Six common beliefs addressed, Part 258 - Snacking Edition

1. There is a lot of debate about snacking and most people do not even know what it is. What is snacking and how can I enjoy snack foods without it?

It is hard to believe how many misconceptions there are about snacking but this is typical with any aspect of diet. Most diets cannot define many of their tenets. Diets in general are a hot mess.

But this blog is different. I try to refrain from vague definitions and concessions that only confuse people further. Snacking, like fasting, has been one of those things that is always being redefined or not defined at all. Some people snack during their fast, so go figure. So let's be clear on what is meant by snacking on this blog:

• Snacking is eating out of mealtimes.

That is all. Simple and to the point. Anytime you have any food out of your mealtimes, it's snacking. Snacking is obesogenic. It doesn't matter what the snack consists of or its size. You should never eat out of meal times because it causes obesogenic eating habits.

Inconsistencies in meal times:

• Disrupt circadian rhythms which causes hunger when there shouldn't be.
• Fasts that last too long, extending your time in hypoglycemia.
• Lack of hunger when there should be, which only contributes to even longer fasting times and hunger later.

Unpredictable eating patterns are very common and most people do not think about them as being something negative but they set the stage for obesogenic behaviors such as eating the wrong foods, eating too much at once or eating too little. All of these disrupt metabolic homeostasis through improper blood glucose regulation. So no, snacking doesn't harm you because it adds calories to your day. It harms you through a chronic disruption of hormonal circadian rhythms.

You do not want to feel hungry when you shouldn't and not hungry when you should. The way to prevent this discomfort, which can ultimately affect how you eat, is by having predictable and consistent meal times. Decide a mealtime schedule that's convenient for you and fits with your daily activities. Choose between two or three meals - Breakfast and lunch or breakfast, lunch and dinner. You choose which of these you would like to be your largest meal, it doesn't matter which. Usually it's dinner but for me, for example, it's lunch.

There are many low carb "snack" foods such as olives, cheese, nuts, cold cuts, chocolate, berries and nut butters which you can incorporate into one of your meals or choose them for your smallest meal. For example you can have a charcuterie plate for lunch. This allows you to keep your favorite snack foods without actually snacking.