The Healthy Living Diaries - Snacking.

Snacking is my weakness. There is something inside me that really loves snacking and once I start I can't stop. It's something I need to work on! It's my main downfall when it comes to eating healthy as mostly I snack on chocolate, and once I start eating chocolate I can't stop, which then leads to guilt! So here are some helpful ideas on snacking happily and healthy.

1. Drink plenty of water/tea. 

Most of the time I snack because I'm actually thirsty - weird right? But I think most people do this. So make sure you're drinking plenty throughout the day, and it should help stop those pesky snack cravings. Plus I find having a cup of tea instead of a snack really useful, I really like gingerbread green tea and peppermint and liquorice tea.

2. Find a distraction.

Another main reason for my snacking is boredom. If I don't have anything else better to do I take a trip to the kitchen, open all the cupboards, look in the fridge, look in the cupboards again and then find the most unhealthy food to eat. So instead try and find something else to do, like read a book. I like to set myself a target of completing a section of uni work, and if I still fancy a snack an hour into it I'll try and find something a little healthier to eat. Chewing gum also works well as a great distraction! 

3.  Portion your food.

I am the worst at going to get a snack and then taking everything with me. I'll take the whole tub of chocolates and the family size packet of crisps and sit there eating without paying much attention. Next thing I know it's all gone and then I get moaned at for eating all the food (woops)! So what I've been finding useful is having a small plate of food and then putting everything away again in cupboards. This way I have less temptation to get back up for extras, but lets be honest this mainly works because I'm far too lazy to get back up again once I'm sitting down!

4. Healthy snacks.

Eugh, healthy snacks? Hear me out on this one before you lose all hope with this post! Personally I do love a healthy snack, they might be more effort to make, but once you find foods you like, this is probably the most easy way to improve snacking. I'm going to do another post on healthy snack ideas, but for now I do love medjool dates, bananas and peanut butter, smoothies and dark chocolate (okay, not the healthiest, but better than milk chocolate and it helps stop those cravings!). 

I hope these tips help you as much as they've been helping me! I know they are really simple and obvious but once you've put them into place they work! Also a little disclaimer, this post isn't saying you shouldn't snack, but saying that you should snack for the correct reasons. And if you really do fancy that bag of crisps or chocolate bar go for it! You shouldn't ever feel guilty for eating! 

Do you have any helpful snacking ideas?