Overcoming Unhealthy Snacking

Let’s see: 

• Unwanted weight-gain if portions or frequency of snacking is too much, adding excess calories. 
• Too much of snacking can reduce hunger at meal times or cause one to skip a meal entirely, which increases the risk of losing out on important nutrients. 
• Regular intake of processed snacks is not only added with sugar, salt and fat but is also low in nutrients. These are high in calories and can definitely change the dietary behavior and diet quality of a person resulting in lifestyle disorders like weight gain, T2DM, PCOD, and many more. 

• Have enough of veggies (Dietary fibers) and protein in your major meal to avoid unnecessary snacking on unhealthy foods. Dietary fiber will keep you full for a longer period of time and protein will make sure that you maintain satiety and avoid binge eating. 
• Portion control on snacking. Always see your fist (not more than one ounce or 30 gm) to measure your snacks. If it is piece than, limit it to one small size. Go for bite size snacks. 
• Prefer healthy fats or protein sources for snacking like nuts and seeds, foxnuts, whole fruits like apple, banana, pear, watermelon, guava, papaya and dairy products like unsweetened curd and chenna (cottage cheese), sprouts. Again, portion control is way more important so always keep in mind. 
• Keep yourself hydrated. Have plenty of water. Because most of the times we are thirsty but we think of being hungry. This is called false hunger. Hydration also makes sure that the metabolism is on a right path.