It depends on the time of day you want to snack. If it’s in the afternoon and you have the “I’m-a-bit-bored”  munchies, keep some sugar-free chewing gum or sugar-free boiled sweets on hand, or diet drinks and bottled water to satisfy the need to have something in your mouth. Having a lot of apples on hand is a good idea too. It’s good to be prepared because the more time you spend looking for snacks, the quicker you’ll use up your will power and then succumb to the first  bit of food that hits your radar. Before you have a snack, drink some water to make sure you’re truly hungry and not thirsty as it is easy to mix the two sensations up.   

If you buy a bag of 12 individual snacks, make sure they’re less than 100 Calories per serve, have less than 3g of total fat and 1g or less of saturated fat. If you do buy bags of 12 snacks, be careful not to eat the lot. If you buy a bag of apples, it’s unlikely you’ll eat all of them and even if you do, you’ll consume less Calories.   

In the mornings, a cup of tea or coffee with skim milk is also a good option to keep you going until lunchtime, just make sure there’s no sugar added.    

If you must snack, plan ahead and take fruit to work or low fat yoghurt if there’s a fridge. You could also have one slice of fruit bread/toast, if you can stop yourself at one.      

As part of a weight loss diet, make sure you record any snacks you have in your food diary because many people forget to count the snacks they consume.

Dr Clare Collins