Sneaky Snacking

In a just world, none of the following would count toward our daily calorie allotment:

* Anything eaten while standing
* Tastings of food while cooking
* The last two bites of mac and cheese/pizza/rice/pasta on your kid's plate
* The brownie you grabbed because that apple just didn't look appealing
* Food samples from your local grocery/warehouse store
* Girl Scout cookies
* Candy off your co-worker's desk
* Anything eaten while drinking wine
* Anything eaten while drinking a beer
* At a salad bar, food that's not vegetables
* Anything eaten while still in your workout clothes

The truth is, those calories do count--which wouldn't be so bad except we probably don't count them. This is called "unconscious snacking" by the health experts, even though we're fully awake and cognizant when we're doing it. We just don't think it matters, but it does, and we don't realize how much it matters until our jeans don't fit or we can't make the scale budge. Repeat after me: Every bite counts.

The solution to sneaky snacking is, first of all, to be aware that we're doing it. The trick is not to berate ourselves for doing it, but just to notice and make a mental note to cut back on calories the rest of the meal or day to make up for it. This is not always easy because we'd really rather sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen, but doing so will not lead us to victory in the weight-control game.

I like to build these little indiscretions into my eating plan for the day and figure out how I'm going to handle them. Just like a budget, I roughly figure out my calorie expenditure for the day and how much my indulgence is going to set me back. Now, it's a good idea not to indulge in sneaky snacking every day--particularly when you're in the losing-weight stage rather than the maintenance stage--because you may find yourself treading water weight-wise, and it can be a slippery slope down to simply giving up. But once a week or so should be often enough that you don't feel deprived and infrequent enough not to capsize your ship completely.

But you do have to be brutally honest with yourself and accept without judgment what you have done, then set it right. Remember: You're not fooling anyone but yourself if you don't take responsibility for your actions, and nowhere is this truer than in weight loss.

So, every so often, go ahead and eat that mini chimichanga or brie on a cracker or the last Thin Mint in the box--just reduce your intake at the next meal and relive the moment in your memory.