Did you know there is a difference between snacking and having a snack?
I know what you’re thinking– WHAT JAMIE? SNACKS ARE SNACKS…
But they’re not, babe!
Our old habits sometimes like to smack us in the face. I don’t know about you, but I used to always have a snack around. Whether I was happy, mad, sad, bored… I would take a bite here, a few cookies there, some chips before dinner… you know how it is ?
That is grazing aka snacking. That is constantly eating throughout the day. We’ve all done it (and some of us may be doing it now).
Now, I LOVE snacks. I have multiple a day. I am a firm believer that when you are hungry you should eat something!
We didn’t have surgery to continue to ignore our hunger cues like we were taught at a young age when we were all on diets.
What’s the difference?
Having a snack: When you have a snack, that means you are mindfully and intentionally eating something because you are hungry. You have awareness and are fueling your body with a balanced snack to get you through the day.
What do I mean by balanced? A mix of protein, fats and carbs– aka The Bariatric Breakthrough® Method I teach you inside of my programs!
Snacking/grazing: Mindlessly having small bites of things over a longer duration of time. Often feels impulsive or leaves you feeling unsatisfied and guilty. Often these are handfuls of things like pretzels, popcorn, etc., and do not have a balance of protein, fats and carbs.
When we “snack” or “graze” we usually end up eating a lot more than we would have than if we just had another meal or balanced snack. All those “little” bites add up.
The mindset and intentions behind your choices matter!
Examples of balanced bariatric snacks:
*Please follow your post-op guidelines and only eat the options you are capable of eating
- Apples & peanut butter
- Cottage cheese & crackers
- Yogurt & berries
- Pepperoni & cheese
- Veggies & Greek yogurt dip
- Peppers & Laughing cow cheese
- Deli meat & cheese lettuce wraps
- Edamame & fruit
- Protein smoothie
- Protein mug cake w/ banana
- Quest chips w/ cheese
- Protein bar & fruit
- Popcorn & string cheese
- Mozzarella, tomato, cucumber & avocado
- Tuna salad & cucumber
Wrapping it all up
I am here to remind you, you are human and humans get hungry. It’s not a bad thing to have an intentional snack, babe! In fact, it’s encouraged the further out you are from surgery.
No one is perfect. Focus on being mindful and realistic when it comes to having a snack! If you struggle with snacking and mindlessly eating, I promise it is possible to overcome this!
So if you’re ready to stop self-sabotaging with grazing all day and you’re ready to start to work on kicking those old habits to the curb I would love to invite you to enroll in my new mini-course, TACKLING SNACKING BARIATRIC MINI COURSE for only $27!
