I was doing, based on the conventional wisdom), I was eating in a way that made the problems worse.  

Here are the two most impactful changes I made:  

1) I started intermittent fasting about 5 years ago.  I was intrigued about it not because it was a weight loss tool (which it can be) but because the health benefits can be substantial.  When I started intermittent fasting I had my coffee but was afraid that if I did not eat breakfast before exercising that I would faint or something dramatic would happen.  Guess what?  I was fine, I felt fine and if I did get a hunger pang it quickly passed as I kept exercising.  

This has been a game changer and has made maintenance easier because I do not need to eat as frequently.  Now, I am VERY hungry for my first meal of the day around 11 or 11:30 am (after a fast of about 14 hours) but I rarely get hungry between meals anymore.  When I do, I may eat something or I may ride it out until it is time for dinner.

2) I changed up my lunch.  Since I am fasting I do not eat breakfast, but have an early and very big lunch.  I used to eat a more traditional American lunch - sandwich, a few pretzels and maybe a piece of fruit.  Now I eat a bunch of vegetables, several ounces of protein, some healthy fat and a few crackers or pretzels.  Not only does it meet that REALLY hungry requirement I have by lunch time, but it also keeps me full for hours.  

Would trying one or both of these help you?  I have no idea because each of us is so unique.  What I do know is that being open to experimentation is one of the only ways to figure out what works best for our bodies.