Balance Hunger and Fullness with Snacks (& Save Willpower for Something Else)

Step 3 of the Foundational Healthy Eating Posts Trilogy

Image by Terri Cnudde from Pixabay

Prefer to listen? I’ve read the post for you. Find a little prayer over you at the end.

Anyone who has gone anywhere with me knows I do not leave the house without snacks along for the ride.

I am the one digging in my purse to appease not just my rumbling tummy but coming to the rescue of another body yelling for more nourishment.

I am also a firm believer that:

If we are physically hungry, we need to listen to our bodies and eat.

No matter what time it is.

Listening and responding to our body cues is (or will be) restful eating.

Trying to suppress appetite in the moment, is not.

Let’s talk about that.

Do we need snacks? Should we have snacks? Is it giving in? Is it too late in the day? How much? And why would we even want to eat more often?

Here’s what we know so far, and where we are going, so we can discover the answers that are customized just for you.

In Step 1, we learned the foundational starting point of healthy eating: 3 meals a day is age-old advice that still stands. And we established that eating breakfast within 1-2 hours of rising sets the rhythm of eating for the day.

In Step 2, we recognized that creating balanced meals with 3-4 food groups will provide fiber, protein, and healthy fats that keep us satisfied longer. And we learned to add on a missing food group to what we are already eating rather than take away foods.

In Step 3, we will discover that eating every 3-4 hours provides the necessary structure to become in tune with our body’s food needs.

Working with our unique design and minimizing the willpower required.

Let’s dig in.

Where we want to land:

EAT A MEAL OR SNACK EVERY 3-4 HOURS ACCORDING TO PHYSICAL HUNGER

To shout out to the elephant in the room, it’s true. I do not promote intermittent fasting. The reason why, deserves its own post.

WHY eat every 3-4 hours?

• It keeps portions closer to what we need,

• Allows us to get to know our body’s hunger and fullness levels,

• Keeps blood glucose (sugar) levels from soaring or crashing,

• Provides a constant supply of energy throughout the day, and

• Boosts metabolism

Without three balanced meals a day most of the time, the following strategies may frustrate you. I invite you to pause and start with Step 1 and Step 2 of my foundational posts for eating well.

So snacks are okay?

Yes.

How do we know WHEN and HOW MUCH of a snack to eat?

Consider these questions to reveal some insight that is customized for you. You have heard me say it. . .

Awareness (of how we are currently eating) always precedes (lasting) change.

1. What is the time lapse between your 3 main meals during the day?

   1. More than likely there is a longer duration between two meals or between dinner and bedtime.

   2. If grazing blurs eating so that there are not 3 defined points, do a reset with Step 1 (and Step 2 if you need to) and then come back to here.

2. Focus on the eating that occurs after a larger than 4-hour gap of not eating.

3. What is your hunger level (i.e. satiety)?

   1. If you are drinking energy between meals, this may curb hunger and make this exercise less accurate.

4. Find this hunger or satiety level on the following Satiety Scale.

Satiety Scale

Many versions of this type of hunger scale exist. This is my take on it.

Usually, if we come to a meal:

Ravenous, we leave stuffed

Really hungry, we leave full

*Slightly hungry, we leave satisfied*

*The last point* is the sweet spot and our goal when entering and finishing meals.

Ready to eat but not anxiously so. Leaving the table content and satisfied.

But if you identify that you are ravenous or really hungry after this gap, a planned snack will help you.

A proactive snack, so-to-speak!

PROACTIVE SNACKS:

o Take the edge off and bring us to a meal with anticipation rather than an urgency to eat

o Bridge the gap to naturally moderate portions and

o Potentially slow our eating pace.

The biological drive to overeat diminishes.

And we save our limited supply of willpower* for something more worthwhile.

This is more restful eating.

And this is why I have a backup snack in my purse. Otherwise, when running late, the visual is a hangry Jane or me nibbling right up to taking a seat at the dinner table.

To recap:

• We have three balanced meals most of the time.

• We have identified the times of day when we need a snack to manage our appetite for the next meal.

Now, let’s plan for it. Because good intentions get lost in the moment when we are already hungry.

1-2 FOOD GROUPS RULE OF THUMB

Super practical tip of WHAT to eat for a snack:

If it is 2 or more hours before the next meal, plan 2 food groups to last you.

Example: Greek yogurt and berries

If it is 1 or less hours before your next meal, stick to 1 food group.

Example: a banana

Tweak the amount by listening to the change in your hunger level at the next meal.

No longer interested in dinner? The snack was too big. Have less next time.

More than slightly hungry at the next meal? A little heartier snack beforehand is in order.

Experiment until a routine is established. You will begin to gauge how much you need according to your hunger level or determine you don’t need one at all.

5. What is your satiety level when you finish the meal? And what is it 20 minutes later? Find this on the scale as well.

It takes about 20 minutes for our body to register how full we are so noting both is helpful.

If you found you were Full or Stuffed at either of these times, the planned snack may be all you need to land at the sweet spot bookend of being comfortably satisfied.

If not, experiment with finishing before you normally would at mealtime until you find yourself satisfied at the 20-minute mark after eating. This can take time to learn to gauge but you will get there and we are not aiming for perfect. Keep your mind set on the long game. Take notice of hunger and fullness and tweak as you go.

Bringing it home:

Intentional snacks with a customized time and amount will allow:

- Blood glucose to moderate (think foothills instead of mountains)

- A constant supply of energy to nourish our minds and bodies

- Keep our metabolism awake to its best performance

Yay! That’s the Trilogy of Foundational Healthy Eating Posts.

⭐️ We now have permitted ourselves to eat regularly, resulting in a natural rhythm of hunger and nourishment.

⭐️ We have established an eating routine that requires much less willpower.

⭐️ We can listen and respond to when and how much our body is telling us to eat.

⭐️ And we discover that we can trust our body to know how much it needs. Trusting in our unique design.

Trusting in its Designer.

And as a result, we find the rest and restoration our bodies and souls crave.

What snack do you keep handy to get you to the next meal?

Or what is your go-to snack to stuff in your purse to carry you over?

Let’s share practical ideas in the Contented Table Community Chat. I’ll be sharing mine. Or comment here. You can bless another without hardly a thought.

Pull up a chair. Bring a friend. There’s always room for one more.

Jane