Is Snacking Good Or Bad?

I have good memories of getting popcorn, crackers or pop-tarts and relaxing in front of the TV for late night snacking.

Most of us can imagine a time in our lives when we can recall such experiences but is snacking good or bad? Is there healthy snacking for weight loss? What about healthy snacking at work?

In this article, we’ll look through why snacking is labeled as “good” or “bad”, the habit of snacking and then check out healthy snacking ideas.

Is Snacking Good Or Bad?

It’s a good question considering all the media attention it’s got and advice from health advocates. Is snacking good or bad is hard to answer because it really depends on each person and what they’re snacking on.

If someone is calculating in their calories and moderately snacking on dark chocolate then it may be okay if they’re eating 90% healthy throughout the rest of the day.

However, if someone’s not tracking their calories, eating healthy the other portion of the day and are snacking on GMO chips, fried foods, processed foods or other unhealthy choices then that’s probably not the best.

So it really depends on what kind of snacking is going on and below I’ll explain more on why of each.

The Habit of Snacking

There’s a good book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg that goes into significant detail of habits. He explains the process of a habit is typically a 3 step loop.

Cue – a trigger that tells the brain to activate the habit
Routine – physical, mental or emotional
Reward

An example is turning on the TV late at night (cue), triggering you to go to the pantry to grab a snack (routine) and then having good sensations eating the snack (reward).

Habits aren’t all bad though because they help us use less of our limited mental capacity if a task could be automated. However, we have be the questioner behind the habit to determine if it’s still beneficial or not for us now.

One way to break the habit is to be cognizant of it and then to swap in something better instead. For example, if you turn on the TV at night instead of snacking swap in some other activity like drawing, stretching/restorative yoga, playing fetch with your dog or other small hobby you can do from the couch.

When I did no alcohol for 7 months I realized I had deeply ingrained habits to break when it came to having a few ‘night caps’ before bed. When I’d turn on the TV at night, instead of grabbing a drink I would play Nintendo Switch. I knew that if my brain was completely distracted with TV and a hand-held video game I wouldn’t be able to think about grabbing a drink. And it worked! I went for 7 months without alcohol but only needed the game/TV distraction for about the first month.

Why Snacking Is “Bad”

Snacking is mostly labeled as bad because people tend to snack on unhealthy foods that are processed, fatty or sugary. Those foods do little to help a person feel full or provide micronutrients. They’re typically higher in calories than healthier food and might cause weight gain over time.

Those foods do have a much higher reward, in terms of brain spiking satisfaction, than healthier foods which is why they’re incredibly popular to snack on. Companies create the processed food to be addictive to sell more of it. So it’s no surprise that people are snacking on food late at night.

Why Snacking Is “Good”

Snacking can also be good, if done correctly, because it can keep you full and satisfied. Let’s look now at snacking for weight loss and then into healthy snacking ideas.

Snacking For Weight Loss

If you enjoy snacking and are trying to lose weight, the most important piece of information for you to remember is going to be about the power of habit covered earlier. Whatever foods or activities you swap in or exclude, keep in mind to do it after your common cue that initiates the snacking.

To start, begin small by swapping in only some of the bad snack with some of the good snack. Start with a half and half and slowly move to just doing a full healthy snack. For example, if you snack on chips at night, add in some lean protein and do half the chips you normally snack on. Improve the ratio from there.

Snacking is also specific to what kind of diet someone’s on. Are they doing intermittent fasting? Are they keto? Vegan? Paleo?

Taking just a basic diet of what’s recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, you can snack for weight loss by finding foods low in fat and low in sugar. Both of those do little to keep you full and can stack up the calories quickly.

What you want to look for instead is something that will keep you full and satisfied such as a high fibrous snack or one with protein.

Snacking for weight loss:

Low in fat, low in sugar
Good fiber/protein

3 Healthy Snacking Ideas

Now that we’ve covered the habit of snacking and what to do about it as well as general ideas for healthy snacking, let’s now look into specific healthy snacking ideas.

1. Whole and Natural Vegetables/Food (non-processed)

No doubt the healthiest snacks you can get are going to be whole and natural vegetables like celery, carrots, broccoli and other low calorie greens created by mother nature.

However, I’m sure you already know that so here’s a specific snack I like to do to get me full and satisfied:

Chicken + potato

That’s it! Literally heating up some pre-cooked chicken with a pre-cooked potato. Having those ready in the fridge is one of my favorite healthy snacks. I be sure to get a SMALL plate and put half a chicken breast with half a russet potato, heat it up and enjoy. That fills me up quickly, as long as I’m not ravenously hungry (remember this is a snack), and provides me with good micronutrients, amino acids and is low in fat/sugar.

2. Alyssa’s Cookies

Alyssa’s Cookies are my favorite snack right now and something I have almost daily. They struck a deal with Mark Cuban and he’s a huge advocate for them.

These cookies are delicious, gluten free, low fat, low sugar and high fiber with a some protein. The perfect combination for anyone health conscious who wants a healthy snacking idea.

They have 3 main flavors, oatmeal cookie, chocolate oatmeal and vegan.

3. Kay’s Naturals Protein Chips, Crispy Parmesan

This is another favorite of mine and one that’s low in fat/sugar with good fiber and protein. It’s delicious, gluten free and Kay’s Naturals has multiple other options like the Parmesan that are low fat/sugar with good fiber and protein. They have a nice cheesy and crunchy texture that come in snack sized packs.

The only drawback, that I’m not a total fan of, is that soy protein is used. I try to keep soy limited because of potential drawbacks on digestion and hormones. Egg white protein or other plant protein is typically what I target when finding protein-filled snacks. That’s just my preference, some people are fine with soy.

Summary

So, is snacking good or bad? If it’s done in moderation with healthy snacks it’s fine, but if snacking is done too much with processed fatty food then it’s probably not the best.

Habit of snacking

Cue
Routine
Reward

Be sure to swap out a better option when you notice you’ve been triggered to grab a snack. You can start by doing half healthy and half less healthy.

Snacking for weight loss:

Find low fat/low sugar with good fiber and protein.

Healthy Snacking Ideas:

Whole and natural food
Alyssa’s Cookies
Kay’s Natural Parmesan Chips

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