Kia Ākina

Working towards lifelong recovery from obesity

Eat Well – Be careful what we eat between meals

Once we’ve made the decision about how many meals to eat each day (which for the majority of us will be two to three) as well as determined the size and composition of the meals to ensure slow and steady weight-loss (which is easy to check through daily weighing), the challenge is to eat very little, if at all, between meals.

Easier said than done.

It is easy to convince ourselves that snacking on healthy food such as fruit and nuts, especially nuts, is an excellent way of dealing with food cravings between meals.

The trouble with snacking between meals is that by the time we’ve eaten an apple or two, maybe a nice juicy carrot as well, along with a couple of handfuls of raw nuts and perhaps a sneaky coffee and muffin, we’ve had another meal!

Food eaten between meals still counts  J but is the easiest to discount and pretend that eating hasn’t really occurred.

We’re all very prone to self-deception and the stronger the food addiction, the more the self-deception can become.

The best thing to consume between meals to calm down food cravings is water; water in any of its different forms – hot water, cold water, iced water, soda water, tea, coffee etc. Water can satisfy oral need and can be very comforting, especially warm or hot water. The volume of the water can also satisfy a feeling of emptiness. But the best thing about water is the complete lack of calories being taken on board. 

However, for some of us water only between meals is just too hard to commit to. Very small snacks, such as one piece of fruit and 30 almond nuts for the day, can be helpful in avoiding binge eating.

Many find making a new food rule of “no snacking between meals” makes it nice and clear, and therefore easier to stick to long term. The challenge is to have a predetermined plan about what to eat each day, including what to eat, if anything, between meals.

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