My food cravings?!...Nacho Problem!

It’s True!!!

For over 25 years I’ve been on a drug...Snacks!

From a very young age (probably 11-12) I have snacked and thought absolutely nothing of it. I mean why would I, snacking is great. Having a packet (or 2) of crisps, cookies, cake, pasty, sausage roll, cheese or whatever is lurking at the back of the fridge between every meal is absolutely fine and won’t cause any detrimental effect to my long term health..........WRONG!!!!!

See, if you’re one of those kids or adults that looked at the last sentence and thought I’m not that bad! Just in case, monitor your eating for one day...you might just be shocked, because I was.

I would start the typical day having:

Breakfast: Cereal and a coffee plus a few biscuits (gotta have a biscuit right!?)

Mid Morning: I’ll find a small snack in the cupboard (Chocolate bar or a ‘healthy’ alternative like a belvita bar) and a glass or can of a fizzy drink (but it’s no added sugar or “diet” - so that’s ‘fine’)

Dinner/Lunch: Anything from a sandwich or baguette to a Greggs chicken bake, crisps and chocolate bar (a ‘healthy’ option obviously)

3 O’Clock-ish: Ohhh! Time for another coffee with cake and biscuits. Yummmm!!!

Tea-Time: Here we go!! Best meal of the day. Could be curry, pizza or take away all accompanied by chips and a big bottle of fizzy drink. Boom!

Supper/Evening: Chocolate or more crisps or cake or cheese or maybe all of them with more fizzy drink or alcohol.

My daily calorie intake WAS around 6000 to 7000 a day...for my size it should have been 3500.

More calories in than out means...’You gonna get fat, fatty!’

You might have gone through the day making conscious decisions about the food you’re eating (low calorie, low sugar, no added sugar ect) but chances are you’re consuming to many of these ‘healthy’ alternatives throughout the week for the ‘healthy’ snacks to play there part. I know I was!

So how do you undo 25 years of bad eating habits?...The truth is I’m still learning and adapting to this change, and I’m not going to lie to you but it is the hardest part (for me anyway) of this whole process.

When your body is burning fat, it craves sweet and sugary food twice as much (FACT!) It can take a long time for the body to stop sending messages to the brain that control cravings, and until these messages become less ‘powerful’ it’s bloody hard work...But you can do it!

Eating the right types of food at the right times during the day can massively help. You need foods that keep you feeling fuller for longer (eggs, oatmeal/porridge, boiled potatoes, meat ect) to suppress the need to snack between meals….but this is only half the battle, because even though your eating the right foods, a big effort on your will power is still needed. If you are like me and been a ‘serial snacker’ for such a long time, then it just becomes a habit to reach for the biscuit tin when you don’t need to… and new habits can take a while to settle in. I’m an ex-smoker, and there is NO differences from giving up the fags to giving up the snacks. Its bloody hard work.

But all I can say is…it’s working!! And when I see the number on my scales dropping every time I step on…that’s a better feeling than a sneaky KitKat ever was.

Will I ever have a snack again?

Yes! Of course I will…but it will be at a point in my life when I’ve reached my goals or targets, and I don’t have to vigorously control my calories. But until then the cupboard door is shut, locked and bolted…and even then I vow that I will NEVER be a ‘Serial Snacker’ again!!

Always remember this can be the most difficult part of weight loss…but if you really want it and believe in yourself, then it’s a great starting point to a better you.

If you are brave enough to START…then you are strong enough to FINISH!