The strategic guide to snacking

Snacking is something that can bring you undone or, just the opposite, keep you compliant with a programme. I am a big fan of snacking and I see the value of it, but knowing what to snack on is key. Some people instantly think of snacking as a bag of chips, a sugary pick-me-up or a coffee and a biscuit. This style of refined, high-calorie snacking has a lot to do with advertising and what we learn growing up. Let’s examine snacking so I can help you make the right snack choices.

Some of the reasons why we snack include social factors, boredom and temptation. But the reason we should be snacking is to avoid hunger between meals and to help us include a wider range of nutrients in our diet. Snacking has an impact on our metabolism, low energy levels, appetite, weight, blood sugar and hunger levels.

The health benefits of snacking include keeping compliant with the programme and not overeating. I encourage snacks in all my programmes because I have found people will then take in fewer calories at mealtime. It is also a way we can include more nutrients in our diets, such as good fats and nuts.

When people typically have three meals a day, they tend not to eat enough fruits and nuts. It is completely individual and comes down to what works for you. If you are a person who prefers not to snack, then that’s completely fine but do make sure your diet is nutritionally balanced.

How does snacking affect our metabolism?

Well, I can only look at this from a scientific perspective. The evidence that eating every few hours increases your metabolism is mixed – some studies show an increase in metabolic rate and others don’t. What I have found from my own experience is that people tend to have much more success with dieting when they snack, particularly between lunch and dinner. I have found that many of my patients are happy to go without a mid-morning snack.

Beating low energy is another benefit of strategic and healthy snacking, as I like to call it. When the body goes four to five hours without food, we can start to experience low energy. Getting that little extra bit of energy can mean a better-quality day and higher productivity.

Our brains are constantly looking for energy. The brain is the most energy consuming organ, requiring 20 percent of our daily energy while only being 2 percent of the adult body weight.

Keeping the brain fed with a flow of nutrients every few hours will stop you from crashing or feeling irritable.

How does snacking affect our appetite?

In my opinion, snacking during the mid-morning or mid-afternoon will help control the appetite and reduce hunger levels. But this does depend on what the snack is — a healthy snack with protein, fibre and good fat will promote the feeling of fullness.

Snacking after dinner is an entirely different type of snacking and I want to look at this further. Many people go on the hunt for an after-dinner snack. Self-control at 8pm is a lot less than self-control at 8am, I promise you! I’m yet to find someone who wants to snack on a boiled egg at 8pm. It is always something sweet and there is a biological reason for this.

In order to make melatonin, the sleep hormone, you need serotonin.

In order to make serotonin, you need the smallest amount of carbohydrates, hence the craving for something that will give you that quick fix. Serotonin production is regulated by the food you eat — often, the more carbohydrates you consume, the more serotonin you release.

In summary, the craving for carbs — and when I say carbs, I mean sweets and chocolate as well as carbs such as rice, pasta, potatoes and bread — is actually a craving for sleep. Night-time snacking is completely unnecessary and goes against what your body is really needing: rest and sleep. When you ignore this really important message you can throw your hormones out of balance and disrupt the process the body needs: good-quality sleep.

I have experimented with this myself and find that if I ignore the night-time snack cravings and go to bed when I get the urge to snack on something sweet, such as honey or dark chocolate, the quality of my sleep is much better than if I give in to the night-time craving. To support this further, the lack of sleep and night-time snacking will lead to weight gain and bring undone the amazing work you’ve done throughout the day.

Here are my top snacks and snacking guidelines. Please note, these snacks can be interchanged in the 10-week programme wherever you’d like. Snacks should be around 100 calories. I do prefer to have the mid-morning snack as a piece of fruit because people are generally not that hungry mid-morning. This will allow for the mid-afternoon snack to have good fat or protein, which will help sustain you until dinner:

• a serve of fruit (1 pear, apple or orange, or . cup berries)

• 1 boiled egg

• 7 almonds and 2 brazil nuts

• 3 stalks of celery with 50 grams of cottage cheese that you can mix some turmeric through. This will give you anti-inflammatory benefits

• a protein bar

• a scoop of protein powder with water and ice in a blender

• 3 stalks of celery with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter spread on each

• berries and 1 tablespoon of Greek yoghurt

• a mix of almonds, cashews and walnuts, totalling 15 nuts

• 12 almonds

• 15 pistachios

• 50 grams of cheddar and 3 pickles

• an apple, sliced, with 1 dessertspoon of peanut butter

• 40 grams of tuna and ½ a capsicum

• carrot sticks and 1 tablespoon of hummus

• 1 tablespoon of pepitas and 1 tablespoon of cottage cheese.

As you can see, snacking is a really important part of the healthy weight-loss journey. Healthy snacking will keep blood glucose levels stable, it will aid in hunger control, help you maintain a good mood and, most importantly, it will help you add a wider range of healthy foods and nutrients to your diet.

Extracted from The 10:10 Diet

By Sarah Di Lorenzo

Published by Simon & Schuster Australia

RRP $35.00