The fructose in sugar (50% of the calories) can in general only be used for one thing: to make fat. The exception is if your liver glycogen is depleted (eg after a hard workout, perhaps a teaspoon of fructose could be used to replenish it—and in fact in this scenario it is the most efficient way to replenish your liver glycogen.
Sugar is also quite addictive and binge-inducing. I have a theory as to why this is I will tell you at the next LW dinner.
The case against jerky is less compelling, but you might want to look at the list of ingredients next time you are near a packet.
does it compare as healthy compared to chocolate or mints?
Also a snack with fibre (even with sugar) is better than a snack with little-to-no-fibre—if it helps with satiety and is better from a fidgeting-must-eat perspective.
Sure, there might be snacks that are even better than dried-fruit… but as a first step improvment it was a good step.
See above. If you need more glucose in your blood, small amounts of foods that produce glucose can do the job. Or you can train your body learn to do gluconeogenesis (ie release stored glucose) by regularly having long gaps between meals.
According to the lecturers in the “learning to learn” course, a lot of what feels like the need for food is actually the need for a break. According to them, when working hard intellectually the brain needs a break after a while to restore equilibrium and to remove built-up waste. So a break and a glass of water may be all you need. That’s what the 5 minute break in the Pomodoro cycle is for.
Yes, I am aware that snack/fiddling is probably a signal that I’m not hungry (thanks, though, I might not have been). I will also drink a glass of water rather than snack if I think I’m actually hungry… but I’m quite aware that I’m not hungry when I’m snacking.
The point of these snacks isn’t to ingest nutrition. In this case—i have been snacking as a way of fiddling (I think). I figured that if I was going to fiddle/snack anyway—I might as well make it less-unhealthy—because I have other things that are more important to work on than in stopping this particular habit (I’ll come back to it, but as stop-gap measure… healthier snacks is better than unhealthy snacks.
I also take pomodoro breaks—but it doesn’t entirely negate the snacking need...
Citation required.
Dried fruit is very high in sugar.
The fructose in sugar (50% of the calories) can in general only be used for one thing: to make fat. The exception is if your liver glycogen is depleted (eg after a hard workout, perhaps a teaspoon of fructose could be used to replenish it—and in fact in this scenario it is the most efficient way to replenish your liver glycogen.
Sugar is also quite addictive and binge-inducing. I have a theory as to why this is I will tell you at the next LW dinner.
The case against jerky is less compelling, but you might want to look at the list of ingredients next time you are near a packet.
more information required on what you’re asking?
I bought snacks for while I was working.. .that were healthier than the alternatives.
Dried fruit is basically sugar with a bit of fiber, very high calorie density, too. Considering it healthy is a bit of a stretch.
does it compare as healthy compared to chocolate or mints? Also a snack with fibre (even with sugar) is better than a snack with little-to-no-fibre—if it helps with satiety and is better from a fidgeting-must-eat perspective.
Sure, there might be snacks that are even better than dried-fruit… but as a first step improvment it was a good step.
See above. If you need more glucose in your blood, small amounts of foods that produce glucose can do the job. Or you can train your body learn to do gluconeogenesis (ie release stored glucose) by regularly having long gaps between meals.
According to the lecturers in the “learning to learn” course, a lot of what feels like the need for food is actually the need for a break. According to them, when working hard intellectually the brain needs a break after a while to restore equilibrium and to remove built-up waste. So a break and a glass of water may be all you need. That’s what the 5 minute break in the Pomodoro cycle is for.
Yes, I am aware that snack/fiddling is probably a signal that I’m not hungry (thanks, though, I might not have been). I will also drink a glass of water rather than snack if I think I’m actually hungry… but I’m quite aware that I’m not hungry when I’m snacking.
The point of these snacks isn’t to ingest nutrition. In this case—i have been snacking as a way of fiddling (I think). I figured that if I was going to fiddle/snack anyway—I might as well make it less-unhealthy—because I have other things that are more important to work on than in stopping this particular habit (I’ll come back to it, but as stop-gap measure… healthier snacks is better than unhealthy snacks.
I also take pomodoro breaks—but it doesn’t entirely negate the snacking need...