It’s 3 P.M., and you’re hungry. But there’s no point in eating an actual meal at this hour because not only do you not have the time, but you’ll also ruin your dinner. So, you grab a bag of chips. What else is there to do? You scarf down half a bag, and then you move on with the rest of your afternoon.
But then you ask yourself, “Why is my mouth so dry??” It’s been like 20 minutes. Your brain has started to become sluggish/foggy. Waaait a minute… ARE YOU HUNGRY? AGAIN?! What’s going on here?
Well, looks like those chips didn’t really do anything because now you’re thirsty AND hungry.
Snacks are okay if you have one here and there.
We all snack, but if you’re always turning to processed junk when you start to feel a bit hungry, you’re not doing yourself any favors.
You feel heavy because you ate too much, you feel thirsty because you’re dehydrated, and you’re also sluggish because junk isn’t the fuel your body needs.
What Happens When You Rely Too Much on Processed Snacks
I see so many people having granola bars for breakfast.
And that doesn’t have to be so bad if you have an actual meal for lunch, but if you’re eating pretzels at your desk, and then you have a pack of cheese crackers from the vending machine in the afternoon, the only actual food you’ll be eating that day is for dinner. And that’s simply not enough.
Snacks are designed in a very particular way.
If you look at the ones that are packaged, most of them have very little moisture, which means they can sit on the shelf for a long time without spoiling. But they’re also full of salt or sugar to make them taste good enough that you can’t stop at just 1 or 2. When you eat something that’s as dense as a cracker or a protein bar, you instantly feel full(er) because the space in your stomach fills up.
That combo of salt and fat hits your brain really fast, and your hunger signal shuts off. You feel full, but that feeling may as well come from swallowing a sponge.
After a little while, your body starts to send some other, less comfortable signals.
Your mouth is dry because the snack pulled moisture from your saliva, and you also feel fatigue. You’re not tired, but your body is so busy processing all those ingredients that it’s exhausted, and yet it’s not getting any nutrition and moisture back.
30 minutes later, and your cravings are back.
What’s confusing in all this is that feeling full doesn’t mean your body has the fuel it needs to keep going. Your stomach could be totally full, and you could still be thirsty or low on energy. Heck, you could even be nutritionally empty.
When you eat dry, salty snacks and don’t drink water, your body has no choice but to pull moisture from its own tissues to process what you ate.
I remember talking to my friend the other day, whose grandma joined a nursing home recently. The friend was complaining about her grandma constantly being dehydrated, which isn’t what you’d expect from a nursing home.
Aren’t they supposed to care for the residents? Anyway, I realized that residents tend to get a lot of processed snacks and soft, dry foods during the day, but they don’t drink enough fluids to match that.
No wonder there’s so much talk about nursing home dehydration, right?
Snacks That Make You Feel Good
Not all snacks are bad. Some of them do exactly what they’re supposed to – make you feel better (and full).
Here’s what those are.
Refreshing Fruit That Feels Like a Snack
Watermelon. Need I say more?
Crispy, fragrant, sweet, and absolutely dripping in water. What’s better than cold watermelon on a summer afternoon? Or think about peeling an orange when your mouth feels dry.
You’ll immediately feel the difference, and in a good way.
Watermelon, oranges, and berries have a lot of water in them. Some of them have over 90%!
So, when you eat them, you’re not getting food and liquids at once. The result is that you feel satisfied, but light. You don’t feel like your stomach is full of bricks, like you do after eating chips. These fruits have sugar that gives you energy, some fiber to slow things down, and enough water to make your mouth and throat feel good.
You eat, and then you feel better. That’s what a snack is supposed to be.
Crunchy Things That Don’t Make You Feel Parched
I don’t know about you, but I always like a little extra crunch, but not the kind that comes from crackers. Cucumbers and bell peppers are excellent when you want something crunchy because they’re full of water.
Slice up a cucumber and dip it in hummus or tzatziki. It’s hydrating and crazy satisfying. The crunch, the flavor, it’s all there.
And 20 minutes later, you don’t feel half dead; you feel energized and full. No dry mouth, no chalky feeling on your tongue, no crashes. Cucumbers, bell peppers, and even celery stalks are mostly water wrapped in crunch.
Soft Snacks That Don’t Need Water to Go Down
Plain yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruit smoothies are all excellent snacks, and they’re perfect for when you’re in a hurry. Plus, you don’t need water after you’ve had them. They already have a lot of moisture in them, so your body won’t have to pull it from somewhere else in order to digest them.
Get a small bowl and fill it with yogurt and berries.
That’s it. That’s LITERALLY all you need.
I also like cottage cheese paired with sliced peaches. Smoothies work great, too, just make sure not to load them with sugars because that kind of defeats the purpose.
Conclusion
Man, now I’m hungry. Are you?
If you are, but you want chips or cookies, please go back and read this article again because you obviously didn’t understand me the first time.
Let me be perfectly clear – we all have chips once in a while. Treating yourself with chocolate, crackers, chips, or any other junk food is totally fine if it’s in moderation. But don’t mistake any of this for real food, and don’t forget to drink your water after you’re done eating.
