The HIDDEN Reason You’re Packing on Pounds
Have you noticed that the older you get, the easier it is to pack on the pounds?
It’s not a coincidence.
As you age, changes in factors—like fat mass (which increases), muscle mass (which decreases), and hormones—can make it harder than ever to stay in the same size pants and almost impossible to lose weight.
But there’s another factor at play that often gets completely overlooked.
Snacking can sabotage all your efforts to stay a healthy weight.
A mini muffin, chips and salsa, a handful of mixed nuts…
Spread throughout the day, small snacks like these seem insignificant.
But chances are you’re eating more than you realize… a LOT more.
According to a recent study, the average adult gets one-quarter of their daily calories—and one-third of their daily sugar—from snacks.
In fact, most people average 400 to 500 calories of snacks ALONE daily—which is often MORE than what you’d eat at breakfast or lunch.
In other words, you could be gulping down a meal’s worth of snacks IN A DAY. And too often, they’re carb or sugar-heavy treats with little nutritional value.
These results were based on dietary questionnaires, which means they relied on recall. However, my I bet many folks eat far more calories in snacks than they remember.
The most popular snacks included foods high in carbs and fats, sweets, alcoholic beverages, and sugar-sweetened drinks. Fruits, veggies, and grains were at the bottom of the list.
If you want a snack throughout the day, make healthier choices, such as unsweetened yogurt and peanut butter, nuts and fruit, and veggies and hummus.
But remember, even good foods have calories. So, if snacking is part of your lifestyle, reduce your portion sizes at your main meals.
P.S. Try THIS super snack to SHED weight.
SOURCE:
Kristen Heitman, et al. “Snacks contribute considerably to total dietary intakes among adults stratified by glycemia in the United States.” PLOS Global Public Health, 2023; 3 (10): e0000802 DOI: 10.1371 / journal. pgph.0000802