Snacking can be part of a healthy eating plan that leads to weight loss, but snacks should be healthy and only consumed in the afternoon. Snacking between breakfast and lunch often decreases the amount of weight lost by women who are eating healthier to lose weight.
A report published in an American dietetic journal from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that women who are dieting lose weight slower if they have a snack after breakfast but before lunch than if they do not eat between these meals. A team of researchers including Anne McTiernan, M.D. Ph.D. carried out a year-long study on snacking and weight loss.
They found that dieters who consumed a breakfast of healthy foods and did not eat a mid-morning snack lost over ten percent of the weight of their bodies on average, while women who snacked between breakfast and lunch lost an average of seven percent of their body weight. A woman was counted as eating a snack if she ate or drank anything between meals.
McTiernan said that she believes the difference in weight lost may be due to the short amount of time between when dieters ate breakfast and when they ate lunch. She feels that snacking during this time is likely due to recreational eating or habit instead of actual hunger. She said that snacking is important, but only if the dieter is truly hungry. Individuals should snack if the time between their meals is more than five hours. This will help the dieter make healthy choices during their meals and not eat something just because it is quick.
While snacking can be part of a diet plan, unhealthy snacks can ruin a healthy eating plan and sabotage weight loss. The researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center also found that females who ate at two or more snacks per day usually eat more fiber than women who eat less snacks and women who eat an afternoon snack tend to eat more vegetables and fruit than those who don’t snack in the afternoon.
McTiernan noted that most people equate a diet or weight-loss program with feeling hungry. She says that the results of their study show that snacking can actually benefit people who are trying to lose weight, if it is done correctly. Snacks should be healthy and low in calories. They should only be consumed when the next meal won’t be eaten for a couple of hours.
