There are many debates in the diet world of what is healthy and what isn’t….calorie counting, macronutrients, keto, etc. One of these debated diet rules is around snacking. According to a “clean eating” diet, you should have 2-3 snacks a day; while in the Whole 30 diet, snacks are frowned upon. Many other diets have similar stances on both sides so which is correct?
I am no scientist nor nutritionist, but I am a data nerd so I’ve read up on a lot of the articles about the snacking debate.
One of the clean eating diet’s rules is to have 5-6 small meals per day where 2-3 of those may be snacks. The clean eating diet says that eating often prevents overeating and keeps blood sugar levels steady (article details here). That seems believable, and a good idea because you don’t want to overeat or have large fluctuations in your blood sugar. I tried the clean eating diet before and found that eating small snacks during the day helped me from overeating at meals because I wouldn’t be ravenous. During that diet though, I don’t think I lost any significant amount of weight, I was just eating healthier.
On the contrary, I’ve also done the Whole 30 diet where they recommend NOT having snacks. This diet says that if you eat all of the time, you won’t give your body the chance to burn the stored stuff – i.e. your fat (article details here). I can get on board with that because I read some of the articles around intermittent fasting where one of it’s main benefits is weight loss due to the body burning stored fat (article details here). When I did Whole 30 (well it was technically a Whole 19), I used intuitive eating so I didn’t always snack. This resulted in a 6 lb weight loss.
So which way is correct, should we snack or not?
Well, it probably depends on what your goal is and your lifestyle. I try and use intuitive eating but know that I will likely be hungry for a snack in the afternoon and potentially after dinner so I plan calories for those things. If I’m not hungry, I won’t eat them but more often than not, I do. I am a person who will eat everything in sight if I am really hungry so I try to avoid that as much as possible.
If your goal is fat loss, I think not eating snacks could be the most effective way to get there as long as you don’t overeat when you are hungry. Letting your body have a “break” in the day from eating can help burn off more fat potentially, which is good if you are looking to lose weight.
If you are a snacker and looking for snack inspiration, here are some of my favorites:
I will say that if you are just starting your weight loss journey, I would suggest snacking. It can help to deter overeating tendencies for meals to keep portions in check. When I first started dieting, I always ate snacks and found that to be effective for my weight loss goals.
- string cheese
- nuts including almonds and pistachios (salt & pepper pistachios from Wonderful are life changing and you can get a 3lb bag at Costco, just sayin’)
- fruit – usually apples since they are a safe bet most times of year. I will expand to oranges during winter and watermelon in the summer though.
- mini larabars
- yogurt – I usually go for the Fage brand 2%. I will eat the fruit in the cup ones even though I know there like 20 grams of sugar in it but it’s so convenient that I overlook that
- popcorn – I am a HUGE fan of Boom Chicka Pop but I’m almost too big of a fan where I have portion control issues so instead I’ve been making my own popcorn (I am still mastering this as I am pretty good at burning it).
So there you have it. That is what I usually grab in the afternoon or evenings when I am hungry. I find those snacks fill me up enough and are satisfying enough for me so that I don’t go get a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, dill pickle potato chips or Cheezits (some of my favorite snacks when I weighed 90 lbs more).
Do you like to snack? What are your favorite healthy snacks?
