Make it easy on yourself, forgo the chips next time you’re looking for a quick snack, and put a cup of tea in your hands!
Health and wellness connoisseur, Leena Abed, is an innovative nutritionist with a passion for helping her clients form lifelong healthy habits. She tends to stray away from fad diets and slashing calories while encouraging the consumption of nutrient-dense foods and indulging in moderation. She focuses on helping people reach a “practical balance”, allowing her clients to be satiated, content, and on-track to reaching their goals. A topic she regularly discusses on her Instagram page is mindlessly eating and the helpful techniques she suggests to combat the very common habit. Check out Leena’s tips for knocking out mindless snacking:
- Lean on “Snackable Veggies”
Snackable vegetables require little to no preparation and can be easily popped out of the fridge and into your mouth! My favorites are grape tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, mini sweet peppers, and jicama sticks. I recommend taking these out of the fridge first thing in the morning while you’re preparing your coffee or breakfast and leaving them at your desk or on the kitchen counter throughout the day so when it’s time for mindless snacking, you’re already prepared with water and fiber-filled option!
- Sips Not Chips™
How many times have you started eating chips and before you know it, only the crumbs are left?! Make it easy on yourself, forgo the chips next time you’re looking for a quick snack, and put a cup of tea in your hands! I also love low sugar hot cocoas and turmeric milk as a comforting way to stay focused and keep your hands and mouth occupied.
- Meal Hungry or Snack Hungry?
Sometimes you want to mindless snack because it’s easy and it’s conveniently distracting from boring work tasks. But sometimes we’re actually hungry. In those cases, it’s important to note the difference between being “meal hungry” and “snack hungry.” If you’re “meal hungry” then a small snack won’t do the trick and you’ll find yourself continuously searching for quick sources of sugar to satisfy your energy needs. Instead, check-in with yourself. Ask if you’re hungry enough to sit down for a meal and if you are, eat! Life can get busy so I advise my clients to set alarms in their phones to remind them to check-in anytime between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to see if maybe it’s time for lunch and not snacks.
You can find more nutrition tips on Leena’s blog!