Here’s a weight management tip that has helped me a lot. I’d say it’s my No. 1 most effective tip and it may work for you, too.
DON’T BUY BISCUITS.
Do not even enter the biscuit aisle of the supermarket and don’t keep biscuits in your cupboards or, heaven forbid, a glass cookie jar out on your kitchen counter.
If you can stop after eating just one biscuit, I salute you. You do not have a problem. But if you’re like me, it’s a different matter. I can eat a whole packet of Bahlsen chocolate-coated biscuits, Sainsbury’s peanut cookies, or Duchy Original oaten biscuits at one sitting, straight from the packet.
‘Our biscuits are saltier than those of our European neighbours’
In the UK we eat an astonishing number of biscuits, and my theory is it’s because our biscuits are saltier than those of our European neighbours, and therefore scarily moreish. Biscuits are part of our culture. We use them to comfort ourselves and each other. So if you donate blood or have a stressful hospital procedure, in the UK you’ll be offered a nice cup of tea and a biscuit afterwards.
There’s even a website devoted to biscuits called nicecupofteaandasitdown.com
Four more reasons not to have a nice cup of tea and a biscuit (though you can have a sit-down)
– biscuits consist mainly of empty calories even if they include healthy sounding ingredients such as bran, oats and raisins.
– they are eaten as a between-meal snack rather than a meal but do not satisfy. The reverse. The more you eat, the more you want.
– they are highly calorific with a chocolate digestive biscuit weighing in at 86 calories and a Tunnocks Caramel wafer at 122 calories.
– many still contain trans-fats which are more dangerous for your heart than saturated fats.
It’s just too easy to mindlessly munch on biscuits at your desk or kitchen table. I even include savoury biscuits like cream crackers in my ban. If you spread butter on them, you’re taking in a double dose of fat in a few seconds. You’ll get fat very quickly if you consider biscuits and cheese a light lunch or supper.
The only savoury ‘biscuits’ I allow in the house are rye crispbreads or Matzo crackers. And reader, I’ve been known to eat a whole packet of these when there’s nothing else on offer that satisfies the need for nervous munching.
Don’t buy biscuits unless you’re a masochist who enjoys struggling not to have a second and a third after you’ve eaten just one. And don’t buy biscuits ‘for the children’. Do you want them to have your weight problem in a few years’ time?
Are you addicted to biscuit munching? Can you stop after just one or two? Do you agree with this tip?