If the negative effects of snacking are getting you down, then don’t worry! Whether you want to lose weight or simply reduce your sugar intake, in this article I look at how to stop snacking while still enjoying life, using inspiration from China!

(🎙️ If you want to listen to this article in podcast form, you will find it here.)

Today we are heading off to China, specifically to look at one tool…

A tool that you may be familiar with.

In Chinese they are known as kuàizi, and the Japanese call them hashi… but in the west, we know them as chopsticks.

Enter, the chopstick!

Chopsticks come in all shapes, sizes and materials, and are used to pick up food or sometimes as a cooking utensil.

Apparently around 30% of the world’s population eat with chopsticks, most of whom are located in eastern Asia, in countries like China, Japan and Korea.

You have probably used chopsticks at some point in your life. Most likely at an Asian restaurant in the UK or USA, or if you have travelled to eastern Asia.

If you are like me, you may be quite happy to see them. When I eat at a Chinese restaurant, I always like the added authenticity of eating with chopsticks.

I’ll be an expert chopstick user during the appetizer, but then my technique tends to wane during the main course. Then I’ll drop a piece of sticky broccoli down my shirt, pick up a fork and admit defeat.

As I mentioned, they are used as utensils for both eating and cooking… but what about using chopsticks as a tool to reduce your snacking?

Well, there are certainly arguments for it.

This is for one key reason.

They make eating complicated.

Let’s face it, unless you are very experienced with using chopsticks, you will probably find them a little difficult to use. At least more difficult than a fork or a spoon. Honestly, how often do you use chopsticks every year.

Five times? Twice? Or maybe never.

So, what’s my point?

Well, by complicating eating, we slow it down.

And, if you know my nutrition coaching philosophy, you will know my enthusiasm for slow eating.

There are many benefits to not shovelling down your food.

Firstly, by eating slower, you encourage better digestion. Plus you get to enjoy more time with the food you love.

Think about a food you truly love. Say, chocolate. Isn’t it nicer to eat that chocolate slowly? Because as soon as that chocolate has passed your throat, it’s just calories. There is very little satisfaction with chocolate after it’s entered your stomach.

So it makes sense to eat a treat slowly as you get to enjoy it more.

As well as better digestion and more enjoyment with food, the other benefit of eating slowly is that you tend to eat less over time. Most importantly, you become more satisfied with less food.

Experiment with it this week.

Go and buy two bars of your favourite chocolate.

Night #1

On one night, eat one bar slowly, over five or ten minutes. Let the chocolate melt in your mouth. If it has things like nuts or caramel, feel the textures as you chew and swallow. By the end of the bar, you will feel like you have really enjoyed it.

Night #2

Then on the following evening, just gobble down that second bar within a minute. No holds barred. Just get it down you.

Ask yourself, did you enjoy it?

Chances are you barely experienced it when you were eating it as fast as possible. Chances are that you may want another chocolate bar because the first one just wasn’t satisfying enough. We’ve all done it. Eaten something so quickly it barely registered.

Seriously, you’re suggesting I use chopsticks to reduce snacking?

Yep, this is where chopsticks come in for the reduction of snacking.

As silly as it sounds, if you sit at home, enjoying crisps – or ‘chips’ for my American readers – with chopsticks instead of your hands, you will eat less.

This is because it’s difficult to eat a crisp, cashew nuts, chocolate candies, or whatever snack you love with chopsticks.

And because it’s difficult, it slows you down.

Instead of eating say 40 cashews in a few minutes, you end up feeling satisfied with 20 of them.

Don’t believe me?

Give it a go. Go grab some chopsticks. You may already have some from a Chinese takeout or some you stole from a Chinese restaurant. Regardless, they are pretty easy to get hold of.

Then, when you next go for a snack that you would usually eat with your hands, try the chopsticks.

The truth is, you may give up after a few minutes.

That’s alright. Try again next time.

You may be reading this and thinking ‘It sounds fun or like a good idea… but… I’m not going to do that’.

However, I will say that to lose weight without counting calories or feel healthier, we have to do all we can to change your habits.

If you currently eat snacks quickly and you don’t try to force a habit change, then chances are you won’t just change randomly.

If you love snacking, you aren’t just going to say ‘Well I won’t snack much tonight’. It’s just automatic. It’s a habit.

You have to do something to trip yourself up. Something to break the habit and replace it with a healthier habit.

The beauty of trying chopsticks is that you can still snack on your favourite foods. I’m not telling you to give up those nuts or those chocolates. You simply have to change how you eat them.

I hope that makes sense.

The final word

I’ll leave you with a relevant quote that you may have heard before:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

All I’m saying is that unless you change something how can you expect to change?

To recap, if you want to reduce your snacking because you are gaining weight, or because you know the damage too much refined sugar can cause, or because it’s ruining your appetite, then you have to change your habits.

Using chopsticks to eat snacks still allows you to enjoy the things you like, but at a slower pace. Because of this, chances are that you will feel satisfied with less of it.

And that’s the key to a healthier weight for life.