I am such a snacker.  There’s a lot of information out there in the nutrition industry about when to eat.  Is it better to eat 3 large meals a day?  5 small meals a day?  A big breakfast and a small dinner?  A small breakfast with a snack?  1 snack a day?  2 snacks a day?  No snacks at all?  Ugh.  It can be so confusing!

Regardless of what’s “better,” I have to admit it–I’m a snacker.  My body prefers to eat 5 or 6 times a day.  That being said, I do appreciate 3 meals a day… but that can’t be it!! I need an afternoon/ evening snack as well!

One thing I’ve been learning about maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is that it’s different for everyone.  For example, a good friend of mine eats an extremely healthy, completely vegan diet.  She treats herself to raw desserts and only accepts the purest foods to nourish her body.  And I completely respect her for that.  But that just wouldn’t work for me.  I eat gluten free because I am gluten intolerant, and I limit the amount of dairy I consume because of a dairy sensitivity.  I avoid refined sugar and opt for other sweeteners like organic cane sugar and brown rice syrup.  This works for me!  But I am not going to tell someone else that they to need to eat this way.  I believe that everyone is different, and the best way for me to fuel my body may be different from yours.

The same idea applies to snacking.  Some people like to eat a large, healthy, hearty meal three times a day.  That isn’t necessarily a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ thing.  If you eat three meals pumped with processed packaged junk food, then you’re not nourishing your body, but if you eat fresh produce and a decent amount of healthy carbs and protein, then your tummy will be happy!  But that schedule often leaves me feeling hungry and then too full, hungry and then too full again.

For that reason, I like to snack throughout the day.  I find that eating this way keeps me feeling light and energized!  What about you?  When do you like to eat?  Are you a snacker?