Can’t stop snacking? Here’s why and what you can do about it

Some people are very disciplined with snacks in the daytime but totally out of control in the evening. Photo / 123rf

Are you grazing mindlessly in front of the TV – or turning to food when you’re bored or angry? Here’s how to stop.

If you find yourself reaching for a chocolate digestive as 3pm rolls around you’re probably one of the millions of people who can’t resist something sweet (or savoury) in between proper meals.

Uncontrollable (and unwanted) snacking of this sort is “very common”, says Uxshely Carcamo, a registered nutritionist and psychotherapist, and founder of The Food Therapy Clinic in London.

Unwanted eating between meals tends to present in two ways, she says: “Some people find themselves grazing and snacking throughout the day, and others are very disciplined in the daytime but totally out of control in the evening.”

Fortunately, the roots of both snacking patterns are typically the same, and can be tackled with some quick and easy tweaks. So here are the five reasons why you can’t stop snacking – and what to do about them.

You aren’t eating enough

It might sound counter-intuitive, but if you find yourself snacking between meals, the solution may well be to eat more at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Many clients who come to me say that their problem is that they’re overeating,” Carcamo says, “but often it’s the reverse – they’re undereating at mealtimes, which is making them overeat between meals.

“Diet culture is very pervasive, and it makes people think that they should be having a tiny 300-calorie breakfast and the same for lunch,” says Carcamo. “But if you’re hungry between meals when you’re eating this little, that’s natural, and it’s likely a sign that your body isn’t getting the nutrition it needs.”

Good news then: to snack less, just eat more at mealtimes. “You could try adding some more protein and some more healthy fats to your meals, which should satiate you and keep you going for longer,” she explains.

In this, be sure to prioritise whole, unprocessed foods: “An abundance of fruit and veg, with plenty of fibre to keep you fuller for longer,” says Carcamo.

Sweet potatoes and oats as “slow-release carbohydrates” are particularly filling and energising.

Staying up watching TV can prompt mindless grazing. Photo / 123rf

You’re going to bed too late – or at the wrong time

A lack of sleep can cause a spike in the hunger hormone ghrelin, driving you to consume more food throughout the day. A single night of sleep deprivation can raise your ghrelin levels by as much as 22%, an effect that lasts even after mealtimes, leading to an increase in the number of calories consumed through snacking alone.

Then there’s the fact that our nighttime activities can leave us all the more prone to snacking: staying up watching TV, particularly if you have a love of cooking shows, can prompt mindless grazing, with one study finding that people consume an extra 150 calories while watching TV.

Getting to bed earlier could prevent snacking if time on the sofa prompts your bad habits, Carcamo says, but far more important than the exact time you go to bed is “the quality of your sleep”.

That means having a “good sleep hygiene routine”: “Turn off your phone 60 to 90 minutes before bedtime and avoid caffeine after midday,” Carcamo advises.

Depending on your current sleep schedule and routines, “I may suggest actually shortening your sleep window to condense the time you spend asleep, which can improve your sleep quality” and keep ghrelin at bay, Carcamo says.

You’re bored

Boredom is a classic driver of snacking, not only when we have nothing else to do, but also when something in particular is boring us. One small study has found that we eat even more when watching “boring” versus “exciting” TV.

Often snacking can be an indication that we “just want something to do, with our brains but also our hands”, Carcamo says. “Some of my clients have had success switching to something like knitting when they get the urge to snack, to divert them away from eating.”

If arts and crafts aren’t your bag, there are plenty of other options: “Listen to an audiobook, phone a friend, journal, draw, just about anything that fits your interests,” says Carcamo.

It is also helpful to “set your environment up for success,” she adds. “Don’t keep the biscuit tin visible, and perhaps switch it out for a fruit basket.”

And if you’re still getting the urge to snack, then “a huge plate of grapes, carrots or celery won’t do you any harm”.

Sugar triggers the release of a feel-good hormone in the brain, temporarily boosting mood. Photo / 123rf

You’re eating because you’re stressed

Just as we often reach for a snack when we’re tired, “stress, anxiety and low mood can all drive us to eat more to help ourselves feel better”, Carcamo explains.

“It’s natural to look for something in those moments to give us a quick lift. That’s not going to come from something healthy like asparagus, though. It’s going to come from the sugar in a biscuit or chocolate bar.”

That’s because sugar triggers the release of dopamine, a feel-good hormone in the brain, temporarily boosting mood. It can also weaken the body’s ability to respond to stress, providing a passing relief from anxiety by dampening the release of cortisol.

To avoid emotional eating then, Carcamo says, “develop a different coping strategy”.

“That might involve phoning a friend to talk about your feelings, or seeing a professional therapist. But even saying out loud what you’re feeling, whether it’s sadness or anxiety, can be cathartic, and can help you stop yourself from reaching for something sugary straight away.”

Other techniques like “using your breath or meditating” can improve your overall happiness and help you to abandon unhealthy coping mechanisms.

It’s become a habit you can’t break

Sometimes, the only reason we really snack is because we’re so used to doing so. Going without that afternoon bite of cake or post-work bag of crisps can bring on hunger pangs or leave us feeling just not quite right.

To shift away from the same daily habit, start by replacing it with something more nutritious that could eventually help you to cut out snacking entirely.

“You could try some healthier habits, like having an apple and some herbal tea instead of a biscuit and some builder’s tea, or some dates. But hopefully, that urge will fall away if you start eating larger meals,” Carcamo says.