Many people who have struggled with overeating sometimes tend to avoid snacking because they see this is as yet another moment to have to make choices and possibly be faced with a binge. When you make this choice due to fear instead of actual connection, what could happen (and this is what used to happen to me), is that since you avoided eating a snack when you felt hungry, bypassing your body’s natural way to alert you that it’s time to eat, you are ravenous come dinner time and that turns out to be the meal in which you ate without awareness or even enjoyment. This is just a simple example of how making a decision that isn’t guided on your body’s innate cues can take you away from that road to a better relationship with food.

Snacks are also great ways for vegans to add in more nutrient sources into your day to help get all your nutrient bases covered, and this is a great thing.

Everything, from our genetics, to our metabolism, to our activity levels, to the size of our previous meal, to practical things like knowing that we might be in a meeting later in which we won’t be able to get a bite to eat, will affect us in different ways. On the question of whether to snack or not to snack, we should always make decisions just like we’re making them for the rest of our meals, pulling together those strings that bind all the aspects of our eating together:

• Our hunger and fullness levels (asking ourselves if we’re hungry or in need of something else, if we are hungry, asking ourselves “how hungry?”, letting this guide our choices of what and how much to eat).

• Understanding some basics of what would be most helpful in terms of nutrients at that time (for example adding some protein to our snack will make it more satisfying, some carbohydrates if we’ll be exercising soon, or some fruit to provide vitamins and other phytonutrients and fiber).

• Practicality (what’s available, when I’ll be able to eat again, my time restraints or money restraints).

• and of course, what will satisfy us and bring us that wonderful eating joy.

When we make our choices pulling all of these together, whether this is for a meal or a snack, we’re much more likely to be mindful, to make easier choices and to not overthink it or follow it with any kind of guilt or food worry. Eating is something we do multiple times a day and with practice in this new, more gentle approach we’ll be able to bring it back down to normal, simple and joyful.