As a kid, you were taught not to “ruin” your dinner ― or waistline ― with between-meal snacks, but holding out for dinner isn’t going to earn you a gold star. In fact, if you are trying to lose weight, or just take care of your wellbeing, snacking is actually an ingenious move. If you don’t believe me, just look at what the wellness experts say.
‘Research suggests that, like a charge for a battery, eating about three meals a day with two or three snacks in between can make your metabolism more efficient,’ says Stephen Gullo, a psychologist and a weight-control specialist in New York City. ‘Snacking can help your body burn a few calories.’ Keri Glassman, a registered dietician and the author of The Snack Factor Diet, explains, ‘A little food is the fuel you throw into the fire to keep it burning strong. For some people that means stoking it every 2½ hours; for others, it’s every 3½ hours.’
However, snacking doesn’t just keep you going between meals; it helps you eat less at mealtimes. According to Sara Ryba, a registered dietician in New York, ‘You’re much better off having two snacks between the hours of two and seven, then having a light dinner. If you wait until you’re so ravenous that you would eat the kitchen table, you’ll wind up eating way more calories when you do finally sit down for supper.’ She adds that your ideal snack should be a 100- to 200-calorie balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. ‘Together they stabilize blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied,’ Ryba says. ‘If a snack is high in refined carbs or sugar, your blood sugar will jump, then crash, leaving you feeling tired and even more hungry.’
Moreover, snacking ensures that you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to lose weight and stay healthy. Marisa Moore, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, notes, ‘Snacking is a great way to fit in all the nutrients that your body requires each day.’ Gullo adds that getting your nutritional needs met puts you in a good mood. ‘When blood sugar levels get too low, you can become irritable and have trouble concentrating,’ he says. ‘So for mood control and cognitive and metabolic efficiency, healthy snacking between meals helps.’
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