subject: How To Avoid Snacking Habitually [print this page] Generally, knowing how to avoid snacking is a result of prioritizing one's day correctly. By establishing the correct priorities and sticking to them, the habit of snacking should go away. Here is a great list of ways to avoid snacking or at least the pitfalls of snacking:
1) Plan out your day with such a tight schedule that snacking is too inconvenient for you. This is a critical part of your "how to avoid snacking" strategy and may take some getting used to at first but after a while it will become a habit.
2) Exercise regularly and you will not want to snack, because snacking will undermine your problem. People who exercise are a) allowed to snack more, because the calories are needed and b) less likely to snack, because they do not want to work against the progress they made from exercising.
3) Keep the snack food away. We usually snack when food is nearby - so one obvious answer is to fill your day with activities that do not involve food. Or, at least keep snacks further away. For example, take care of bills in the living room instead of the kitchen.
4) Only purchase foods that require preparation. It's easy to snack on chocolate, because you do not need to make it yourself! Buy foods that require more effort to make, and you will be less likely to snack.
5) Do not fit snack time into your schedule. Make sure that, each day, you are too busy to snack. Stay constantly on the go, perhaps packing lunch. This will ensure that when you finally do eat, you will be doing so at the proper time.
6) Eat full meals less often, and add a bit more healthy food to your "snack" time. Doctors suggest eating 4-6 times a day, with each meal spread a couple hours apart. This is often caused grazing and is thought to keep your energy levels more in balance. You will have a higher energy level this way and be healthier overall.
