We all snack every now and then.
It’s common to snack in between meals to stave off hunger throughout the day. It is only when snacking replaces main meals that it becomes an issue with our eating habits.
We’ve devised this list of 8 types of snackers to better help you understand the wide variety of snacking habits there are and get a sense of where you fall into the mix.
What type of snacking habits do you have?
Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
Healthy Snacker
Healthy snackers usually nibble on fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, apple chips, sesame sticks or wholesome snack brands that cater to a nutritious lifestyle (Think: Hippeas). While they want to rid their feelings of hunger, they are more likely to choose healthy snacks to achieve this goal.
Healthy snackers gravitate towards snacks which are natural or organic and have a low salt and sugar content.
Because foods in this category are usually good for you, we consider them to be planned snackers; By budgeting their wallet for healthy snacks, healthy snackers plan well in advance to eat healthy when it counts most; maintaining a lifestyle that carries over into their overall health.
Impulsive Snacker
An impulsive snacker often purchases snacks without thought.
Perhaps you lost track of time and were forced to buy a snack for work or school.
You made the decision in a split second without thinking about the calories, the amount of sugar in it or anything else you might be eating.
The second type of impulsive snacker might come upon a delicious-looking pastry in the window of a bakery and decide they need to get it now.
Everyone has cravings every once in a while, and it’s best to indulge them when you get them, rather than ignore them. But if you always give in to them, especially cravings for unhealthy foods, and have them a few times a week or month, you might be an impulse snacker.
Planned Snacker
Whether you practice a healthy diet or not, planned snacking has more than a few benefits.
For one, planned snackers stick will only eat a number of snacks. They have a sense of how much they need to eat in order to feel full.
Provided you are also eating healthy meals (whatever is suitable for you personally), planned dieting will allow you to forego the negative effects of unhealthy snacking, like weight gain.
Replacing Main Meals with Snacks
Of course, this is a major no-no.
While it can be hard to find the time to eat a complete meal for every time of day, snacks should not be used to replace a meal. Even healthy snacks.
Meals have a host of daily vitamins and minerals that, taken together, you can’t get from anywhere else. This why it’s important to eat your meals during regularly spaced intervals throughout the day.
This will allow you to maintain a healthy weight.
Night Snacker
Night Looters get insane cravings for snacks during the wee hours of the night.
During this time, it can be easy to nibble on anything and everything in sight before going to bed.
It can be good to create an eating schedule as it will help you to be a mindful eater.
Check out these Healthy Late Night Snacks for healthier late night options.
Stressed Snacker
One of the things that overeating can be caused by is stress.
You might be a stressed snacker if you are overwhelmed by projects at work or school, for instance, and always find yourself munching regardless of the hour.
This is especially if you find yourself ignoring portion sizes, eating too fast or eating too quickly.
Break Time Snacker
When lunchtime rolls around, it can be tempting not to go out in search of the perfect snack. Even if you already have one!
If you find yourself buying extra foods, even when you’ve packed a snack or a full meal, you might be a break time binger.
It can be worthwhile to make note of all of times you buy foods while you’re on break, and make any necessary changes if you are not buying healthy food.
Snacking is important as it provides the body with the necessary energy it needs until our main meal. It also provides essential minerals, vitamins and nutrients to the body. However, there are several factors to consider when snacking, such as;
- Try preparing your own snacks while also enjoying the office snacks on hand.
- Be mindful of your weight as you’re snacking. This applies to the healthy snacks, as well as your traditional ones.
- Always drink a few cups of water as you snack. Sometimes what we think is hunger is actually thirst in disguise.
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