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The Deal With Snacking

February 10, 2011

Hey, folks, let’s talk about snacking.

First, what is snacking?  My definition of snacking is eating that is spur of the moment, kind of half-haphazard eating.  When a person snacks, they often do it just because the food they snack on is pleasant to their taste buds…or it’s a comfort food that makes them “feel” good while they’re eating it….or it just happens that the snack is on the counter or table as they pass by, and they eat a little of it.

This is eating that, as a person striving for a higher level of fitness, you must avoid.  Why?  Because it can COMPLETELY blow your efforts toward lower body fat out of the water!

Think about this: a handful or two of candy-coated roasted peanuts might contain 100 calories.  What if a person ate an extra 100 calorie snack on a daily basis — a handful of chocolate covered pretzels here; a few potato chips there, etc?  Well, if those 100 calories are extra calories, then that would be 700 calories per week.  There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat.  At 700 calories extra per week, that’s a potential 1 lb. gain every 5 weeks, or around 10.5 lbs in a year!

Some people wonder if just giving in ONCE will hurt them.  The answer is, no it won’t hurt your diet much at all; but yes, it will hurt your chances of success in your diet.  Why?  Because when you give in ONCE, you’ve opened the door, subconsciously, for additional give-ins.  It then becomes MUCH more likely that you’ll give in again…and again…and again…and next thing you know, the whole diet is shot.

Be strong!  Remember, when it comes to your eating during our adventure together, EVERYTHING counts!  Every morsel of food that goes into your mouth and down your esophagus either helps you or hurts you.  ALL of it counts.  So, let’s make sure that we eat food that HELPS our efforts!  Make ALL of your eating purposeful eating.  This means all of the food you consume in a day should come from the 5 or 6 small meals you eat each day.  NO FOOD SHOULD BE EATEN OUTSIDE OF THOSE MEALS during the six days per week that you are in a calorie deficit.   NONE.  Pay attention to every gram of edible substance that enters your mouth and goes into your digestive system.  Make EVERYTHING COUNT toward the fitness goal you want to reach!

Have a great day, and chat with you soon!

Darryl

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