Are all of your good intentions ruined by SNACKING? Do you work hard to eat sensibly and exercise, but then open the kitchen cupboard and eat everything that isn’t nailed down? Are you constantly hungry and never satisfied? Is temptation thrust in your way wherever you go? Well you are not alone; there is no escaping the culture of snacking:

At work, someone buys biscuits, or casually asks if you want anything from the deli mid-morning; you are flagging and a coffee will perk you up, and you get a doughnut for only a little extra- it seems silly to miss a bargain. During lunch you can nip to the book shop (a walk will do you good), inside is a café offering croissants and hot chocolate; the perfect place to read your new book. At the end of the working day you go home via the supermarket, studiously avoiding the crisp aisle, not even looking down the avenue packed with chocolate and biscuits. You are waiting to pay, feeling tired and hungry. Your resolve is weakening and you are facing a long journey home through heavy traffic. At the till is a selection of snacks; how thoughtful. At home you are feeling guilty; better do some exercise. Off for a swim and feeling much better. As you emerge happy and hungry, you fight your way past a barrage of crisp machines. Oh well, you just swam for an hour, surely you deserve a treat? Returning home you hire a film, and as you pay, behind the pop-corn display the glint of the ice-cream chiller catches your eye……

Ok, this may be and exaggeration, but wherever we turn we are presented with a choice of snacks. Beware! Snacking can be a serious barrier to you achieving a happy weight, and feeling comfortable and confident in your clothes. It can be the hidden reason for serious weight gain over time; often the reason why people feel that their weight is beyond their control, they feel that they only eat small meals. Snacking can become habitual; a reward after a difficult day, numbing feelings of boredom, unhappiness, or simply a reaction to turning on the TV.

So why is it so difficult to say no? Firstly we are designed to snack (or browse) throughout the day, and our body thrives on small regular meals. (However, our hunter-gatherer ancestors were not hunting and gathering snack-pack Pringles, giant pretzels and Mars bars). Secondly, we are bombarded by choice; a huge industry has grown up around offering endless products; all your favorite things available in snack-size, and placed to snare you as you pay for something. We are encouraged to see different activities as an opportunity to ‘treat’ ourselves; a visit to the park suggests ice-cream, a jaunt to the gym deserves an energy bar, a shopping expedition demands coffee and cake. Thirdly, our traditional food habits and attitudes have changed; 3 square meals around the table have disappeared, hectic schedules favour faster, easier options. Not so long ago it would be considered bad manners to eat standing up or walking around in public places, but now half the people you pass will be scoffing something. Constant snacking has become normal behaviour, one that could be nudging you towards steady weight-gain and future ill-health.

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