Stifle the Snacking

At the end of the day, I think we all have one life goal that just about everyone can agree on; we all want to live as healthy of a lifestyle as possible, and we are all always striving to make ourselves healthier.  One major roadblock for many people (myself especially) is a constant desire to overeat. I mean, come on, we have entire television shows, channels and networks devoted to nothing but food: we're a food crazed culture and it’s easy to crave and become obsessed.  If you're like me and spend your days fighting the good fight against incessant eating, here are a couple tips that I've found to keep us both moving along.

Now, these aren't tips to help you lose weight or keep you from eating, all together: these tips are to help you eat smarter so that you stay full and won't be looking to pick throughout the day.

1.Avoid sugar wherever you can. Not because sugar isn't necessarily great for you health wise, but because it causes your blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Once you start to crash from a sugar high your body goes back into “hungry” mode. It thinks that your sugars are dropping too fast and is trying to replace them (even if they're only dropping from an unusually high amount.)

2.Fill yourself up on vegetable with and in-between meals. Vegetables are nutrition and fiber dense. When you have your fill of a rainbow of vegetables your body stays fuller for longer for those two reasons: they take longer to digest, due to the fiber, so you stay full longer, and your body doesn't crave food because it’s loaded with the nutrients that you took in.

3.When you’re eating focus on only that. Eating isn't just about filling your system; it is an activity that needs to be experienced to reach a satisfied state. When you’re reading, emailing, or working you're removing most of your senses from the task. You really don’t experience your meal so your body will send out signals that it’s not satisfied. Slow down and enjoy!

4.Make sure to get as much sleep as is healthy for you. When you’re tired and feeling run down your body craves energy in the form of food. When you get enough rest your body stops mixing up the signals that cause you to want those extra snacks.

5.Lastly, drink lots and lots of water! I know this one has been hammered in, but I’m guilty of ignoring or forgetting it, too! When you're thirsty it’s usually too late, you're already on your way to dehydrated. When you’re hungry, though, that’s often a mixed signal that you should really be taking in more water. Not only will if clear up those mixed signals, water also tends to help ward off and keep random cravings at bay. The next time you’re having random cravings in the middle of the day, grab a glass of cold water and see if that doesn't help elevate the situation!