Sunday Night Snack...

Sunday night snack. Sounds like a good idea, huh? I came up with this at the beginning of summer to try and help me control my out of control ice cream binging. It was an attempt to control how often I could eat it throughout the week. Now, I assume you figured out by using the word "attempt", the idea wasn't very successful. Nope. I still eat ice cream WAY too much, and not only on Sunday.

However, upon thinking about the Sunday night snack routine, I realized there is something else to it. My husband and I have a quirky connection around eating snack food together late at night. There is just something about that snack time that has become sacred to us and our routine. Unfortunately, it isn't the healthiest way for us to connect with each other. What's a wife (who's trying to lose weight and get healthier) to do?? Especially when the bad stuff tastes so darn good?

Well, the first thing not to do is cancel Sunday night snack! If I try to eliminate that from our marital routine, bad things will happen. I will probably feel deprived (and binge) and I will eliminate an activity my husband and I have found enjoyable together.

Healthy relationships are key components to our health. When you are on good terms in your relationships, food will begin to move aside and become secondary in it's importance. So how do I handle this when food is part of the relational connection? Well, a few simple changes to the snacking routine will help it become even more healthy without removing the enjoyment or the connection it creates!!

1. Change what you eat! Instead of indulging in a piece of cheesecake or potato chips and dip that can reach up to 1000 calories per serving, make a healthier version of the dessert, like raw cacao chocolates, a bowl of fruit, or ice cream made from coconut milk instead of cow's milk.
2. Eat earlier! Eating late at night is taxing on the digestive system and process. When you go to sleep your body slows down to rest as well, and if your stomach is full of snacks, it will sit in your stomach undigested for hours, and begin to ferment...gross! Eat your snack no later than 2 hours before bedtime, and preferably no later than 3 hours before your rest your head on your pillow.
3. Change the snack! Another alternative is to actually change the snack altogether and do an activity instead (I know, much harder, I have yet to accomplish this one...baby steps, right?) If you have the willpower, and you can pass on the snack, and take a walk instead, DO IT! Even if you do this once a month, and see how it goes for three months. Then maybe shift to every other week. This is a pattern change that is leading to excellent moderation!
4. Drink a full glass of water before the snack! If you fill your stomach with water before you dig into the treat, you will eat less, it's that simple!

Snacking doesn't have to be "sinful". We can snack smartly and responsibly. And usually, when other areas of our lives are aligned and nourished, like our relationships, snacking will take the backseat in our routines. And if you decide to snack in moderation, enjoy it! Feeling guilt slows digestion and causes emotional stress. When emotional stress is present our food can take as much as 3 times as long to digest...that's worse than sitting undigested in our bellies over night!

Now, it's Sunday night, and my hubby and I are going to share some time and a snack together! Here's to snacking responsibly!