Healthy Snacking for Couch Potatoes

Is your television adding to your waistline? Well this is nothing to get surprised about. Television and snacking go hand in hand. The worst part about snacking while watching television is that we don’t even realize how much we eat as we sit glued to the screen. In fact studies have actually shown that people tend to overeat while watching television because most of the times they are snacking on stuff like potato chips straight from the bag. If you don’t watch what you are snacking on, you are seriously jeopardizing your weight loss goals.

Snack Smart as You Watch TV

Here are some great tips to help you snack smart while watching television.

ØHave a small meal before you settle down on the couch. This will help you feel fuller, so you snack less as you catch up on the latest episode of Vampire Diaries.

ØInstead of eating straight out of the super-sized pack of chips, divide your snack into a single serving before you hit the couch with the remote. This will help check overeating mindlessly as you watch television. You could also consider snacking out of a serving bowl instead of gorging down the whole pack.

ØMake sure your television is not placed near your refrigerator or kitchen as you might be tempted to fetch more snacks during the commercial breaks. Also, try losing your Tivo if you have one. The ability to pause television drastically increases our snacking potential.

ØKeep a water bottle at hand and keep sipping. Drinking water will help you feel fuller and curb your appetite, so you snack less.

ØTry chewing sugar free gums. There are quite a few flavors of sugarless chewing gums available today. Pop one in as you sit down to watch television. This will not only help to keep your jaws occupied but also anything you snack on after you spit out the gum will not taste as good so you don’t snack much.

ØTry snacking on something which takes longer to chew or something which keeps you occupied such as eating apple slices or shelling pistachios.

Keep these tips in mind next time you hit the television to prevent mindless snacking and you will notice a significant reduction in your overall calorie intake.

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